# Noobies first grow, hopefully i can change my name soon



## Noob84 (Dec 11, 2006)

so i finally started, i am finding that i really enjoy learning about all the cool growing techniques and so on. i have read a LOT! i feel like i have a pretty good start, if there is anything i have learned its that you might as well do things right if you are going to do them at all.


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## Noob84 (Dec 11, 2006)

there are some pics of my biggest plant and the top portion of my grow closet.

here are some specs:
-closet is 5 feet tall, 26 inches x 20 inches base. 
-six sockets, 7 CFL's as of right now
-2 50 CFM fans, only one blowingright now
-3 2 gallon pots

planted on 12-1
popped through soil on 12-2
day 9 of veg.

11360 lumens, 2840 lumens/square foot (will get a few more doublers soon and add a couple more CFL's) 
with 12 CFL's, i will have right around 20,000 lumens


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## Noob84 (Dec 11, 2006)

forgot to mention they are free bagseed, i am praying for results.

i dont really understand the whole 2 inches down watering technique. how dry is it supposed to be? when i feel like it is dry i have been wattering about a cup of water per plant (2gallon pot). 

future plans:
-learn as i go
-250 watt hps for flowering


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## Noob84 (Dec 14, 2006)

i cant believe how much they grow! will post more pictures soon


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## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Dec 15, 2006)

*Whats going on noob84. Everything is looking good so far mang. Here is some GREEN MOJO for ya. *


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## Noob84 (Dec 21, 2006)

thanks for the green mojo;

my girls are getting big, here they are on veg day 17, they have 4 different sets of leaves that are only fractions of an inch apart, thats good right? i have been leaving them about 1/2 inch away from the lights, my fan is keeping them plenty cool.


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## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Dec 22, 2006)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> thanks for the green mojo;
> 
> my girls are getting big, here they are on veg day 17, they have 4 different sets of leaves that are only fractions of an inch apart, thats good right? i have been leaving them about 1/2 inch away from the lights, my fan is keeping them plenty cool.


*Your little girls are looking great. Yup the tighter the nodes the better. :aok: *


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## Noob84 (Dec 22, 2006)

getting closer to flowering, i am going to have to use cfl's, i dont have the money this time of year to afford an hps, you know christmas time and everything. so here is my suggested setup:
6-23 watt 6500k lights @ 1600 lumens = 9600 total lumens
3-42 watt 2700k lights @ 2800 lumens = 8400 total lumens

total lumens = 18000 
4.4 square feet, 4090 lumens/square foot

not quite 5000/foot, but close. how much production will i actually lose because of having cfls? will it be significant? the 250 watt HPS has only 1,000 more lumens total, so.....it doesnt seem to be any worse and i can put the lights WAY closer. suggestions?


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## Noob84 (Dec 23, 2006)

i just got a little humidity/thermometer and found that temps are running at 84 degrees with humidity at 54%. is this good?


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## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Dec 23, 2006)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> i just got a little humidity/thermometer and found that temps are running at 84 degrees with humidity at 54%. is this good?


*84 degrees is ok but if ya can get it down to about 80 your plants would be better off. *


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## Elephant Man (Dec 23, 2006)

Looks like you are doing the research ond off to a good start.:cool2: 
I do not check the soil surface when watering, I have much better results by slightly tilting the pot and checking the weight.  You will have much better results, especially with seedlings.  I would guess after a good watering, those small plants in big pots could probably go a week without water.  MJ like to nearly dry out between waterings, not to the point of wilting or drought stress, but if you are checking the weight of the pots daily, you will know when they need water.  Also, plants grow at different rates, do not get in a habit of a 'watering day', treat each plant like the individual that it is .

Your temp and humidity are fine, some strains are more heat resistant than others, but as a general rule, try to keeps temps at 85 or less, IMO 70-75 is optimal for seedlings.

Your light output is fine too, not optomized, but a good start for your first grow .

Tell us about your soil and what you intend to use for nutrients when the time comes.

