how do i know what to clip of my plant during veg and flowering besides dying leaves and ones that dont get enough light?

[kingchuey 2]

It's been hectic since day one of my indoor grow. This is my first indoor grow I ever did and I know that I already made some mistakes and I'm actually surprised that she is still alive.I just got into week 2 of flowering and I'm worried about my lighting and ventilation. I have two fluorescent bulbs that are the little twist ones and one 18 in fluorescent with a 65 watt heat lamp. The heat lamp stays 2 feet or better while the fluorescent bulbs are 1-2 inches. I have great circulation with two little oscillating fans but not much ventilation. Only when I open the door. Mostly during the 12 hours of light I try keeps my the closet open to at least give her what fresh air I can. I would like to check on her during sleep mode but I don't have any way to see itcayse if the dark. I was wondering if I can use a backlight and if so which one? The tube like or those little twist bulbs? Thanks for he advice.

[Cannabissapean 1,223]

OK, first of all, I will say, unless you are living in a very cold environment, you don't need that heat lamp.  For most of us, heat is one of our enemies.  And by the way, the heatlamp is not generating the wavelength that you need to produce vegetation, and especially not for flowering.  The heatlamp is producing mostly only infrared.  Infrared is also needed to some extent, but that wavelength is not needed in a large amount.  Too much infrared (basically just what we feel as heat) will cause your feeding-water to dry-up too fast leaving salt deposits behind, and it will make the leaves too warm, therefore too dry.  The leaves will not be able to transpire properly, which is essential to the metabolism of the plant.  Unable to transpire properly is like sticking a bag over your head and tying it closed.  If the leaves are held too warm, they will eventually dry-up and die.

 

Here are my suggestions for improvement of your set-up:

Fluorescents ARE suitable for a Vegg set-up, but they are generally NOT strong enough, NOR the right wavelength for Flowering.  Fluorescents (Cool White, or other fluorescents with some blue spectrum, and some fluorescents with "grow" spectrum) are GREAT for the Vegg tent when you are wanting to grow new seedlings and/or maintain motherplants in relatively slow-growth mode and/or propogate her clone-babies or all of the above.  (Basically, this describes perpetual grows, where through maintaining mothers of your favorite strain and cloning her again and again, you are generating plants on a continual basis to be moved to the flowering tent each time a previous batch is harvested).

Fluorescents in the Vegg area, however, are NOT the lighting of choice for the Commercial Grower who is striving to produce product for a hungry MARKET OF BUYERS.  Most Commercial Growers prefer MH or Metal Halide(although, as technology continues to improve, LEDs are beginning to make in-roads into the Vegg-Lighting market).  MH is a very intense lighting containing the optimal wavelengths(including ample blue spectrum) for Vegetation, but not the optimum wavelengths for Flowering.  For Flowering, MH has too much blue spectrum and not enough of the reddish/yellowish spectrum.

For most successful growers everywhere, there have become IMHO two proven lighting sources for Vegetation and two proven lighting sources for Flowering. They are:

For Vegetation, either MH or Fluorescents.  For Flowering, either HPS (High Pressure Sodium lamps) or LED lamps with sufficient intensity (lumens) and AT THE RIGHT WAVELENGTH....  

HPS:  The light produced by HPS lamps already contains the right wavelengths.  It produces a broad-spectrum of light that contains already the right wavelengths that Cannabis enjoys during growth and flowering.  HPS intensity is phenomenal, but this wonderful light comes with a price.  It produces a lot of heat (infrared) that must be taken into consideration (and sometimes, that heat must be sucked out. see "cool-tubes").  Another price is that it sucks the money out of your wallet in the form of energy-bills.  Another sucky thing about HPS (and MH-lamps) is that they require the use of special ballasts that are designed to work only with specific HPS (or MH) bulbs (The bulbs are available at varying Wattages, and the correct ballast must be matched to the bulb used, otherwise damage to the ballast or bulb may occur.).  These ballasts (as well as the HPS/MH bulbs) are not cheap, and they are prone to problems (Ballasts produce heat which must be dealt with; if not, they can overheat.  They must also be protected from water. The bulbs must be protected against fingerprints or stray water-droplets, otherwise they can explode.  And with time, they begin to degrade and lose their intensity and breadth of wavelength.)

