# 7thG's Northern Lights Micro Cabinet Grow!



## 7thG (Oct 24, 2013)

Hello fellow MJ enthusiasts! Welcome to my Northern Lights grow journal! This will cover my entire grow, start to smoke. 

I ordered 10 regular Northern Lights seeds from Nirvana. They arrived drama free exactly 10 days later. Luckily for me I also received some other things I ordered from HTG supply on the same day. My 150 watt HPS lamp, 8 outlet timed surge protector, couple of flanges and ducting, and three 25 watt CFL's.

I will be using my old 4'' Hydrofarm centrifugal fan for ventilation plus a couple computer fans to move the air inside. I will be using Foxfarm nutes. Grow space measures 18x18x36"

 Please feel free to check in on my progress. Questions, comments and advice are all encouraged. 

Thanks for stopping by, and now LETS START GROWING CANNABIS!


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## chazmaine420 (Oct 25, 2013)

36" is pretty low. Whats your plan for a grow method?


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## 7thG (Oct 25, 2013)

Im going to try to keep the plant as short and stocky as possible. I will be topping my plant at leasy once and will be getting pretty aggressive with some LST'ing. I'm going to try to spiral the branches around the cabinet and keep any vertical growth redirected. I figure with my light all the way up and a low profile pot I should have a reasonable amount of space. I've seen people grow in computer towers so hopefully I can pull this off.


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## 7thG (Oct 26, 2013)

Finished modifying my lamp and got ready to plant my seeds.


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## 7thG (Oct 26, 2013)

Both seeds have cracked and are in the soil. Normally I would wait until there is about 1/2" of root coming out but I decided to just plant them today. Hopefully that doesn't cause any problems. Both shells were fully cracked with a little taproot showing. I added the water bottles just as a safety precaution, I don't want my cups drying out. So now its time to sit back and watch MJ do her thing lol. Still have a lot of work to do on the ventilation but that can wait until tomorrow. :icon_smile:


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## Hushpuppy (Oct 26, 2013)

Keeping an eye on these. So far so good  I also like to keep my seeds warm fro germing. I start with 80f water and I have a special baking croc that I use and I put it over my stove in the cabinets where it stays about 75-80f. I usually get them cracked and a little root show within 24-48hrs. I wait till they have about 1/4-1/2" tap root before putting them into the soil  green grow mojo


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## 7thG (Oct 27, 2013)

Yes Hushpuppy hang around I'm gonna need some guidance I'm sure and Thanks for the Mojo I'll need it.


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## Melvan (Oct 28, 2013)

I'll be interested to see how pure NL does under the CFLs.  NL is a slow vegger, even under hps. (slow veg kind of wipes out the short finish) 

Good luck!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 28, 2013)

I did a scrog in a space that was 4' tall.  I still had room left at the top of the closet.  While 3' is going to be tough, it certainly is doable.

Since you started with reg seeds, I think that you should start at least 2 more.  I'd hate to see you 6 weeks down the road with 2 males....


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## lovbnstoned (Oct 28, 2013)

i'll pull up a chair n what the Grow


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## 7thG (Oct 29, 2013)

Both plants have broke the surface and look good. Added my silent computer fan for some air movement. Once I get into veg I will upgrade the ventilation. Temps seem to be staying around 85 at the top thermostat. I fired up the second bulb now that we have some green. When they get settled I'll raise the plants and put the fan on them.:icon_smile: 

@THG I was thinking maybe 2 wasn't enough but I don't really have the space for 4 plants right now and I usually have pretty good luck with getting females.


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## 7thG (Oct 31, 2013)

Plants seem to be growing kinda slowly so I turned one light off added a little water and turned the fan down. Temps average 85 up top and 76-80 at the bottom but I think the cups were too cold cause the air blowing in is pretty chilly and its aimed at the cups. Im waiting for some real foliage before I aim the fan at the canopy. Having a little trouble determining when to water. Im glad I went with a 2/1 ratio of soil to perlite cause any more might have been too much the water seems to go right through. I think in about a week I might hit them with a mild solution of Big Bloom. Maybe that will help them take off. Going with 24/0 lighting. Maybe I'm being impatient I would just think at the 5 day mark I should have one set of fully developed fan leaves.

I think I'm going to take THG advice and germ a couple more seeds just in case.

What do you think is my progress ok, or do they seem to be stunted?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Oct 31, 2013)

I'm glad you are starting a couple more.  Even if you usually get good odds, there is no guarantee it will continue.  It hurts to throw away plants, but, IMO it is worse to get 6-8 weeks down the road and have all males.

I think that they look just fine.  I don't think they are stunted.  I know that it can be hard to be patient, but try and be patient.   I wouldn't give them anything to eat though until the cotyledon leaves start to yellow.


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## effdecaf (Nov 1, 2013)

Green Mojo man! Try to relax and let them do their thing. If the fan is blowing cold air onto the lil' ones try putting it on a timer, or changing the flow. For your sized veg chamber sucking air through might be enough to shake the lil growers as they reach towards the light. More light is never bad with CFL's & seeds IMO. Generally hate starting ANYTHING from seed, but shoot for 10% loss rounding up lol, that way you have something to cover premie aborts and if they all go wild, then u got a few girls to train and practice on. Good luck!!

edit: oh the case fan in the box is whats blowing cold air or is there an intake fan to your box??


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## 7thG (Nov 2, 2013)

edit: oh the case fan in the box is whats blowing cold air or is there an intake fan to your box??[/quote]

No I haven't hooked up ventilation yet. I just have the case fan blowing air into the cabinet. Once they really get into veg I'll get serious with the fans. The air the fan is blowing in though gets pretty chilly and I noticed the cup it's aimed at the plant's stem turned purple which I'm guessing is due to the lower temps.


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## 7thG (Nov 5, 2013)

Now that my babies are old enough to handle some light I have them about 1 1/2'' away from the light and they are starting to speed up. They don't appear to be stretching at all anymore seems like all the growth is new green. Probably try to score a socket for my 3rd CFL tomorrow. I have been slacking on the ventilation but I don't think they could take it yet anyway, with my fan on high it drops to 70 at the bottom 80 at the top. Love having two thermometers. Did a test run with the HPS and the temp jumped up to the 90's so I'll def need to hook up my fan when I'm ready for HID's. And, I'll probably wait until then. Having issues with humidity. When I started it hung around 40 now maybe due to the cold its dipping to the 20's. I don't know what problems that could cause really but I guess it will be good in flower. 

Anyway, I will be posting an update tomorrow and then after that I'll probably wait a couple weeks between updates.


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## Rosebud (Nov 5, 2013)

Hi 7th G, just got caught up on your journal.. Green mojo for a great grow. I love your enthusiasm... It is easy to be enthusiastic for this great plant.

Enjoy your journey.


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## Hushpuppy (Nov 6, 2013)

It sounds like they are beginning to take off  I wouldn't put the fan blowing directly on the seedlings at this point if air temps are cool. I would face it just a bit above them so that there is fresh air being pulled by them. But 70f breeze won't make them too cold. Plants don't suffer from wind chill. That 70ish breeze is not a problem until it gets down to lower 60s or drops below 60f. For seedlings and developing roots, mid to upper 70s is preferred but not critical.


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## 7thG (Nov 8, 2013)

Nothing really to report other then they are moving along nicely. Finally drilled a 4" hole that I will be using to ventilate. 

A little brown spot on one of my leaves though:icon_smile:

Melvan was right, NL is a slow vegger. I might look into Hydro for my next grow.


