First time grow WhiteWidow(Greenhouse seed comp)

[HoodWinked]

Hello first of all what a great site.
Im currently reading through ppls journals and trying to learn what to do but thought if i can get some sort of instructions from the pros ...

Basically the other day a friend handed me 2 feminized white widow seeds..
Not thinking much about what i was doing i stuck then into a cup of rain water for half hr then poped them into some kitchen towel folded it up damped it with the water id soaked them in and poped them into a video case..poped them in me sock draw
Anyhow I didnt expect things to go as quick as they have but they sprouted pretty fast ...i would say the roots were about an inch long each if not a touch longer ...i didnt have any rockwool cubes as such ..(i know i need the small an pop the seed in them let the roots grow out the bottom of it till theres a good root system on it an them transfer it to the larger rockwool cube)but ive not had chance to get any..
Sooo...i got a peice of rockwool i had broke it into two peices..with the roots being so long i couldnt make a hole an lower the seedling an root in without breaking or damaging the root so i split the rockwall placed the seeds
inside an poped them into some pots of clay balls.
I didnt know what i was doing but being a long term smoker im eager to grow something of my own
(tired of having to buy it from dodgy ppl and ppl i used to see in the nursery as i walked home from work)
Anyhow enough babbling sorry,
So this is where im at ...my seedlings have shot up but have litrally shot right up and have really long skinny stems...and from reading a few things im thinking its the distance of my light source from the babies thats made this happen.
Im just wondering what i can do (besides get a proper light ready for when its stable enough to put it under)..to help these seedlings survive.
im going to add a few pics now so you no what im on about

 

[HoodWinked]

These are the tiny things that im sure could do well if i follow some good instructions
There kinda bendy cus ive had just a normal household light over them in a desk lamp ..60 watt bulb i no thats terrible but im hopefully getting a 5 gallon bucket a 400 hps lamp and some silver stuff cover me box room in tomorrow ..i no i should of had it all b4 i grew the seeds but i thought id have a few days germinating n stuff...there roughly about 4 days old now.....i was going to try the hydroponic bucket grow soon as iv more clay balls and the bucket but would it be safer to bury these in soil in bigger pots to secure the stems and ...well advice welcome guys n thanks already for the fast reply ........ps i can get hold of nutrients if i no what i need

by the way the brown on the end of the leaf is the seed case ..im waiting for it to drop off.

 

[McBudz]

by the way the brown on the end of the leaf is the seed case ..im waiting for it to drop off.

Yeah man those are super stretched!! You need the right kind of light asap!! HPS will be great for flowering but you should look at MH for vegging or cool floro's/ cfls. You might need something to support them when the leaves start growing. get a fan blowing on them to help strengthen those long skinny stems.

You can probably just pick the shell of the seed off by hand at this point.

 

[HoodWinked]

Thanks i'll try get a light on them first thing other than this bulb...and i darnt try take that seed case off incase i snap the stem by touching the leave or something :S lol

 

[McBudz]

As far as nutrients start off with Fox Farms tri-pack of Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom. Or look into Canna. I've seen grows with these nutes that went very well.

Not sure if burying it into deeper soil is better or worse for it as this point. You maybe able to at this stage. You def need the right kind of light and a fan on those suckers to help reduce that stretch. If they start to bend over use a pencil or something stuck into the soil to prop them up.

They will only get worse until you get the right light on them.

 

[notreallyhere]

right now you are basically treating this as a hydro setup, yes?

that involves feeding them nutrients more or less constantly starting 4 days ago.

but fox farm is EXCELLENT stuff.

 

[StonerGrower]

Those are stretched really bad man....You also need to give them some nutes since your medium is inert.

 

[HoodWinked]

Right ppl ...after a troubled wk waiting for a friend to drop off this n that i got tired of waiting an went out to the local grow shop an got myself what the guy called a starter kit.
I got a 400 hps light with reflector
an NFT system (called GT205+ NFT system)
and with it come a few bits n bobs some rockwool cubes some matting for nft an some nutrients n ph testers n stuff.
the nutrients ive got in the pack were Canna aqua vega A & B (2 bottles)
ive got an "ok" root system going on the plants so ive got them going in the NFT and they dont seem to be doing to badly ...but i need expert advice now on where im going etc.....i'll post a few pics of how things are lookin so far.

the long stems were a problem and after lookin at a few things on the net i decided to use macdonalds straws to keep them upright...not sure if its the best thing to do but couldnt find any lolly sticks prop em up with.

 

[HoodWinked]

the three sittin in there nft system....2 were early sprouters the smaller one is another seed i thought id lost

now ive noticed my leaves turning yellow and seen a few reasons for this so just wondering if anyone can pin point exactly what i need to do

 

[HoodWinked]

this is a picture to try an show how far away my light is...is it still to far away from the plants or is it ok ?
and also what humidity should the room be at ?
and what is the best temperature for my room ?
Basically ..dose the room look ok to grow in ?....im sure the nft is to small to actually grow 3 plants i think im pushing it at 2 but for now ...

 

[McBudz]

Room size is good. Looks like you got a setup now. You may be able to get the light closer to the plants. Try to get a close as possible without burning, 18 inches or so. The temp is best around 75 or so mine reaches 85 at times and I have no problems. RH around 45-65 I think is fine. My room is dry at 35 because we are going into winter. I like the straw idea.

