Should I veg for another week or two weeks?

[F.A Hayek]

why are you vegging under an hps light?

It's all I had laying around. I'll definitely be picking up some fluros to veg with for my next grow.

 

[ThorGanjason]

One of the #1 things you can do to increase your yield is to give your plants all the time that they need to veg. Don't waste your time with small plants, I like to go at least 2 months from seed.

 

[F.A Hayek]

One of the #1 things you can do to increase your yield is to give your plants all the time that they need to veg. Don't waste your time with small plants, I like to go at least 2 months from seed.

I'd happily veg them for 2 months if heat wasn't an issue. The approaching summer is beyond intense and there's no way I'd be able to keep my plants happy without an A/C.

 

[F.A Hayek]

Alright, I've decided to hold off flowering until the plants at least show their sex. That means they get another 2 - 2.5 weeks longer to veg. What kind of yield am I looking at with my vegetative time frame?

 

[GreyLord]

Depends how it goes & the strain. My guess is at least a couple of ounces dry, but more likely twice that if it bulks up nicely. But remember, quality is more important than quantity.

I see your also in Aus, roughly where? I'm west of Sydney I have the same problem with the heat. I usually only grew in winter but have extended that to 7-8 months.
This summer I'm attempting to keep a few mothers alive through summer. If we have a 49 degree day like we did a few years ago then everything will die without air-con.

I recently bought some black buckets with handles [they're usually white used in construction, catering etc.] at Bunnings if your in Aus, that are 15" x 10" giving me an extra 5" depth over the pots I've been using. A healthy root system gives a healthy plant. Most of the root growth happens in veg. So I'd re-pot now if your continuing the veg cycle for at least a few weeks more.
Don't forget to keep a fan on them. I use two running one at a time on 12 hour cycles, the smaller one runs when the lights are off, the larger when it's on.

 

[F.A Hayek]

Depends how it goes & the strain. My guess is at least a couple of ounces dry, but more likely twice that if it bulks up nicely. But remember, quality is more important than quantity.

I see your also in Aus, roughly where? I'm west of Sydney I have the same problem with the heat. I usually only grew in winter but have extended that to 7-8 months.
This summer I'm attempting to keep a few mothers alive through summer. If we have a 49 degree day like we did a few years ago then everything will die without air-con.

I recently bought some black buckets with handles [they're usually white used in construction, catering etc.] at Bunnings if your in Aus, that are 15" x 10" giving me an extra 5" depth over the pots I've been using. A healthy root system gives a healthy plant. Most of the root growth happens in veg. So I'd re-pot now if your continuing the veg cycle for at least a few weeks more.
Don't forget to keep a fan on them. I use two running one at a time on 12 hour cycles, the smaller one runs when the lights are off, the larger when it's on.

I've got 3 Big Bud and 1 Northern Lights at the 4 week veg stage. I've also got an Afghan, Big Bud and another NL seedlings that I'm planning on giving a very short veg period ( 2 - 3 weeks ).

Sydney area . Yeah it's insane, nothing worse than an Australian summer! If it starts to get too hot I'm considering just building a large grow cabinet in my room and blasting my aircon to keep the plants happy. That's definitely a last resort though!

Those buckets sound great. I wanted to transplant the plants over to at least 5 gallon pots this weekend and luckily enough I've got a bunnings not too far away.

At the moment I've got a ghetto A/C ( essentially a giant fan that blows out cool air through a wet pierce of material ) going at night when I have to close the grow room with an oscilating fan that runs 24/7. It's directed at the light but the plants get a nice breeze from it. I've also got the plants positioned near the in-take to make sure they stay cool. I've literally been checking their temperature with my temp gun 8-10 times a day haha.

 

[burgertime2010]

What is going to happen if you flip it right now is a deficiency at the worst possible time. The plants can go into flowering at any size and the choice is based upon the room you have. Yes, bigger plants yield more but take more time. More medium sized plants (9-12in) will produce a canopy that is optimal. Training and topping are key, aim for a canopy that is 18,'' this is the zone of productivity. Tall plants waste light....the strains you have are going to get big quickly so I would top and transplant right away. Address the nute deficiency and stimulate root zone development. Strains like these are prolific, to keep up, the roots are a factor as much as size. There is no magic formula for veg time, it is variable and a good grower can shave 25% of the cycle away with the same results or better. If urgency is not an issue give them more time. I recently went from cutting clones, into pint cups, and transplanting into 4L on the same day as I went into 12-12 in less than a month. 13 days into flower and plants have tripled in size, any bigger would be problematic. Plants were a bit bigger than yours and topped at the 5th set as soon as it was possible. The new growth is a good indicator for when to start flowering. The branches should be growing vigorously and thick enough to support "Big Buds" and even take cuttings if need be. The usage of Silica will help the plants thicken as well as boost their tolerance to heat and stress. I think you might benefit from foliar feedings with magnesium sulfate(Epsom salts) to green up the plants and boost root development.

