1st time growing-DP SK#1 under 450w(in total) CFLs

I'm back again. This time I have pics so will try to keep a diary.

I am vegging the plants under a 125w 2700k spectrum enviro.
For bloom I am using 1x200w 6400k enviro, 1x125w 6400k enviro, and up to 4 additional 20w household BC energy savers.

So far, all of the plants are 29 days old. I germinated 8 successfully, have discarded 3 males, kept one male for pollen (growing it in another room and putting out in the garden when sunny), and have 4 females. Two are still on 18/6 while the remaining 2 are in bloom. Of these, one has been on 12/12 for 21 days, the other 7days. All look reasonably healthy. I have put a little caption on the pics to make things clear.

So far, all has gone well. i have had some trouble with pots as I didn't realise how big they need to be. As a result, I had to cut the bottom off both the pots of the plants on 12/12 and put them in bigger receptacles that way. I had read that repotting a plant that has started flowering could stress it out and make it go hermie. Not gonna make the same mistake with the other two fems I have on 18/6

That's it for now!

Pics are on next post!

peace all

bun2

12/12 pics

12/12 pics

Ok, these are the 2 plants I have on 12/12. I took them a few days ago and have since changed the layout/lighting in the flower cab. I need to get some reflective material in there soon cos the plants are going mental stretching and the overhead reflectors won't be enough!

Peace all

bun2

18/6 snaps

18/6 snaps

Ok, this next lot of pics are of the remaining two plants (they have since shown their gender as I took these a few days ago-and they are both females

Well happy about that because I can top one and get some cuttings. They have been on 18/6 for 4 weeks now. I reckon I will move the smallest one into the 12/12 chamber next week and move the final plant into the bloom space as soon as any cuttings I have taken have successfully rooted! I am considering 'topping' one of these but ain't too sure about how best to do it. It also goes against the way I feel about the plants. It was a killer getting rid of the males so hacking off the grow tip of one of these plants that I've loved and nurtured is a tricky one.

Oh yeah, the last pic is of the male I am keeping for some pollen.

peace

pa

Topped

Topped

Right so I topped em repotted and fed them all. Ones in flower were looking tired so I hope the feeding and all that will give em a boost!

bun2sklyff said:

Ok, these are the 2 plants I have on 12/12. I took them a few days ago and have since changed the layout/lighting in the flower cab. I need to get some reflective material in there soon cos the plants are going mental stretching and the overhead reflectors won't be enough!

Peace all

bun2

Click to expand...

bun2sklyff, What have you changed the lighting to, HPS? This may reduce the stretch.
What reflective material have you thought of? I use mylar which i find works really well.

lights

lights

No, no HPS. One of those would fry my plants in the little space they are in. I don't think they are too stretched. The ones in veg are well compact. It is just the ones I have put in the 12/12 bit. The one that has been on 12/12 for 4&1/2 weeks is stretching but they do that whatever the light don't they? I have the tip of the plants about 1 or 2 cm from the light so they grow onto the light every night.

What I meant by changing the lights was that I put more in there, another reflector, and some small CFLs. Ok, in the 12/12 cupboard I have 1x200w enviro 6400k, 1x125w enviro 6400k, and 4x20w energy savers so a total 405watts of red spectrum light all under 2 enviro reflectors. I would put more in there but they won't fit. I will take a couple of photos and post them later so you or someone can see if they look ok. The one I moved to 12/12 10 days ago (after 3 weeks on 18/6 under a 125w 2700k enviro and 2x20w energy savers) has started sprouting pistils now. It looks much more bushy than the other one but I put that one on 12/12 only a week after I germinated it. it's all trial and error m8 for this first 2 on 12/12. Really, my proper grow is the 2 fems I have in veg. I have topped one and will take cuttings to clone a week before I move them to 12/12. Gonna give them 6 and 7 weeks veg respectively and see how much more I get than those I put on 12/12 after 1 and 3 weeks. That way I will know the best method for the clones and future grows.

In the end I would like to get one of those 'spectrum-reflex' fluoro set ups. Check it out m8>>>>http://www.spectrumreflex.nl/en/ 400g dry bud they reckon these lights will yield.

cheers for your reply, I don't normally get replies these days so am flying in the dark a lot, or so to speak

peace

bun2

wot size is your grow room? i have a wardrobe, 3ft wide 1.5ft deep, 4ft high. I have a 600w hps with cooltube & inline fan, NO heat probs at all. would those fluoro yield more than hps, i dont think so.