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## sunakard2000 (Nov 9, 2013)

yeah NL is most defently a slow lady, takes her sweet old time vegging, iv had a Sleetstack X Skunk in veg for only 5 days longer then a Northern Lights and the Sleetstack X Skunk is easly 3 times the size, its bushed out so much faster then the NL


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 9, 2013)

i'm going to keep a watchin ,, on here,, i got some Northern Light  seed in the frig,, just dyin to grow


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## 7thG (Nov 10, 2013)

I have to admit, I am very pleased with how short my plants are. Absolutely no stretching. How Im accomplishing that with two 25 watt CFL's I don't know lol. Definitely time to add the third light. I realized the lights give off almost no heat just a little warmth so Ive moved them even closer like an inch or less. Got my fan at canopy level now.


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## 7thG (Nov 12, 2013)

So today I topped my plants. I have never done it before but I used tweezers and a brand new razor blade and it went well. I also trimmed the brown sections away. I also added 2 tablespoons of Grow Big to my nute solution and today my plants got their first real meal. I didn't trim off the yellowing lower leaves. The 2 tablespoons was added to my water which already has about 4 or 5 tablespoons of Big Bloom. I am loosely following the Fox Farm feed schedule. It said a general dose of Grow Big is 2-3 teaspoons, I added 2 tablespoons hope its not to much. I diluted the solution for my one plant because it has much less yellowing and browning.
I am starting to think LST might not be necessary considering how short my plants are. I think I am going to focus my efforts on topping and other similar techniques, probably scrog. I was going to add some root drench I  have but its expired so I might have to flush it. I think in about a week or two I might repot. Anyway I know a rambling but hey who else can I talk to about this.

I will be posting pictures shortly. 

P.S. I am noticing some very small knat like bugs. I've killed a couple of them and it doesn't seem too bad, should I be worried?


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## 7thG (Nov 12, 2013)

2 Characters


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## Grower13 (Nov 13, 2013)

Good luck.........

:48:


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## sunakard2000 (Nov 13, 2013)

get some azamax on the ready. fungus gnats are annoying, the flyers dont do anything to the plant but the larve eat roots like theres no tomorrow. take care of that before it becomes a real problem. just my opinion.


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## 7thG (Nov 13, 2013)

Ok Ill definitely do that. Soon as I get my check Im going to order it. They don't seem bad just a few here and there sometimes but who knows what going on in the soil.


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## 7thG (Nov 13, 2013)

So I woke up this morning to see my plants were touching my lights. No burns but I had to remove a level of my DVD stand. Definitely the most overnight growth yet. The Grow Big really living up to its name.


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 13, 2013)

those plants:watchplant: r getting better lookin by the day:icon_smile:


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## 7thG (Nov 13, 2013)

Thanks Lovbnstoned! I admit they got off to a slow start but they are moving along nicely now. And I love how short and bushy they are! I topped them today so I expect it to just get better. I noticed a huge difference when I added Grow Big, so I expect them to really start taking off now. I really can't wait until I have some buds to drool over.


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## 7thG (Nov 13, 2013)

Just wanted to show how big of a difference one feeding had on my plants. This pic was taken only about 24hours since my last pics. They grew about 1/2" overnight and really perked up. 

Probably wait a couple weeks for my next update.


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## 7thG (Nov 13, 2013)

A question to all my experienced growers out there. In your opinion, when should I repot? I was thinking about doing it in a week or two.


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## sunakard2000 (Nov 14, 2013)

when i germed in Rapid Rooters and transplanted once the tap root was bearly poking out the bottom of the rooters, and had them in the solo cups for 10 days then transplanted into their final homes. if you have a way to check to see if there are roots around the bottom of your cup, like drainage slits/holes if you see roots then transplant.  or very carefuly remove the plant and soil from the cup as if you were transplanting and see if there are roots binding at the bottom, if so transplant.


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## 7thG (Nov 14, 2013)

sunakard2000 said:
			
		

> when i germed in Rapid Rooters and transplanted once the tap root was bearly poking out the bottom of the rooters, and had them in the solo cups for 10 days then transplanted into their final homes. if you have a way to check to see if there are roots around the bottom of your cup, like drainage slits/holes if you see roots then transplant.  or very carefuly remove the plant and soil from the cup as if you were transplanting and see if there are roots binding at the bottom, if so transplant.


 
Ok thanks Sunakard. I have been keeping an eye on it but I haven't seen any roots. However, I checked today and I see a single root coming out of the drain hole on the bottom. So, either this weekend or sooner I'm going to transplant them into larger pots. Just gotta find some pots that will really utilize what little space I have. I have been stalling on repotting them because I want to get some lime to mix in with my soil because I'm not messing with PH on this grow.


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## ozzydiodude (Nov 14, 2013)

I go ahead and transplant them they look good and should have roots starting to circle the bottom of those cups hard


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## 7thG (Nov 14, 2013)

Ok cool Ima try to find a little time tomorrow to take care of that. I think once I put them in bigger pots and keep hitting them with Grow Big they are going to really take off. I just pruned/topped my plants yesterday, hopefully that and getting repotted wont stress them out too much.


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## 7thG (Nov 16, 2013)

Does anyone know what would cause one of my plants to have brown blotching on the leaves? Its not the brown spots that start on the lower leaves its a browninsh blotching of the upper leaves. Trying to post a pic.


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## trillions of atoms (Nov 16, 2013)

Ph issue


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 16, 2013)

someone on here,  has chart that shows, plant leave ,, in different ways n what cause it.  i forget who has it,, just one them here, they might know


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## 7thG (Nov 16, 2013)

Awesome thanks guys I have been looking for that!


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## 7thG (Nov 16, 2013)

Heres some more pics. I couldn't get really close with the camera but you can kind of see the blotching in the one pic. I hope it is PH because somebody in a different forum said it could be caused by spider mites

So thanks to the chart I have it narrowed down to a possible deficiency, like phosphorus, or maybe its PH like you guys said. I fed my plants this morning they both got full strength solution. The plant with the blotching got half strength last time maybe that's why. My other plant isn't having that problem and it got full strength last time. It's funny because the plant I trimmed (left) has actually been the worse of the two but its really catching up quick. Can't wait to see how they grow now that they have been topped.


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## 7thG (Nov 16, 2013)

Its time to repot these "ladies" update coming soon!

This whole time I have been ignoring PH because I didn't think I had anyway of testing it. I just realized my GH PH up and down came with a little vial and liquid test kit so Ima try my best to get my PH dialed in tonight.


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## 7thG (Nov 16, 2013)

What I'm dealing with right now.
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66944


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 17, 2013)

ur babies r rockin 7thG


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## Sin inc (Nov 17, 2013)

hey 7th nice cab you have thier .its good to have someone growing small like me. plants under three feet is my thing. you might want to take a look at some of my grows . once you get the hang of growing with a small rootmass . it will be ok if you need any help pm me


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## 7thG (Nov 17, 2013)

Thanks Lovbnstoned! Hopefully they can catch up to your monsters a little bit so we can both be flowering around the same time!

Sin Inc, I like that name, original.
Yeah I like small grows. I think the smaller the grow the more skill and technique you have to use. I wanna polish my skills on a small scale and maybe in the future I'll step it up to maybe a tent grow. I'll definitely check out your grow! And thanks I'll def hit you with a PM if I run into any trouble.

Thanks for stopping by guys I'll be posting an update soon.


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## BudGrower (Nov 18, 2013)

they look nice


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## 7thG (Nov 18, 2013)

So I got a little done today. But, I got a lot more to do. It's time to break out the HPS which also means I have to get my ventilation in order.
:icon_smile:


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 18, 2013)

things r lookn awesome


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## 7thG (Nov 18, 2013)

Thanks man!

So I topped both my plants once. The taller one I topped the lower nodes also. And I bent the top branches. Forget what that's called. My shorter plant is the one I'm really hoping is female because the growth is insanely dense so I'm taking it easy on her. Had to maneuver my lights closer.


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## Rosebud (Nov 18, 2013)

7G, Did you water your soil before putting your plant in? Your plants are already 3 weeks old and you have fed twice and they have the tiny MG added nutes... I say you need to slow down. And you have topped already. Am I right on the age of your plants? I say water them well and leave them alone until they are dry completely and water again..No nutes for a while. Just my opinion.
Topping stresses the plant a little, so does transplanting, so does too much nutes..  Greenest of mojo to you.


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## 7thG (Nov 19, 2013)

Ok Rosebud I'm going to take your advice. I've seen many a beginners doing too much with their plants and I think I might be a little guilty of that. I was wondering if I should take a break from the nutes now that I have added a lot of fresh soil(and perlite). To answer your question no I didn't water before I transplanted. I watered them a little bit after though.


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## 7thG (Nov 21, 2013)

It's only been 2 days and already I can see a difference. They are really starting to bush out! I guess they're happy they finally get to stretch their legs. My one plant is looking so short and bushy I love it. It will really break my heart if it's not a female. I have a hunch though by the way it's growing it is. My taller plant, not so sure. I'm going to let them both recover and then I'll probably top them again, then I'll probably be done. My tall plant I have topped twice and I bent the top branches in the hope it would speed up the new growth from the topping and even it out a little bit. Im going to give them nothing but water for a while and then I'm going to hit them with my freshly mixed stronger batch of nute solution. They can handle it. They haven't complained once about what I'm feeding them. I added 6 tablespoons of Big Bloom and 3 or 4 tablespoons of Grow Big to a gallon of tap water, which has a PH around 7.

I will be posting a couple pics shortly to show off the new growth and also the modifications I had to make to get my lights closer.


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## Rosebud (Nov 21, 2013)

You are messing with us....lol


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 21, 2013)

i topped a bunch


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## 7thG (Nov 22, 2013)




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## Rosebud (Nov 22, 2013)

You have a lot of time on your hands do you?


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 22, 2013)

hello to all


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## 7thG (Nov 22, 2013)

Rosebud said:
			
		

> You have a lot of time on your hands do you?


 
Lol Maybe  Just trying to see who's paying attention.


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 23, 2013)

they r lookin awesome


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## WeedHopper (Nov 23, 2013)

Green Mojo Bro.


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## 7thG (Nov 25, 2013)

My plants are really getting big! They are growing faster everyday and looking really healthy.
I did a little shopping today. I need more light in there and I want to resolve the small knat problem. I went there looking for Azamax but even the small bottle was 75$. He suggested that I get Azatrol. He said it was basically the same thing. I also got some CFL's to add. 

Once I get everything set up I will post another update.


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 26, 2013)

lookin awesome


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## 7thG (Nov 27, 2013)

Figured I would take a second to talk about CFL's. 
The CFL's I have been using are Growbright 25 watt 6400k's that I bought online. I didn't truly appreciate them until I bought some different brand ones yesterday at my local Hydro shop. 
I didn't think I would make it this far with just 2 CFL's (now 3) but my plants seemed very happy under them. I have 3 in there now and might add one more but that's it until late in flowering. I love CFL's because they are cheap and you can position them to really get the light to your plants. Each of the lights are 1800 lumens which doesn't seem like much at all to me but 2 of them have worked very well. 
I purchased 3 more CFL's from the Hydro shop just in case. 2 32 watt and 1 26 watt. The brand name is Agrosun. The first one I plugged in started sparking and I guess blew up. The other 2 worked just fine in the same lamp. The Agrosun 26 watt which is 1 watt more than the Growbright has only 1600 lumens. That's down 200 from the Growbright. The Agrosun 32 watt is 1800 lumens. Visually the Growbright looks brighter and it looks better made. 
I would suggest anyone with a smaller grow look into CFL's and if you decide to go with them definitely get the Growbrights.


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## sunakard2000 (Nov 27, 2013)

$75 for a 4oz bottle of Azamax?!?!?! where the heck are you going for your grow gear? thats absoutly retarted to the max, i pray thats not $75 for a 4oz bottle.... otherwise id suggest finding a different store as they are jacking prices like theres no tomorrow, i paid $27 for a 4oz bottle of Azamax, was enough for a medium strength soil drench and a foliar spray on 10 plants, 6 of which were in 6gal buckets, rest were in 2.5gal pots. used about 3oz all together...

by the way the ingrediants of the stuff you got are the same as azamax, pretty sure the same %s too, so it should work just fine.


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## 7thG (Nov 27, 2013)

I'm thinking about setting up my other cabinet so each plant has it's own. Both plants are moving along nicely. The third light is making a big difference. I think I stretched those 2 CFL's as far as I could. The bigger plant in the back has two main sections and now each section has it's own CFL. My plant in the front gets the leftovers so I'm trying to get the most out of it's dedicated CFL(I actually have a 4th cfl pointed at it temporarily). Although I'm impressed with the shape and characteristics of the front plant the one in the back is really vigorous and has huge stems and leaves. I watered them today with Poland Springs and I'll probably feed them in a week or so. Even though I feel like maybe I should be thinking about 12/12 I can't switch them until after I move Dec.6 or later. I really want to let them grow out some more though. I'm still ignoring PH with good results. The guy at the Hydro shop said I could topdress my soil with Lime so I might do that. I am also contemplating buying a small tent and really bushing these ladies out. I found a 600 watt digital growlight on Craigslist for 80$ which would be perfect for that. Anyway thanks for stopping by and I will be posting maybe a couple more pics in the next day or two and then I'll probably save my next update for after I make some mods.:icon_smile:


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## trillions of atoms (Nov 27, 2013)

Make sure you use powdered dolomite lime.... top dress and water in 1/2 cup /gallon of medium.


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## 7thG (Nov 27, 2013)

Oh ok thanks Sunakard! I might be wrong on the price I know they do jack the prices up a little but not that much. They are really helpful though so I still buy some small things from them here or there. Yeah the guy told me it was basically the same thing I have just been a little concerned by all the warning labels. My plants are in my bedroom so IDK if I should be spraying insecticides but maybe I'm putting too much thought into it.


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## 7thG (Nov 27, 2013)

Ok TOA sounds good. I should have got it when I was there but I didn't see any small bags. I just want to make sure its in there and working by the time I flower.


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## trillions of atoms (Nov 27, 2013)

Yea usually its in a 40 lb sack....its only a couple bux tho


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## 7thG (Nov 27, 2013)

Temps getting a little high.
I can turn on the ac but 85 seems ok for now.


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## sunakard2000 (Nov 27, 2013)

haha yeah dont worry so much, the active ingredient is the same and i believe at the same percentage as well. if your really worried about it, wear some gloves and stay outta your room for like an hour or 2 after your application assuming you do a foliar spray, if not and you only do a soil drench then your absoutly fine. the active ingredient simply disrupts insects life cycles, makes them unable to molt (shed skin and get larger) and also inhibits their urge to eat and reproduce, with the Azamax the very next day i say NOTHING living in the soil or on the plant leaves. that stuff really works... give it a try, if the directions are anything like azamax there should be like 3 strengths you can mix up depending on the infestation you have and the population of the infestation, id go with the middle strength... well either way like i said in your other thread i still recommend reading online the Azamax label/instructions and do a quick compairison they should be pretty darn close in use. just dont spill the concentrate on your skin or drink the stuff and youll be just fine, after the application just avoid that room for an hour or 2 and alls good.


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## lovbnstoned (Nov 27, 2013)

i thought that CFL's would b good for Grow,  but would it also b good for Flower,, cause i thought HPS is the best for Flowering


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## sunakard2000 (Nov 27, 2013)

T5s are prefered for Veg and HPS are prefered for flower, how ever CFLs can grow from start to finish, as long as you have the correct spectrum of light for each phase (veg and flower) then CFLs can finish a plant, if yah ask me though they use more energy, put out more heat and the light energy emited is far lower then a T5 bulb or even an HPS, but they still work.


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## WeedHopper (Nov 27, 2013)

lovbnstoned said:
			
		

> i thought that CFL's would b good for Grow,  but would it also b good for Flower,, cause i thought HPS is the best for Flowering



You would need a bunch of CFLs to Flower Properly and the heat would kick your butt. Plus you need them real close to the canopy and would need to move them almost everyday not to burn your plants leaves and buds. Get them to far away and you wont have buds for ****. I know cause my dumb *** tried,,,right before I found MP. And they saved me from wasting time and good money. I bought me a 4ft 8tube HOT5 setup for vegging and even flowered with it. But I will never Flower again with anything but HPS. Buds were OK,,but why settle for OK when its cheaper to get good BUD. HOT5 for vegging and HPS for Flower. You need a Min of 3000 Lumens PSF for vegg and 5000 Lumens PSF for Flower,,and the more the better.


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## 7thG (Nov 27, 2013)

lovbnstoned said:
			
		

> i thought that CFL's would b good for Grow,  but would it also b good for Flower,, cause i thought HPS is the best for Flowering


 
I think for small grows of just one or two plants CFL's might be one of your best options(for veg). If you have several plants it becomes kind of unrealistic. In that case MH or T5's are the best(for veg). For the record I never recommended using CFL's for flowering. And I have no plans on doing it. CFL's are awesome in the right situation but T5's, MH, and HPS are the industry standards, for a reason. Most growers on here agree T5 is best for veg HPS is the only option for flowering. If you used CFL's to flower you would have to add so many to get to your target lumens you would probably end up with more heat and power consumption than if you simply went with HID's. Plus everytime somebody flowers with CFL's no matter how many they use always end up with airy buds. Nobody wants that. 
You are correct HPS is best for flowering.


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## 7thG (Nov 28, 2013)

I had a really clumsy day and while trying to train some branches toward the light I managed to snap off two of my best sections of fanleaves, off the same plant(front). It wasn't a major loss. It wasn't a branch but still hurts. Especially because that plant is still bouncing back from some serious trimming.
Had my plants out today for a visual inspection. They are both still recovering from the topping they received about a week ago. Especially my shorter plant. The taller plant I probably won't TOP or FIMM again for a week or two. When I had it out today I noticed the one stem in the pic was larger which reminded me that I did a little HST(or whatever its called) on it and totally forgot. So, I did it to the other side. Hopefully it will help it bush out a little more and also make the stem which will eventually feed one of the two main colas larger. Overall both plants look healthy. The smaller one is in the recovery process so it doesn't look great but I expect it to look really good in about a week. The spots on the plants are from my plants growing into my lights. There are no signs of deficiencies and no signs of any pests. However, I am still going to apply the Azatrol I purchased within the next couple of weeks. Can't wait to hit them with some GrowBig in a couple days.

:icon_smile: 


:48:


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## 7thG (Dec 1, 2013)

The other day while I was working on my plants I decided I would go easy on the nutes until my plants absorbed the nutrients in the soil. Well, it didn't take long. One thing I have noticed with these Northern Lights plants from the very beginning is they handle nutrients very well. The last time I watered them it was with bottled water, no nutes. The last time they were fed was the watering before that so maybe 2 weeks max. I just checked on my plants preparing to add the Azatrol and was surprised to notice that there was significant yellowing on the lower leaves. So I postponed the Azatrol and gave them each a bottle of my nutes (5tblsp Big Bloom, 3tblsp Grow Big/gal). After they finish the current gallon of nutes I have mixed up I think its time to hit them with a serious mix. My Fox Farm feeding schedule says I should start adding Tiger Bloom and Open Sesame but I might hold off on that because the schedule assumes I will start flowering after 4 weeks. I might add a little tho. I check my plants daily so the yellowing must of happened pretty suddenly. I was trying to let my plants completely dry out before I watered them which I normally don't do so maybe that had something to do with it. 
I took a couple pics which I will post shortly. Ill take more if I see any noticeable response to the feeding.


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## 7thG (Dec 1, 2013)

One thing I have learned during this grow is how important container size is to your plants. I've seen some pretty big plants in Solo cups and even though I knew it was important to prevent your plants from becoming rootbound I still didn't believe container size was all that important. I was wrong. Thanks to all the people that chimed in and really pushed for me to repot them! This entire grow the single most effective "mod" I made was to put them in the 1 gallon pots! They immediately exploded in size and growth rate! I might stick with the 1 gallon pots for the remainder of the grow but I would really like to go bigger. If I move to a new space or open up the second cabinet I'm definitely gonna upgrade, maybe to 5 gallons! Assuming I stay in the cabinets I would really need a short pot. I cannot upgrade vertically. So far I haven't found anything and I may have to customize a pot. Anything 12" or taller is too tall for me. If anyone knows of anything please let me know.


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 1, 2013)

i got nothing on the pot size, but with most plants a safe rule of thumb is that the canopy without training will only be slightly larger then your root mass, just like trees out in your yard, if the canopy is 20ft out from the trunk its safe to say that the roots are close to 20ft out from the trunk as well, so yes larger "leg room" gives you a larger canopy, with the autos that im running now the leaves that are sticking out the furthest are only sticking out a few inches from the outer edge of the buckets they are in, good think to keep in mind. other then that everythings lookin good, 

only thing i can think of that might help with more root room in such a small area like your cabinet, would be a square pot that fits the cabinet almost perfectly with a divider in the middle giving you half the grow area per plant assuming you stick with a max of 2 in that space. otherwise youll have some dead space like you do now since round pots of proper size gotta be staggered in opposing corners like you have now. most likely it would have to be a custom square box with divider unless you can find something in a store that nearly fits perfectly, remember more root space = larger plants, this could be bad for you since your space is so small and it could be a blessing if you do some serious bondage or a scrog to make things easier. 

just a few thoughts that may help


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## 7thG (Dec 1, 2013)

WOW! I feed my plants this morning and then slept all day. I just checked on my plants and WOW! They exploded. Sadly they were all over my lights so there are several light burns but its ok they can take it. That GrowBig is some serious stuff.


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## 7thG (Dec 1, 2013)

I have been procrastinating on adjusting my lights for a while. I would just try to matt the plant down around the lights but I cant put it off anymore. Right now I'm trying to figure out the best way to position my lights. Any suggestions are welcome. I am really amazed by how much my plants have grown since I fed them less than a day ago.  My plants respond VERY well to Growbig. I know a lot of people here use GH but I am a believer in Foxfarm, it impresses me everytime I use it. I think I forgot to mention that this morning I also did a moderate amount of trimming. I trimmed all yellow and sick leaves. I also trimmed all leaves touching the dirt or on there way there.


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 2, 2013)

only idea for the lights is some sort of reflector to redirect alot of that upward shining light down below to the plants, you may also be able to keep them a tad higher at that point since more light energy is being directed to the plants, possible a foil hotel pan or flood light reflectors, otherwise those are lookin GREAT, just remember since Grow Big and Tiger Bloom are synthetic nutes make sure to do a flush somewhere either in early flower or before you flip, just to make doublely sure you dont run into salt build up problems nearing the end of flower, i had that happen and it sucked having to flush at the end just to correct thing, added another 2 weeks onto my flower time for the plant to rebound. better to nip it in the butt ahead of time rather then when its a serious problem.


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## 7thG (Dec 3, 2013)

It's been a while since I did a dated update so here it is. Seeds went into the soil Oct. 26 which makes today day 38. Pulled my plants out today for an inspection. I didn't plan on it but once I had them out I topped each plant in 1 or 2 spots. My large plant I accidently pulled off much more than I planned. My plants look a little tired today for some reason. I added another bottle of nutes to each last night so I think it may have been too much. I noticed some slight nute burn on the tips of the leaves but that is a good thing because I have been trying to find their limit. I'm going to let them go for a couple days then give them a nice heavy watering of fresh water. I've noticed I get better results when I let them get a little thirsty/hungry between waterings. Anyhew, this will be the last of the topping, fimming or anything. I'm going to let them recover and bush out for another 2 or 3 weeks and then it will be time to flip them.  

*I took pictures of some of the places I cut, in the one pic is that a pistil?


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## greenjoe (Dec 3, 2013)

man they do move slow eh.........and i don't see any pistol hairs yet...maybe i am blind


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## 7thG (Dec 3, 2013)

I took some clones today. Just one clone from each plant. Assuming that they take root I will put them into 12/12 to see if I have any females. If I do I will probably take clones from that female before I flower. 
However, since I did this with no cloning supplies my chances of getting 2 out of 2 to take root is questionable.
To clone I took my cutting from the lowest branches on each plant. I cut the stem at a 45 degree angle. Then I cut a slit into the end of the stem. I dipped the stem in honey and let it sit for 20 seconds. I don't have any cubes so I just used perlite and a little soil. I used clean scissors to cut most of my fan leaves in half. Then I put the cutting into soil. Each cup has a ziplock bag held on by a rubber ban to prevent them from drying out.
Im not sure if this will work. I'm pretty sure if done right you can clone with honey. Without rooting cubes though it might be tough we shall see wish me luck. If anyone has any tips please feel free.


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## 7thG (Dec 3, 2013)

greenjoe said:
			
		

> man they do move slow eh.........and i don't see any pistol hairs yet...maybe i am blind


 
Yeah Northern Lights is a pretty casual growing strain. It is growing much better now than it did when it was small though. The first 2 weeks it was growing super slow. Maybe it's not for everyone but I am happy with how its growing and think its size is perfect for my space.
Yeah lol maybe that was wishful thinking on the pistil.


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## WeedHopper (Dec 3, 2013)

Northern Lights is well known to be easy to grow and a strong healthy plant with some TLC,,,and most important,,Good Smoke..


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## 7thG (Dec 4, 2013)

WeedHopper said:
			
		

> Northern Lights is well known to be easy to grow and a strong healthy plant with some TLC,,,and most important,,Good Smoke..


 
I don't want to get ahead of myself considering I don't know if I have any females yet. But, if I can just pull an oz of some good Northern Lights I'll be happy with that. This is mostly about learning for me anyway.


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## Growdude (Dec 4, 2013)

7thG said:
			
		

> I took some clones today. Just one clone from each plant. Assuming that they take root I will put them into 12/12 to see if I have any females.


 
You can put the clone directly into 12/12 without waiting for roots, takes a couple weeks but it will sex.


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## 7thG (Dec 4, 2013)

Growdude said:
			
		

> You can put the clone directly into 12/12 without waiting for roots, takes a couple weeks but it will sex.


 
Ok I think that's what I will do. I am more concerned with determining sex then actually successfully taking clones. My cabinet isn't light proof quite yet so I think I will just put them into a cardboard box for 12 hours a day.


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## 7thG (Dec 4, 2013)

I have a bottle of Fox Farm Kangaroots Root Drench that is expired. This is the only Fox Farm product I have with an expiration date. 01/28/11. However, it has been sealed until yesterday. I opened it yesterday to add some to my gallon I have mixed up for when my plants finish the current mix. I am starting to have doubts as to whether it is a good idea to give my plants expired root drench. But, I really don't want to trash it. I will if I have to though without hesitation. I'm just hoping it is still useable, hopefully the fact it has been sealed and sitting at room temp has preserved it.
Does anyone know if it is still safe to use or should I just dump it and take it as a loss?


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## 7thG (Dec 5, 2013)

Growdude said:
			
		

> You can put the clone directly into 12/12 without waiting for roots, takes a couple weeks but it will sex.


 
Question - If I put a clone directly into 12/12, will it show sex even if it doesn't take root?


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## 7thG (Dec 5, 2013)

Chilling


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 5, 2013)

yes clippings need 24/0 light inorder to root properly, a common practice to determine the sex of plants is to take a few clippings from each plant in question, work your magic as if you were cloning the clippings, pop in your rockwool / Rapid rooters, and into cloner tray with dome (im sure you got something even a 2 liter pop bottle is good enough), just gotta keep the RH at proper levels for the clones stay healthy, and put them into 12/12, keep them in there and mist them once or twice a day for about 14 days, after 14 days they SHOULD be flowering already despite the fact that they didnt root at all, youll need to mix up a very mild "starter solution" to spray them with daily so they still get the food they need and continue growing. you can find some videos online about the whole procedure. its worked for me in the past, had a nice branch with dime sized buds and absoutly 0 roots extending into/out of the RR, pretty much only had a swelled stem in the RR that was white-ish, so the start of roots.

sorry for the runon again lol, hope this helps, if your confused look at some videos on youtube


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## 7thG (Dec 5, 2013)

sunakard2000 said:
			
		

> yes clippings need 24/0 light inorder to root properly, a common practice to determine the sex of plants is to take a few clippings from each plant in question, work your magic as if you were cloning the clippings, pop in your rockwool / Rapid rooters, and into cloner tray with dome (im sure you got something even a 2 liter pop bottle is good enough), just gotta keep the RH at proper levels for the clones stay healthy, and put them into 12/12, keep them in there and mist them once or twice a day for about 14 days, after 14 days they SHOULD be flowering already despite the fact that they didnt root at all, youll need to mix up a very mild "starter solution" to spray them with daily so they still get the food they need and continue growing. you can find some videos online about the whole procedure. its worked for me in the past, had a nice branch with dime sized buds and absoutly 0 roots extending into/out of the RR, pretty much only had a swelled stem in the RR that was white-ish, so the start of roots.
> 
> sorry for the runon again lol, hope this helps, if your confused look at some videos on youtube


 
Awesome Sunakard that tells me everything I needed to know. I don't really have any cloning supplies so I might have to sex them without roots. I haven't put my clones into 12/12 yet because I'm curious to see if my cloning method will actually work. As far as the "starter solution" is concerned, I think a mild dose of Big Bloom should work great.

Assuming my goal in taking clones was just to determine sex, I wonder if I could just put the cutting into a cup of water (or mild solution) and put it into 12/12? And maybe hit it with a starter solution everyday.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 5, 2013)

I got 2 out of 3 clones successful by just cutting them at a sharp 45° angle and sticking directly into a "tall" shotglass of water. I never changed the water, only added to it every couple of days, and put it really low so it got residual light, at the bottom of my veg tent. Took awhile for roots, and thinking back.. wow, I should've changed the water every other day, and should've made the glass not see through!! 

My point is, you don't need the rooting compound and proper setup. So if you have the available left over cuttings, may as well try if you dont' have the hormones :aok:


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 5, 2013)

Oh and hey, I answered your question about camera in my thread. Please head back in for the reply :aok:


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 5, 2013)

thats correct you technially done need any rooting gel or hormones at all since your not actually CLONING your simply sustaining life for long enough that the sex shows. so a simple glass of water i dont think would work, you would have to use at least a 1/5 or 1/4 strength Grow Big with a small splash of Big Bloom, the Big Bloom alone doesnt have enough nitrogen to keep the clipping healthy enough so it doesnt start consuming its self aka yellowing and dying on lower leaves to sustain its self. your defently on the right track though id still recommend rapid rooters or a rock wool cube, simply for support and proper airation of medium. if you got a small DIY bubble cloner that would work too, heck iv put a tiny air stone in a glass with hydroton pellets and stuck a cutting in the middle and topped the glass off daily with water. it rooted after about 10 days, im sure you could do the same and sex the plants, because of the 12/12 being an incorrect schedule for rooting they will simply flower assuming they have some sort of food to sustain them rather then simply their own reserves there shouldnt be any problems.
i guess all in all any method will work and you seem to have everything down pat so far. try a few different methods out if need be to see what best suits your conditions.