Relax buddy, don't concern yourself with yield on your first grow...concentrate on keeping them happy and enjoy yourself...growing is as much about stress relief before harvest as it is after


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## Noob84 (Dec 23, 2006)

i just got back from the store and upped my light output to 14,580 lumens. so i am now at 3313 lumens/square foot.


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## Noob84 (Dec 23, 2006)

Elephant Man said:
			
		

> MJ like to nearly dry out between waterings, not to the point of wilting or drought stress, but if you are checking the weight of the pots daily, you will know when they need water. Also, plants grow at different rates, do not get in a habit of a 'watering day', treat each plant like the individual that it is .


 
thanks, i did not think of this which brings me to a question:
one of my plants is a lot bushier and has more leaves than the others and is forming what i think is a bud already on top. it also has little sacks right below the "bud" on top. the lights are 6500k and are on 18/6 so it shouldnt be flowering yet should it? i put up a picture but its off my phone again and sucks. there are also little "hairs" on top of the plant. is this normal or did i get an early bloomer?

edit: forgot to mention, they are only on day 20 of veg.


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## kbkiller9 (Dec 23, 2006)

Looks like a male to me mayn. Wait for the experts to take a look but what i have seen from my earlier grow, it looks like that plant is a male.


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## Growdude (Dec 23, 2006)

If you got little sacks that look like seed pods then its male 
better get it out of there before it pops.
Female should only look like white hairs.


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## Noob84 (Dec 24, 2006)

nooooooo....here are some more pics to be sure, i took it out of the closet until i get some more of your expert advice. my camera sucks, these are the best i could get.


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## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Dec 24, 2006)

*Looks like a male Noob84. Like they said if your only seeing sacks or pods then it's a male. Are you seeing any white hairs? *


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## Elephant Man (Dec 24, 2006)

Really crappy pic from my journal but notice this male looks just like yours.

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13455&d=1165499096

There are more pics over in my journal.

Sad to say, but not much use for these guys, and just like teens they are 'ready to blow' as soon as they are able. Best to chop him as soon as possible. If you think you might ever want to try and make some hash, you could store him in the freezer till then.

There are a few strains out there, I believe are called 'auto flowers' that can begin flowering without being triggered by light cycles. Don't know that much about them but just noticing that that does not look like preflowers in your pic. Looks like full blown male in full flowering to me.

Best of luck with the rest of them, shouldn't be long now and you will know for sure where the ladies are.


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## Noob84 (Dec 24, 2006)

oh well, threw him out. i hope the other ones are females, they are showing no signs of the pods like the male did, i know what to look for a little sooner now. i am leaving for christmas, had to put the lights a ways away, i hope they dont stretch too much. they look really healthy and are starting to grow a lot faster, i think it was about 1/3 an inch yesterday. the male seems to have little redish hairs on it and the other two have small white hairs coming out were the new stems are, they could be just new leaves/stems though also. i am new to all of this. 

i am glad i posted pictures soon because in 2 days the male has grown big pods and they grew about 1/2 an inch away from the stem overnight and look to be about to burst at anytime. 

here is a pic for the holidays, on eof my two remaining plants


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## Noob84 (Dec 27, 2006)

my plants grew an inch while i was away, the cabinet got up to 89 degrees max, i am thinking of ways to get that down a little. a few lower leaves are getting yellow, is this from it being too hot or are they just running out of light? the plants are not so bushy that they are blocking light but they are filling out okay. is it just because cfl's have diminishing returns as the plant gets further away? thanks everyone and i hope you had a merry christmas.


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## Noob84 (Dec 28, 2006)

i feel like i have been overwatering compared to what everyone has said but i tried leaving them for 4 days and they wilted a lot. i usually water every 2-3 days because the dirt is completely dry and when i pick up the pot its light. i think i got some soil that doesnt retain the water. they could also be wilting because of the heat, it has been getting up to 87-89 degrees because of the new lights. i am going to put a little fan inside the box to go with the others that blow and **** air in/out. all learning process, so far, so good. 

on the wish list: 
a local pawn shop has a 600 watt hps with ballast/hood/light and long cord combo for $200 and would probably be able to be talked down a ways. maybe for next grow......


