First Big Boy Grow

Sazugt · Feb 26, 2017

Alright, so this is my first real grow and I'm just trying to get a feel for what is "normal" so please excuse my ignorance and thanks for your help!

First off my grow set up is a 4x4x7 tent with 2x 20000 lumen output T5HO fixtures with 4x bloom bulbs in each. All plants are in organic potting mix supplemented with perlite in 5 gallon smartpots. The current nutes these guys are taking is 15ml/ gal of Gen Hydro BioThrive Bloom and 30ml/ gal of Terpinator. I have 3 Acapulco Gold and 4 Sour Kush in the tent. Palnts are on the standard 12/12 lighting since February 4th

Question 1: The below picture shows a close up of one of the flowers, most of the main flowers are about this size and in this stage of development. They still seem small to me. How do they look for Day 1 Week 4 of flower?

Question 2: This image shows a pic of my canopy. I am concerned that the canopy isn't even, and as you can see there is a plant growing straight up between the two lamps! I am worried I should raise the lamp but wonder if that will result in a loss of weight for all the lower canopy which is where most of the flowers are. So should I raise the lamp or is there another canopy management technique I am missing?

Question 3: Lastly, there are white spots showing up on a few of my lower canopy leaves as shown in the image below. Are these normal or are there bugs or something in there causing this to happen? I have one yellow sticky card hanging from the top of the tent that has been collecting small gnats so I think that might be my problem, but like I said I'm new!

Thanks in advance for all your help gang I truly appreciate the knowledge you guys give to empower others to grow their own!

-SAZUGT

Sazugt · Feb 27, 2017

14 views and no replies? Show me some love man, someone has got to have some words of wisdom to share!

Farmer B · Feb 27, 2017

There are no pics

Phaeton · Feb 27, 2017

No pics is working against getting answers.

Using T5 fluorescent units for budding has proven doable but the yields are light and the buds will be airy. Replacing half the bulbs with Zoo Med's "FloraSun" bulbs will fill in some needed spectrum, long wave red and UVB as well as continuous full spectrum.
But more intensity is needed. A PAR meter against the glass of most T5 grow bulbs reads 350-550 umol. For comparison, the minimum for secondary branches in the budroom is 700 umol with 900-1000 on top.

Scrog is for gardens where the canopy has to be smooth across the top. Too tall happens a couple times per year where a cola will be a foot or more taller than the rest of the canopy. My solution is to let it go between the lights and give it a quarter turn every watering.

With no pics it is hard to tell, but white spots are often caused by clusters of Spider Mite eggs glued to the underside of the leaf. Tiny things a magnifying glass can easily identify.

In the photo the plant silhouetted on the left ended up a full foot taller than the bottom of the reflector. The cola is less than it could be but the overall plant health is unaffected.

Sazugt · Feb 27, 2017

Phaeton said:
No pics is working against getting answers.

Damn! See proof postivie I'm a noob. I knew something had to be up! I'll try to fix and post after I get off work... Thanks man!

Sazugt · Feb 27, 2017

Alright, I had the album set to "private" and maybe that's why you couldn't see them. Are they working now?

Sazugt · Feb 27, 2017

I attached the images this time... hopefully that helps. Thanks again for the advice guys!

BakedBandit · Feb 28, 2017

Yes buds look small...chalk it up to not enough light. Inspect leaves w a magnifying glass or handheld scope. Many bugs are hard to see without aid of magnification.

Lethal · Feb 28, 2017

Hi Sazugt,

according to the pictures my guess would be spider mites based on the white spots on the leaves as thats the first sign you can usually spot they started leaching on these leaves. How to be sure? Turn the leave upside down if you have ok eyes you should be able to spot things which don't belong there tiny white parts are eggs and you might even see some little movement around these are the mature ones. Other sign are tiny webs. Well if its them start eradicating them. One thing they dont like at all is humidity but it won't stop them just slow them down. Use some pesticide on them organic or chem make your choice there are planty of possibilities, but you want to stop them asap as they can really ruin your crop.

Trich_Tyson · Feb 28, 2017

I think with a TV you are going to want a little bit more of an even canopy.. Scrog is probably your move. Those lower buds are pretty far.

How far along are they.. you can probably still pull down those tops.

Jellyfish · Feb 28, 2017

Sazugt said:
Alright, I had the album set to "private" and maybe that's why you couldn't see them. Are they working now?

