A New Chapter, 45 watt LED light, Feminized seeds, CFLs

And they're starting to get stinky, too, yum!

This morning I poked a finger in the soil and it was still moist-- so I didn't water today.

I will water tomorrow, but maybe not in the morning as it will be cold. Probably when I get home around 5:30 before lights-out at 6 PM.

I haven't been running the fan because they're so sturdy (I ran it for a period of days, earlier).

I can't believe how healthy-green the stocks and leaves look.

When they were smaller, the trunk was purple, and I was worried, though all new growth was green.

Soon after, that purple stuff peeled away revealing bright green, and making me... happy.

Water continues to be from the tap, having set for days.

No nutes, and I'm hoping I won't need any because I'm growing the plants so small.

I'm about 20 days from harvest-- roughly 3 weeks, which puts harvest at around December 15... another 1.5 weeks to cure (if I remember correctly) and... Merry Xmas!

I took both of these with flash. I can't help but think that the fact that a bright, sunlight-temp'd flash can't flush out these colors shows how powerful this lamp is.

I recently learned that it is rated to cover 2.5 square feet of space-- and all this time I thought it was 1.5.

Which means on my next grow I may be able to get away with four plants at a time.

Although, now that I think about it, as the plants grow, probably 2 at a time is going to barely fit the 2.5. Right now it's less than 1.5, but we shall see.

I have not been running the fan, as I've wanted warm air from my living room to enter this space during the day as this room gets quite cold at night (can't buy a thermometer, yet).

Still didn't water them today-- soil still feels slightly moist. Notice the stalks/trunks are still visibly green even in this colored light (the flash probably helped show that up).

Watered them yesterday with 14-21 oz of water. Photographed today (Friday). Started 12/12 5 days ago (Sunday)

I started flower last Sunday (today's Monday) when the plants were only 21 days old.

I suppose I'm not the only one who thinks I may have started flowering a little early?

Growth is healthy, and regular. But I'm starting to wonder how these little things are supposed to be weighed down with buds in another 3-4 weeks.

Well; time will tell, eh?

I have been on 12/12, it will be two weeks this Sunday-- today's Friday, 12/4/9.

I am not seeing any bud growth AT ALL.

Any response is welcome, I'm getting nervous because the plants are getting big, and I don't want them to be too big or I can't cover them adequately with this light.

Took these pics yesterday, 12/3/9. Two under the light and one of the tops, under flash.

Thinking about adding some nutes on next water (tomorrow). Simple 10/15/10 plant food.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or advice is welcome!

It looks like the pics for the previous thread did not load properly-- they lead to an error and the previews don't show up. So I'm uploading them again.

I'm realizing it's naming my files the file names, but appending the name of my thread, full of comments so maybe if I post this way (instead of the lower reply to thread box) it will work.

Pics below. I was alarmed that they hadn't started to Bud but someone in the help section explained to me that LEDs take 2-4 weeks longer, especially a single light like I have. I should have started flower today, basically.

Advised to keep in flower, as going back to veg would be to stressful. Also advised that my harvest will be <sniff> small.

So if 14 days from today I still have no buds, then I'll be getting alarmed and looking for light leaks (I already made a cursory check, all looks light tight).

Watered each Saturday with tablespoon molasses and 14 oz/water each (tablespoon spread out over 28 oz).

Babies are growing slow, and no sign of hairs. I'm going to give them another 10 days. Before I start to worry.

Growth is slow partially because the room is so cold.

I don't have a temp guage, but it must be around 55-65, so growth is halted.

In the morning I turn on the heater in the main room and let it blow in there, but when I come home at the end of the day, the room is cold again.

The plants look perfectly healthy.

But they sure as shit have not started budding.

They're both fems, too, so I don't have to worry about that boy/girl stuff.

If I had the money, I would just buy two more LED lights and put them on the side.

But it's Xmas and people need some love.

I also am seriously considering putting up some fluoros to illuminate the sides.

But then I'm not doing a true LED grow.

And I also worry because the LED doesn't hang straight down, it's against the wall- so some light is wasted there, as well.

Ah well. Even if this doesn't make it I know what things I will correct on the next grow.

And I have an old grow closet I can convert into a seedling/veg chamber, after Xmas (no money, now) so that I can have constant growth.

We shall see.

