Makeshift Greenhouse Problems

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

EDIT: Title changed at the suggestion of a helpful member.

I've been trying to grow in a makeshift greenhouse and I can't get everything right. I'm getting a little better at not killing my plants but I'm still a LOUSY grower. My seeds always pop and break through soil but they always slow down after they reach 50mm height. I've improved every aspect of what I'm doing and it's getting a tiny bit better but my plants are still stunted. My 8 week old plants are 150mm tall, 6 week old are 100mm and 3 week old are only 50mm. I'm thinking it's my supplemental grow lights are not enough. I bought some 315w Philips Agro lights but I can't yet afford to pay an electrician to run the power to them.

I'm so friggin' frustrated I could pull my hair out!!

I might relegate the greenhouse to raising only vegetables and move the 'special' plants inside to an unused closet where I can better maintain lighting, humidity, temperature, etc. But that will cost even more money to set up. Since I seem to kill everything I try to grow, that will likely be a complete waste also.

Arrrrgh!!!

:watchplant:

mowood3479 · Nov 28, 2016

If u can dial in the environment the plants will grow themselves..
Hang in there and keep working out the kinks. Environment is 95% of growing.

Dog Star · Nov 28, 2016

You need to calm yourself cause your plants feel you are a nervous person,

plants usually dont grow good in hands of nervous folks,thats a scientific fact.

Do you know base stuff how and why plants grow in nature??

Can you found a love inside self for other beings??

Do you have a knowledge in plants,gardening,what other plants did you growed??

Its not easy cause there is a lot of elements you need to catch to produce
primo product,cause primo product comes from love and knowledge... and if you dont have love and knowledge than your growing will become hell,like it is now.

So settle self before you try this with plants... that will be best advice you ever get.

Cadfael · Nov 28, 2016

First few rules: Don't Panic. And Don't be scared.

What is your temp in the greenhouse?

What is your soil mix? How big is your starter pot?

Your plant might be working on roots and not growth.

Fear not, we all started once. This is a skill, it can be learned.

Get yourself the book by jorge cervantes. A Little knowledge will go a long way.

TrueReligion · Nov 28, 2016

Good morning brown thumb, I'd reccomend reading a grow bible to grasp the basics. That's what I did feel free to follow my log I've made it beginner friendly down to the nutrient schedule

meowmeowmeow · Nov 28, 2016

brown_thumb said:
I might relegate the greenhouse to raising only vegetables and move the 'special' plants inside to an unused closet where I can better maintain lighting, humidity, temperature, etc.

Try peppers a la jalapeno and such.
I've found growing those is similar for me like cannabis, but seeds are cheaper.

I'd look for someone in your local area who has a greenhouse and speak to them about their veggies or flowers.

I also started shaved headed and now have long hair........I had no way to pull my hair out when I started.

Go easy :rasta:

gaiusmarius · Nov 28, 2016

Cadfael said:
First few rules: Don't Panic. And Don't be scared.

What is your temp in the greenhouse?

What is your soil mix? How big is your starter pot?

Your plant might be working on roots and not growth.

Fear not, we all started once. This is a skill, it can be learned.

Get yourself the book by jorge cervantes. A Little knowledge will go a long way.

answer these questions and folks will get you on the right track. one thing your initial post brought to my mind is that you might be using pots with too much soil for popping and starting seeds. they can die off fast if the soil is too moist for too long. you want quick drying amount of soil to begin things well. from a small pot full of roots your plants should easily grow themselves in the GH.

mojave green · Nov 28, 2016

brown_thumb said:
I bought some 315w Philips Agro lights but I can't yet afford to pay an electrician to run the power

Sounds like you need a plan.

aridbud · Nov 28, 2016

What were your "supplemental lights" wattage? How far apart?

Too, temps will slow down growth. What's average temp? Are they heated at night?

If you are relying solely on sun....daylight hours decreasing as are temperatures, so with supplemental light how many hours a day do your plants get? You need at least 14-16, a warm environment, roots not cramped so toes can wiggle.

Also, root bound? Adequate perlite for plants to breathe?

These are all considerations.

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

Dog Star said:
You need to calm yourself cause your plants feel you are a nervous person,

plants usually dont grow good in hands of nervous folks,thats a scientific fact.

Do you know base stuff how and why plants grow in nature??

Can you found a love inside self for other beings??

Do you have a knowledge in plants,gardening,what other plants did you growed??

Its not easy cause there is a lot of elements you need to catch to produce
primo product,cause primo product comes from love and knowledge... and if you dont have love and knowledge than your growing will become hell,like it is now.

So settle self before you try this with plants... that will be best advice you ever get.

Awe crap... then I'm DOOMED. I need the medicinal effects of the plants to calm my anxiety... but my anxiety is killing my plants.

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

Cadfael said:
First few rules: Don't Panic. And Don't be scared.

What is your temp in the greenhouse?

What is your soil mix? How big is your starter pot?

Your plant might be working on roots and not growth.

Fear not, we all started once. This is a skill, it can be learned.

Get yourself the book by jorge cervantes. A Little knowledge will go a long way.

I'm not panicking nor am I afraid... I ain't a-skeert o' nuthin'.

POTS: My starter pots are 100mm (4") coconut fiber.

SOIL: I started with Victory Sea Blend with no amendments but that stayed far too wet. So I amended it with a 1:2 mix of the same soil with a mix consisting of 2 parts rice hulls + 2 parts perlite + 1 part vermiculite. That mix still held too much moisture so the latest seedlings are in a 1:3 mix of the same amendments (only 25 percent of the bag soil).

TEMPS: This is mostly at the mercy of nature. During the summer temps are 100F day and 80F at night. I was probably growing the wrong strains during summer... lesson learned. Now, during winter months, temps are 75-85F day (in the greenhouse) and 40-50 at night. I use a heater if the temps go below 45F.

