I have 2 plants sour tangy clones vegged them out 6 or so weeks flipped the switch to 12 and 12 on dec 6th it's now 1 / 31 and there still growing they are now monsters 12 feet around up to the ceiling 7 feet and I turned the lights off for 2 days trying to jump start the bloom phase and they grew in the pitch black 6 more inches
First thing I’d do is to get some soft twine and bend those suckers down down DOWN - tie them down. It can absolutely be done without hurting the plants. Cannabis definitely will flower on a 12/12 times schedule. Is it possible that there is any kind of a light leak anywhere? That’s really the only thing that would stop them from flowering. Are you seeing no signs of flowering whatsoever? I wouldn’t go changing the light schedule at all or putting them in the dark. 12/12 is all that’s needed and all that you should be doing.
Take a pair of pliers and crush a 6-12 inch or more section of the stem or side branches and fold them over and tie them down. The crush acts as strain relief and the branch-stem will keep getting fluids and continue to grow and flower. If you just force the branch until it "Snaps" everything above the snap usually dies. I've used this method for years to keep wild growing sativa plants below the fence top. BNW
I agree with MOST of what being shared here....I've been growing 40 yrs and its 100% correct about the industry making more $$ than the growers....AND I DO HAVE THE PICS TO BACK IT UP....I've come full circle after the late 70ies with indoor growing....Back then, it was trial ans error...NO INTERNET, NO HOW TO BOOKS, and shitty lighting....DRAIN TO WASTE (DWT) was the only thing we knew...Then wick systems evolved (did it), ebb and flow tables (did it), drip systems (did it), Deep water culture (did itl), and a modification of DWC which I dubbed SWC (shallow water culture)....Now, and for the last decade, I have returned to DTW....for the typical 'Home Grower', there is NO BETTER, way to grow....Its efficient, minimal equipment, VERY EASY, and most importantly, produces results that I HAVE NOT seen any HIGH DOLLAR hydro systems exceed...I dont even use the 'quality water' thing...I use tap...Iike it better than R.O. water....I DO DISAGREE with 'cheap nute'...It is imperative your girls get the nutrition they need....YOU CAN grow plants with half ass nutes, but MUCH better results occur with quality nutes.....THERE ARE WAY TOO MAKE 'snake oil' Addatives out there...I WONT even use multiple PART solutions...I use the Dyna line SINGLE USE formulas...One for vegging, one for blooming.....THATS IT BECAUSE THATS ALL THAT IS NEEDED....If your adding things that mfg'ers are promising mega buds, mega roots, or WHATEVER, YOUR BEING PLAYED for your cash!!!!!!!!!......I use HID lighting...A 1000w system cost UNDER $200 now...I wont even waste money on mylar...My closet walls have a foiled foam board which has served just fine for 8yrs now...MYLAR does not last.... If your just a home grower wanting some nice bud (and even a goodly amt of extra), a $200 light, DECENT single use nute and simple DTW hydro system....I use a mix of 4:1 perlite to vermiculite...PERFECT AIR TO MOISTURE ratios....AND I get that at a local nursery outlet for $20 a bag (THE BIG BAGS)...enuf for me to run 2 full crops....My space (now a days) is a 4ft by 5ft closet, and I run 6 utility buckets...3 gal, although 5 works fine....I top them for about 8-12 tops per bucket and REGULARLY pull 30-40 jars (oz) per crop....CHEAP, EASY, LOW MAINTENANCE, AND works as well as ANYTHING out there...A DWC is capable of out vegging it A LITTLE, BUT for cost and simplicity I dont care if I get into flower 4 days faster with a DWC....THAT IS THE HIGHEST MAINTENANCE SYSTEM ON THE MARKET....TOO MUCH CAN GO WRONG TOO...You also need remote res with water chillers, aerators, pumps and LOT of patience... Not to mention the clean up of all that shit to start over for the next crop.....F that!!!!!!.......A pH pen IS also imperative...HEY, I blow $12-$15 for mine...LOL...I just buy a new one ONCE A YR.....BIG SPENDER..LOL...YOU DO need to know what your dumping on your plants...a good pH allows the plants to BE ABLE to up take the nutes you add to the water...I dont even use 'grow shop' bought pH adjusters....White vinegar for pH lowering and baking soda to sweeten acidic mixes.....WORKS AS WELL AS THE EXPENSIVE STUFF....Less experienced Growers are easily hearded into thinking they need expensive EVERYTHING to achieve success...COULDNT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH....The INDUSTRY spends good $$ making sure your always reading that YOU DO NEED IT...All it REALLY DOES is empty your wallets.....Keep it simple, BECAUSE IT IS SIMPLE......This yr marks 43 yrs of indoor hydro growing of meds for me (started in 1979).....I HAVE LEARNED WHAT WORKS, I HAVE SEEN THE INDUSTRY EVOLVE, I HAVE SEEN THE LAWS CHANGE...... Happy growing (YT) quick pic of typical closet crop of mine....
Hey yankee. What you say is true. Simpler is better. Fewer problems and great results with correct usage. I would even argue "cheap nutes". I use jacks classic 20-20-20 the whole grow with great results. 50% perlite, 50% peat, and a tablespoon per 5 gal bucket of dolomite lime for "soil" mix. Jacks mixed with my tap water ph's at 6.5 and between feeding waterings i use distilled water with 1 drop per gal of african violet plant food that ph's distilled water at 6.5. Feed jacks every 3rd watering. Simple as it gets and cheap.