HPS

HPS

pccdrom said:

wot size is your grow room? i have a wardrobe, 3ft wide 1.5ft deep, 4ft high. I have a 600w hps with cooltube & inline fan, NO heat probs at all. would those fluoro yield more than hps, i dont think so.

Click to expand...

I kind of knew this would come. I can't really afford to run 600w & all of the cooling associated with using such a light in a small space. My flower cab is 600mm wide x 600mm deep x 1400mm high. I did my research before spending my meagre budget on my grow kit and quickly became aware of the HPS versus CFL yield debate. I realise that I would get more from a HPS light and, when I have the money, time, etc, may buy one in the future. If I had purchased one for my first grow, I wouldn't have had the money for anything else like compost etc and would have been limited in what I could grow. For the money I had, I decided I would be better off with a few CFLs because I wanted seperate Veg and Bloom spaces in order to grow clones and get a staggered harvest. Also, I am only growing for myself. If I had a 600w HPS, I would have ended up with too much and would have been too tempted to stick my neck out. I have done my bird and don't fancy going back to all of that. One of the main reasons that got me growing is that of escaping the street and all of its characters.

So, I am gonna stick with the CFLs for this, and, probably, my next couple, of grows. I know for sure that I will get plenty enough for me with the set up I have now. With proper implementation, these lights can yield a fair amount of good quality bud. I may even go as far as saying that the quality of bud grown under dedicated spectrum Enviros is better than bud grown under HPS.

So far, the lights I am using have performed much better than many HPS growers have told me they would. If the Skunk#1 plant I put on 12/12 only a week after germinating has another 6, 8, or 9 weeks to reach maturity, I reckon it will easily yield more than 1/2 oz. Around 3 weeks after that one matures, the next one I put on 12/12 after 3 weeks veg wil mature and possibly yield more than the one before. 3 weeks after that, I will have another fem maturing that would have had 6 weeks veg. A few weeks after that, the last of my seed grown plants will have reached maturity and would have had 7 or 8 weeks veg prior to 12/12. After that, the clones taken from the 2 plants that had 6 to 8 weeks 18/6 will be coming through and so on and so on. I could never have done this with only 1 HID light.

As I said, I may go for an HPS in the future. For now, however, I know I will get plenty with the system I have. CFLs, if used correctly, can give really good results. Ok, pound for pound, or gram for gram, an HPS will yield more than CFLs. That will, I reckon, change.

Check this out>>>>>

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=74038

CFLs no good eh?

This is the future>>>>

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=74038&page=2&pp=15

(same thread as above but page 2-scroll down and look at those Fluoro tubes! I would have a bank of these over an HPS every time)

Here's the link to the site that sells those fluoro tube set ups, they are only190 euros>>>>>>>>>

http://www.spectrumreflex.nl/en/

Only £100 odd! Bargain. 400g dry.

Cheers for repying m8. I ain't starting an argument. It gets me when people write off any lights other than HPS. If it wasn't for CFLs being available, I doubt I would have attempted growing.

peace

bun2

Bun.....Look into T5's High Outputs for flourecents!!! Currently using these for the first time for vegging. I have never seen such tight node spacing.....Check out D Rocks grow....He uses T5 from begginging to end and has great results!! I thought about going all T5 as well, 450w is more than enough for yourself for a personal grow!! You will be quite satisfied!!

T5s

T5s

Wedge Antilles said:

Bun.....Look into T5's High Outputs for flourecents!!! Currently using these for the first time for vegging. I have never seen such tight node spacing.....Check out D Rocks grow....He uses T5 from begginging to end and has great results!! I thought about going all T5 as well, 450w is more than enough for yourself for a personal grow!! You will be quite satisfied!!

Click to expand...

Yeah m8. Those T5s look like the dogs m8. Dunno if they were T5s or T8s but I saw a grow here where the geezer used em start to finish and lets the plants grow up through the tubes with no burn. Can't do that with my CFLs as I have a few singed leaves where I had em close and they grew onto the bulb overnight I would love a nice bank of the T5s though, can get some nice results, and yes, the plants are nice and compact. My ones love that blue spectrum CFL for veg growth, nice and compact but not as good as T5 for sure. I was thinking of getting a few to go on the sides of my flower cab to boost the lower growth. I am using normal household energy saver CFLs for lower bud sites right now and there is a big difference between those buds and other lower ones that just have to make do with what lumens make it down to em from the big bulbs overhead. It is mad to just dismiss anything other than HPS for flowering. Dogma.

Peace m8.