Okay, okay, I know: using foil causes hot spots and is totally not worth it.

But that's true with traditional light sources.

This morning I thought, I can do two things to get better light spread: I can add some fluoros, or I can take the babies outside during the day.

Both have costs. I don't want to use the fluoros, because then I don't have a true "LED-only" grow. Also because I don't want to bother setting up the props to hold them.

I considered taking them outside during the day and putting them on my water heater shed (which I've done with past grows). But this has numerous problems-- the plants I would use to shield them won't hide them very well; I could attract outdoor bugs; and lastly-- it's freaking cold outside.

Now I'm on the west coast but it's been clear and cold like a mofo. I went out this morning at 6, when it was getting light and I was like, no way am I putting my babies out here.

They're already too cold in the room, which is contributing to slow growth. Every night when I come home I open the door of the room, turn on the heater, and expect that some of the warm air from this room will blow in there.

I also keep the cat outside during this period (from about 5:30 to 6, when it's lights out) because the one time I let him in I heard a noise and he was in there rubbing up against the plants.

This ain't Catnip, this is Peoplenip!

So in desperation I thought of foil. And while it's known that foil causes burn spots with traditional lighting, what about LEDs?

I figured that because the LEDs have wide dispersion and each individual light isn't that powerful in itself, the LEDs would distribute enough over the foil so that the foil wouldn't focus and create burn spots.

The pics below are 1) no flash, 2&3) flash, 4) no flash.

I was able to observe that indeed the foil added visually perceivable light enhancement to the leaves, including lower leaves.

I also cut off the very lowest leaves, so the plant can use it's resources on the higher and more productive leaves.

When I got home, I'd swear the little leaves had grown noticeably.

Take a look:

oo im lookin forward to seein your results g2bk!

chronchron said:

oo im lookin forward to seein your results g2bk!

Click to expand...

Thanks chronchron stop by any time. They are growing slowly, but they sure are green...

I watered these things like, 5 days ago or something and the soil is still moist. In fact, I picked one up water came out of the built-in catch tray.

Even though I'm only watering 14 oz each time, I wonder if it's too much. These are small pots, and I'm reading the See More Buds book but I forget, he has two-gallon pots, these are like 3/4 gallon.

At least there's no roots poking out the bottom. I hope I don't have to transplant.

Then again it would probably be safe now, as there aren't even any buds.

But next time I water it will be only 7 oz each, and I'm going to add 10-15-10 nutes, basic household plant food.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday I was going to put them out in the sun during the day, to try and dry out the soil. But I can't, because it will be raining.

Also the temps in there are 50-60, I think this is causing slow growth.

It's just going to be a small grow. If I get desperate after another week if there's no buds I may put in some fluoros-- this would both up the temps and add more light. But I'm trying to do a virgin LED grow.

And of course, because it's xmas, I have no extra money to get a couple more LEDs, which would be awesome.

I can't believe this. I took the babies outside to photograph them (see pics) and I noticed, and it was totally obvious, this was not my eyes playing tricks on me-- there is freaking mold in the soil. Like, serious, white, furry mold.

I don't know if this grow is going to make it, how do you get mold out of the soil?

First thing I would do is put it outside every day and come home during lunch to check on it.

But while I'm on the sunny west coast, we are experiencing constant rain, right now-- which normally makes me happy.

I blame myself.

The room is 55-65 degrees, and I didn't understand certain things.

One, if you're growing under LEDs remember that they basically put out no heat to the plants. Even under fluoros I could water every 3-5 days, with the soil noticeably drying out.

Not so with LEDs. I watered 14 oz each 6 days ago and the soil is still wet-- nay, it's moldy!

Lately when I come home by about 5:30 I crank up the heater in the main room and open the door to the babies and hope that warm air flows in. But I haven't always done this. And I only have 1/2 hour to do it, before lights out.

My other fail is that I turned off the fan.

Here's a weird thing: I noticed one of the plants was droopy. It's leaves were totally green, not crispy, and the soil (as I've mentioned before) was of course moist.

So why was it drooping?

Well I had this dumb theory that it needed more air, so I turned on the fan, yesterday.

The fan doesn't blow on the plants-- growing under fluoros, I needed this to make the stems strong, but these plants don't need it.

However, it turns out, stagnant air is an enemy to my babies.

