New Grower with some questions

[SkyPilot]

Hello,

 

First time grower here. I'm growing outside in 5 gallon containers. I started from feminized seeds and began the planting of germinated seeds approximately April 9th indoors under a Sunblaster grow light fixture.

 

Around May 14th I transplanted the plants into the 5 gallon containers and put them outside. I did not put them in direct sunlight right away and gave them about a week to get acclimated to the sun.

 

I used Pro-Mix Vegetable and Herb soil which claims to have fertilizer for 3 months. I also added some worm castings and some other nutrients from Down to Earth. I really like their Vegan mix and alphalpha meal in addition to the Langbeinite. I used the directions for existing potted plants which called for 5 tablespoons, I used 4 just to be safe.

 

The plants look healthy to me, although the Purple Kush and Azura Haze are not growing too much, I attribute this to lack of sunlight so I have placed the pots where they get more direct sun.

 

I'll add some photos:

[SkyPilot]

i'm going nuts trying to get these photos upright.

[SkyPilot]

I realized I didn't ask any questions: I wonder are they too scrawny? Should I be keeping them in the sun for as long as I can during veg? The leaves look good, no yellow or curling, still am I over fertilizing?

[SCGROWBIG]

The may have been over fertilized just a little, but you biggest problem right now is you haven't topped for the spread. Topping gives you double the nugs.

[SkyPilot]

Yes, topping. Why am I afraid of that. So, I snip off the very top? Can I do it now or is it too late? Your pics are very bushy that's what I was going for, I think. Thanks for the look!

[SCGROWBIG]

You can top until the get ready to bud, carefully pinch the top with your fingers and snip the little stem under the top. This will then give you two, as soon as the tops come up on those (1 week) do the same again. If you keep up with it and it is a little tedious and work, instead of 25 buds, you'll have a hundred. Don't be afraid and you'll get the Bush your looking for. Good luck

[SkyPilot]

Awesome! Thanks, I can see from your pics what you mean. Going to top today! thanks.

[Gordon]

Hey mate,

I think they look pretty healthy, no signs of overfeeding. It seems they didn't have enough sunlight in the beginning so they're pretty tall with rather weak stems. To strengthen them I would suggest you pay attention not to feed too much nitrogen, get them as much as sun as possible and maybe try removing the support (if they won't fall right down after doing so), the wind waving them around a bit also helps to make the stems stronger. Observe and take it easy.

Cheers,

G.

[Cannabissapean]

Skypilot,

Show us the topped plants, and also close-ups of the cuts. 

You can also use those tops to make clones if you include 2 or 3 nodes in the cutting.  Just remove the fan-leaves from the lower 1 or 2 nodes and put them in water in a bottle or vase that protects the rooting area from sunlight; set them in a semi-shaded area, and after 2, 3 or 4 weeks you should have some roots on them.

Spray the clone's leaves with water-mist a couple times each day to prevent the foliage from drying out.

If you missed-out on the cloning opportunity this go-round, don't worry.  As a result of your initial topping, your plants will accelerate growth of the two new tops, and as well, all the side branches will stretch.  After a while, the top two new tops will be ready again for their next topping.  And the side branches will also be ready for a topping as well. 

Since the lowest 2 to 4 branches will not produce large buds and because they usually have 2 or 3 or 4 nodes, they are excellent candidates for clones.  Use the whole branch to make a clone.  Trust me, you won't miss them at all, and you will be surprised how easy cloning is.

Wait for the clones to produce at least 2 or 3 rootlets about 20 cm long before planting them in a good soil mix.  Use water pH'd to ~6,0-6,5 for feeding.  You will still need to mist the foliage from tme-to-time.  If you use RootJuice from BioBizz, use it sparingly for the first 2 or 3 weeks.  When you notice that the clones have responded by producing new leaf-growth, then you can gradually increase the normal nutrient feediing.

Gordon is right.  When a plant isn't getting enough light intensity, it stretches toward the light source to "escape the shaded area".  A plant needs wind for the motion stress.  Movement of the stems causes the plant to grow the stem stronger in order to be able to withstand the wind.  In turn, the stem now being stronger and thicker is able to transport more water and nutrients to produce more foliage and eventually bigger buds.

Enjoy your grow, Skypilot.

'sapean

[Cannabissapean]

By the way, if that wall is south-facing, that's an excellent grow-spot.  The sun's light reflecting white from the wall provides the plants with additional lighting.  Just be careful not to allow the leaves to touch the wall.  If the wall gets too warm on a sunny day, it could scorch some leaves or buds. 

[Cannabissapean]

Also, can you include a picture of your sunblaster grow system.  Does that include a propogator tray and clear lid?  Did you get it on ebay or amazon?  How much, if I may ask?

[SkyPilot]

Thank you guys for your responses, I have copied the ideas and advice in my journal especially about the topping.  Cannabisspean, you are so correct! The wall actually faces East so it gets a lot of the morning light, then I move them to another wall which faces west, it a dance. I wish I had seen your post earlier. You were absolutely right on the money about the leaves getting scortched. Now, this only happened to the Sour Diesel's, but they definitely got too much sun. I've now made sure they don't get much direct sunlight.

Gordon is correct in that when I started them the Sunblaster was too far away and so the stretched to meet the light. Won't happen again. The Sunblaster is called the Portable Cabinet  Light, I paid about 36.00CDN. It's comes with some attachments for hooks or to hang from chains. It also has an extra extension plug so you could potentially create an array of these.

I'd recommend it as it was easy to put up and did the job even if I didn't get the height correct the first time.

Regrds,

SkyPilot 

Edited July 23, 2016 by SkyPilot
more info

[Cannabissapean]

Can you post a picture of the "Sunblaster" Portable Cabinet Light? 

And describe the bulb, please.  I assume that it is a fluorescent tube?  If they are listed or written on the bulb, what are the specifications?  Wattage?  Lumens?  Wavelengths?