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## Noob84 (Dec 30, 2006)

both plants look female, i hope i am right. growth has been slower lately, i think they are running out of nutrients. it is almost day 30 and that is how long the soil  was supposed to last. 

what are everyones preffered nutes? any favorites over others? suggestions? new pictures will be up soon.


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## newgreenthumb (Dec 30, 2006)

I use "Technaflora" nutes for Hydro but was told they can be used for soil to.  I feed at a rate of 1/4 nutes to keep from over-feeding.  http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicnutrienttechnaflora.htm


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## newgreenthumb (Dec 30, 2006)

you seem to be doing good with those cfl's. keep doing what you are doing as it seems to work. :aok:


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## Noob84 (Jan 2, 2007)

just a little update:
-i tried once again to let the plants go 4 days without watering and they almost died, i took these pictures 8 hours after a good watering and they are coming back really well. 
-they are on day 30ish of veg growth. i went to go get lights today but they are out of the 2700k 42 watt cfl's. so i just got 3 1700 lumen 23 watt cfl's. 

WHICH BRINGS ME TO A QUESTION:
in the picture that shows the top of the plant with the lights, notice how i put the plant in between several of the lights to where the top is actually above the lowest point of the bulb. is this a good idea because the light is then closer to the lower bigger leaves? or should the plant be directly beneath one of the lights. i was wondering if this mattered???? i know that there is drastic diminishing returns of light the farther you get away from cfl's, so i assumed that putting a bigger majority of the plant underneath it would be better than directly underneath one. suggestions?


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## cyberquest (Jan 3, 2007)

just watch being that close, my fan was blowing a couple of my leaves into the bulb and burnt the leaf. 

i have my CLF's wired to seperate fixtures like yours, but i found this at lowes for $20, not a bad idea, a couple rows of these and you have tons of CFL lighting.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=24584-1811-VB5-6CH&lpage=none

they are 4 1/2 inches wide and 3 foot long, three rows of 5 gives you 15 CFL bulbs evenly spaced. a 1650 lumens cfl would give you 24,750 lumens of light in a 1ft by 3ft canopy=  6187 lumens, not bad.  and for the 5 bulbs it only has one set of wires to hook up, my fixtures is a maze of wires.


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## Noob84 (Jan 3, 2007)

i also have a maze of wires but i did a really good job of keeping them tightly together and evenly spaced. anybody know about my spacing question?


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## THE BROTHER'S GRUNT (Jan 3, 2007)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> just a little update:
> -i tried once again to let the plants go 4 days without watering and they almost died, i took these pictures 8 hours after a good watering and they are coming back really well.
> -they are on day 30ish of veg growth. i went to go get lights today but they are out of the 2700k 42 watt cfl's. so i just got 3 1700 lumen 23 watt cfl's.
> 
> ...


*I myself would put them right under the lights. If you are worried about the lower branches growing you can always try LST on them babies. *


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 4, 2007)

What is LST and HST? Just thought I'd ask.


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## Elephant Man (Jan 4, 2007)

newgreenthumb said:
			
		

> What is LST and HST? Just thought I'd ask.


 
Low stress training and high stress training.


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## WubDaBuds (Jan 4, 2007)

*Are you root-bound?....

I had a plant that looked just like those... re-potted and he took off untill I had to kill him.


Also... have you figured out lumens per sq. ft.?*


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## night501 (Jan 4, 2007)

thats why i love my little home made chamber. i dont have to worry about size cause if it starts to outgrow what i have i can add on for $4. i have a chamber made out of flat white foam paper laminate.


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks Eman for the answer.


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## Noob84 (Jan 8, 2007)

WubDaBuds said:
			
		

> *Are you root-bound?....*
> 
> *I had a plant that looked just like those... re-potted and he took off untill I had to kill him.*
> 
> ...


 
what do you mean root bound? when i decide to flower, i will be at 4300 lumens/square foot, that is all i can get.