Pics next post of my 4 fems

bun2

ps-I think 'kahleel' from IC blooms with T5s. Check his nug shots. Mouth watering buds. OMG

Veg pics

Veg pics

Yeah, here's a couple of pics of the 2 mothers I have in veg. The first 3 are of the plant I plan on keeping in veg for 6 or 7 weeks.

The last 2 are of the plant I 'topped' just before taking the snaps. This one is gonna go in a bigger pot tonight when I wake em up and will be moved into 12/12 chamber Saturday. It would have had 5 weeks veg growth then.

So, I will have 3 plants on 12/12 come Saturday.

1 plant would have had 7days 18/6 and 28 days on 12/12.
(Bud sites are starting to develop in earnest with this one. I am also thinking that it has stopped stretching now as it hadn't moved any closer to the light when I checked it before lights out earlier. Will be taking pics when lights come on tonight!)

1plant would have had 21 days 18/6 and 14 days 12/12.
(This one is about to start flowering. Loads of tiny pre-flowers but no pistils of note just yet. It is 100% female though so expect pistils very soon)

1 plant would have had 5weeks 18/6.
(Should flower nicely with such a period of growth under that 6400k. They do love that light!-so much so that I am thinking of swapping it with the 2700k 125w in the flower cab every other day.)

Finally, I will have one Female left on 18/6 under the 2700k 125w Enviro CFL. Now I ain't decided what exactly I am gonna do with this one. I am most def gonna be taking clones from it because it is the best looking (tight internodes, uniform, healthy green leaves etc) plant out of them all. Now I will be pushed for space with 4 plants flowering in the 12/12 cab so am seriously considering planting this last one outside when spring comes (looks like it is gonna be really early here in UK this year-it has been like early summer these last couple of days-these are not good signs-warm days and a frost overnight is probably playing havoc with the wildlife here-should fecking ban cars and lorries if you ask me-I have full driving license but haven't had a car for years because of how I feel about the environment). I have a nice, secluded spot in my back garden which gets good sunlight from dawn to about 17:30 each day during the summer. I would really like to give it a go as I reckon I will get a nice bit of bud (and plenty of it) come early autumn! Any tips or advice about indoor veg + outdoor bloom grows will be, as usual, received with thanks!

That's me really. Cheers in advance for any and all replies.

peace all

bun2

good luck....

Looks good for a first gro dude. My first was with solely flouro's, and I still struggled with heat problems. HPS will make em stretch more, INMHO. My buddy used to tell me, "I love how your plants look like little trees". As far as yield, I am on my first run with an HPS and CMH, and per plant, I will yield much more. The quality with the flouro's was top shelf, and I surprised myself in that dept. They are more convient, but if space, $, and situation ever allow it, try switching. I am still using flouro's for veg and for my males. Do you, and good luck!

barletta said:

Looks good for a first gro dude. My first was with solely flouro's, and I still struggled with heat problems. HPS will make em stretch more, INMHO. My buddy used to tell me, "I love how your plants look like little trees". As far as yield, I am on my first run with an HPS and CMH, and per plant, I will yield much more. The quality with the flouro's was top shelf, and I surprised myself in that dept. They are more convient, but if space, $, and situation ever allow it, try switching. I am still using flouro's for veg and for my males. Do you, and good luck!

Click to expand...

Yeah, thanks for that barletta m8.
I have considered trying out HID lights, including HPS. I have a brick built outhouse that's about 3 metre square, 8 feet tall and all hooked up to my mains electric. It's only got a small window that could easily be blacked out and isn't close enough to any of my neighbours for them to be able to sniff me out. I could easily get away with flowering 5 or 6 plants in there when the weather is right. It would be too cold all year round, regardless of what lights were being used. If I could do 2 good grows in there over spring to early autumn, I would be mad not to use HPS. I wouldn't want to go more than 600w though as I get flyovers by the babylon helicopters frequently. Some people have been caught bang to rights cos the babylocopter sniffed them out with its thermal imaging camera. Cos I would be in the outhouse, I reckon a 1000w would be too hot, in every sense of the word. I could do a similar grow in my loft as well. There are a couple of T8 fluoro tubes up there already and it was all boarded up with plug sockets everywhere when I bought the place. I would still get para about too much heat and the babylocopter sniffing me out though and wouldn't rest with any more than 600w blazing away up there.

At the end of the day though m8, and you attested to it, these CFLs like Envirolights and Ecolights are spot on for people who want to have a go at growing to see how they like it without having to outlay too much money on equipment such as HID lights which require cooling systems and a somewhat expert hand in order to get the best from them without damaging the crop etc etc. If I can pull off a couple of successful grows without too many dramas using the lights and stuff that I have now, I will have gained the expertise I personally feel I would need if I ever choose to stick my neck out and grow a substantial amount of herb under HID bulbs sometime in the future.