 

[HoodWinked]

Thanks ive built a small box room inside my bedroom which is roughly a meter each way...the one thing i didnt get with the light n balest was the chains to hang the light up with im using bits of everything at the mo but i think its secure.
And im going to do just as ya said now i think and try an place the nft on a small table to just raise it up a bit....and im in all night so can keep my eye on it.

The yellowing leaves ?...ive read its either not enough nitrogen ...to much watering ...or something to do with the roots not being properly secured or something ....and if the leaves turn upwards its ??..an if its downwards its ??...dam i need to smoke less lol

 

[McBudz]

Ok buddy..

One of your pics does look like N def. Thats when the leaf as a whole starts to fade to yellow. Starting near the tip and working through the leaf in between the veins at first.

If the tips are yellow and dying (brown and crumply) then you may be over feeding and thats nute burn. If you are barely feeding and this is happening then its a deficiency not nute burn.

A def is not always because of lack of nutes. It can be due to pH being too high or too low. certain nutrients cannot be absorbed by the plant at certain pH ranges. I'm a soil guy so search around and see what pH you should be at for hydro. I think 5.5 but double check that for sure.

If your leaves are drooping over it could be over watering or under watering.

I have had leaves point straight up right before they wilted over because my soil was too dry. My leaves have twisted over due to ph too low issue before they eventually got sick and died.

Excessive heat may also contribute to leaf curling and discoloration. Place your hand under the light for a minute where the plant is and if it gets your hand hot it will be no good for the plant.

Anytime you adjust your light distance monitor your plants closely for a few hours to make sure they are responding ok.

Anything hydro specific you may want to post those specific inquiries in the hydro section as I'm sure someone there will be able to guide you better.

remember that pH in soil or hydro is very important. Additionally you may want to get a decent PH/TDS/EC meter for your hydro setup. Staying within all tolerable ranges is paramount for a successful grow. the cheaper meters are inaccurate and may do more harm than good. And don't over feed.

I've heard canna gives good results so you should be good there. What is the N-P-K rating for the A and B?

Check out getting an RO water filter too it will save you a lot of troubleshooting hassles down the road if you have crappy tap water. Decent ones for 60 bucks or so on Ebay so don't go dropping 200 bucks there if you don't need to.

 

[HoodWinked]

Hi and thanks alot for that info ...under my hsp light the tips are lookin illuminous ..but definatly yellow around the tips ...i did actually lower the light earlier and maybe a little to low as ive noticed a bit ago the leaves starting to turn up around the edges ..then i noticed my humidity ??..dial ?..thing lol..at around 20-25 usually its around 40 to 50 in there ...im guessing this was due to me lowering the light and hopefully i cooled it down enough to save the leaves from any more stress from the heat like...they were only just starting to curl so im hoping i got them in time ..i turned me fan on full wack and opened the door of the room abit and let it cool abit the humidity dial is back to around 45...stupid me hasnt got a themomitor yet so how hot is was in there im unsure but its a room within my room and i could feel the heat myself ..its below freezin outside i think and i was in just a teashirt an thought hhmmm lol..im learning though thanks for the info ...i'll go check out the dydro bit and ...let ya no how there goin in morning
thanks again H

ps the N P K for the canna is 6-3-8 for both a n b ..is that good Mc ?

 

[HoodWinked]

ive just posted a bit on the hydro section ...now ive just put my plants to sleep and had a look b4 i turned the light out and noticed the very bottom leaf the one that was the yellowiest..( is that even a word) ..its gone slightly brown an crumply so im guessing its either over feeding or not enough...just need to know what the hydro guys say about how many times i should b running the pump an feeding them now..ive just given them all a small spray of rain water id collected in a spray thingy just to try help the leaves recover from the heat ..they havnt curled up anymore since earlier anyhow but thought id just give em a spray of just water ..dont no if ive done right there or not ..and its almost 5am here i really should be in bed l...and need to invest in a timer ...would a 3000watt capable timer be ok for the hps light ..400 it is ?..i understand nothing lol

think i should of gone with the soil an waterin can like how i do me roses shouldnt i lol

 

[McBudz]

hey buddy, I use a standard mechano-electric grounded 15amp timer to run a 450cfm vortex fan and 2 400 Watt HID lights with no issues. It was about $15 at the local hardware store.

The lower leaf may just be dying from lack of being fed in the beginning. Its ok if it dies and falls off. Be worried if it is actively spreading up the plant.

 

[flyfishinrock]

that should be plenty , just keep in mind when you add more stuff that the watts marked on most timers and power strips are the max they can handle when things power up. For example if you have say........2800 watts of goodies plugged in when things start turning on your start-up power could max out the circuit. I like to have my usage @ 70% of the listed capacity on timers and power strips max. Hope that helps, keep a smoke detector and fire extinguisher handy also. Better safe than sorry.
peace all

 

[HoodWinked]

Hmmmmm where did my posts dissapear to ?..im sure i wrote a couple of more posts here about co2 and humidity but ......hhmmmm (puts his joint back down)
Anyhow i'll pop up a couple of pics on how things are going so far....

 

[HoodWinked]

Now i basically need some grow support as there growing and i was expecting them to keele over ...
The stems on the stringy first 2 plants are doing really well considering how skinny an stretched they were..the 3rd one is doing fine it just needs its own space as the nft isnt big enough to house 2 plants really an ive got 3 goin in it.

 

[flyfishinrock]

looks like they've done very well in a short time, good job.
love seeing the happy plants!