SouthernSteven

I just joined Yahooka not too long ago to find as much info as I could about my new little hobby. I found way more than I could have imagined, thanks to people like Dandaweedman, Jenna Grows, SureShot, Bud Head, and everyone that takes the time to answer questions.

I ordered my seeds from www.amsterdammarijuanaseeds.com and was very happy with the results. It took a little under 2 weeks to arrive. I put the seeds in wet paper towels and had 8 out of ten sprout. I then planted them directly in to some small jiffy pots. The soil Im using is the Scott's brand potting soil. I added vermiculite and perlite and a little agricultural lime.

About two weeks ago I cut off the bottoms of the Jiffy pots and placed them in 3 gallon pots. My seeds sprouted and I planted them on 10/22, these pictures are of them today:

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SouthernSteven

I was wondering if my lights were too far away? Any and all input will be most appreciated.

i love ganj

they look good

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everything that glitters ain't gold

Dandaweedman

If they have been under the HID for a little while I think you could drop it down some.
Looking good.

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SublimeStylez

1st grow with white widow, good choice mang

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SouthernSteven

They are under a 400w metal halide right now and I have a hps for flowering. I'm just afraid if I drop them too low I will burn them. No take backs once you burn them right? Should the distance be dictated by how much light they can absorb or is it the heat from the lamp itself?

NJStoner420

They Look nice. KUDOS

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SouthernSteven

Thanks. Im really trying to get it right. And by "right" I mean big, beautiful, and dense plants.

j-wonder

get ready for a fun experience....

they look fantastic, and they are only gonna get better...

shelbert008

to answer your question, its the heat from the lamp. easy way to check if its too close or not is put your hand under where your plants are and if its not too hot for your hand its not too hot for your plant.

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SouthernSteven

Thanks Shelbert, thats the anwer I was looking for. Now sit back and watch me burn the s**t out of my plants!

SouthernSteven

O.k. I lowered the lights a bit. But not too much. I take it more branches are going to sprout from these little leaves?

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Dandaweedman

Definitely the heat.
Metal Halide tosses quite a bit more heat than an HPS. But with an HPS our 400 was about 14" above the tops.
Start at 20" and use the back of your hand at the plant top height to judge.

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SouthernSteven

I dropped the light a few inches and felt underneath. Everything feels fine. Actually, I can get my hand within 6" and not feel too much heat at all. I have REALLY good ventilation. If you look in the pic below you can see a nice size fan in the top left corner. It does a good job of dispersing the heat.

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NoMan

so they're about a month old, so they'll be ready to sex between now and two wks from now. (plants typically sex in 4-6) what are your on/off hrs?

unless you plan on re-vegging, (which imo is a major pita,) what i think you'll want to number each plant and take clones. then you can either sex the clones or the moms.. but if you sex the moms make sure you do it After the clones are successfully rooted.

why? because if you come up with the holy grail and you didn't take clones, you'll be haunting boards for the rest of your life telling the story of, 'if i had only taken a clone'. lol

btw.. ditch the mh and get a hps w/a good wide spectrum bulb.

w/any 400, you should be able to get it within 8-12". however, that's strain and pheno dependant. your plants will tell you when it's too close by curling at first. and yes, any plant but a seedling/otherwise diseased, will recover from burning.

>>I lowered the plants a bit.<<

ime it's much easier to raise and lower the light vs the plants.

are you feeding them anything yet?

SouthernSteven

Thanks for the input NoMan.

I am definitely giving them at least another week because they will be a month old tomorrow.
I have them on an 18hrs on and 6 off for right now. I'm using the MH bulb temporarily because after these first widows I have another unknown strain that I just sprouted three days ago and I plan on using florescent bulbs to veg. This is them:

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SouthernSteven

Actually I am. Im using Foxfarm Big Bloom organic ferts every other watering as directed. I also add SuperThrive to every watering. Because of my soil mix(too much vermiculite), I only water every third day. But I do foliar feedings everyday and have a little FoxFarm GrowBig in the bottle as directed.

I would really like to hear some different opinions on FoxFarm products. I think they seem legit.

NoMan

"Big Bloom" during vege obviously works because your plants are still alive, and i bet the superthrive adds N, and i don't know what you're ff with, but i would recommend just feeding them a vege formula for now.

also, i know it's fun to add extra stuff, but if you have a problem, keep in mind that it makes it more complicated to narrow down the cause.

FF has been around for a while, and i've never read a bad report about any of their products.

too much vermiculite? how so? i grow in 70/30 perlite/vermiculite and i've never had a problem.

btw.. if you would like to slow down the vert growth and add branching.. every day or 2, take your finger and gently rub the tip of the new top growth. it causes vert growth to stall, and encourages lateral growth.

so how are your mad cloning skills??

j-wonder

when u grow in soil you really dont have to do very much in terms of fert if u dont want to.

imo less is more.
but u should use some type of bloom boost for flowering.

SouthernSteven

I have no skills whatsoever. But I need to get with the program soon.