 

[F.A Hayek]

What is going to happen if you flip it right now is a deficiency at the worst possible time. The plants can go into flowering at any size and the choice is based upon the room you have. Yes, bigger plants yield more but take more time. More medium sized plants (9-12in) will produce a canopy that is optimal. Training and topping are key, aim for a canopy that is 18,'' this is the zone of productivity. Tall plants waste light....the strains you have are going to get big quickly so I would top and transplant right away. Address the nute deficiency and stimulate root zone development. Strains like these are prolific, to keep up, the roots are a factor as much as size. There is no magic formula for veg time, it is variable and a good grower can shave 25% of the cycle away with the same results or better. If urgency is not an issue give them more time. I recently went from cutting clones, into pint cups, and transplanting into 4L on the same day as I went into 12-12 in less than a month. 13 days into flower and plants have tripled in size, any bigger would be problematic. Plants were a bit bigger than yours and topped at the 5th set as soon as it was possible. The new growth is a good indicator for when to start flowering. The branches should be growing vigorously and thick enough to support "Big Buds" and even take cuttings if need be. The usage of Silica will help the plants thicken as well as boost their tolerance to heat and stress. I think you might benefit from foliar feedings with magnesium sulfate(Epsom salts) to green up the plants and boost root development.

Thanks for the great information man. I've been doing very light foilar feeding with diluted Dutchmaster Gold A & B which contains magnesium, will this be enough for my plants? Or would you still recommend investing in Epsom salts? I just lurked Silica on ebay and it looks great, I'll definitely be grabbing it and the DutchMaster saturator as well. It's good to know they will grow prolifically once flipped to 12/12, I was concerned about flowering them at their size now seeing as they're predominantly indica.

I'll post more flicks this afternoon so you can get a better idea of where my plants are at now.

 

[burgertime2010]

Thanks for the great information man. I've been doing very light foilar feeding with diluted Dutchmaster Gold A & B which contains magnesium, will this be enough for my plants? Or would you still recommend investing in Epsom salts? I just lurked Silica on ebay and it looks great, I'll definitely be grabbing it and the DutchMaster saturator as well. It's good to know they will grow prolifically once flipped to 12/12, I was concerned about flowering them at their size now seeing as they're predominantly indica.

I'll post more flicks this afternoon so you can get a better idea of where my plants are at now.

Epsom salts are very cheap and will last you a long while. It is the Sulfur in them that is hard to find. S and MG help to activate Nitrogen usage which creates greener more efficient growth. A word to the wise.....start with small doses in the dark.

 

[Fresh 2 De@th]

i'd suggest vegging them for 2 more wks. 10 more days in those pots, then transplant into 3 gals for 4 days and flip them.

 

[F.A Hayek]

Epsom salts are very cheap and will last you a long while. It is the Sulfur in them that is hard to find. S and MG help to activate Nitrogen usage which creates greener more efficient growth. A word to the wise.....start with small doses in the dark.

Alright, too easy! I managed to pick up a 0.5kg bag for $10. How much would you usually add to half a liter of water in a spray bottle?

i'd suggest vegging them for 2 more wks. 10 more days in those pots, then transplant into 3 gals for 4 days and flip them.

I transplanted two of the largest plants into very large pots today. They had roots running around the inside of the pot so I'm guessing they were pot bound. I only picked up 1 bag of Coco coir thinking it would be enough to fill 4 large pots but it wasn't. Hopefully I'll be transplanting the two remaining plants in the next few days.

Yeah, an extra 2 weeks is a good time frame. They still haven't shown their sex yet so 2 weeks will give them plenty of time to do so.

 

[Fresh 2 De@th]

oh your in coco? i didn't realize that. yeah, you shouldn't need no more than 2 wks more of veg to get the results that you're looking for.

 

[F.A Hayek]

After taking these pictures yesterday I realised the leaves were a light green, which is most likely from a lack of nitrogen. I've been cautious with the nutes because the NL's are so damn sensitive and burn easily. I gave them all a decent dose of nutes along with regular sprays of diluted DM A&B so hopefully they'll green up over the next few days.

I'm sort of in the dark with nutes at the moment because my PPM meter has still yet to arrive. I literally ordered it a month ago. I'll never be buying things with free shipping from China again!

Plant 3 ( Big Bud )



Plant 4 ( Northern Lights )



Plant 1 ( Big Bud )



Plant 5 ( Big Bud )





How am I doing so far?

 

[Nizza]

i wouldn't use epsom, just go buy a bottle of cal-mag and give it a 2ml-5ml feed every watering dep. on stage and medium size (because coco takes some cal-mag for itself, causing the plant to become deficient)
also i got 3x fem big bud seeds and so you know mine is a cross of NL and skunk #1, and is by vision seeds. I like your grow, keep it green dude!

i read where you said "the roots were spinning on the outside of the pot when i transplanted them"
this is called spinout, which you want to avoid if possible.
ways of avoiding this are airpots (if using a drip setup because requires freq waterings.)
paint product called spinout (ion paint that stops root growth within 1/4" of it , you paint inside the bucket, not intended for hydroponics but i'm sure would work for coco)
some people just cut holes in the buckets and line it with landscape fabric or reusable shopping bags (fabric ones)
but i'm not sure how this all works with coco~ i do hempy coco and still have spinout issues with young plants.

