First Time Grow CFL Using LST, Advice Needed!

Conorfarmer · Apr 21, 2011

ok first time grow im using a 45W Red spectrum CFL (Im on a extremely low budget so i can only buy a few other lights and they can't be anything fancy) i know i should buy some blue CFL's and i plan to but atm im going to stick with my red spectrum.

My plant is a cutting from a friend, and so far it looks good. Iv'e chopped the bottom two sets of fan leaves in half and kept it under a bag untill today to keep the humidity high. My box gets to a normal temperature of 26 degrees but i can alter it. And at the moment my lights are on 24 hours a day.

Also as im using a cutting, when should i start using LST?? the plant is on it's third node now but its not very tall.

Any advice will be great. Thanks bongsmilie

growone · Apr 21, 2011

you can start anytime now, 3 nodes is enough, just do it gently to start with and you'll get the hang of it
i have no idea why you've done that leaf cutting to your plant, doing the lst is plenty to keep the plant under control

yesum · Apr 21, 2011

You do not need blue spectrum, I veg and flower under 2700k with no probs. But in flower, more light= more bud.

I do not lst or supercrop until the plant looks a bit stretched out. Yours is compact as hell.

PotConnoisseur · Apr 21, 2011

Lst shouldn't really matter when you start,ive seen growers on RIU start with seedlings...
but I'd Definately get atleast 1 blue spec cfl,
And yea you can vegg on the red spec, but super slow growth.
26c?
You've got some leaf curling, how often are you watering?
And stop trimming those leaves!

Conorfarmer · Apr 21, 2011

thanks for the help, and the reason my plant is all compact is because i got the cutting from the very top of a older mother plant.
And iv'e been spraying the plant once a day and keeping it under a dome when i first got it to help the plant root. And the curling leaves have straightened out now, i think it was the bag i had over it and it was where the plant had grown up against the bag. But the top two leaves were a bit yellow so im not sure.

And with red spectrum for vegging, how slow will the growth be?

Icyblaze · Apr 21, 2011

Conorfarmer said:
thanks for the help, and the reason my plant is all compact is because i got the cutting from the very top of a older mother plant.
And iv'e been spraying the plant once a day and keeping it under a dome when i first got it to help the plant root. And the curling leaves have straightened out now, i think it was the bag i had over it and it was where the plant had grown up against the bag. But the top two leaves were a bit yellow so im not sure.

And with red spectrum for vegging, how slow will the growth be?

1 week behind... blue spectrum

Conorfarmer · Apr 22, 2011

ok, iv'e decided i need to invest in blue spectrum because a week behind is very slow... i found about 5 of these lying around my house and was wandering if they were blue spectrum?

asienk · Apr 22, 2011

i have those lights in my local stores. i believe they are 2700k (red) but i am not sure. google the model number and you should find what it is exactly.

Conorfarmer · Apr 22, 2011

ok so i just bought this light --- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/45w-Blue-Spectrum-6400k-CFL-grow-light-lamp-bulb-BC-B22-/190469579555?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item2c58df2323#ht_2765wt_951

and the light im using is the red spec version of that, so when it arrives ill switch them, unless it would be better to use both?

Conorfarmer · May 1, 2011

re-potted yesterday and altered my LST so that the plant was closer to the edge of the pot. Some of the leaves are still yellow (mainly the bottom set/s) but it looks good. Haven't started using nutes yet tho. And im now using blue spectrum lights.
View attachment 1579281 View attachment 1579283 View attachment 1579284 View attachment 1579285

^^ the above is before i re-potted it.

^^ altered the LST a bit more.

growone · May 1, 2011

i'd say it's a happier plant, the leaf trimming may have stressed a bit, but seems to be recovering

Conorfarmer · May 1, 2011

growone said:
i'd say it's a happier plant, the leaf trimming may have stressed a bit, but seems to be recovering

yh, do you have any idea what the yellowing leaves might be about?

growone · May 1, 2011

Conorfarmer said:
yh, do you have any idea what the yellowing leaves might be about?

i don't have a sure answer, i suspect the leaf trimming did something odd, never saw leaves trimmed that way

Conorfarmer · May 1, 2011

growone said:
i don't have a sure answer, i suspect the leaf trimming did something odd, never saw leaves trimmed that way

ok, and the leaf trimming was my bad

first grow and all. as long as it sorts itself out over time im happy. Also should i be using nutes yet?

growone · May 1, 2011

Conorfarmer said:
ok, and the leaf trimming was my bad first grow and all. as long as it sorts itself out over time im happy. Also should i be using nutes yet?

wasn't criticizing, just wasn't familiar with the method
it does look like it going to start growing great, the trim probably just delayed things a bit
you'll have to provide some details on the pot size, and the kind of soil you have in order to gauge how much nute is left in the soil

Conorfarmer · May 1, 2011

growone said:
wasn't criticizing, just wasn't familiar with the method
it does look like it going to start growing great, the trim probably just delayed things a bit
you'll have to provide some details on the pot size, and the kind of soil you have in order to gauge how much nute is left in the soil

im not sure of the soil, i'll check the bag tomorrow. And the pot is 3 liters.

Conorfarmer · May 2, 2011

growone, my soil is just some cheap homebrand multi-purpose compost and doesn't have much detail about nutes etc.
Also i have this plant food which also doesn't have much enough about what it contains just has some instructions on how to use it. Would i be better off buying some tomato plant food or something??
he's a picture from the plant food i have already.

growone · May 2, 2011

Conorfarmer said:
growone, my soil is just some cheap homebrand multi-purpose compost and doesn't have much detail about nutes etc.
Also i have this plant food which also doesn't have much enough about what it contains just has some instructions on how to use it. Would i be better off buying some tomato plant food or something??
he's a picture from the plant food i have already.

View attachment 1580477

you don't need expensive soil to grow great mj, multipurpose compost actually sounds pretty good
the 3 liter pot may be on the small side, this sounds like an organic grow at the moment(best as i can tell)
i've had bad luck with smaller pots with organic soil, that's just my experience
my guess is you will have pot problems sooner than nute deficiency
but wait a bit before nuting, then start at half strength, most problems come from too much rather than too little

Conorfarmer · May 2, 2011

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/45w-Blue-Spect...#ht_2765wt_951 --- im using that light atm, but i have the same light in red spectrum and was wandering if i should use both of them? the red spec and blue spec? would that slow down the growth??

growone · May 2, 2011

Conorfarmer said:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/45w-Blue-Spect...#ht_2765wt_951 --- im using that light atm, but i have the same light in red spectrum and was wandering if i should use both of them? the red spec and blue spec? would that slow down the growth??

the usual recommendation is to use more light, but i'd say it depends on setup
you want a minimum of 50 watts/sq foot - the red will add to growth
i do see many posts that say the blue spectrum encourages female development, can't verify that, but i use 81w of 5500k cfl's for my veg and early flower

First Time Grow CFL Using LST, Advice Needed!

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