Denser buds?

on my second grow. using the WAY over priced "bloombox" but in my state privacy is top priority! also using the "advanced nutrients" + "big bud" the plants seem to grow great and flower on time but my buds have been sparse! how do i get denser buds? more/less nutes? introduce co2? ph is usualy around 5.5 but still experimenting with the ppm. please help!

more light penetration.............ha penetration......but yea take a few fan leafs off or get a brighter light

dang! im running a 400w hps right now and im not sure if the built in balast will handle anymore. I trim off the fan leaves periodicly and ive also got t-5's at the bottom for "up light". the system has a built in timer for co2 but i havent gotten a tank yet.

hmmm......yea id have to guess its not enuff light penetration.....how close is the light to the top of the plants..?

starts off around 2ft above. at the end of the cycle (now) its only like 3inches away. I actualy "bend" the plants and grow horizontly to keep them from touching the glass but try to keep as close as possible.

What strain are you growing? TRy getting a big bud strain.

The temperature in the grow box may be too high, this will cause the buds to stretch. With a 400 and a t5 you should have plenty of light but may be producing too much heat. Cutting off the fan leaves is not helping anything either. These are the food factories that are providing the food for the bud growth.

To increase your lighting you will have to get another ballast and another lightbulb. I am just as fond of three 400w hps as one 1000w hps on its own. Three 400's have its advantages. I have used a small hitachi barbecue with charcoal to produce co2. I usually line up the charcoal so it stops smoldering about two hours before the lights go out. Another way is use a propane lantern with the glass off. You can only run co2 while the lights are on. With the barbecue I put a filter over the hitachi to keep down the soot. It's obvious that you will need ventilation.

sort off unsure off strain. was called "god bud" but that could just be what he called it. i grew my mother from the only seed gotten from soil grown. was very nice but didnt get to see it in action. Im sure the soil grown were very large plants by the time they were harvested. now im trying to grow in smaller confines. I'am looking into getting another strain but unsure of what strain will do well in a shorter plant.

dont think its a temp problem. but "stretch is a good word to descibe what ive got. the bloombox has loads of exhaust fans and the room temp outside the box is like 75 degree's. inside it doesnt feel much diferent maybe 80 deg. after reading around these forums im thinking i may need to get that co2 going.

I like a good Bubba strain. They stay pretty short and they produce tight buds. IMO a bubba strain might do well in a SOG.

Don't wait for the plants to reach the light, start off with the light about 8-12 inches from the plant and keep moving up as the plant grows. If the light is far from the plants, they'll stretch towards the light and node spacing will be longer. Also, 3 inches may be a little too close.

Something else you could do is not take out the fan leaves. Everytime you do, you're slowing or even stunting the plant. If you really are compelled to take them off, you could just cut them in half. It'll be a lot better than cutting out the leaf altogether. Also, you said you're bending them...are you doing it like supercropping or are you doing it with no damage to the plant?

also now regretting trimming off sooo many fan leave's. still experimenting, i trimmed the sh$t out of them. haha also im running 2 t-5's with that 400w hps. trimming didnt really change anything as far as density. this batch looks the same as the last without trimming the fans leaves

Make sure there are intake fans to accomodate the exhaust fans, pot doesn't do so well in a vacuum. atmospheric pressure 15psi.

co2 for sure is one of the best things u can add to increase.. well... everything .

ok. thats sounds like very good advise as my node spacing is unreal.

ive kept my "bending " on a slow process. and have no damage. I do think starting them closer to the light and adding the co2 will help greatly. my mother has some sort of nute burn, ive flushed but now thinking of ditching it for another strain. ive got 6' plants in a 4' box all growing horizontaly now and would like to eliminate this procedure if possible. all of you have been a BIG help and this site is friggin great!

i think you should take those t5s out of your bud room and put them in your vege room were they belong. your 400 watt is very capable of growing big dense buds. try replacing your soil. and looking at your ph, ventilation and circulation. ph should be around 6.5 and 7 and your room should be about 80 degrees.

sorry i geuss i should have specified. my bloombox is a hydro sytem. no soil

How about getting a therometer and finding out what your real temps are.

If the air in the room your drawing from is 75 (my guess its higher) then your plants are at 85 and prob closer to 90