ECP Second CFL Grow

I'm a little more prepared this time around. These are two White Widow strain plants growing under 6-42watt 2700k and 4-23watt 6500k bulbs. The grow medium is Miracle Grow with time release nutrients (flame on) with water ph adjusted to 7.0 until soil neutralizes. My grow box is home made and fairly simple consisting of plywood and white paint. The light fixture is just 2x4 nailed together with cheap light fixtures and socket splitters. My goal is to grow small but fruitful plants on materials that you can find at your local warehouse instead of a hydroponics store. This is done purely as a hobby and I do not intend to get hardcore on perfecting my plants. As they gain a bit of height I will try and LST them as that has worked very well on my previous grow. Any comments, suggestions you guys have would be greatly appreciated. I'm also willing to answer any questions you may have for me.

My previous grow consisted of two bagseed females that suffered from too much attention. I constantly struggled with over watering in the early stages. The lights were kept way to far causing the plants to stretch a bit. And right before harvest I lost a large portion to mold due to a window being left open while I went on vacation (rained all week). My two plants yielded a little over 2 oz. The much smaller lst'd plant yielded slightly more. Overall, it was a somewhat successful grow.

This grow, I have learned from my mistakes. I moved the lights much closer(within 3 inches) and grabbed four more 42watts. The plants have responded very well and have grown almost twice as fast and twice as stocky. Today they were transplanted out of cups in to slightly larger pots and are recovering from mild shock(pics below). The ph in this grow is being regulated unlike the last grow that was mostly estimated. The plants will remain small and I will probably begin flowering once the fan leaves spread out over the pot, leaving little room for LST. I'm hoping for at least a 50% increase in yield, maybe 1.5-2oz per plant would be fantastic.

Previous Grow Pics:

Trichs!

Has fully recovered from transplant in to larger pots. Still trying to find a fan to blow up on lights. Temperatures hit 96 in the grow box today, but its also 96 degrees outside, so hopefully it gets under control as the heat wave ends.

They are looking very perky now, but I'm worried I won't get them stocky enough. I'm hoping for a lot more horizontal growth in the next day or so before I begin the flowering cycle.

Well it has been a day or so and the temps here reached 102F, so did the temps in my grow room, and my plants suffered from heat stress, one of them very badly. Its fan leafs were almost completely vertical, but now It seems to be back to normal and more in control at 88F in the grow room. I still need to drop the temps another 10F, but have yet to find a cheat fan solution. Below are some pics of the girth I was hoping to get since my last post, they seem to be doing very well. One of them has become very bushy and stout giving me hopes that its a female, while the other is a little... lengthy, which worries me a bit.

I gave the lengthy one some well needed water, ph'd to 6.8 with a bit of molasses. I'm waiting another day or so for the bushy one as the soil is a little damp still and I'd hate to add further droop-age to the leaves. (A minor problem I have yet to diagnose).

The lights have also been raised another 2 inches. Leaving 5 inches between the lights and foliage, It's a little much, but I'm worried about more heat stress until I find a ventilation solution and this heat wave is over.

Otherwise very little growth has occurred (once again thanking the heat). They are around 3.8" tall and I will begin flowering when they reach 4.5". I was hoping to hit that height by today.

Feel free to give some input.

My Current pots are only around.... 1-1.5 gallon i think. When they hit 4.5" I'll prob transfer to them to 3 gallon pot for flowering. What do you guys think?

Edit: Also, since I'm only expecting one female (cross my fingers for both). I want to take some clones. I wonder how far I can wait in the 12/12 light cycle and still take successful clones... obviously before the sex shows.

Ok, I forgot about my plants for a few days. Was busy with girlfriend and getting my motorcycle license. Coming back to look at my plants, I'm astonished, there huge bushy! Not moving the light has kept them nice and stout at what I'd estimate to be 5" (a little taller than I hoped) and with a diameter of around 12". Flowering starts today! Light cycle adjusted to 12/12 on the 11 o'clock. I wish I could move it to lights at night, but I'm afraid of shocking the plant too much. The temperatures are out of control! Grow box stays at a constant 86. But now the front has to be closed for 12/12, and I'm expecting the heat to skyrocket to 100+. I need to find some cooling solution immediately. Please give me your input!

Other than that, I have transfered the plants into 3 gallon 10" pots, while moving them I discovered a bit of root lock, so I'll have to adjust my watering thoroughness. They aren't looking to perky and I hope they recover soon. The one plant isn't very bushy and is having some problems with its lower leafs(see pics). I'm not quite sure what it is. Both plants are the same strain, and are under the same conditions. Runoff ph is at a solid 6.3.

I guess I'll run by HD tomorrow and pick up some more Y splitters and possibly 2 more 42 watts. The plants aren't getting ideal light coverage.... uh.... other than that, I'd love to hear some comments, questions ect...

(More pictures coming in a few moments)

Pics are going here: