Newbie Questions

[halftoke]

Hello Growing Guru's;

Knowing already that I have made the cardinal mistake of growing more than one plant per pot, I was wondering if these looked healthy to you or not (about 4 weeks old)

This plant I topped for the first time as an experiment about 1 week ago.

Should I cull these pots down to one plant per pot? How do I tell which to cull? I didn't want to start transplanting anything because I didn't want to possibly shock the palnt too much.

I am considering moving some of them outside (this cullng the indoor growing down to one per pot), but again which ones?

TIA,
halftoke

 

[bongzilla420]

they look healthy but i would rips some out so0 theres only one in a pot
and there streching for light your light is way too high you need to put your light closer the it should be about an inch or 2 away from the plants they will grow alot better once you do this trust me i did the same thing

 

[halftoke]

Thanks bongzilla, I've already moved the light closer. Which plants do I cull out? I've become rather attached to them. I've given some thought of transplanting some from the pot to outdoors to see how they'd do. Comments? Suggestions?

 

[THE BROTHER'S GRUNT]

Whats up halftoke. When is the last frost where you live. I would find that out first then i would try and transplant them outside. Why kill them off if you have a place outside. Your plants are looking good.

 

[Insane]

I agree with tbg. Those are good looking seedlings that can potentially thrive if they have a decent enviroment. Moving the light closer is a closer idea to tighten up those nodes as well. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[halftoke]

Thanks for all the great advice. I've moved the lights down to about 2" above the seedlings (DoH! What was I thinking?).

halftoke dwells in the southeast US. I took all but one plant out of each pot, transplanted the 3 best looking culls into other pots (smaller ones, gotta git some more 5 gal buckets) and put them under a cool white. I also gave the culls a nice feed of MiracleGro to help them get over the shock of transplanting. Of 11 original seedlings I kept 7. The puniest seedlings got broiled and I actually got a pleasant buzz off the pin joint I rolled with them (LOL).

Last frost here was early February. Since I own plenty of property (over 7 acres) most of it wooded (pine mostly) I have given some thought to putting some of them inna woods to see what they could do. I am leaning more toward perfecting the indoor cultivation tho...

BTW, in case I haven't said this already, youse guys rock...

 

[bongzilla420]

wit that much land you should have like 30 plants lol

 

[halftoke]

You'd think, but lots of overflights around here (every friggin day). Since I have that "cop" look, the local constabulary do not hesitate to talk shop with me (which has saved some of my buds from getting busted). Damn GBI, State Patrol and Forestry flying low and slow in our area. Some of the local hawks are even starting to look suspicious, and there's a owl that's been giving me the evil eye lately....

 

[halftoke]

Okies, here's what I've done so far... of the 11 original plants there are 7 left. I culled out the 4 puniest ones (space constraints, and I figured what the hell? try some). The 5 gallon buckets contain one plant each and the lights are much closer now. (I'm using cool white flouros.)

 

[halftoke]

The 3 transplants are in smaller pots under an old "gro & sho" light bought at wally world awhile back (notice the primitive suspension for the light).

(Okay, tried to put more images in here but I'm doing something stoopid and it won't let me [*sigh*)

Gonna be heading back to Home Depot soonly for more cool white flouros for the transplants, but otherwise does it look like I'm screwing the pooch anywhere here?

 

[GreenDayGirl]

i'm not sure about screwing any pooches but I like your sticks! You know I think I've seen that owl of yours in my neighborhood.

 

[halftoke]

The sticks are common bamboo skewers (.79 a pack) I bought at the grocery store.

 

[JandZ]

I have a similar setup as halftoke. I have about 6 plants sitting under 2 cool white fluours tubes. They are a younger then yours and have only started to leaf. I was wondering if it would be more beneficial to add 2 more flour tubes? maybe even add 4 more tubes?

 

[Stoney Bud]

Hey Halftoke and JandZ, there is a damn good beginners guide that you guys will learn a lot from, and it's free and right here:

Grow Guide


You would be helping yourself immensely if you give it a good read before getting too much further in your grow.

The basics are covered very well in the guide. After reading it, come on back and discuss the parts you're still not sure of. Some of the best growers in the world are here every day.

Bookmark that growers guide. It's a hell of a good reference.

Good luck to both of you. Welcome to the group!

 

[halftoke]

tHanks Stoney

 

[halftoke]

ZOUNDS!!!! I did some checking, yer talking around $200 or better for hps lights (400W).

 

[halftoke]

JandZ, I'm using 5 gal buckets with hole at the bottom for drainage. I filled the bottom with about 3" of rocks the the rest with a commercial gardening potting soil (yes, it has vermiculite in it). The buckets sit in Wally World bought palstic pans ($1.98 ea.) sos I don't soak the floor if any water drains out.

That's a 4' flouro with 2 cool white tubes in it. If you are doing 6 plants, I would DEFINATELY go with at least 2 more tubes...

Stoney;

How do I tell if the are old enough to "bend and train" for bushiness? The guide was a little skimpy on that point.

 

[GanjaGuru]

You really should build a room just for your plants.

Plants under HPS yield 3 x the amt of bud by weight vs. flo's. That means they'll more than "pay for themselves" in the very first harvest.

 

[JandZ]

halftoke thats alot like my brothers setup, he is yet to post on here yet but he is J and I am Z.

I am growing Salvia Divinorum and I made some nasty fertilizer.

4 parts miracle gro potting soil
2 parts schultz peat moss
1 part schultz perlite
1 part schultz all soil conditioner (vermiculate alternative)

 

[halftoke]

Holy Bog! And here I am growing some really crappy bag seed (all I had) and trying to do it on the cheap....

The HPS, grow boxes & maybe even a shot at hydro is coming but not too soon. Just a wage slave ya know. I did this whole setup for less than $100.00 (that includes seed. The 4' flouros can be had at Wally World for around $15.00, the cool white tubes for under $10.00.

I have a couple of 500W spot lights, but they are halogen (not suitable I think). Like I said earlier (at least I think I said) this is my first grow in over 20 years, so I'm taking it slow and doing OJT with it.

JandZ, are you using miracle gro patio? or the standard stuff? I'm thinking of switching to the patio flavor next grow to see if it improves any. Hopefully will be able to cough up that $200.00 for the HPS as well.

Started some LST on a couple of plants, gotta post some pics....