1st Grow Cfl

xebeche said:

Yeah, if you got one of those 30x scopes, it's fun to get a close-up look at the buds and trichs under the lens. I used to get really high and just stare at 'em for hours, lol...now I have to be stealthier, so I can't spend that kind of time around my plants. I still like to look at 'em up close, though...they can be a beautiful sight to behold.

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xebeche said:

Ya know, I usually leave my fan leaves on unless they start to yellow or just look less effective than the underlying leaves. I tend to think of 'em as big solar panels (?). My understanding is that it's the leaves (and not the buds themselves) that are responsible for the photosynthesis, so I don't really feel it's necessary to have the buds exposed to light, but rather you should maximize exposure of the foliage to your light source. I could be wrong about that, I dunno, but I always try to keep leaves that are healthy and gathering light, and usually only trim them if they're unhealthy or damaged or just aren't really doing much cause they're too shaded. That's not to say that I've never purposely removed fan leaves, I def have when they were in the way or whatever, as long as the plant has enough other healthy leaves to compensate, then it's fine to remove some fan leaves, it'll do no harm.

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zombie said:

Thats why, as you go down the stem, the buds are smaller. Not enough fan leaves to collect light. The colas have so many fan leaves to collect the light to use for the bud. The buds themeselves really dont really utilize the photosynthesis, they are a bi-product of it. But, I do agree with xebeche, removing some wont hurt. But, I would keep as many as possible. I have even tried to "pinch" the stalk right below the top cola on the stem. It seems like the plant sent more nutes to protect the top bud and that bud got bigger do to it. There are all kinds of ways to get the bigger buds, just research it and talk to people. I know one guy who uses a tablespoon of black molasses per gallon once he starts to flush before harvest and he swears by it. And I have sampled that smoke. Sweet and tasty ! Just remember this......all the bud is is a flower that needs to be produced from the plants stand point to sustain life of the plants, to keep that strain alive. If it feels like its endangered, it will do all it can to keep it alive and healthy while it waits for pollination.

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poptcorn said:

Whoa, did you pinch the stem mid-flower? Or before the cola was really there?

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Bird Gymnastics said:

So something bad happened... Yesterday I left my house around 4 PM lights turn off at 8pm. Anyways this morning when I woke up my lights were off. I checked my timer and it was set back almost 2 hours. I believe my roommate didn't put money on the stupid M POWER and as a result, my lights went off. My question is will this stress my plant bad? I mean the lights went off almost 2 hours early and I woke up around the time when they are suppose to turn back on. So now they are off by maybe 10-15 minutes of their original light schedule. Let me know what you guys recommend or any info you have. I hope this didn't fuck it up. If so my roommate is dead when he gets home.

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xebeche said:

Nah, 15 min off-schedule won't make any diff...even 2 h off would still be OK. Always worse if lights are ON for hours longer than they should be, OFF is not a big deal. These things happen from time to time..

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xebeche said:

They should be fine, I wouldn't worry about it too much at this point. Def you should have a talk with your roommate, though, and let him know what's up...you don't want this happening on a regular basis.

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Learning2Hydro said:

Great thread. Sounds like you are at about the same stage in the learning curve as I am. Will follow for further updates and stuff. I ordered Cutting Edge Solutions nutrients and am feeding with that. They seem to love it now that I've figured out a good soil/perlite blend and proper watering a bit more. Good luck!

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Learning2Hydro said:

No link, trying to concentrate on just keeping these things alive ATM...I did a good job of trying to kill them early on. CES was recommended to me by someone on here I think. They're homegrown organic nutes from California. A cheaper alternative to the more expensive FF stuff and whatnot. Oh, this is my 1st time too.

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Learning2Hydro said:

No worries, one has recovered fully and is exploding. The other we will see. All in the name of learning. I will document my next grow. How often are you feeding now at this point? Will definitely enjoy some more pics. Keep 'em going!

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Bird Gymnastics said:

I'm glad to hear that at least one recovered! You are 100% right about learning though. You can never learn enough. Knowledge is power! ha ha Looking forward to seeing your grow. As far as my grow goes, I am doing a light feeding schedule. So mine is quite different then most. Rather then feeding every other watering I am feeding every watering. So basically every 3 days now.

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bdcook89 said:

Nicely done man, I love feeding light and just doing it feeding every watering rather than every other. Watch out for the salt build-up though, it can come very unexpectedly

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