1st Time Grower - Pics & Probs?

AlphaChaotic

Active Member
This is my first time growing and for lack of a proper grow room, I'm currently growing these outside on balcony. I have pictures here of each individual plant, from smallest to largest (I currently have 5 plants). The first three pics are of my second-largest plant which I believe to be a female because of the smell. Next one i a plant all on its own. Next three are of my largest plant. And the others in line are a couple other plants and an overall view of where these sit. I've tried browsing various grow sites and forums but I'm still a little cloudy. I planted these in May approximately and 4 months later, this is the extent of their growth. Originally I had them planted in MG Potting Soil with no nutrients other than what is inherently in that brand of soil. This previous Sunday I transferred them all from a single container to their own individual pots, replanted with fresh soil, and fertilized with a 15-30-15 MG Bloom Formula water-soluble fertilizer. At the time, I mainly fertilized with such a strong phosphate level was because the stems on my two largest plants has started to turn a deep purple.I was scared I had killed my plants because for two days following, the leaves were very wilted and we beginning to turn yellow badly along the lower leaf sets. As well, I had noticed various traces of where bugs had been on my plants so I sprayed them with an organic fungicide and insecticide probably three hours after the transplant. This brings us to Wednesday and these photos. The purple on the stems are lightening up and the plants appear to be back on the upward path. The tallest plant I have but not the thickest, has a very strong skunk aroma on the very top of the plant. I can see no evidence of budding or flowering so I'm still in the dark as to what sex these plants are. Can anyone tell yet? I'm somewhat going off the assumption that this is my female because it smells so strong? Don't laugh! I'm just really in the dark here and would love some advice =) Do these plants look healthy and approx. the right size for their age (5-6 months)?
 

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RachelRay

Active Member
yeah theyre probly stretching like that cuz you got em hidden behind that balcony thing. if you set em on a bench theyd grow a lot better, but be easily visible
id also stop usin miracle grow fertilizer and use just plain tap water that sat out for atleast 24 hours.

a couple look good
but the could be bigger for 4 months

how long is your growing season?
 

AlphaChaotic

Active Member
First of all I'd like to thank everyone who replied to my initial post. The point about not fertilizing with MG and switching to water left in outside for 24 hours has been noted. I was never watering strictly with MG but should I take this to mean I shouldn't be fertilizing at all with MG? Also have three of the little fertilizer sticks (small blue MG ones) stuck within the soil of each individual pot. I feel as if the plants have grown significantly more healthy-looking since the last time I posted. As well, as you can see, I've since forgone the outside-growing method and converted this awesome little room with a door under my stairs. At the moment, I admit, my lights aren't nearly what they should be. I just can't really justify dropping so much green on a hobby of mine so I just get a little each week. This past Sunday I went and bought two of the lamp clamps, reflectors, and bulbs and have hooked these up as you can see in some of the latter pictures. Soon I will have several clamps to cover the outside perimeter of the plants as well. The first three pictures are the best shots I could get with my camera of the first signs of sex on my female plant. She's also sprouted two single white shoots near the top under the main canopy. There are two plants I have somewhat separated from the others which I believe to be my two females. The smaller of the two hasn't shown actual hairs but I believe I see the makings of those bulbs. Again, it could possibly be new leaf sets coming in but they look odd, are red-coated to a point and just look like what I want to be seeing. And this is the one, if you remember from my previous post, that smells to tha funk so strongly yah! =) The others grouped to the left haven't shown any signs of sex yet so we shall see. The light I have on my females currently is a 17 watt CFL I bought at Home Depot for 12.99 that was specifically marketed toward inside plants. The females seem to be responding well to this light and it gives off little heat so I want two more probably to surround these two females. The males are under a different GE "Plant Light" that has a blue tint to the lens which I thought may be good for begetative stages. This light gives of a marked difference in heat so I'm not too impressed at the moment. I hope this is good for the vegetative stage but I'm concerned it may be too much heat on these plants. Time will tell. I will probably end up switching to a light like I have on my two females and lower this one closer to the ground to help my seedlings. I currently have right about 85 seedlings come up all strictly from bagseed. As you can see from the pictures, I've moved some of these inside. I want to monitor the difference in growth between sun and artificial lighting in my room. As well, the only ventilation I have is that box fan I have pulling hot air away from the plants toward the closed entrance door which has a sizable gap at the bottom of to allow air to escape. I'm currently running all plants on full lights from 6 PM to 7 AM and total darkness from 7 AM to 6 PM. What do you guys think about the timing? So, I don't know, here are the most recent pics which were taken about 30 minutes ago. Do the plants truly look root-bound. I assumed the pots would be large enough considering I only have about 3 feet of height to work with, 4 tops. I suppose I need to measure =) Yesterday I ran the fan while the lights were off but I'm afraid the room may get to be too cool and stagnate growth. Right now, with lights off and fan off, it is 74 degrees. I will take a temp with the light on and fan running tonight. So what's the verdict? What this a move for the good? And what do I most need at this point?
 

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