Help & Advice needed

[welder1027]

Hi everyone, i'm new to this forum and especially new to growing.

I used to work in Africa and had an ample supply of green stuff which used to come warts and all, required lots of rubbing down and subsequently i gathered quite a lot of seeds in the process. I haven't a clue what strain or variety they are, however after reading up and doing a little bit of homework i decided to try and grow my own from the seeds i'd collected.

I managed to get 5 plants from around 20 seeds to germinate and was well chuffed to be honest but i haver a few questions to help get the best out of my plants.

1. Are grow lights essential? i forgot to mention this will be an indoor grow. At the minute they are on a window sill.

2. What nutrients do i give the young plants? they are approx 6 weeks old now.

3. The plants look thin and spindly, unlike some i've seen which are rather bushy in appearance. Do i need to do anything to get the plants top grow bushy? or are my plants just meant to be spindly?

That's about it for now i think, so any help, tips, tricks or advice is sincerely welcome.

[Paul2016]

I am also very new to thi,but 1 of the main things that your grow will need is light. Im on a 18hr on and 6 hr off right now. I will be putting mine on a 12/12 very shortly.You have to decide if you want to go HPS or LED in your light selection. There are pro's and con's to each.Hope this is some help to get you started,I know I needed it and these fine folks helped.

[welder1027]

Thanks for that, looks like a bit more research is needed from me then. What is HPS by the way? and what are the differences between the two?

[Paul2016]

Ok a HPS light is like a street light bulb,you need a ballast with it,1 main disadvantage of these lights are the heat they let off.My grow tent kit came with a 400 watt HPS light. After reading up on lights I decided to go with the LED lights.They cover the entire light spectrum better and you can keep them closer to your plants without burning them.I bought a timer that I have my lights on because you want them on a 18hr on 6 hr off during the veg stage of your plant then change to a 12on 12off to put the plant into flowering.One other thing you need to check into is your soil, I went entirely organic so you don't have to add nutrients as often if at all. I went with Fox Farm Ocean blend. Hope this helps and that I didn't steer you in the wrong direction

[welder1027]

Thanks again Paul2016, that's great advice. I've actually got them potted up in Cactus Compost and have just been watering with tap water as required (everyday).

You say you bought a grow tent kit, could you recommend one? I've seen them on eBay but they vary so much as to what's included in the kit. I'm guessing a Tent, Lights, ventilation, any other requirements?

[Schmokin]

Hi Welder. Welcome to the forum.
If you have collected these seeds in Africa, assuming they were from local plants, they are likely to be sativas that are quite tall and leggy. They look like it from your pictures. These can get very large. They can be harder to grow than indicas, but should still be worth a go. When you smoked it, was the high quite uplifting and energetic, or was it really lazy and sleepy?
Your window sill is going to struggle to give these plants enough light (and space). Especially if you are in the northern hemisphere right now. There's just not enough light in the short days. Your plants will try and flower if the days are too short. If you want to grow these out and get a decent crop you are really going to need some artificial light. What you get depends on your budget. They go from LEDs at the top of the range through HID (High intensity discharge - HPS lights are HID), to CFL (compact fluorescent) at the bottom. CFL are the curly energy saving bulbs that are widely available. Do some research and make your choice out of these. (good page on marijuana lighting here)
Although sativas tend to be light feeders, if you have been growing them for 6 weeks then they might want some food. Get a general purpose feed from your garden centre. Whilst they are in veg, one that is high in nitrogen will be best. Although if these plants are getting less than 12 hours of light per day (equinox was Sep22) then they may have already entered flowering mode. If it was me, I would get lights real quick and put them on 18/6 and allow the pants to revert to veg mode and grow out a bit more and get stronger before setting them to flower.
Also, you're going to need much bigger pots.
Hope this helps a bit for starters. Don't hesitate to ask if there's something you don't understand. My advice to you - read read read.

[welder1027]

Hi Welder. Welcome to the forum.
If you have collected these seeds in Africa, assuming they were from local plants, they are likely to be sativas that are quite tall and leggy. They look like it from your pictures. These can get very large. They can be harder to grow than indicas, but should still be worth a go. When you smoked it, was the high quite uplifting and energetic, or was it really lazy and sleepy?
Your window sill is going to struggle to give these plants enough light (and space). Especially if you are in the northern hemisphere right now. There's just not enough light in the short days. Your plants will try and flower if the days are too short. If you want to grow these out and get a decent crop you are really going to need some artificial light. What you get depends on your budget. They go from LEDs at the top of the range through HID (High intensity discharge - HPS lights are HID), to CFL (compact fluorescent) at the bottom. CFL are the curly energy saving bulbs that are widely available. Do some research and make your choice out of these. (good page on marijuana lighting here)
Although sativas tend to be light feeders, if you have been growing them for 6 weeks then they might want some food. Get a general purpose feed from your garden centre. Whilst they are in veg, one that is high in nitrogen will be best. Although if these plants are getting less than 12 hours of light per day (equinox was Sep22) then they may have already entered flowering mode. If it was me, I would get lights real quick and put them on 18/6 and allow the pants to revert to veg mode and grow out a bit more and get stronger before setting them to flower.
Also, you're going to need much bigger pots.
Hope this helps a bit for starters. Don't hesitate to ask if there's something you don't understand. My advice to you - read read read.

