germination/grow troubles

[dq420]

hey guys im new to the forums, i just have a uick question. i started germinating seeds about a week and a half ago at school, i have a real basic set up, flourescent lamp with a second bulb providing back up light. i went home this weekend asking my friends to take care of the sprouts while i was gone, they were about 3/4 to 1 inch tall when i left with 4 small leaves each. i come back 3 days later to find the leaves doubled in size, but the main stem of the plants shot up 4-5 inches! im not sure if this is bad or what, my friends told me to move them colser to the light source, and i have. there are no other leaves sprouting out. im just wondering if this is normal, bad but correctable or a lost cause. thanks alot!

DQ420

[midwestbluntman]

In order for your flouros to be productive they need to be no more than a couple inches away from the plants.what is the back up bulb and where is it at.there is going to be some stretch there and lifes start,but with your lights right that should be minimal.A common newbie problem is overwatering,dont over water.let it dry out almost to the point of wilting then water.

[dq420]

thanks for the quick reply, id say my plants ar no more than6 inches from the flourescent lights, and im moving them closer now, the other bulb is one of those energy saver mercury things. i have a pretty crappy setup, being in a college dorm on a college budget. im new to indoor growing, i had moderate sucess with outdoor bud last summer. ive read up on the over watering thing and i appreciate the tip.

dq420

ps. i can also post some pics, if that would help anyone get a better understanding of the setup, though im not sure what your rules and procedures are for it. i dont want to make anyone angry as the new guy :)

[CB]

though im not sure what your rules and procedures are for it. i dont want to make anyone angry as the new guy :)

post away :D We like piccys

:pass:

[StoninStanley]

hey man, welcome to the forums. couple tips for you...


i once read a writing on a portable locker that held a 150 watt hps and computer exhaust fans for ventilation. in it, it states that it would be stealthy enough for a college dorm. i dont know if it would actually work, but that crazy idea was there. my point is, even if you had a kick ass setup like that you have *so* much on the line in a college dorm. i mean, im all for overgrowin and all that shit but man, remember always, dont compromise your security. you want to be able to grow without the risk of jail.

if you do decide to continue, go fork out a little cash for an enclosure of some sort, at least hide them very very well. there are excellent articles here on the subject of stealth growing. hypothetically, you could grow in a dorm. realistically, its near impossible to do. when pot plants bud they make quite an odor...moving air makes noise, even if you get the quietest fan available....HIDs sound like a beehive....to get any good budding you would need multiple cfls surrounding the plant, and once you do that you have heat issues.....

good luck tho, if you pull it off, more power to you bro. but just evaluate your circumstances first and make sure your ready to commit to it and buy some good equipment ;)

---sorry i dont mean to come off as a dick, ive just seen so many good folks go down cause they missed something so small....

[StoninStanley]

and yes cb is right, we LOVE to see pics :D

[dq420]

hey man, no worries, my roommate is chill and ive only got 2 weeks of school left, after that im bringing them home to NJ where my friend has a house and hes got plants too, so im just moving them in with him, he already has a sweet closet setup with HPS bulbs, ventilation, CO2...the works. as it turns out i used my old dell computer case to start my outdoor buds last year, i had some small fluros and th fan kept things nice and cool. its pretty inconspicuous except for the light coming out of the back and my parents commenting that my room smelled like a greenhouse ROFL! anyway ill take some pic and see if i can figure out how to upload them, i just transplanted each plant into cups, burying atleast half of the ridiculously long stems in soil as per the advice of my friend. any other tips and tricks are greatly appreciated and thanks for the freindly welcome!

DQ420

[Dooby420]

I was about to write the same thing StoninStanley did. Be very careful in a dorm bro since your RA's can come in and look anytime they suspect anything. i remember getting my room searched for smoking half a joint in the middle of the night so hope you are being very careful
-DooB

[dq420]

yeah man, the RAs love me and my roommate, so its not that big a deal, plus wed smoked 1/2 oz in 5 hours all im mt friends room last week and got nothin. theres nothing like ripping your own illadelph for 5 hours straight!
i also tried to put some pics up but they are too big, how do i compress them or change to format to a lower quality file?

[wakka]

another cause of stretching can be lack of food. if it can't get it at the roots, it will try to get nourishment from the light instead.

[dq420]

well, my sprouts are planted in standard potting soil, ill try to get some pics up but the plants arent showing any signs of a nutrient deficiency. if it is a nutrient problem can anyone recommend a nutrient solution suitable for adding to plants growing in potting soil?

[gorilla]

Hey dude. Just wanted to say Welcome to the forum. :cool:

[StoninStanley]

dq get a fert with an npk analysis of about 3-2-1 or thereabouts. miracle grow all purpose does work just fine in veg, it aint the best but it feeds them when they need it if nothing else is around. feed it to them very diluted (like 1/4 recommended str.) miracle grow is really strong.

[dq420]

alright, ill go pick some up. i was also wondeing ow iportant it is to keep them on a 18/6 hour lighting schedule? i never really had to worry about it when i grew outdoors. shoud it be strict or can i relax a little on the timing?

[Dooby420]

you could prob do with less but youd probably want at least 18 hrs of light during veg, then drop it down to 12 for flowering

[dq420]

yeah, thats kinda what i figured, im not really used to this indoor stuff, outdoors you just kinda let the plant do its thing and whatever happens happens