How are my two and a half week old plants doing? (With pics) [ + Question about CFLs]

Hi, first time grower here. I have 6 INDOOR plants that are 2.5 weeks old (and one that is a few days).

They're currently lit 15-16 hours daily with [edit] a 30w (equivalent to 100-125watts) CFL light. I also have a fan, and straws to help support the stems until they are stronger. They're around 6" tall.

What I wanted to know was if a 30 watt CFL would work for all 7 of the plants (or should I have more bulbs? less watts? more?). I anticipate that I will lose a few along the way (assuming they grow big and strong), so I'd like to take that into account. Also I am pretty poor. Take that into account too.

So yeah, any tips would be super helpful, so would answering the question about the CFL lights.

I'll give you some ideas. I am on my first grow, but I know quite a bit.

First off. Why are you only doing 15-16 hours of light? You should just give them 24 hours of light till flowering.

I wouldn't even worry about the fan yet.

You are going to definitely need more light and soon!!! If you are poor, like I am, the one thing thing you need to focus on is your lights. I hear the little cfl bulbs work good, but your gonna want at least 4 for 6 plants(and that just for VEG). I know a guy that flowered a good plant but had quite a few of those cfl's. I personally have been using florescent tubes since day one. I started with 2 till they were about 8 inches high, then recently switched to 6(40 watt) tubes. If you have a fixture for flourescent tubes that would be the best bet for you. They are cheap. I don't use tons of things and mine are flourishing!! Infact it's been almost 2 months now and I just started them on plant food and adjusting the PH....never had a problem. Anyways, like I said.....GET MORE LIGHT SOON!!!

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.

for six plants your gonna need a dozen or so cfls at least for any decent results

I would say you should have gotten the CFL(s) yesterday. those girls are going to keep stretching. depending on your grow space, this can be a bad thing. They are looking good, just the low level of light the incandescent is give off will not do all 7 plants justice. They are spending their time stretching to reach and find what little light there is instead of growing more tight knit nodes.

As for CFL's, i would say use 1 per plant if you're going with that wattage. you'll need more as they get bigger and when they go into the flowering stage. Check out a few of the journals on this site, they will help you decide if CFL's are your best solution based on your setup.

Don't forget that you can always ad a low wattage MH/HPS to your setup if you need more light/lumens but want to keep temps reasonable.

msgmehere1 said:

I would say you should have gotten the CFL(s) yesterday.

As for CFL's, i would say use 1 per plant if you're going with that wattage. you'll need more as they get bigger and when they go into the flowering stage.

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So my dumb ass just realized I have a bright CFL light in my lamp downstairs... so I switched the incandescent bulb for the CFL. It looks MUCH brighter and I think is enough until they are older.

I don't really plan to have more than 1-2 get into the flowering stage, since this is my first time I was expecting a few causalities.

I'm kinda just playing it by ear and seeing how they grow instead of buying multiple bulbs right away, you know?

But I have another question, how close should the bulb be to the plants right now? Right now it is a few inches above the plants, could this burn them? Or should it be even closer?

Thanks!

yea thoses are stretching out lots and lol @ pop can pots

Also, what kind of nutrients should I use? Anything organic, or stuff I can use from around the house, or cheap/accessible at a Walmart or local hardware store?

PS - I know they are stretching! I potted them lower because they were even longer. I wonder if they will stop stretching now that I have a CFL...

Giantshredder said:

First off. Why are you only doing 15-16 hours of light? You should just give them 24 hours of light till flowering.

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I refuse to have the lightbulb on while I sleep.

A. The plants are in my bedroom and I can't sleep without darkness
B. I am scared of burning my apartment down

Get a better bigger wattage light or they are either going to die, or just be shitty. But you still have time to save them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may what to do more research then. You don't seem very ambitious to get this done if your worried about the light affecting your sleep. The plants aren't going to work around you!!! What are you going to do when they are 3 feet tall? I seriously hope you don't think you can do this with one incandescent bulb, lol.

Since you don't want to start your apartment on fire.....do you unplug everything when you leave your apartment!!?

C'mon dude. Seriously.

Might want to put an oscillating fan in the room. They are all ready sooo stretched and are only going to get worse. Than fan makes the plants work to stay up right which in return will help strengthen the main stem. You only need a gentle breeze to make them wiggle at first.

I think everyone else covered the light problem for the most part. More lights and closer. The closer the better. Just put your hand under the bulb to feel how hot it is to ensure you dont torch your plants.

pistachios said:

I refuse to have the lightbulb on while I sleep.

A. The plants are in my bedroom and I can't sleep without darkness
B. I am scared of burning my apartment down

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how cAN A FEW LIGHTBULBS BURN A HOUSE DOWN its like 10 billion to 1 or more thatll happen. close you eyes it will be dark. might as well go 12/12 now.

pistachios said:

Hi, first time grower here. I have 6 INDOOR plants that are 2.5 weeks old (and one that is a few days).

They're currently lit 15-16 hours daily with [edit] a 30w (equivalent to 100-125watts) CFL light. I also have a fan, and straws to help support the stems until they are stronger. They're around 6" tall.

What I wanted to know was if a 30 watt CFL would work for all 7 of the plants (or should I have more bulbs? less watts? more?). I anticipate that I will lose a few along the way (assuming they grow big and strong), so I'd like to take that into account. Also I am pretty poor. Take that into account too.

So yeah, any tips would be super helpful, so would answering the question about the CFL lights.

Click to expand...

1st off the veg cycle starts @ 18 on 6 off. 0r u can do 20 n 4. I dont personally believe in 24 on. everything needs rest and downtime. plants only measure darkness anywway, not light. as far as the stretching goes just keep lights as close as possible without burning them and fans on them to strengthen stems. how much wattage u need is determined by how many square feet. HID needs 50 watts for square foot while LED requires 10 watts per . dont know much about cfl's i must admit. other than they dont compete with other lights. u will need to find something that tells u how much cfl wattage is needed for square foot. as far as nutes go. for soil i would go jack's classic. orchid special for veg and use blossom form for flower. very cheap and been in the market forever. they used to be called pete's or peters, i forget but its great for soil. u will defieately need more lights as the plants will need much more spacing to grow. the less lights u have the higher they will need to be to light an area. also read budmans post on stretched seeders. Good luck. save $ for decent light system. worth it in the end