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## night501 (Jan 8, 2007)

rootbound as in not enough room for your roots to grow


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 8, 2007)

Hey Noob to see if it is rootbound see if you can turn her upside-down an tap the pot lightly, if you can remove the plant and it looks like a ball of roots shaped like the pot she's in then she is root bound and time for a transplant.


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## Noob84 (Jan 11, 2007)

i am almost afraid to try that in case i spill her out. here are some updated pics. Big Bloomin is 1 foot 2 inches and Green Mojo is 1 foot. they seem to be different strains because they grow quite a bit different than each other. i started using miracle grow at about 1/5 teh recomended strength. i mixed up a gallon of water to mix and fed them the last week with it even though it says to use every 15 days. is this okay? can i continue to use nutes every watering time? there was no nute burn so i am going to mix 1/2 strength thsi next time. there are tons of white hairs everywhere, i will start flowering in about a week.


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 11, 2007)

To avoid mute burn feed every 3rd watering or go at 1/10 to 1/8 the nute strength.


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## night501 (Jan 11, 2007)

this is another thing im not to sure on.
iv never given my plant any nutes.
she is growing like crazy but i wouldnt even know where to start with nutes. the only nutes i have are for my hydro setup


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## cdblop (Jan 11, 2007)

what miracle grow mix are you using? weeds eat up alot more nutes then normal plants... i ussualy feed my plants with the low strength mix on the box with every watering wich is 2-3 days take 1 cycle off to give them just water, i step it up till nute burn shows on just the tips of each finger then hold it steady there so there just a little more then what she needs.


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## Noob84 (Jan 12, 2007)

cool, i will step up the nutes a little and not use them with every watering.


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## Noob84 (Jan 16, 2007)

i put them in larger pots yesterday and they grew 2 inches overnight!!! they look much better. i will post pictrues later today, i think they are already in flowering. there are buds all over now and TONS of little white/redish hairs. the plants look the healthiest they ever have and i now have the lumens maxed out for my grow room. all my big lights are in and i am only getting up to 80 degrees. when i post the pics i will ask what you guys think as far as "if they are indeed already flowering and how long they have to go as far as an estimate" i dont want to over flower them, i know i have a ways to go.


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## Noob84 (Jan 16, 2007)

here are some new pictures. i have noticed a few leaves are yellow and pretty wilted but the overall plant looks great. should i trim these leaves away to get more light to the green leaves or are these yellow half dead leaves still doing there part?


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## Bojok (Jan 16, 2007)

You can always give it a dose or two of your Veg. nute which is higher in Nitrogen until the leaves are yellow enough that when you give it a little tug it pulls off. If it dosn't come off with a tug then it still has purpose. The Veg nute will almost shoot green through the leaves immediately 1-2 hours after application....................


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## Zarnon (Jan 17, 2007)

Hey dude,  whassup?

Yeah,  nutes and soil.  I think it depends how much nutes were in the soil to start with.  When I did my outdoor garden the soil had enough nutes that my landscaper (who's into organics) said I wouldn't need any the first season!

Those leaves look so weird for N def though.  Usually the leaf turns completely yellow then may brown.  Not all follow that pattern and N deficiency does hit the lower leaves first  so I'm not excluding it.  It also follows what you are saying. 

If it is N def,  they are right,  the color will come back.  I have treated a N def with foliar feeds + root application and never seen it come back in hours, but you can expect to see a result in 1-3 days.  The color will go green from the center on outwards and you'll see a dramatic uptick in growth rate.

I'd say Pot takes more nute than my other houseplants only because I am going for volume and quality but I've never used more than 1/2 str even at maximum.  I am using the same nutes/str for my clones I'm doing soilless.


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 17, 2007)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> i dont want to over flower them, i know i have a ways to go.