That's excellent advice mate and to answer a couple of questions, here goes.

1. The high when smoked tended to differ quite a lot. I used to get it from one of my co workers who's uncle grew it out in the bush somewhere but it was free and came in large quantities so i wasn't complaining TBH i couldn't categorise the high as they were different depending on what he brought me, i used to rub it all down and put in all together in large tins so it was all mixed together. If i said chilled with a big daft grin, then that's how it was. I also used to use all the scrap (leftovers from rubbing down? into a gallon container filled with wine and leave it for a month. That took the top of your head pff TBH.

2. I'm probably doing the wrong thing here, but i've started building a smallish grow box (space constraints) it'll be 2 feet square and 3 feet high. Haven't installed it yet but have an old kitchen extractor fan to be installed for airflow and haven't gotten round to purchasing any lights yet, although i do have some of the cork screw type flourescent bulbs and holes which would be easy enough to install.
The size of the grow box is restricted so was hoping i could pinch the plants to restrict the height, is this feasible?

3. Agree totally about the pot size and have already gone for 8 inch pots filled with Cactus Compost.

4. It's winter months here in Uk so you are right, the light is getting less each day, so lights are a definite must. My budget is tight right now so will do some research to see what i can afford.

5. Flowering???? is this an automatic reaction by the plants based on the amount of light? os is an age related response by the plant?

Sorry for more questions, but i am very, very new to this so any help and advice i can get is very appreciated.

[welder1027]

a grow light is needed for your plants now, or it will continue spindling...

Thanks Bigbell, i have ordered a light and should get it v soon. Please answer a question for me though, Is the legginess of a plant down to poor light? or are there certain strains that are naturally leggy?

Since i posted the original questions, i have made a small grow box 70cm x 70cm x 70cm with 2 fans (in and out) for airflow, multi spectrum LED lights are on the way and the plants have been repotted into larger pot containing Cactus Compost. Anything else i should be doing?

[gbauto]

Please answer a question for me though, Is the legginess of a plant down to poor light? or are there certain strains that are naturally leggy?

Light is probably the biggest influence. The plant will continue spindly, stretching growth in an attempt to get more light. Sativa's are generally taller plants compared to indica's but from what I've seen they have plenty of veg growth

[iAvantGarde]

That's excellent advice mate and to answer a couple of questions, here goes.

1. The high when smoked tended to differ quite a lot. I used to get it from one of my co workers who's uncle grew it out in the bush somewhere but it was free and came in large quantities so i wasn't complaining TBH i couldn't categorise the high as they were different depending on what he brought me, i used to rub it all down and put in all together in large tins so it was all mixed together. If i said chilled with a big daft grin, then that's how it was. I also used to use all the scrap (leftovers from rubbing down? into a gallon container filled with wine and leave it for a month. That took the top of your head pff TBH.

2. I'm probably doing the wrong thing here, but i've started building a smallish grow box (space constraints) it'll be 2 feet square and 3 feet high. Haven't installed it yet but have an old kitchen extractor fan to be installed for airflow and haven't gotten round to purchasing any lights yet, although i do have some of the cork screw type flourescent bulbs and holes which would be easy enough to install.
The size of the grow box is restricted so was hoping i could pinch the plants to restrict the height, is this feasible?

3. Agree totally about the pot size and have already gone for 8 inch pots filled with Cactus Compost.

4. It's winter months here in Uk so you are right, the light is getting less each day, so lights are a definite must. My budget is tight right now so will do some research to see what i can afford.

5. Flowering???? is this an automatic reaction by the plants based on the amount of light? os is an age related response by the plant?

Sorry for more questions, but i am very, very new to this so any help and advice i can get is very appreciated.

When plants don't get the light they need, they literally reach for the sun and stretch like that.
I got a 300w meizhi led for 80 bucks on amazon. It's perfect for your space, hope that's not out of your budget. Flowering occurs as a reaction to light cyles. When there's less sunlight hours, plants think fall is coming, and their life cycles are coming to an end, so they start blooming and pollinating(males) to produce seeds for the next generation, next spring. To keep them growing, you have to make them think it's spring, with more daylight hours. 24/0, 20/4, and 18/6 are all suitable for vegetative growth. As for your limited grow area, research topping and FIMing. It'll help grow bushier plants, and utilize your space better. Not to mention increasing your yields 2-5x or more. You can't do too much reading on this, forums on here are a great place to start.

Here's the light i spoke of in my space:

[Schmokin]

All the different training techniques are covered on the site. This will help you to control the height and size of your plants

https://howtogrowmarijuana.com/training-techniques/

[Oprah]

Sorry to jump in on your thread here but can I grow using one constant temp at all times? 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit? Thanks

[Saturnalia]

Hi Oprah. Yes is the quick answer to your question.