It's like... ok, here's a good example. Even though I use CFLs only now, I still have to deal with the heat. With my lights, no fan would=dead or burnt plants. Barletta, you said the same about heat from CFLs yeah. They give off heat but it is not double hot so is easier to manage. It's not as steep a learning curve really.

That's me. Forgot to take pics yesterday. Will try to remember next time.

peace all

bun2

Mother snaps

Mother snaps

Back again with more pics.

Ok this next lot of snaps are of the remaining plant I have in the veg chamber on 18/6. I had to move the other one into the bloom chamber after I potted them into their final 10litre pots. There just wasn't enough room under the 125w 2700k enviro CFL for the both of them in their big pots. I am pushing the boat out space wise with the 3 I now have on 12/12 but reckon I will just about manage if they all develop like the one I put on 12/12 a month ago!

I forgot to take any pics of the flowering plants yesterday but will do at sun up as I am not sure how they are supposed to be looking at their respective stages in the 12/12 process and am unable to find any grow diaries of Dutch Passion Skunk#1 to refer to. If anyone reading this knows of one, please leave a link or something. Anyway, that will be for the next post when I have some photos of mine in 12/12.

Ok. Check out the main mother. I love the negatives as it looks like they pick up the blue spectrum from the enviro nicely. It is interesting to see how the luminosity deteriorates with the distance from the bulb. Good stuff. My fave pic, however, is the close up (ish) overhead shot.

This is my best example from these seeds and I will be taking clones as soon as I can buy some more compost and a pot of the rooting hormone that all of the 'How to clone' guides I have perused claim is essential for successful rooting of cuttings. A friend of mine just puts cuttings into a glass of water and waits for a root before she sows whatever plant cutting she is cloning in compost. No fancy hormones or nothing and she always seems to have success. I am not sure if she has every cloned canna though so will probably go with the best guide I have found on the web!

That's me,

peace all

bun2

Flower pics

Flower pics

Back again with some pics of the 12/12 plants. Dunno how they are supposed to be looking but am thinking they are ok!

Ok, 1st 4 are of the plant I put on 12/12 7 days after seed/germination. Snaps of top buds and lower down bud sites. Dunno if this is how it's supposed to look but I am thinking it is ok?








Last shot is of the 3 on 12/12 in the flower chamber. Sorry I couldn't be bothered uploading images of each individual plant I have in there. Besides, the other two aren't bud building yet. The one I put on 12/12 after 3 weeks veg is now starting to bloom in earnest, however, so I will have snaps of that soon!




peace all

pa

looking good

ta

ta

wantaknow said:

looking good

Click to expand...

Yeah, cheers m8.

When does 'flowering' start?

When does 'flowering' start?

Yeah, I is here again.

Plants are doing the do. All looks ok to me. I have a small Q, however, concerning the plants flowering process.

Ok, first up, many thanks in advance for any and all replies and or views of my diary! I would be lost without IC forums for sure!

Yeah, the Q!

Right, I put a few plants on 12/12 7 days after I germinated them. Obviously, as they were normal seeds (DP Skunk#1) I didn't know the sex of these plants. After 14 days on 12/12, these plants began to show their sex and I ended up with one female. So, this female was 3 weeks old since seed and had been on 12/12 for 2 weeks. Now the seed description @ the DP web site claimed that it would take between 7 to 11 weeks for the plants to reach maturity. Now, I am thinking that the 7 to 11 week countdown begins only when the plant starts, in the case of a female specimen, producing pistils and thus begins the flowering process in earnest. I am not, therefore, adding the time it took to show its sex and begin flowering to my countdown to harvest.

So, am I correct in starting the count from the day it started showing pistils?

If that is the case, it would have another 5 to 9 weeks before reaching maturity as opposed to having between 2 and 6 weeks (which would be the case if the countdown began as soon as the beans popped their tap roots because the plant is a total of 5 weeks old since seed germination). I am hoping that my countdown is correct in allowing the time for a plant to show its sex when put on 12/12 so soon after germination because it will have more time to fatten its buds up!

Any advice folks? Again, many thanks up front for any views or replies in my diary!

peace all

bun2

Because you put them into 12/12 relatively soon, it would probably be best to start counting from when they showed sex. With clones or mature plants (4wks or older), you can count from the day that they go to 12/12. They look good so far, maybe up the nitrogen a lil bit.