newbie help please.

Hi guys I'm growing 3 northern lights under 425w of cfls. I don't have much space so I lst'd them to keep them low but long with plenty of branches which has worked a treat. They had 6 weeks of blue cfls for 18 hours and so far have had 29 days on 12/12 with the red cfls but the buds aren't growing, I got pistols everywhere but the buds ain't growing. In the last 15-20 days all I've seen is pistols appearing everywhere early on and a slight growth in some smaller branches. Why aren't I seeing any buds growing, could I change the light back to 24 hrs on now or would it damage the plant. I don't have temps or humidity but id say the conditions are pretty good, and soil ph is 6.2 . Why ain't I seeing the good stuff. Help. Ta

what strain of northern lights? #5 or a hybrid of some sorts...could be just sativa dominant, and taking forever...which is the norm, or also could be a light leak. if its not one...its the other.

try to get that PH closer to 6.8...optimal 7...that could also be a problem i guess.

It just said northern lights no mix breed. Don't think its light leak, how long do u think i should veg them. I was hoping for it to be about 8 weeks but I seem to have a long way to go.

What should the ph be, I thought it had to be lower than neutral.

Flower figure 10/12 weeks
Ph mb between 6 and 7
6.8 is my target

Ok thanks but how far along should the plant be after 4 weeks of 12/12. Seems strange I'm only seeing pistols, I though is have little buds by now.

Northern lights is a northern strain (duh lol).... If you switch to 11 hours on and 13 off I bet they will start budding a little faster. Sounds like you have enough wattage. That is unless you are reading the 100 watt equivalent in big letters! And it says the actual wattage below that or on the cfl bulbs themselves. So check the ph, make sure there are no light leaks at all! (any light during the dark period is not good you want complete darkness). Check your cfl's actual wattage, and after that check list if no success set them to 11 hours on 13 off and if they still are not pushing the buds out they may not have enough phosphate (they use a lot of phosphate during flowering).

Thanks for that I think ill try 11 hrs on. I got 10-10-10 nutes my mates got some big bud from advanced nutes, I read it should be used 3 weeks in to flowering but would it be to early for me to use it with just pistols.

Has anyone used Dr hornbys big bud. I've read plenty of people say what they've heard about it but no users. I can get it for free if it'll help but I dont wanna stress my plants if they already struggling sumhow

DaddyGr33nJeans said:

Northern lights is a northern strain (duh lol).... If you switch to 11 hours on and 13 off I bet they will start budding a little faster. Sounds like you have enough wattage. That is unless you are reading the 100 watt equivalent in big letters! And it says the actual wattage below that or on the cfl bulbs themselves. So check the ph, make sure there are no light leaks at all! (any light during the dark period is not good you want complete darkness). Check your cfl's actual wattage, and after that check list if no success set them to 11 hours on 13 off and if they still are not pushing the buds out they may not have enough phosphate (they use a lot of phosphate during flowering).

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anything shorter then 12/12 and your chances of excessive stretching increase...just sayin.

how close are the lights, make sure they are right down on the tops, abut an inch. you shouldn't expect too much from cfl's also. If your little bud areas look like marbles, thats prob about right. If you want monster growth, your gonna have to invest in a HPS. Without pics and more details, we're all pretty much just guessing.

eyelessism said:

Thanks for that I think ill try 11 hrs on. I got 10-10-10 nutes my mates got some big bud from advanced nutes, I read it should be used 3 weeks in to flowering but would it be to early for me to use it with just pistols.

Has anyone used Dr hornbys big bud. I've read plenty of people say what they've heard about it but no users. I can get it for free if it'll help but I dont wanna stress my plants if they already struggling sumhow

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go ahead and use it they mean 3 weeks into your flowering cycle

eyelessism said:

Thanks for that I think ill try 11 hrs on. I got 10-10-10 nutes my mates got some big bud from advanced nutes, I read it should be used 3 weeks in to flowering but would it be to early for me to use it with just pistols.

Has anyone used Dr hornbys big bud. I've read plenty of people say what they've heard about it but no users. I can get it for free if it'll help but I dont wanna stress my plants if they already struggling sumhow

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yes...when you switch to 12/12 there is a 2 week transition where they stilll require veg nutes...you may hear differently, but THEY ARE WRONG! lol... at 3 weeks, you may be safe to start using strait bloom nutes, but i'd throw one last light shot of veg butes in with them...after that you should be good.

First what kind of soil/medium are you growing in? Look for something with a higher phosphate content (the P in N-P-k) when flowering. A nutrient with 15-30-15 is good or if it is Phosphate they crave Schultz bloom plus 10-54-10 is very gentle and diluted (1/4 tea spoon per gallon) and will show results quickly if you are deficient in that area.

The light are 2 inches of the top, any closer and I've had burnt tips. The bud sites have looked the same for 2 weeks only pistols and lite green around the leads at the site. I can't work out how to do pics ill have to read up on it. The plants look great, no damage anywhere quite bushy with lots of leafy branches, I've trained the plant to take up all my space but its not stretched. Would training it have any effect on growth. It's still growing larger bit no action where I want it. Maybe I just need more light but I'm sure a 200w and a 225w should grow decent bud in a space 19inch by 24

I got soil from fox farm, off my mate, he set it all up for me. I've read its good if not great, not sure. I'll try out the big bud but might just get some good light if that fails. Prob be easier.

gobskiii said:

yes...when you switch to 12/12 there is a 2 week transition where they stilll require veg nutes...you may hear differently, but THEY ARE WRONG! lol... at 3 weeks, you may be safe to start using strait bloom nutes, but i'd throw one last light shot of veg butes in with them...after that you should be good.

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3 weeks after showing pre flowers not all plants take 2 weeks to change cycle.

2 weeks from 12/12 switch regardless...ya. all that stretching they do when you cut the lights back...its the transition.

autos may be different. thats it.

i dont know about that man any type of facts to back that up?

They ain't auto seeds, I've also got 425w of blue lights could I put these over the plants aswell as the 425w of red on now. Would they work at all now the red lights needed or do damage.