1st Grow Ever....

This is my first grow. It started off really rough, especially since i started from scratch. Im using regular bagseed from mids so i can get a feel for growing before i spend loads of money on premium seeds.

Heres the background:

After germinating the seeds i planted them into steak n shake cups that had been cut down to size. I put a couple CFLs on the plants once they broke the surface. I didnt have any idea what CFLs i needed at the time till i did the research. Unfortunatly, i thought it would be a good idea to use halogen lights on the plants....yeah, that was a bad idea. The plants grew out lanky and nasty. I became frustrated and cut the lights off till i got the right CFLs. The results of that torture on the plants were long skinny seedlings that are as ugly as a naked barbara streisand. BUT, now they are doing much better. I have 4 6500k the equivalent of 400 watts and about 6400 lumens in a 3' by 4' closet. I HOPE thats enough light...atleast for now. I also have a small fan blowing across the plants to build strength and improve air circulation. Any advice or comments would be appreciated.

Also, im having problems ordering from Dr. Chronic. My prepaid Visa from Walmart is giving me a hard time. If anyone knows how to use a prepaid on that site help me out!!!!

Btw...those pictures are of the plants at 14 days.....

Looks good. Will you have room to expand when they grow?

Dysprositos said:

Looks good. Will you have room to expand when they grow?

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Yeah. im gonna get rid of the table they're on....not to mention, i have 2 other closets in the house...plus a big empty laundry room. Hehehehehehe......

Im TRYING to get Diesel Ryder from Dr.Chronic, but as i said....my prepaid card keeps getting declined.

Heres a pic that shows the whole set up a little better.....

Hey buddy,

just some advice for ya...... i see your using cfl bulbs for lighting.

I use the same.. congrats on that. As you probably already have seen.. or heard that you can grow the same potent bud you see under HPS lights... using only CFL lights. I'm tired of people bashing us CFL growers damn it. Ya dig?


anyhow.. you may want to get your lights even closer than you currently have them...
tends to keep stretching and stressing the plant to a minimum you know? Just though I would suggest that. Good luck though.

Peace

ganjaluvr said:

Hey buddy,

just some advice for ya...... i see your using cfl bulbs for lighting.

I use the same.. congrats on that. As you probably already have seen.. or heard that you can grow the same potent bud you see under HPS lights... using only CFL lights. I'm tired of people bashing us CFL growers damn it. Ya dig?


anyhow.. you may want to get your lights even closer than you currently have them...
tends to keep stretching and stressing the plant to a minimum you know? Just though I would suggest that. Good luck though.

Peace

Click to expand...

Thanks man...yeah, i have high hopes for the CFLs....especially as the technology continues to evolve. I just dropped the lights about an inch-inch an a half....

Anyone with more advice or comments?

Growing cannabis is not has hard has folks may want you to think it is.You want a strain that you know is nice,you have made the job a little harder by growing from bag seed because the plants will have to be sexed and if you can do this then you have started at the hard end of growing so the rest should be easy.Cfl lights are not the best for growing plant well flowering them the plants will grow in the veg phase fine but the flowering period will need a little more juice.You are doing the best thing by learning the trade has we say before jumping in head first.There are 3 things that you will need to get a plant to produce a nice yeild 1 a good h.p.s light you can use this just for flowering and veg under what you have now 2 a good exaust fan the best that you can afford.3 a big ossalateing fan to simulate the wind then you will be on you way to haveing a good grow set up.Growing cannabis is like everything in life there are alot of thing that you will not need.The thing's that i have put are all realy important also a good feed like sensi pro advanced nutrients i use vitalink and always have fat yeilds.

You can buy splitters at any hardware store and get two lights per socket to add more light, and I got a cheap HPS that looks like a street light from Lowes to add to the mix. my next move will be floro tubes mounted vertically for side lighting. Keep learning and improving. I would recomend atleast 2, maybe 3 bagseed grows before coughing up the cash for prime seeds. That should be enough to practice growing and hone your cloning skills. Good Luck and grow on.

Well....Ive made some changes to the set up and already got some results....

I draped white trashbags along the lights to trap the light around the plants. Mind you, i did it in such a manner that theres still plenty of air circulation ( See Pics )

Btw....dropped about 5 germed seeds....all of them have broken the surface, and 3 have their first set of real leaves.

EvilJack said:

Btw....dropped about 5 germed seeds....all of them have broken the surface, and 3 have their first set of real leaves.

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Pics might help......

why dont you just use your credit card?....
most sites dont accept pre paid cards for fraud reasons.

CFLs will burn your plants. They look harmless, and they feel harmless enough...but they arent. So watch the level of your plants and your bulbs and adjust as needed. Don't let them grow into the lights. At this age, you don't want singed leaves.

Also, most cameras have a macro setting that is best for taking pictures of your babies.

those lights need to be at about 2 inches away from the plants bro and you should just do y adapter so the the side of the bulb gives the plants light thats where the opti. light and lumens come from bro.

I have mine my CFL's on Y adapters hanging down from regular drop chords. Looks ugly but you can get them lower to the plants. Seem to be working as my plants are growing short and bushy. See pic.

reeferob said:

I have mine my CFL's on Y adapters hanging down from regular drop chords. Looks ugly but you can get them lower to the plants. Seem to be working as my plants are growing short and bushy. See pic.

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thats exactly what i was trying to tell him it works way better

SunnyDaze said:

Also, most cameras have a macro setting that is best for taking pictures of your babies.

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Lol...i know.....crappy thing is though, im using a webcam to take the pics. Hence the horrible clarity.