Yes, we can see your photos. As somebody said, you need to have better /stronger lights for flowering- that's why they're kind of stretching, and it's why your buds are kind of small for four weeks.

I can't help you with the spider mites, never had to deal with those personally.

Don't give up, it takes a few rounds to get dialed in. You're on the right track.

Sazugt · Feb 28, 2017

Trich_Tyson said:
I think with a TV you are going to want a little bit more of an even canopy.. Scrog is probably your move. Those lower buds are pretty far.

How far along are they.. you can probably still pull down those tops.

Yesterday was their first day of their 4th week in flower. The distance from the very top of the canopy to the lowest buds is about 24".

Thinking about switching lamps after this run and using these guys in my organic greens grow. What lamps would you guys reccomend? I know the MH HPS lamps seem to be the standard but heat is a huge problem in my space. Thinking about going to LED panels but they seem expensive... Either way it seems clear I need to switch those bad boys out...

Sazugt · Feb 28, 2017

Trich_Tyson said:
I think with a TV you are going to want a little bit more of an even canopy.. Scrog is probably your move. Those lower buds are pretty far.

How far along are they.. you can probably still pull down those tops.

Yesterday was their first day of their 4th week in flower. The distance from the very top of the canopy to the lowest buds is about 24".

Thinking about switching lamps after this run and using these guys in my organic greens grow. What lamps would you guys reccomend? I know the MH HPS lamps seem to be the standard but heat is a huge problem in my space. Thinking about going to LED panels but they seem expensive... Either way it seems clear I need to switch those bad boys out...

Jellyfish · Feb 28, 2017

I use CFL's. Cheap, easy to find and effective. Check out a thread called CFL Cub.

Trich_Tyson · Feb 28, 2017

You can dial in t5 or cfl.
I'd recommend mh or hps. Heat is definitely the issue there. Usually where there is a will there is a way tho

Sazugt · Feb 28, 2017

Sprayed neem oil to treat for the spider mites. Thanks for the tip on that guys!

stoney917 · Feb 28, 2017

Yes Ya lights r weak but give it time...Where is the gold from????? Col and Acapulco gold are pure sativas n take much longer to initiate flower n finish compared to a sour kush.......

Sazugt · Feb 28, 2017

stoney917 said:
Yes Ya lights r weak but give it time...Where is the gold from????? Col and Acapulco gold are pure sativas n take much longer to initiate flower n finish compared to a sour kush.......

The AG I got from when I worked for a dispensary. We had another strain hermie and it pollinated the AG we had flowering. The cross is unkown but I'm pretty sure it was one of our Sour Kush plants that was the father.

I should have done more research. It seems like I'll need to harvest the Sour Kush once it's ready and just wait on the AG....

Sazugt · Mar 15, 2017

So I've been watching the plants closely and have positively identified the culprit responsible for the leaf damage. It's thrips. That said, does anyone know any management strategies I can use late in flower? So far they haven't gotten near the buds but I gotta hold them back for another 3-4 weeks at least!

I sprayed with neem as a first step but I'm worried to keep using it as the buds ripen, I'm not too keen on smoking poison... I read that spinosad is a good product to use but just looking for your guys recommendation and management strategies. Thanks!

-Sazugt

onavelzy · Mar 15, 2017

Sazugt said:
Yesterday was their first day of their 4th week in flower. The distance from the very top of the canopy to the lowest buds is about 24".

Thinking about switching lamps after this run and using these guys in my organic greens grow. What lamps would you guys reccomend? I know the MH HPS lamps seem to be the standard but heat is a huge problem in my space. Thinking about going to LED panels but they seem expensive... Either way it seems clear I need to switch those bad boys out...

If you're looking for a low cost, high intensity, low heat output lighting system, take a few minutes and look over what Terpene has been doing with screw in LED light bulbs..

Even his simple set up was more work than I wanted to do so I just got a 4 ft power strip, some plug in sockets and an 8 pack of 8.5W LED bulbs (HD, i think they were $13 for the pack). My total cost for one strip was about $50. The light out put at 18 inches is the same as my 630 CMH has at 4 feet. No heat build up at all.

get two or three of those strips to light a 4x4 area. Your biggest issues will be: is this too much light? and what to do with all the money you didn't spent on the fancy pants lighting set ups and electricity bill

Best of luck with your grow!

Ona

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