When I looked in today, after turning on the fan last night (facing away-- don't want to blow down the aluminum foil, you know) she was perky again.

She just needed air circulating.

Anyways, this is the ONE TIME I'm glad these plants haven't started budding-- I'd have mold in the buds.

Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of mold in the soil?

Should I bring it into my living room and set it near my heater?

My problem with that is that the light is so inappropriate here, it might stress the plant, and that would further weaken it.

As you can see from the pics, the plants look totally healthy if somewhat skeletal.

Welcome all comments, thank you!

To "combat" the mold in the soil I originally put my oven on 200 degrees, opened the door and set the plants on the door on a piece of aluminum foil.

I may have done this after I set them atop the burners (not burning) to try to get heat that way and felt it wasn't efficient.

Do not try to get rid of mold this way.

When I set the babies on the door, the leaves facing the door withered and were almost killed in under 1/2 hour.

It was raining that weekend (weekend before yesterday) and the house was cold and the plant's soil was still damp-- after two weeks of no watering!

On Saturday of this weekend I put them out in the sun all day in a private spot, though somewhat shaded at times. But the air was warmer (about 76 at high) than in their room (about 61 at low-- where do I come up with these numbers).

I didn't get rid of the mold-- but maybe I slowed it down.

Anyways, on Saturday or Sunday of this week, I watered them, as they were drooping-- the soil at top, at least was dry.

What I did, I put into a 2.5 gallon container one whole squirt of the house-plant-food 10-15-10.

I stirred it slightly with the dropper, then proceeded to fill a 7 oz. cup.

I poured that one 7 oz with some degree of nutes into a plant, and then the other plant.

On Sunday, I thought I saw hairs but it was very hard to discern.

On Monday morning, I knew for certain-- she's growing hairs.

So my plants have finally reached puberty, after being in flower for something like 3-4 weeks.

Late-bloomers, I'd say.

Anyways the mold has not advanced, but I will have to be very careful of mold in the buds, now that I have reached flowering stage.

I know it will help that I am running the fan, but I also need to keep it warmer in there.

The problem with LEDs is that they transmit so little heat.

One thing I'm going to do, when I get paid next week (seems a long way away) I'll buy another LED array and set it to the side. I was thinking that the girls would be in day 14 by then and only have extra light for one week.

But with this slow LED business, does flower take longer, also?

What if, instead of 3 weeks, or whatever it is, it takes 6 weeks?

Meaning the extra light would def. be a benefit.

Pictures!

Can't really tell in these pics but the hairs are obvious and things seem healthy. Trimmed some lower bits so that more energy goes to the buds.

No more mold in the soil; the days have been warmer and now I water half each what I did before.

Watered 2-3 days ago, 7 oz with very little nutes, again today 7 oz (soil was dry, plant was drooping) with mild nutes (same water, it's been sitting).

Plan to order another 45-watt LED and put it on the side to try to max my buds on this thing.

Going by the buds book, it took his about 4 weeks (28 days) to harvest from around this period. So I'm giving myself at least a month and starting to get worried, paying attention to every little droop of a leaf or something.

I plan to order another LED this Wednesday should get it next week, I'll put it on the side so my side buds can grow, too.

This probably won't even produce 1/2 an oz of bud but I'm learning. The worst thing is the cold in that room. Now every night I heat it, and every morning.

Still need to get a thermometer...

House is cold and the sun is out so I set them on a ledge to warm up. The pics below I took in the shade with flash.

Today I ordered two all-red LED lights, $30/each; when I get those next week I'll put them on the sides of the plants.

Also am going to try to fix the light-- it rests against the wall instead of hanging purely down.

Looking good. Cant wait too see how this comes out with those led.

newgreenhobby said:

Looking good. Cant wait too see how this comes out with those led.

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Thank you, NGH, but I will say that this will not be a great crop because of some errors I made and one thing beyond my control.

I watered too much in the beginning, not understanding that LEDs hardly produce any heat. Now when I water it seems to be every 3-4 days and only 7 oz each plant.

The other error related to my ignorance of LEDs is that they take about 2 weeks longer to veg. So I put these plants in flower about 2 weeks too soon.

But the biggest problem was the cold temps, the room getting down to 50s in the night. Nothing I could do about that, and in the summer I'll have the opposite problem though not nearly as bad as even when I was using fluoros.