1st time grow with CFL lights lots of pics need help

juandavid1992

Active Member
So I pretty much know all the basic of growing by doing extensive research and know I am ready to start growing. I bought some Black Domina auto flowering feminized strain that came with a Great White Shark seed. I started germinating one of the Black Domina seed in the paper-towel method and after 2 day the shell cracked but less than a centimeter of the root tip came out after a day no progress was shown so I decided to take it out and germinate it right on the soil as well as another Black Domina and Great White Shark. It is day 1 for two of the seeds and day 4 for the other Domina. I have attached some pictures of my set-up, it is a very inexpensive set-up due to tuition and rent but I'm hoping it works. I have two CFL Full Spectrum lights 25W with 5000K. I used miracle grow moisture control. I really need some help because it has always been a dream for me to become part of the marijuana revolution and become a grower, if successful I will continue to pursue one of the funnest hobbies and make it into a lifestyle. Thanks for reading ;)
 

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Xcon

Active Member
5600k or 6400k will work better. CFL builds are usually low budget so don't be ashamed to tell us what you can't afford.
 

juandavid1992

Active Member
Sorry I haven't been posting pics, kinda busy with work and school but my plants finally sprouted. Out of the three feminized auto flowering plants that I started with only 2 sprouted so I have one Black Domina and one Great White Shark growing now. It is day 8 today and both plants look healthy, I am worried because on one the BD embryonic leaves the tip is completely yellow, it might have something to do with how it sprouted. When BD first came out the shell was still on for a few days till I did some research and took it off myself (pretty easy wasn't stuck hard), also it is considerably short compared to the GWS. On the GWS there is a yellow spot also on one of the embryonic leaves but I have heard it is normal. I've attached lots of pics, the clear one is GWS and the red cup is BD, hope to get some feedback thanks :)

P.S: I added a 100 watt 6500K CFL so now I have: One 100w 6500k and two 25w 5500K CFL
 

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imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Firstly nice selection on seeds. Of every plant I've ever grown they all lose those 1st little set of leaves and you baby's look absolutely fine. And as far as seeds sprouting, if they haven't popped after 5 days I'd say its a dud.

Soil-Now since you're using soil with time release fertilizers in it you'll want to use reduced ratio's of whatever flowering nutes you use.

Lights-For seeds so younge I used an even mix of spectrums, both 27k and 65k. You're goal depending on how much grow space you have should be as close to what the sun puts out lumens wise(Sun= +10,000 lumens per sq.ft. accross the planet). For now what you've got is fine and since Auto-Flowers don't depend on light color or cycle. I'm sprouting my 2nd batch of Short Rider Auto's this year now and look forward to about an oz per plant tho they only grow about 12-18" tall but not bad for shorty's lol
 

juandavid1992

Active Member
imlovnit24/7
Thanks bro ill keep that in mind also I wanted to increase yield to an oz per plant any tips?

wayno30
Yeah I didnt have much to start with but im transplanting them to a 6" pot soon
 

juandavid1992

Active Member
Its is Day 12 and they look amazing. I transplanted them to bigger pots and to save on some of the light bill I place my plants by the window sill for about 4 to 5 hours of direct sunlight. I live in the sunshine state so the sun is always beaming in my room. Here are some pics!

P.S: The little one is Black Domina and the bigger one is Great White
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Not knowing a whole lot about the BD i looked it up. Looks like your auto's can grow as tall as 4ft, but thats usually a boast from a master grower. I think you'll easily get over an oz per. I'd recomend keeping you lumens around 7-8000 cuz of how young they are. And since you transplanted, a bit early i would say but no worries, just avoid over watering and your pots have good drainage.

The only thing you'll wanna keep an eye out for as a beginer is spots on the leaves, usually a sign of deficiencies...tho some nute burns can also look similar. If you happen to get any off coloration just post pics and most ppl will help out.

