some advice.

ok. first time grow, about a month into the cycle (planted the germinated taprooted seeds april 1st). i just moved them from a 24hr cycle under 2' x 2' grow flourescent tubes to 18/6 under a 400w MH light. they have been under 18/6 for less than a week. at this point they are 8" - 10" tall (est) with multiple sets of fan leaves. from the pics i see the color is good, i am feeding them 3tsp floragro - 2tsp floramicro - 1tsp florabloom per gallon of water and just started that a week ago. the ph of the mixture is between 6 and 6.5.

the substrate is soilless mix in cut down 2-liter bottles with duct tape around them for light blocking, and holes in the bottom for drainage. the plan is to move them to 3-gallon buckets or actual flower pots in the next couple weeks. I have been watering too often (daily) and am going to cut back to every 3rd day or so. i have 2 plants that i am having an issue with. the edges of the leave are curling upward. i thought i remembered reading that's a sign of being dry, but i may have been wrong, as increasing the watering hasn't corrected the behavior.

how soon should i roll to a 12/12 cycle under HPS for flowering? i am hoping once i see the hairs vs the nodules, it will be clear as crystal to me. being this is my first time, i have am uncertain. i have heard people say they go to 12/12 as soon as 2 weeks, others say 6 weeks. are there any signs from the plants themselves that they are mature enough to start flowering?

they will at least get twice as big once you go to 12/12. if you are asking if you can start flowering now the answer in general with no problems going on is yes. so look at your space you are dealing with. you will get alot of diff answers because everyone dose it diff. so good luck with your adventure..

I use measurements. For example I measure the highest possible height my plants can reach before I have a problem. For this example I will use 6 feet tall. For my indica strains which I expect to double in height during flowering, I will then through them into 12/12 when they are half my maximum height, 3 feet. For Sativas I expect my plants to possibly triple in height so I would throw them into flower at 2 feet tall. Anyways hope this helps, good luck.

If you are using a soiless mix why are you cutting down your feedings to once every 3 days? You should be feeding them once a day right now for 5-15min. Your plants will probably at least double in size once you switch to 12/12, so using that information you should make a decision. Your leaves may be curling upwards because your light may be too low. How far away from the top of the plants is your light? What kind of temperatures do you have in there? I would also lower your ph during flowering to somewhere around 5.5 or a little higher. Once you get into flowering you should slowly increase to around the 6.0 level. Good luck!

Turtle

IronTurtle said:

If you are using a soiless mix why are you cutting down your feedings to once every 3 days? You should be feeding them once a day right now for 5-15min. Your plants will probably at least double in size once you switch to 12/12, so using that information you should make a decision. Your leaves may be curling upwards because your light may be too low. How far away from the top of the plants is your light? What kind of temperatures do you have in there? I would also lower your ph during flowering to somewhere around 5.5 or a little higher. Once you get into flowering you should slowly increase to around the 6.0 level. Good luck!

Turtle

Click to expand...

Yeah, what this guy said.

Good advice on this board...

i am cutting down the watering because the soil is still visably moist after a day, but i had been watering anyway. right now my light is as low as i can set it, and the plants are elevated up to it. there is still over 1' between the light and the plants. temps have been lows of mid 60's, highs of 80, with humidity maintaining around 45% - 60% i have a 10' x 10' room dedicated to the operation, so space isn't an issue.

here's what the leaves are doing.

Watering your plants everyday is way too much! wait unitl the first 2 inches is dry or the pots weight is have what it is right after watering before you water again! Roots need oxygen to breathe, think of your plants outside, do they need water every day? In soil I have gone 7-10days without watering with great results. Sometimes less is more, good luck

So what kind of light do you plan to use for flower? And how many plants do you have in there? What are the overall dimensions of the room (length, width, height)? Do you have any ventilation going on? Many questions indeed grasshopper....

Turtle

Also, what kind of soiless mix are you using?

I agree with waz. WAY to much water at this stage. Wait till they are pretty dry(4-5 days looking at your picture!!) They will start to grow quicker, wait till they start to wilt a touch from lack of water, pick up the pots & feel the weight of them. Then water again, at this stage roots will be at the bottom of pot, in the tray. Leave an hour then check if water is gone, if so water again till there is some water left. Leave for at least another 2 days then check weight of pots. If they are heavy-no nutes If light-nutes, simples

we cut the watering back to 3 days and they seem to be doing fine now. i am going to start another newbie thread because i'm at the sexing stage and i'm slightly puzzled.