 

[burgertime2010]

He makes a good point. Cal mag is aggressively used in a coco grow. Epsom is only for foliar use to correct sulphur and magnesium deficiencies. The ratio of Cal to Mag is 4:1 or pretty close in Cal-Mag and is ideal for cannabis but sulphur is contained therein, You cannot add and add till the yellow goes.....you will over-do it. Epsom spray is a way to circumvent root zone imbalances. There is a lot to know about coco.....I have a thread dedicated people just starting with it to streamline the learning and get. Coco: the facts you need. It is a great start and I am happy to assist. I have worked very hard to make it easier on the newbies to coco. OK, you must rinse and charge the coco and I mix it with perlite and rockwool mulch. 300 ppms of a/b/Cal mag in solution should be generously poured into the pots full of coco out of the bag. The PH, steady at 5.8, this will break the natural buffer of most coco which naturally wants to be at 6.1. good runoff and a cautious transplant will send you on the way. There is a lot of good but differing info out here. Do me a favor and do the rinse, look at the thread. Any problems lemme know. Just a last thought, 10-20% will prevent salt buildup and nutrients becoming locked-out. This is very important when you top watering. Good luck

 

[burgertime2010]

Coco: Tips, techniques, and the facts you will need. This is the name of a helpful thread. In the Drain to waste sub section

 

[F.A Hayek]

i wouldn't use epsom, just go buy a bottle of cal-mag and give it a 2ml-5ml feed every watering dep. on stage and medium size (because coco takes some cal-mag for itself, causing the plant to become deficient)
also i got 3x fem big bud seeds and so you know mine is a cross of NL and skunk #1, and is by vision seeds. I like your grow, keep it green dude!

i read where you said "the roots were spinning on the outside of the pot when i transplanted them"
this is called spinout, which you want to avoid if possible.
ways of avoiding this are airpots (if using a drip setup because requires freq waterings.)
paint product called spinout (ion paint that stops root growth within 1/4" of it , you paint inside the bucket, not intended for hydroponics but i'm sure would work for coco)
some people just cut holes in the buckets and line it with landscape fabric or reusable shopping bags (fabric ones)
but i'm not sure how this all works with coco~ i do hempy coco and still have spinout issues with young plants.

Thanks man! It's my first grow so hopefully things go smoothly. The Coco I'm using is buffered with Calcium and Magnesium, would Cal-Mag still be beneficial or excessive? Ah that's never a good thing! I'll definitely be picking up some of those breathable mesh bag / pots from the hydro shop for my next grow. Those seeds sound exotic! I want to get a cross strain for my next grow, maybe sour diesel x skunk from marijuana-seeds.nl .

He makes a good point. Cal mag is aggressively used in a coco grow. Epsom is only for foliar use to correct sulphur and magnesium deficiencies. The ratio of Cal to Mag is 4:1 or pretty close in Cal-Mag and is ideal for cannabis but sulphur is contained therein, You cannot add and add till the yellow goes.....you will over-do it. Epsom spray is a way to circumvent root zone imbalances. There is a lot to know about coco.....I have a thread dedicated people just starting with it to streamline the learning and get. Coco: the facts you need. It is a great start and I am happy to assist. I have worked very hard to make it easier on the newbies to coco. OK, you must rinse and charge the coco and I mix it with perlite and rockwool mulch. 300 ppms of a/b/Cal mag in solution should be generously poured into the pots full of coco out of the bag. The PH, steady at 5.8, this will break the natural buffer of most coco which naturally wants to be at 6.1. good runoff and a cautious transplant will send you on the way. There is a lot of good but differing info out here. Do me a favor and do the rinse, look at the thread. Any problems lemme know. Just a last thought, 10-20% will prevent salt buildup and nutrients becoming locked-out. This is very important when you top watering. Good luck

Awesome info! My Coco is mixed with Perlite and Vermiculite and I always pH my water to 5.8 after adding nutes etc. I flushed one of my plants about a week ago and no matter how much pH'd water I put through it I couldn't break the buffer of 6.3-6.5. The thread looks great man, thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely be getting amongst it .

 

[F.A Hayek]

Oh, two of my plants went back to a lush green after a heavy nutrient feeding yesterday after I transplanted them, so I guess a lack of Nitrogen was the problem. I'll be giving the other plants the same nutrient levels when they're ready for their next watering.

 

[burgertime2010]

Oh, two of my plants went back to a lush green after a heavy nutrient feeding yesterday after I transplanted them, so I guess a lack of Nitrogen was the problem. I'll be giving the other plants the same nutrient levels when they're ready for their next watering.

Great!!!! always a good feeling. I hope I helped.

 

[burgertime2010]

Oh, two of my plants went back to a lush green after a heavy nutrient feeding yesterday after I transplanted them, so I guess a lack of Nitrogen was the problem. I'll be giving the other plants the same nutrient levels when they're ready for their next watering.

Just out of curiousity you just fed the roots?