# 3 1/2 weeks in on first grow



## john (Mar 17, 2006)

hey im growin a mix of strains big bud sweet tooth and and some local haze. the big bud and st are only six days in but the haze are about 4 weeks. they are only 9 inches tall but they have7 sets ofr laves and one has four tops starting to come out of the canopy. should i start to flower? or wait? i read that the plants should be at least 12" tall but all the pics ive seen the plants dont have as many leaves or nodes as mine. what to do?


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## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Mar 17, 2006)

*whats up john. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 you got some nice strains there. most people wait until they see alternating nodes before flower. this is a sign the plant is mature. i myself have tossed plants into flower at 3 weeks old. the only problem with that is your yield wont be as big. *


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## Stoney Bud (Mar 17, 2006)

john said:
			
		

> hey im growin a mix of strains big bud sweet tooth and and some local haze. the big bud and st are only six days in but the haze are about 4 weeks. they are only 9 inches tall but they have7 sets ofr laves and one has four tops starting to come out of the canopy. should i start to flower? or wait? i read that the plants should be at least 12" tall but all the pics ive seen the plants dont have as many leaves or nodes as mine. what to do?


Hey John, good to meetcha. Welcome to the group man.

As Bro Grunt said, you should wait at least until you have alternating nodes. The plant will be fully into the vegetative cycle at that point.

When to flower is conditional on several things.

1. The maximum height the plant can reach.
1a. This depends on:
1a1. The height of your light and how far it needs to be from the ceiling.
1a2. The height of your grow chamber.
1a3. The type of light bulb and the strength of the bulb.
1a4. If yield matters to you.
1a5. How soon you want to harvest.

1a1: The light has to be a certain distance from anything that can be damaged by the heat it puts off. This is a variable that can bring the fire department and police to your door if a fire starts.

1a2: The overall height from the floor to the base of your plant has to be considered. This is a factor in setting up your grow.

1a3: Your light may be Florescent, Halide, Sodium or a combination of these. Each bulb gives off heat and has to be a certain distance from the tops of your tallest plants.

1a4: If you flower at first chance, your harvest yield will be minimal. If you harvest at the plants full height, and use all of the possible variables that will increase your yield, then you'll maximize your harvest yield.

1a5: You can harvest as soon as 3 months from seed, or two months from clones. With some strains, you can harvest as soon as 6 weeks from clones. Or, if you want, you can use LST and HST to maximize your plants size and branching characteristics and your grow can last a year before harvest.

As you can see, other than a few variables you can't change, the time to start the flowering is up to you.

Lets start talking about what conditions and variables you have and want and then we can help you decide when to flower.

Good luck to you man.


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## flipmode (Mar 17, 2006)

4 -6 weeks in vegetation ,i start at 4 weeks,


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## john (Mar 17, 2006)

i have a simple 15 plant flood and drain system with a 450 hps right now i got it 25" from the tops and i raise it an inch a day for that is how much my plants increase  it seems overnight. the other thing is im pretty sure i have spidermites on one of the haze plants there are random brownish white spots only on one of the lower leaves. I also toped the other haze plant because the secondary leaves were not growing , the plant was just getting taller this seems to be working.  i just started today with a half bloom half veg nutrient on the the haze which is sort of a pain because i have to flood those seperatly but i read it helps to intoduce the bloom nutrients a couple weeks before acctually flowering? i dont have i strict time when i planned to harvest but i was hoping it would be before may, is this possible? like i said this is my first grow but i try to read somthing new on the subject every night but i havent found any sites that go into much detail. any help is much apreciated


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## john (Mar 17, 2006)

i also have pis but im not sure how to post them. any info?


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## Hick (Mar 18, 2006)

hi ya' john,
  to post pictures use the "Manage attatchments" button near the bottom of the advanced reply page. You may have to reduce their size in order to post 'em. There is a link to a photo editing page in the picture forum.

"IF" you have mites, that should be your first concern. They're tuff to eliminate, and will reek havoc on your grow. 


> i read it helps to intoduce the bloom nutrients a couple weeks before acctually flowering?


I take exception to this statement. IMO, a veg nutrient should be given throu the second week of flowering. I feel the plants need that extra nitrogen to accomodate the _streeeetch_. 


> i was hoping it would be before may, is this possible?


8 weeks minimum from the induction of flowering to finish. More likely 10 weeks on the haze plants.


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## Stoney Bud (Mar 18, 2006)

Is your "Flood and Drain" system on pumps or do you "Flood" manually? What are the dimensions of your grow area? What brand of ferts are you using?


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## john (Mar 18, 2006)

um it is on pumps thar flood 4 times a dayonce before the lights come on once before the go off and two during the 18 light period. the nutrients are from dicount hydro they came with my system, (super grow,super micro,super bloom)actually just this morning i noticed the alternating nodes at the top of the haze plants so im going to give it another week i think and then start to flower? the system is 24x24x10 7 1/2 gallon resi its acctually in a getto spot right now i had no where else to put it but my small closet but i did paint it completly white but there is not much room.i dont have a door on it though so it might be alright.sorry my comp is new and it wont let the pic manegment page come up ill try to figure out how to change the settings


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## john (Mar 18, 2006)

any hyelp on the mites? cheapest way if possible i read if u increase the humididty and lower the temp it should drive them away, true? is that harmful to the plant?also i should spray the entire plant with just water (basicly drown them out)?


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