 
Hey Noob here is a chart that is located on this site: http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1938 I hope this helps with the over-flowering questions.


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## theyorker (Jan 17, 2007)

Hey Noob, I read your grow journal so far and awesome job.  I hope I do as well.  Let me ask you about your lights?  Did you use a mix of 6,500K and 2,700K lights from the very beginning?  I thought it was best to use 6,500K during veg and 2,700K during flower.  I'm just getting started and I was planning on using only the blue bulbs in my veg chamber.


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## Noob84 (Jan 18, 2007)

bojok/zarnon: the overall plant looks great, there are only 2-3 leaves that have the yellow in them and a couple on the very very tips of the leaves. the rest of the plant is dark green, my camera is REALLY bad. 

new green thumb: thanks for the link, i have looked at that before but i cant see the hairs/calyxsis etc well enough to determine how far along they are. maybe i will get off my *** and get batteries for my camera and quit posting them from my phone for everyone to see a lot better. 

theyorker: i sent you a pm with an answer so this thread doesnt get highjacked over lighting questions that are already everywhere.


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## theyorker (Jan 18, 2007)

Thanks for the info Noob.


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 20, 2007)

Hey Noob any improvement since the last post.  Was it nitro. def? And did it work out with your overflowering question?


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## Hemp-o Kitty (Jan 20, 2007)

night501 said:
			
		

> thats why i love my little home made chamber. i dont have to worry about size cause if it starts to outgrow what i have i can add on for $4. i have a chamber made out of flat white foam paper laminate.


Hey N501, that sounds cool!! Do you have a picture of it?

Noob, Well Done!!! Any updates on your plants? How are they doing?


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## Noob84 (Jan 22, 2007)

the plants look fine, its weird how only one or two leaves are yellow, they eventually die in a few days but the plant continues to grow at a good rate and looks really healthy. i will wait a little while longer and post close ups of the buds forming and maybe then someone can tell me more about the maturity. i think i am on day 50 something overall.


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## newgreenthumb (Jan 22, 2007)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> maybe then someone can tell me more about the maturity. i think i am on day 50 something overall.


 
Here is thread that I posted last night it might help you I hope.
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?p=71262#post71262  Its info on flowering stages.:farm:


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## Noob84 (Jan 31, 2007)

after a couple days of being gone i came back to find my two plants with a few dead leaves and a lot of red spots on the upper leaves. is this just because they were left without water for 3 days or do i have some sort of other problem? i am going to water straight H2O for the next few times to try and green them back up. they are packing on some buds though, i;m getting excited.


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## Noob84 (Feb 8, 2007)

i now have brownish to sometimes purple spots and some whole edges of leaves. i have some big buds forming but the overall plant looks worse. most of the plant has litle spots on it. i am now mixing miracle grow at 1/3 strength which is only a 1/5 of a teaspoon into a gallon of water. am i getting nute burn or not enough nutes? please dont die on me right when the goods come.


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## Noob84 (Feb 8, 2007)

forgot to mention, i use nutes about once every three waterings. i am watering every other day. i do spray bottle nutes onto the plants every couple waterings as well. could the little spots be the lights being magnified by the water droplets burning the plant? that wouldnt explain the purple edges on the top leaves though. the top leaves are worse than the bottom. plant is about 3 inches from the lights. they dont seem to be growing a whole lot but they are packing on bud like crazy. my room has a good aroma to it now.


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## laylow6988 (Feb 8, 2007)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> after a couple days of being gone i came back to find my two plants with a few dead leaves and a lot of red spots on the upper leaves. is this just because they were left without water for 3 days or do i have some sort of other problem? i am going to water straight H2O for the next few times to try and green them back up. they are packing on some buds though, i;m getting excited.


 
I went to the Virgin Islands  few years ago and left my plants going in vegi stage with 500w's and 24hours of light. I lost 3 plants, and the others were F'd up a while. They did get red spots on them. So lack of water might of done it along with too much heat maybe?