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## 7thG (Dec 5, 2013)

Ok thanks guys! I have been asking this question for a while now and I always get told how cheap cloning hormones are and this and that so it's nice to just get a direct informative response finally.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 5, 2013)

> so a simple glass of water i dont think would work



Re-read my post above heh  My shot glass of water that I never changed the water in worked for 2 out of 3 clones. Which this is also after they failed in rapid rooters within a clone dome for 48 hours. It was my first experience cloning ever. The day before I just toasted 12 clones. This time I took 3 before sending into flower, and when I almost toasted these 3 I resorted to just tall shotglasses of water. No nutes... I agree, I would give the very SLIGHTEST bit of like Rapid Start or Grow or some slight nute, but I didn't and got 2 out of 3 :aok: 

You do have great info though Sunakard!


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 5, 2013)

I have a DIY bubble clone tutorial I need to put up. I think right now would be a great time to do so. Will link here if you want (it's your thread) or PM you the thread when I make it. Or you can just browse the threads  

Will be ready in a few moments.


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## 7thG (Dec 5, 2013)

Dr. Green Fang said:
			
		

> I have a DIY bubble clone tutorial I need to put up. I think right now would be a great time to do so. Will link here if you want (it's your thread) or PM you the thread when I make it. Or you can just browse the threads
> 
> Will be ready in a few moments.


 
Dr.G please feel free to post anything you want. Advice, comments, links whatever. Sunakard has given me a lot of useful info but you also have been a tremendous help to me!:48:


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## 7thG (Dec 6, 2013)

So today I was out running some errands and figured I would stop by my Hydro store while I was in the area. I picked up some rockwool cubes and some cheap cloning gel. So if my cuttings don't take root I will be able to use this instead of my ghetto honey method. I will probably order some more things online this weekend.

I checked the price on the Azamax while I was there. It is $75 like I thought but it is for a 16oz bottle so that's not too bad I guess.


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## 7thG (Dec 6, 2013)

I want to take clones but I don't want to cut anymore branches off my babies because then I would have to veg them for at least a couple more weeks on top of the 2 weeks already guaranteed.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 6, 2013)

hXXp://www.ebay.com/itm/General-Hydroponics-Azamax-16oz-ounce-pint-pest-control-pesticide-organic-omri-/400434118123?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item5d3bbbbdeb


Looks like it's $55.00 free shipping to your door, for 16 OZ. 

I get a 20% discount at my Hydro store, so a lot of things I buy there are a lot cheaper than online. With that said, I think it's an unsung rule of thumb that hydro stores SUPER mark up their nutes.  

Now, I'll just buy my liquids online, unless I need it within 1 day. 


As for your purchases, awesome! Better than water and a shot glass hah! I've heard Rockwool works great when you take the proper precautions... as in PH the cubes ahead of time. Basically, you just soak the cubes in PH'd water (Will look up what PH right now) for 24 hours or something. I've never used it so I don't really know.


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 6, 2013)

aah 75 for the 16oz that makes alot more sence lol, but still as DrG said thats still a bit over priced, my local HTG store has 16 oz for i wanna say 56 bucks, so its a safe bet your store is doing some marking up for their own sake. not that thats a bad thing but there is cheaper out there. and as DrG said i too noticed alot of hydro stores marking things up stupid high, heck theres another store near me that wants 28-30 bucks for a quart of nutes from the General Organic line, at the HTG i go to they are 18-20 bucks tops as compaired to the 28-30 bucks, im super happy with their prices, there is defently a reason that more and more High Tech Garden Supply stores are opening up in Medical states, even a new one opened up just 2 and a half miles from me so i dont have to go to the one i used to go to that was 18 miles away. gotta love it XD,  well best of luck with your honey clones lol if all else fails im sure with a semi warm dish of water you can clean off most of the honey and apply some root gel and stick in a rockwool cube, rather then taking more clippings, cuz i agree i wouldnt take anymore at this point, especially since you dont know the sex for sure yet.


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## 7thG (Dec 6, 2013)

There is a root looping out of the soil....
I decided to do some cloning instead of waiting for my ghetto clones to root or not. I started by taking them out making new cuts dipping them in the root gel and starting them over in rockwool cubes. I had a :doh: moment because while I was doing this I lost track of which one came out of the marked cup. I have tape on one of my pots and the corresponding clones gets a piece of tape on the cup. So I'm not sure what the purpose of these clones will be but in any case I took two more clones, one from each plant. 
I read the cloning tutorial in the Propagation section to brush up. My method was as follows. I took the cut. Made a 45 degree cut. Let sit in the root gel. I made a hole in the cube with tweezers to get a snug fit instead of using the stock location. I was going to soak the cubes in water but I decided to add one capful of big bloom to Poland Springs and soak them in that. Then I placed the cutting into the cube about 1 inch. The amount of water to leave in the cube was a little tricky. I decided to soak the cube and then give in one gentle squeeze. Before I put the cubes in the cup I had it in my mind they wouldn't fit all the way down and would go in about halfway but they were smaller than I thought. Each cup gets a bag held by rubber band. I previously had them in my grow cabinet but I think they will be better off outside of it.
Anyway here is some pics of the process.

I also snapped a pic of what appears to be full alternating nodes on my smaller bushy plant!


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## 7thG (Dec 6, 2013)

I'm putting the clones into 12/12 starting tonight. It was hard to find a branch to clone on my bigger plant. The bushier one it wasn't even noticeable. I really need to let my plants go about 2 weeks undisturbed after this.


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## 7thG (Dec 7, 2013)

I purchased a second fan today. I've been having a little trouble with temps lately. 

I also switched the CFL's for my HPS. My plants are growing up and the shaded spots were starting to add up. I now have 16,000 lumens in a 
16"x16" area! I have a very temporary setup right now but I plan on getting a little done today on my ventilation.

Going in I wasn't sure what I was trying to accomplish with the LST'ing but I must say I am happy with the results. I don't think I will be doing it to my other plant though. I wanted to limit the vertical growth and try to rebound from all the trimming and clones. Hopefully this helps.

*DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I COULD PURCHASE A PYREX LENS LIKE THE ONES THAT COME WITH AIR COOLED REFLECTORS*?


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 7, 2013)

awe aint it cute, looks like my northern lights plant, so much horizontal growth i just cant wait to flower this NL and see all its amazing tops XD good lookin and keep up the good work.


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## 7thG (Dec 7, 2013)

sunakard2000 said:
			
		

> awe aint it cute, looks like my northern lights plant, so much horizontal growth i just cant wait to flower this NL and see all its amazing tops XD good lookin and keep up the good work.


 
Thanks Sunakard I'm really glad I did it. Seems like it opens up the plant so every part gets hit by the light. Only problem is it takes up more of the already very limited space in my cabinet so some changes are definitely on the horizon. Your Northern Lights plant was definitely a part of my inspiration so that might explain why they look so similar haha! Damn I wish we could trade a bud or two after harvest lol.


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## sunakard2000 (Dec 7, 2013)

lol right... after my NL bounced back from being topped/fimmed on multiple branches as well as being tied down whihc took about 2 weeks i went and took clones, i took the 4 largest main branches i tied down and topped those and then i searched for the 2 largest under growth branches that were opened up to light when i first tied down the plant, i plan on taking at least 12 more clones from it, topping each time to produce twin tops on a majority of the branches on the plant so its a bushy beast when i eventualy flower it after new years. with any good luck ill manage to keep it a squat yet tall bush with loads of tops rather then a short fluffy bush that takes up alot more area., if that makes sence lol. either way keep it up man its lookin good. keep in mind that if needed you can tighten up the branches you have tied down to pull them down further and closer in, thus taking up slightly less area outside the area of the pot. but from the size it is now id say you defently swapped to hps and 12/12 at the right time, any longer and you may have had some serious space problems, but you look like you should be good with a little more training as the plant stretches in the first 2 weeks of 12/12. just keep things as even as possible for as long as you can and youll be fine


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## Sin inc (Dec 8, 2013)

hey 7th seams like your getting along good. if you need better lightng the try wall mart they have plug and play shop lights for like 20$ each here the link.
hxxp://walmart.com/ip/Lights-of-America-8045E-Lights-of-America-4-Solid-State-Shop-Light-White/19759624


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## WeedHopper (Dec 8, 2013)

I hate Walmart. Go to Target or something. Dont give them bastages a penny.


