Expert Opinions Only, Please.

I just started growing about a month ago to get some extra money. I just want some feedback from experienced growers if my setup is actually ok, as it seems to be doing alright.

My small room is lined with tin foil on the walls and floors, and my plants are growing in 8.5 inch pots with premixed soil (with fertilizers). Thy're set up in two rows of six and it's illuminated by two 48 inch GE "Plant & Aquarium F40" light bulbs, which put out 1900 lumens/bulb. I fertalize them twice a week with Schultz 10-15-10 Plant Food Plus, and water them when the soil's completely dry. My current light cycle is on 18hours on, six hours off. I have a small air filter that blows a gentle breeze on them during the light hours, and a fan that constanly brings new air into the room 24 hours a day.

*10-15-10: 10%Nitrogen 15%Phosphate 15%Potash.

Two probelms I'm having is the droopy plant, my 2nd one. The first one I came home and it was completely drooped and soggy, laying on itself. I figure it's from overwatering.

Problem two is the yellow spots, leaf curling, is discoloration. I just put one drop of my plant food concentrate at the base of the plant twice a week, but I figure that's what could be screwing my plants up on that aspect. Any thoughts or ideas? I need these plants to survive!

Also, how close am I to telling whether they're male or female? Lots of questions, I know. Thanks for the help

Well it looks like your plants stretched because your lights were too far away. I'm no "expert" though.

Why are you fertilizing them twice a week,in soil you dont need to fertilize them at all for the 1st month or until they are about 1 foot tall,all the nutrients they need is in the soil,your killing them with fertilizer.

Take each pot & flush it with 1 gallon of water to get all the ferts out of the soil,when you flush you keep adding water slowly until all the water is gone,you'll need to do this in a tub or large bucket to catch the run off.

Next you need to properly ph the water you give them,doing this is exctly the same as ph'ing a swimming pool or fish tank,pet smart will have everything you need,mj plants prefer slightly acidic soil with a ph of between 6.2 & 6.8.

When you do get the plants flushed & back to health never apply fertilizer directly to the soil,mix the fertilizer very well with water then ph the water & feed it to your plants,when you first start fertilizing them only feed them once every 3rd watering,then only give them 1/4 of the recomended dose on the directions,after a few weeks of 1/4 strengts every 3rd watering you can increase the strength to 1/2 strength every third watering,after a few weeks on that feeding schedule you can step up the feeding to every other watering,be sure not to spill any water with fertilizer in it on the plant or leaves as it will burn them.

Get the tin foil off your walls & paint them white,tin foil is not a good reflective surface,or go to the dollar store & but silver wraping paper & put it on the walls but loose the tin foil,every wrinkle in the foil makes you lose reflectivity & can create hot spots on the plants.

Your light schedule is good so dont change it at all,when you do start adding nutrients again put away the fertilizer you have right now,you want a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content for vegatative growth ,which is the cycle your in right now,look for something at home depot or a hardware store with numbers along the lines of 20-10-10.

With florescent lights you want them as close as you can get them,if the bulbs are cool to the touch let the bulb rest 1 inch away from the plants canopy,this will help them stop stretching for the light & make them bush out more.

The temp's inside your grow area should be between 72 degrees & no more than 80 degrees,you can push up to 85 degrees if its a must but its in your best interest to keep temps below 80 degrees.

Follow what i have wrote & if the plants are not so severely nute burned they should snap back into shape within a week,remember this,less equals more with mj when it comes to learning how to properly use fertilizers,use them sparingly or not at all.