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## newgreenthumb (Feb 8, 2007)

Hey Noob, if that miracle grow is all purpose than it is 24-8-16 and during flowering you want to decrease (n)nitrogen and increase (p)phosphorous and (k)potassium.  Also I would recommend you stop foliar feeding them while in flower as it will affect the taste, trust me nitrogen tastes pretty nasty when smoked and burns your throat too, and spray only every couple weeks during veg.  Remember some yellowing is normal during flowering.


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## Noob84 (Feb 11, 2007)

its bloom booster, 15 nitrogen, 30 phosphate 15 potash


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## newgreenthumb (Feb 11, 2007)

Ok, then try to reduce your nutes and wait until you see some defiencies.  Also try to lower the nitrogen as the flowering process goes on.  It will be much easier to flush.  How about some new pics on that sexy lady.


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## BSki8950 (Feb 11, 2007)

awesome plant


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## Noob84 (Feb 11, 2007)

that is a new pic, its not growing much at all height wise. its packing on good size buds, maybe in a couple days after the flush i will post pics of both plants.


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## Noob84 (Feb 28, 2007)

my plants still havent grown much since flowering. i think something is wrong. most of the leaves on one plant are turning brown. they are only 16 inches tall after 6 weeks of flowering and they were 12 inches at the start of flowering. there are no sacs like i saw on the male, is there any other way to tell if they are hermie? they smell really strong, do males and hermies still smell like strong weed? can you smoke hermies?


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## newgreenthumb (Feb 28, 2007)

By the way some browning and yellowing is normal during flowering as nitrogen use is decreased.  I think you will be fine. Pretty soon you will be :bong: soon.


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## Noob84 (Mar 14, 2007)

cut the plants down yesterday, i'm pretty dissapointed with the entire flowering stage. maybe i didnt have enough nutes, maybe too much, not really sure. they packed on lots of buds but never grew any bigger than about 16 inches tall.


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## Noob84 (Mar 23, 2007)

i got about 1 ounce and a couple 40's. pretty good for my first try. i smoked myself and a few friends retarded last night, it is pretty good. now i know how incumbent the growers are around here, as an educated person i know that with a small amount of work, i could easily grow some grade A **** much better than anything i've seen around here


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## DrGreenThumb (Mar 23, 2007)

good job Noob84, 1oz off how many plants?

We got two 6 foot girls and hoping to get at least 2oz's


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## Noob84 (Apr 4, 2007)

2 plants, after finishing the curing and taking off all the leaves i got about 1.5 ounces to 1.7. my plants where only 1 foot and a half tall but the cola was huge. they were really tightly packed buds.


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## kindphriend (Apr 4, 2007)

Noob84 said:
			
		

> cut the plants down yesterday, i'm pretty dissapointed with the entire flowering stage. maybe i didnt have enough nutes, maybe too much, not really sure. they packed on lots of buds but never grew any bigger than about 16 inches tall.


 
Hey there ex-noob! 

Don´t get discouraged.....it´s prolly the genetics.  Usually the bagseed variety buds won´t produce as much as some good seeds.  Really ferts and lights and all that have alot to do with the health and production....but nothing can beat good genetics!  next time get your hands on some good WW or Big Bud seeds. You´ll see a big difference in the flowering stage!


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## Noob84 (Sep 25, 2008)

been a long time since i've been on here. getting ready for round 2, going to let the plants veg for longer, i think it was the cfl's that made for a fairly weak flowering growth. i've seen plants with the big 400-600w bulbs and they stretch a lot and i dont have the room for them. i am going to stick with the cfl's and see if i can get a little more production out of them. i will see if i can crowd 4-5 plants in there at one time and go for 4-5 ounces in 3+/- months. new thread coming soon.


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## juancho_glez (Sep 25, 2008)

hey guys, sorry to just join the disscusion, but i was wondering if any of u guys have any idea of whats happenin to my plant, the ends of the leafs are dryin and it has never looked like the pictures youve shown here, its my 1st grow btw. oh and how do you know if its male or female


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