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

Sin inc said:
			
		

> hey 7th seams like your getting along good. if you need better lightng the try wall mart they have plug and play shop lights for like 20$ each here the link.
> hxxp://walmart.com/ip/Lights-of-America-8045E-Lights-of-America-4-Solid-State-Shop-Light-White/19759624


 
I don't think those would qualify as better lighting. I'm not sure if they are even the correct spectrum for growing. And, they definitely won't fit in my grow space. Thanks anyway


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## Sin inc (Dec 8, 2013)

7thG said:
			
		

> I don't think those would qualify as better lighting. I'm not sure if they are even the correct spectrum for growing. And, they definitely won't fit in my grow space. Thanks anyway


yes but its cheap and you can get bulb 3000k and 6500k for these fixtures and you can overdrive 
them. its a starting point plus thier only 10$. you c:holysheep: an buy 2 and stand them on thier side. i can say they work because thats what i started off with. thier cheap so you can take them apart rewire them and use the ballast as a 4bulb 2foot overdrive fixture. since the 4foot ballast are 2 time more then the 4foot.
its a good money saver and it works just fine ive been growing for a long time and there nothing wrong with making the cheap work for you.


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

I decided to train my other plant today and had a slight disaster. Before I attach the string I loosen the branch up for a couple minutes until it is flexible. I did that with no problem. But somewhere in between that and attaching the string it split. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid IDK how it happened. The good news is I think my plant will recover. It is just a split no branch was lost. I tried to put a twist tie on it but it doesn't seem to be helping that much. Hopefully it will heal stronger.

Some of these pics are before I trained my second plant just showing off the weird effects of a camera tripping on HPS.


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## ozzydiodude (Dec 8, 2013)

if you dont use something to wrap that break you stand a good chance of loosing both sides of the split. cotton gauze and twist ties work for me when that happens


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

ozzydiodude said:
			
		

> if you dont use something to wrap that break you stand a good chance of loosing both sides of the split. cotton gauze and twist ties work for me when that happens


 
Can you elaborate a little bit.

I thought I had some cotton balls but I cant find them. Should I cut the strings and support my plants with sticks its been like this for a while now so I think all hope of rejoining it is gone. Each side of the split seems thick enough so I'm hoping everything will be ok.


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

I noticed parts of my plant are looking up towards the light so hopefully that is a good sign. If I lose both sides of the split, I lose my whole plant.


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

Im worried because one side seems alive but the other side seems a little slow to search for the light. This plant is my pride and joy but I guess since I didn't switch to 12/12 yet I could take a couple more clones if I lose hope.


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## Hushpuppy (Dec 8, 2013)

There is some pruning spray that you can buy from the gardening store if you have one near you. Or you can use bee's wax to encapsulate the damage so that it doesn't bleed. Make sure you support both branches so that it doesn't break further and it should be fine. I had one do the same exact thing and I used bee's wax and supported it and it didn't miss a beat


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> There is some pruning spray that you can buy from the gardening store if you have one near you. Or you can use bee's wax to encapsulate the damage so that it doesn't bleed. Make sure you support both branches so that it doesn't break further and it should be fine. I had one do the same exact thing and I used bee's wax and supported it and it didn't miss a beat


 
Ok thanks I will visit them tomorrow and see what they recommend. The break was clean and it seems dry now. However, I am getting concerned because one side seems slow to respond. The other side is already growing. The break seems even to me though so I don't know. Right now I am not sure if I should just leave it tied town or try to patch it up. As is it's not going to get worse. And I don't think joining them is possible anymore.


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

Can rockwool substitute cotton swabs?


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 8, 2013)

Duct tape? That's what I'd do. Works for trees and extreme super crops.


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

Yeah I actually got a brand new roll of Gorilla Tape the other day.


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## ozzydiodude (Dec 8, 2013)

no you want the gauze that you can wrap 5 or 6 time to protect the plant from the adhesive on the tape. If you can get grafters' tape at a garden or hydro store is best


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## Dr. Green Fang (Dec 8, 2013)

Yes, if you plant on removing the tape, make sure to put something between the sticky part, and the plant. Heck, do that anyways, I do. (Thanks for mentioning Ozzy, I had forgot that part) 

:aok:


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

update
I didn't protect my plants from the adhesive I started working on it before I read your comments. 
I took two clones from the branches that got a little banged up during the process. These won't be going into 12/12 I just want to grow them out. These clones are much smaller younger branches than I would have choosen myself but it was either this or the garbage for them. My other clones are on their third day of 12/12. I just use and empty cardboard box for there dark period. 

During all my test runs with the HPS the heat was a real problem but it's working great now. I guess having a fan blowing air on it makes a big difference. I'm also pumping AC into the space. Previoulsy I had it behind my intake fan but I didn't like my plants being hit directly with it so now I have it up top just to cool the light. I think my plants are really liking it and it is real nice to not have to fool around with CFL's almost on a daily basis anymore. I think it is more than enough light but I am not going to lie I want to try to squeeze a 250 watt in there.


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## ozzydiodude (Dec 8, 2013)

Green Mojo


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## 7thG (Dec 8, 2013)

ozzydiodude said:
			
		

> Green Mojo


 
Thanks Ozzy! And thanks for the help with my hurt plant.

My plants are responding really well to the HPS. Much more penetration into the canopy. My large plant that I successfully trained is loving it. I have it opened up so the light is pretty much hitting the entire plant. The extra fan* is helping too. I think I am noticing a little bit of stretch though. I think now that I have beefed up my system my plants will really start to grow out so I have decided it is time for 12/12. I planned on waiting for a couple more weeks but unless I buy a tent it doesn't look feasible. 

As it sits my cabinet is not 100% light proof. I think I am going to add some more weather stripping and I was designing some inner flaps in my head I might try. I am going to hook up my 4" fan and see if I can keep the temps down without the ac. And I'm going to see if I can close it without the temps skyrocketing. Going to have a lot of work to do over the next week. I think I will start my plants dark period with the cardboard box method and use the 12 hours to get a lot done. It definitely will not be a permanent solution however because I really want to maintain ventilation even with lights off.

:icon_smile: 




*I posted a picture of this fan a couple days ago. I highly recommend it to anyone in the market for this type of fan. It cost me about 15$ at Staples. It moves a good bit of air and is completely silent.


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## 7thG (Dec 10, 2013)

Well I am on my 3rd day of 12/12 and I must admit at first it seems as if they were doing good almost charged by the darkness. Now, the plant that recently sustained the fracture is not looking too good. Really droopy almost dead looking. The pot was really dry though so I'm praying this feeding will help. Im glad I took clones but considering 4 out of 6 of my clones are in 12/12 I only really have 2. And they are both from my dying plant so I might take one more from my other plant before it is too late just in case.


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## 7thG (Dec 10, 2013)

In the future I will definitely be soaking my rockwool cubes in a nutrient solution not bottled water. Major yellowing in my 12/12 clones. Not on the ones I soaked in Big Bloom.


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## Sin inc (Dec 10, 2013)

hey 7thg is see your getting things on track. i have humidity probs to still working on mine.