Fluorescent tubes:  Fluorescent lighting produces a wonderful range of wavelengths, and they do so while using much less energy than HPS/MH.  The bulbs can be purchased in a variety of wavelengths.  But there are two important things to consider regarding how you are going to use them, and which type to use. 

1.  There are basically two types of fluorescent tubes to use:  1. SPIRAL-form tubes(twisted ones,  like you said that you have), or 2. the LONG-tube version. 

The SPIRAL form radiates a light from basically a single point outwards.  If placed overhead a plant, it radiates only on the top surface of the upper leaves(angle optimum ~90°), BUT leaving the lower leaves in the shadow of the upper leaves or too far away from the source to be of value.  When the Spiral lamp is placed above a plant, all the radiation that goes laterally-outward or upward is absolute wasted energy.  If placed to the side of a plant, then the leaves on half the plant receive the radiation at various angles, depending on the way the leaf is habging, while the leaves shadowed on the other side receive very little light.  Therefore, it makes sense to place a spiral-formed lamp in among a number of plants, so that each plant receives its portion of light around the bulb.  Because each neighboring plant also needs light on its other side, another bulb is also needed, but then you need another row of plants to absorb the stray radiation, then another bulb, then even more plants to maintain the efficiency... You see where this is going.  Continuing in this manner, you will soon need to replace your circuit-breaker to a larger value in order to handle the current-draw.  

Another option for fluorescent lighting in a Vegg set-up (non-commercial-speed) is the LONG fluorescent tube.  This is my favorite for my set-up.  The long tubes are also available in various wavelengths.  My favorites are Cool White(which contains sufficient blue spectrum), Grow-lamp spectrums (which contain some yellows and red).  At pet-shops, you can sometimes find good deals (reduced price) on various spectrums for plants or reptiles.  Caution, the reptile lamps produce various wavelengths of UV (ultra-violet) which can damage your eyes, and one must be careful to determine a safe distance from the plants.  Too much UV of the wrong type can damage the plants also.  (DO NOT buy BLACK-lamps!  That is absolutely the wrong wavelength!!!  They are fun for Halloween presentations, but damaging to the eyes and virtually useless to the plants.) 

The Radiation-pattern of the Fluorescent-TUBE has some advantages over the spiral-form.  Because it is a long tube, the radiation does not originate from a single point, but rather from the length of the tube.  This means that the leaves in the lower regions have a better chance of receiving light coming in at various angles.  And plants in the neighboring row can also receive a little bit of light angling-in from their side.  Because these tubes produce very little heat, they can be adjusted to be very close to the top of the plant, and from time-to-time, they must be raised to prevent the plants growing into the lamps. 

2.  Fluorescents are more efficient than HPS/MH.  That means that they produce more light output per Watt of energy consumed.  This is not to say that their light is more intense, nor denser that the HPS/MH.  No,no,no, HPS/MH wins in that area.  But fluorescents are simply cheaper in the wallet and easier to set-up, and for the purpose of maintaining mothers and clones and raising seedlings, fluorescent-tubes are great.  But for Flowering, fluorescent tubes just don't cut it.  Fluorescent tubes can also degrade and lose their breadth of wavelength over time, but they are much less expensive to replace and more readily available. 

Another Tipp:  If you are shopping for a fluorescent tube lamp, there are many available on the market.  However, a diffuser around the tube reduces the amount of light energy that reaches the plant.  You don't want a diffuser and it's unnecessary cost for the wasted plastic.                        If you can, find a fluorescent tube fixture with an electronic ballast with an efficiency-rating (lambda, like an up-side-down-"y") as close to 1.0 as possible.  Mine are lambda = 0,98.  That means that 98% of the energy consumed (Wattage) is converted to light-energy.  The remaining 2% is converted to heat.  Many fluorescent ballasts (especially the standard ballasts(the non-electronic-ballasts)) have an efficiency-rating of 0,75, meaning that 25% of the energy consumed is wasted by producing unwanted heat; only 75% of the energy that you pay for is converted to light-energy.