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

mojave green said:
Sounds like you need a plan.

I have a plan (many plans) but things keep popping up and taking my money.

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

aridbud said:
What were your "supplemental lights" wattage? How far apart?

Too, temps will slow down growth. What's average temp? Are they heated at night?

If you are relying solely on sun....daylight hours decreasing as are temperatures, so with supplemental light how many hours a day do your plants get? You need at least 14-16, a warm environment, roots not cramped so toes can wiggle.

Also, root bound? Adequate perlite for plants to breathe?

These are all considerations.

See response above for some answers.

This time of year, the lamps provide nearly all the light because the green house faces north. Yes, I know that's bad but it's the only 'stealth' place available. I have 10 of THESE lighting a 2000 square cm (2 sq feet) area and the lights are approximately 150-300mm (6-12 inches) from the leaves. The lamps TRUE power consumtion is 16.3 watts each so a total of 163 watts of broad multi-spectrum LED light.

Cadfael · Nov 28, 2016

Ok! Temps seem ok.

Soil seems to be good. (i do hydro so i would take others advice on that).

Lights...Ah. You might have too much light and too close for the time being. Perhaps try only 4 for right now, (1 per 1 sq ft). Lets raise them to 250mm-300mm (10-12 inches) above the leaves and make sure they are on for 18 hours.

You are on a good forum, with good and helpful people. We will help any way we can.

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

Cadfael said:
Ok! Temps seem ok.

Soil seems to be good. (i do hydro so i would take others advice on that).

Lights...Ah. You might have too much light and too close for the time being. Perhaps try only 4 for right now, (1 per 1 sq ft). Lets raise them to 250mm-300mm (10-12 inches) above the leaves and make sure they are on for 18 hours.

You are on a good forum, with good and helpful people. We will help any way we can.

Thank you. I tried only 6 lights placed 300mm (12 inches) from the leaves but it seemed it wasn't enough (too much stretching/bending). FWIW, I see no fading/bleaching/burning of the leaves with the lights as they are now.

Here are two pics of light placement...

aridbud · Nov 28, 2016

Have you checked root mass in bottom of containers?

Looked at lights you bought. My opinion, not enough intensity.

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

aridbud said:
Have you checked root mass in bottom of containers?

Looked at lights you bought. My opinion, not enough intensity.

I haven't checked root mass because I don't want to shock the plants.

I suspect you're right about the lights and that's why I bought four of the 315w Philips Agro lights. I planned to use the small LEDs to start the seedlings then move them under the CMHs. But it seems I might need to either chuck the LEDs or move them even closer to the seedlings.

who dat is · Nov 28, 2016

Right off the bat I want to say that I didn't read the whole thread but I think I have a pretty good idea from your overall posts and user handle on here that I have a decent feel for the root of your problems.

You might be making the mistake that probably every newer grower makes on their first run or two.

You have to remember that cannabis is a weed. It will grow as such when given what they need and want, nothing more. I would advise against stepping in there doting over them a plethora of times during the day and measuring their growth with a tape measure every other day.

This is in no way trying to belittle your efforts and your experience thus far either. Please don't take it that way.

I would advise that you give them the tough love route. If they just aren't working for you then maybe pot them up, feed them accordingly, and just let them do their thing. I was guilty as fuck of trying to micromanage my first several rounds and I've only seen more success as I've taken a step back and let them do their own thing.

If things keep trying to shit on you then throw in the towel on using coco and synthetic nutes. Pot them up to a larger container with an organic soil like Roots Organics and then just let them figure their own shit out. Let the dirt do the work and you can just be along for the ride. As you get more familiar with the plants you will learn that they very much have a voice of their own and will tell you what is going on. Learn the language and talk to them as necessary. This might sound like some mumbo jumbo but it's absolutely true.

Just keep poking around the forums here and soak up all the knowledge you can.

I wish you the best, you're going to get it :good:

brown_thumb · Nov 28, 2016

who dat is said:
Right off the bat I want to say that I didn't read the whole thread but I think I have a pretty good idea from your overall posts and user handle on here that I have a decent feel for the root of your problems.

You might be making the mistake that probably every newer grower makes on their first run or two.

You have to remember that cannabis is a weed. It will grow as such when given what they need and want, nothing more. I would advise against stepping in there doting over them a plethora of times during the day and measuring their growth with a tape measure every other day.

This is in no way trying to belittle your efforts and your experience thus far either. Please don't take it that way.

I would advise that you give them the tough love route. If they just aren't working for you then maybe pot them up, feed them accordingly, and just let them do their thing. I was guilty as fuck of trying to micromanage my first several rounds and I've only seen more success as I've taken a step back and let them do their own thing.

If things keep trying to shit on you then throw in the towel on using coco and synthetic nutes. Pot them up to a larger container with an organic soil like Roots Organics and then just let them figure their own shit out. Let the dirt do the work and you can just be along for the ride. As you get more familiar with the plants you will learn that they very much have a voice of their own and will tell you what is going on. Learn the language and talk to them as necessary. This might sound like some mumbo jumbo but it's absolutely true.

Just keep poking around the forums here and soak up all the knowledge you can.

I wish you the best, you're going to get it

Probably wise advice. I do tend to overcomplicate things.

aridbud · Nov 28, 2016

Years ago, I bought a 60w LED x 3 lamps. That did not amp up light to 180w....it was still 60w x 3 lights. Lesson learned. Spend a little more, get a larger light like you are doing now.

Peruse indoor cannabis grow techniques....you'll get there.

Failure is only when you continue the same thing.

Makeshift Greenhouse Problems

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