I'm curious to know if the GWS is autoflower or just feminized?
 

juandavid1992

Active Member
Wow I didn't know they could be so tall and I'm really hoping for an oz each. You are a psychic imlovnit24/7 the black domina leaves have been turning brown i've attached some pics maybe you can help me figure whats wrong with it. The GWS is actually both feminized and autoflowering
 

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loquacious

Well-Known Member
Just my two cents, I would use the 68 watt cfls from home depot (15.00 a piece). By a splitter and use two bulbs per light fixture. They are 2700k which is what you want for growth and if you use at least two per plant you will get 1-2 ounces per plant.
 

dopeyG

Well-Known Member
plants are lookin good so far, however with cfls be sure to use lots and keep em close. LST or scrog is usually a good way to go with cfls as you get better light penetration. Light cant be stressed enough. Also, you should use a medium without nutes and add your own nutes that way you have more control over of how much and when a plant is being fed. im growing with cfls also for the first time check out my journal if u want.
 

loquacious

Well-Known Member
plants are lookin good so far, however with cfls be sure to use lots and keep em close. LST or scrog is usually a good way to go with cfls as you get better light penetration. Light cant be stressed enough. Also, you should use a medium without nutes and add your own nutes that way you have more control over of how much and when a plant is being fed. im growing with cfls also for the first time check out my journal if u want.
MG with moisture control is the shit! I don't recommend lst or scrog for cfls as they make the plant more like a bush which makes it harder for the lights to support. The best thing for cfls is topping https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/151706-uncle-bens-topping-technique-get.html . I top all my plants and have had nothing but success.
 

juandavid1992

Active Member
Well I was thinking about topping but I heard theres no point of doing it with an autoflowering plant like mine because instead of growing 3 fat colas it would just be 3 popcorn buds... what do you think?
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Well I was thinking about topping but I heard theres no point of doing it with an autoflowering plant like mine because instead of growing 3 fat colas it would just be 3 popcorn buds... what do you think?
Well actually you can top an auto flower tho you usually have to do it early. Tho depending on how fast both your auto's start to grow pistels you could risk stressing it. The reason i say its easy with other strains is cuz my Short Rider started budding after 10 days, alot of others grow a bit bigger before they start to flower.

Here's my last auto i grew that basically grew its 3rd set of leaves came in retarded and stunted growth for over a week so i topped it. Sadly i can't find a pic of her at full bub...She did give me 26.7grams(just shy of an oz)
 

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juandavid1992

Active Member
Wow awesome plants imlovnit24/7

I was thinking about topping my GWS its 20 days old now idk if it might be too late late though. The BD is the short discolored one idk what happened, I guessed she was hungry so I started feeding both plants flowering plant food. The fert is a 15-30-15 and i dilute it at 25% strength with 1 gallon water. I fed them yesterday and the soil is nice and moist. lets see what happens :)
 

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imlovnit24/7

Active Member
On the big 1 i'd probably top it now if you were to...but its up to you. As for the little 1 it looks like you've nute burned it. just flush her once or twice between in the next 3-5 days and then she should be fine
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
you probably don't need to feed the little 1 for a good week or 2 till she's soaked up enough of the organic nutes from the soil 1st. Over fertilizing is a very common mistake. You could say i've experienced a lack of nutes with my lady in my ghetto rigged box. I also think i've had a small issue with a light leak cuz mine was well on her way to finishing at 7 weeks but i thought wronge,,,looks like 9 weeks or more but IDK...I'm going off color of THC instead of just hair color going about 70-80% half-full milky colored crystals
 

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Sorry i must be high and forgetful right now, don't mean to post a bunch on your log here lol. I've had a major development in the last 2-3weeks...i had my 2 outdoor beaut's get robbed from me by some bum in the neighborhood :(..... was gonna give me at least 2oz each...found a mad trail leading out my yard to shopping cart tracks lined with leaves to my plants that were 5 weeks from finish. Good news is my loss is his loss cuz i smoked up 1 of the buds he left hanging by a tread and REGIE/MERSH has a lot better high than what he stole from me at the stage they were at }: ^) lol
 
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