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## 7thG (Dec 11, 2013)

On my 3rd or 4th day of flowering.
Plants seem to be recovering. 
Lost a lot of lower foliage. My belief is that intake temps were too low.
I tightened the strings on my trained plant, but had to train a branch back away from my fan.
I have a string tied to the door hinge I can use to turn my fan so its blowing the air from the bulb out of the cabinet. I am not sure what works better. Right now I have it just blowing on the bulb. 
Plants are really getting big. I am going to have to do more training to limit the clutter.
I have had my fan blowing air directly onto my plants but now that I am letting the temps in the room drop to compensate for the HPS heat I am going to have to figure something else out. I think it is killing my leaves. I might position it so it is right above the canopy. The other fan will remain where it is.

I have 2 gallons mixed up at the moment. One has 2.5 tblsp Grow Big, 3 tblsp Big Bloom, and 1/2 tblsp Open Sesame. My other one has 2 tblsp Tiger Bloom, 3 tblsp Big Bloom, 1/2 tblsp Open Sesame. Im saving this one until I see some flowers.

Hopefully either my plants or my clones will show sex soon.


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## 7thG (Dec 11, 2013)

I think in the future I will take one picture of my plants in the cabinet and the rest I will take them out for. The HPS light is ruining my pictures!


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## 7thG (Dec 12, 2013)

It's really nice having 12 hours a day that I can use to work on my cabinet. Having 24/0 lighting for almost 2 months straight caused me to fall behind on a lot of the things I had planned to do to my cabinet. Today I got a little done though. I have about 2 hours left to work with so I can easily finish my ventilation if I stick to it. So far I am really happy with how it's shaping up. I did a little test run which left me with no doubt that my exhaust will easily keep my cabinet cool. I would really like to get a speed controller for my fan but I do not think they are compatible with my Hydrofarm centrifugal fan.

I had to tear down my fan because somehow the blades where off balance. A little tinkering and tightening of a couple bolts and she is purring once again. I added Gorilla tape just to keep things as efficient as possible. FYI Gorilla tape has to be one of my best purchases in a while. I just cannot stop finding things to tape lol. I also added tape to the flanges just to make sure there are no leaks. I was surprised to see that the 4'' hole in my cabinet is larger then my 4'' flange. But, that is not exactly a bad thing. Used my dremel to cut out a square in my drawer to open up a space to run the ducting. All the major work is done now I just need to connect some ducting and figure out how I want to position my fan, and I'm done for the day!

I'm not really sure what I will use it for but today at The Home Depot I picked up a green CFL. I'm going to keep it just in case I need to do some light out work.


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## 7thG (Dec 12, 2013)

Rough Mock Up. Working great.


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## budz4me (Dec 14, 2013)

Thats a pretty cool setup man...I dig it.

If it were not a stealth job I would want more airflow, with that said....I have nothing to add...GJ and mojo to you

LOL CRAP, for some reason the pics of the blower didnt load until I refreshed manually......disregard airflow comment!!!! (All I saw was the computer fans!)


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## 7thG (Dec 14, 2013)

budz4me said:
			
		

> Thats a pretty cool setup man...I dig it.
> 
> If it were not a stealth job I would want more airflow, with that said....I have nothing to add...GJ and mojo to you
> 
> LOL CRAP, for some reason the pics of the blower didnt load until I refreshed manually......disregard airflow comment!!!! (All I saw was the computer fans!)


 
Thanks Budz I appreciate the comment! Yeah the cabinet is a work in progress but I am really happy with how it is shaping up. The computer fans are just to mix things up. I really need to make a couple mods so I can move them. Once the door is closed they don't work very good. I haven't added a passive intake so I leave the door cracked which works fine for now. The blower is working great! I feel like if I added a reflector and kept it sealed I could probably get away with a 250 maybe 400 watt!:hubba:


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## 7thG (Dec 16, 2013)

So I was briefly examining my larger plant the other day. I have been really busy moving that's why I say briefly. I saw what appeared to be a nanner. I could be wrong because today I couldn't find it but it does look like maybe some preflowering. Its too early to tell I am going to wait a couple days and then post pics. I would be really disappointed if my bigger plant was a male or hermie because according to my count that plant has between 12-15 tops. It a work of art really lol


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## 7thG (Dec 17, 2013)

Wow. I decided to take a close look at my plants whilst in the middle of typing a post and yeah this just in, I'm pretty sure I see flowers on BOTH plants. I was worried because I thought I saw a nanner the other day but all I see now is preflowers and trust me I looked. It's amazing how 12/12 really brings your plants to life. I feel like my plants gonna grab my arm sometimes it looks so different from just yesterday. Its confusing to me though how both plants same strain went through exactly the same thing and yet the color is different the growth and growth rate is different. Im kinda wasted so please forgive me and I had trouble getting close ups with the cam I'll get more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have my cabinet back up and running within the next 2 days.


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## Hushpuppy (Dec 17, 2013)

That one plant appears to be suffering a little from a lack of certain trace elements. Have you given them any of the "grow big" or "Big Bloom" yet? I would make sure they are getting fed at least once if not twice a week right now since they are going into a critical phase.


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## trillions of atoms (Dec 18, 2013)

The claw is happening....back the food off.

look at second to last pic.


they are neon for a reason-they are right on the edge and looking good. The sag and curl on the leaf speaks volumes on that plant.


Hit her with str8 h20 a few waterings and bump the food back to where it was.


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## 7thG (Dec 23, 2013)

I have been really busy with the move and sad to say my plants have been a little neglected. But my female looks to be handling it well. Maybe the time off from feeding and watering was beneficial to her. Also, my larger plant have been confirmed to be a male and was chopped. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed my female doesn't herm. Right now she looks great with small flowers developing. She got her first feeding in quite awhile last night. 2tblsp Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom, 1/3 tblsp Open Sesame. I will take some pictures of her tonight when I take her out and hopefully I can get my cabinet back up and running within the week.


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## 7thG (Dec 23, 2013)

I believe in the earlier pics the problem was the high temps and the fact they were dehydrated and a little hungry.


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## robertr (Dec 23, 2013)

7thG, do you like the Open Sesame? I could not tell the differance so I stopped using it. I go straight to Beestie Bloomz and then Cha Ching.


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## 7thG (Dec 24, 2013)

Well this is my first time using Fox Farm nutes so it's a little too early to tell. And, I just started using my flowering side of my nute lineup. I have been using generous doses of it and my plants seem to handle it well. But, other than that I can't really comment too much on it as of yet. My early impression is similar to yours though. I feel like I would have the same results if I just used Grow Big and Tiger Bloom, maybe with my Big Bloom too. I think I would need to grow out several plants and do some side by sides to really get an idea of it's effectiveness.


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## 7thG (Dec 24, 2013)

The amount of bud sites on my plant is amazing. I don't think Open Sesame deserves credit for that though. Anyone with experience with Fox Farm, should I step up the strength or am I good. I am going strictly by feel but I haven't burnt her so I don't know if I am even close to her limit. 

It varies but I average:
(in tablespoons)
2-3 Big Bloom
2 Tiger Bloom
1/3-1/2 Open Sesame

And this time my container is actually 2.63L so my mix is stronger but usually it's in a gallon.

Camera is charging pics coming soon..


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## 7thG (Dec 25, 2013)

Happy Holidays!

The pictures don't do it justice, she is beautiful. I have barely touched her over the past couple weeks. I might get in there and do a little trimming. I do not think she will be a big producer but the amount of bud sites is promising. The main objective was to learn, and that I have done. I love when my girl perks up after a feeding and the leaves point upwards. Makes me feel good . I really wish I would have kept the clones from her because I honestly do not want to see her go. I might try to re-veg her. I am not seeing any trichomes quite yet but there are flowers beginning to sprout all throughout. Just going by feel but I think I going to give her about 1 more month. As soon as the stores open back up I am going to pick up some bloom CFL's and I am going to run them. I will probably switch to HPS for the last 2 or 3 weeks to get the density I want.

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays! Have fun, be safe, don't drink and drive, and enjoy your time with your family.


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