In FLOWERING, one needs greater intensity and the right wavelength (or even the ability to vary the wavelength from time-to-time is an option, but costs a bit more sometimes).  Here, the wavelength should contain a little more red and yellow(in comparison to blue).  The red and yellow wavelengths simulate the colours of the sky and surroundings that naturally occur during the Fall season.  These wavelengths help to stimulate the plant to produce flowers (and seeds, if you are allowing pollination).  In Flowering, you can use an HPS if you can afford one, and its hot expensive ballast, and the for equipment and the added energy costs for extracting the heat of both the ballast and the HPS-bulb itself, etc.                                         OR, you can use an LED-lighting in the Flowering tent.  It is still being debated among seasoned growers as to whether HPS or LED lamps are best, but LEDs do produce more Lumens-per-Watt than HPS.  The LED lamps are phenomenal in their reduced energy costs.  But one must be careful to get the right LED lamp.  LED lamps should be selected carefully from a trusted Grow-Lamp maker/distributor.  Some LED lamps on the market are absolute crap.  Basically, you should look for multi-spectrum lamps where the manufacturer spells out the specific wavelengths and the number of LEDs for each wavelength.  Also, the individual LEDs should be not less than 3-Watts each, 3 to 5-Watts are the current norm.  There should also be an expressed radiation angle.  Radiation angles greater than 90° should be avoided (wasted outward radiation).  Radiation angles less than 30° should also be avoided as these produce basically a straight-down radiation effect.  The most beloved angles are 45° to 60°.  If your Seller cannot offer LEDs in the 3-5 Watt range, or cannot specify grow-wavelengths, or cannot specify the radiation-angles, then avoid this Seller.  I have two LED-lamps for my Flowering tent, each with 90 LEDs at 3-Watts apiece.  That's 3X90-Watts = 270-Watts per lamp.  Each lamp is producing Lumens approximating what an HPS would produce at 400-Watts.  2x270-Watts = ~540-Watts.  My normal Extraction fan with a carbon-filter is easily able to evacuate the relatively small amount of heat that the lamps produce.   If I were using two 400-Watt HPS, I would be forced to invest in a Cool-tube set-up and another extraction fan  and its energy-draw just to keep the HPS-lamps from overheating.

So, for your Flowering tent, I recommend getting rid of the heatlamp and replacing that with either HPS or one or two LED lamps.  Check-out ebay, and bear in mind:  If the seller isn't proud to describe his Wattage, Wavelengths and radiation angles, then he probably has an inferior product.

 

You mentioned that you do not have good exhaust ventilation.  You really should improve that situation.  If air is not replaced, then the plants will simply consume all the CO² in the airspace and then stopp any further growth to wait on the next time the tent is opened to allow-in more CO².  Without continuous introduction of fresh air (or a CO² system), the plants will experience stunted growth and little production.

 

If you want to inspect the plants during dark periods, you can use a green LED headlamp.  Green light has less effect on the plants because the plants ARE green colour, meaning that they reflect-away almost all wavelengths of green light.  Green LED headlamps are readily available online (ebay, amazon, etc.), but be aware that some may require the use of special batteries(some come with special charging devices), also available online.

 

There are charts available online that specify the specific wavelengths that Cannabis especially enjoys.  Use various search engines and search for words similar to "wavelengths that Cannabis likes", etc.  Using this information should help in your search for lighting.

 

If you would like to see a funny and informative set of videos on how to set-up a hydroponics set-up, I recommend that you find on youtube, "Mr. Green - I Grow Chronic".  It is 9-Parts long, and explains in an easy-to-understand and enjoyable presentation how to do it.  Enjoy.

 

I hope this information is helpful.

 

Cannabissapean

P.S.  You should only "clip" your plant when you want to topp her to encourage side-shoot growth, or when the plant is growing to unmanageable heights.  This should be done only in Vegetative Phase, or if in Flowering Phase, only at or before pre-flowering.  Obviously you wouldn't want to cut away any branches with flowers.  To deal with unmanageable growth deep into the flowering phase, it is better to carefully squeeze and bend the stems downward.

 

 

[ingemarsok 1]

sup man I was lucky my first grow because my waters good from the tap,, check your water ph is alright that might be causing the yellowing, or else not enough feed. Rain waters good if you dont have ph tester but youl need nutes mostly cal/mag because thats not in the rain. CFLs can be alright but you need to kept tying the branches down for maximum effect as to let the light in, that heat bulb sounds nasty 100w cfl for 1 plant should do it nice and ph water, good luck with it .