New Member, New Grower, Old Smoker :)

Hey Yall,
Just signed up and into this forum, very excited to find a vibrant community who share the same love. I recently became a medical card career, and as I noticed I was spending more on flowers, I figured now the time has come to take it to the next level, and grow my own. Which I"m finding is turning into quite a passion. I started on a whim one day when I noticed clones in at my local dispensary...now I"m up to 3, in a very home-made grow room/thing/box.

The first one is Skywalker. I got her on 6/3/10, she was barely 5 inches tall. I'm assuming she has been growing about 4 weeks??? She seems to be the oldest, and has picked up in growth as I got the light which is a 2700 lumens, 42watt bulb, pic included. (I have only used regular watering and miracle-grow soil.

The other 2: chem dawg, and the other's intials are BDH, which I'm not sure exactly what that stands for. I bought them last week, on 6/19/10, and assume they have been growing 2 weeks before i bought them?? Same style for water and soil as the other, though I have them placed inside the box they aren't under the big light, they kinda have their own little light.

My concern is that they are really stunted in growth, that or they are just really young, way younger then my predictions. I've been looking at a lot of photos that seem to be around the same time frame that mine are, and they all look like they are way more grown then mine.
My setup is amatuer at best, but I figured I would look into a new grow room/box to move them into for more control as they get closer to the flowering stage. I keep lights on for about 16hrs a day, with 8hrs fairly dark, I haven't designed a way to keep out unwanted light yet, but a move to a closet is in their future. temp is fairly consistent at 75, not sure on humidity, I live in cali so we naturally don't have much here, perhaps I should find a way to create more???
For all I know, they seem to be growing, and doing okay, however, I figured as this is becoming a very enjoyable past time I'd like to make them great.

here are the photos

They will do better with more light, also you can switch your lights to 18/6. Looks like the lights could also be moved closer to the plants. Other than that, they look healthy.

Have you used any nutrients? What soil?

welcome to riu and growing. let's see if i can get you started out right.

first, the clones you have were cut off of larger, older plants called mother plants. there's no relevant way of describing their age. don't worry too much about size of plant when they're young, means almost nothing regarding final size.

second, you are going to need a lot more light, and you absolutely have to make a light proof space when you are ready to flower. you need at least 2,000 lumens per square foot for veg, and want to go as high as 10,000 lumens per square foot of growing area for flowering. less light will work but will result in lower yields. also, you want to keep cfl lights within a couple of inches of the plant at all times. move them up each day as the plants grow.

you're stuck with miracle grow soil, most kinds have time released fertilizer in it that makes it a little difficult to know how much fertilizer to add as the plant grows. but it's time to add fertilizer so do a little research on what kind you want. i use the botanicare series, but there are lots of options.

check out the first couple of links in my signature below for some great beginner tips from experts on this site.

I think I have an extra bulb, so I"m probably going to rig another of the bigger bulbs in there, that way it will be more evenly distributed and I can use the small bulb as a fill light in the middle.
Does it help to bounce light into the plant from underneath? I work with lighting, and can get highly reflective material as well as gels to change the color/tempature of bulbs if that is something worth it. I"ve heard red bulbs are better for flowering stage?
I have used no nutrients, and the soil was some basic miracle-grow soil for vegetables and flowers. I will put up a photo of the brand when I go to the store again. I water only when the tops of the soil get dry, the planter they are in is a self-watering one. you pour it in the bottom and it soaks up, actually, am my pots too small for large growth?

thank you desertrat, I think today or tomorrow its off to get more light, and perhaps a better containment device. I liked the plastic trash can idea for space, and then light control.
Good to know about the age and such. Its been very hard to judge things with jumping into it with clones, but I guess it made the start feel easier. I think I'll do more research into Mother Plants, just to be more aware.
Im gonna read the link to the 101 asked questions, that will probably help with the basic ones, really glad i have a way to show people exactly what i'm doing, hooray for mass communication.

Does it help to bounce light into the plant from underneath?

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nope

I"ve heard red bulbs are better for flowering stage?

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redish light, not red bulbs. coloring the bulb will just reduce the amount of other colored light, not increase the amount of red light. you want bulbs that put out light in the 2700 kelvin range.

I have used no nutrients

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it's time to start, your plants will really take off with extra nutes.

are my pots too small for large growth?

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they're ok for now but you're going to need to transplant later. three to five gallon pots work for most indoor grows. your thin-leaved plant is sativa dominant and might grow really large.

desertrat you are a hero, thank you.

Don't spend too much on CFLs - for under $200 you can get a plenty adequate HPS/MH setup