I happen to HAVE some Jacks 10-30-10....Jacks is not really a super cheap nute....CHEAP, is a 20Lb bag of peters professional.....Jacks works fairly well, especially with tap water....I USE THE Dyna grow and Dyna bloom....cost same as jacks but has ALL 16 elements needed....Single use formulas....NOTHING ELSE ADDED TO IT....this is jacks with those using RO water, can have def show up.....NOT WITH DYNA PRODUCTS....Cheap doesnt always mean sub-par....Dyna is cheap but is amazing..YT
BTW... 30+ YEARS AGO, I used peters prof and grew decent plants......It HAD 8 elements I believe....with tap water, it worked!!!!...back then, a 20lb bag was like $14.95.....lasted a long time...if it caked, you just broke it up so your measuring scoop could be used....The standard 1 tbsp per gallon was what we used.....worked fine with DTW.....YT
About 25 years ago, i grew some monsters out doors with peters.11' ft tall and beautiful. Simple plant food you cant argue with. Jacks actually used to be peters or something. If i remember correctly, peters was owned by 2 brothers and 1 broke off and became jacks.
I use ~1 qt of foliage pro (dyna grow veg formula) and ~2 qts of bloom, PER CROP....Each is btwn $15-$20 depending if there is a sale at place I get mine online (thelandscaperstore.com)...FREE SHIPPING TOO..LOL....So I use about $60 worth of nutes (complete and that work amazing), and less than $20 worth of medium (perlite/verm. mix).....So for under $100, I pull btwn 30-40 oz per crop.....buckets get washed out and reusable almost indefinitely....keep my HID bulbs fairly new and its so close to ZERO overhead, its a joke....Even if I buy 2 new bulbs a yr (under $100 ror both, I'm only spending $400-$500 A YEAR to get in 4 crops....That averages about 140 oz a yr for that investment....2 OF THOSE JARS COVERS A YRS EXPENSES....electric runs me avg of $40 month btwn veg and bloom cycles but thats only another 2-3 jars to cover that!!!!!....135 jars CLEAR A YR AFTER EXPENSES, for a 20 sqft closet......this is why I wont budge on my Dyna products....Cheap but COMPETE...I might only save $40 a yr going back to a generic nutrient....JUST NOT WORTH EVEN CONSIDERING...YT....
But I loved this thread when I saw it.....EVERYONE needs to get off the expensive growing techniques and materials, and realize HOW F'ing SIMPLE this all is....Happy growing...YT
I get ya yankee, sounds like you have a great system worked out. I do very small grows, 2 plants at a time, but will look into dyna products, youve peaked my interest! One thing i liked about using jacks is how the ph worked out with my tap water. You said you used tap water with the dyna grow products. What does your ph work out to with mid strength mix?
Just took this pic...My DTW set up...1000w light over it....I DO USE A CHEAPO light mover (chain driven)...SHADE is the ENEMY when flowering and this type of mover is cheap and last 20+ yrs....Anyways...buckets have pvc outlets to a 4in main drain tube tilted slightly to run to the opening...I just put a pan under the opening to catch the runoff.....All cheap shit and reusable...LOL.... this crop has Bruce Banner #3, BubbleBomb and a single Great White Shark....I also have Peyote Critical, Holy Grail, and White Widow ON HOLD in the nursery....BTW, the best light on the planet for rooting cuttings is a standard fluorescent shop fixture with COOL WHITE bulbs...Must to use cool white for best results....Those fixtures are about $15 and another $6 for 2 bulbs....LOL...LAST MANY YEARS...Those T5 bulbs and fixture crap out in a yrs time (bulbs and/or ballasts)...YT
I'll put my 'CHEAPO' buds up against anyones.....ANYONE ASK TO PUT MY MONEY WHERE MY MOUTH IS, WELL HERE THEY GO....Got plenty more pics JUST AS MOUTH WATERING.... Hopefully less experienced growers CATCH ON, that its NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU PUT OUT IN YOUR FANCY SYSTEM, Its about knowing the basic principles of growing and knowing all the facts...SIMPLICITY and moderation....Cant force your plants....give them the basics, in moderation, and they WILL REWARD YOU many times over...YT
You pH IS ALWAYS a product of the water you start with...pH, by nature after mixing, will want to drift back toward the original pH of the water...NOT MUCH but it will buffer like that...CITY tap water (on east coast anyways) is typically in the high 7's, possibly reaching 8.0....Its set that way on purpose to ward off any 'nasties' in the water before it reaches your residence....when your vegging, nutes will bring it down, but not a bunch....It the Phosphorus (middle #) that brings it down.....with a flower formula, it will come down considerably since bloom formula is much heavier in phosphorus ACID....Full strength bloom MIGHT even bring you to a perfect pH for DTW (5.7-5.8), IF YOUR TAP WATER RUNS IN THE HIGH 7's.....pH issues are VERY SPECIFIC to each growers water and nutes.....After a few waterings, you almost dont even need the meter any more...Just PAY ATTENTION to how your pH behaves AFTER mixing a solution....By the time I transplant, I'm running probably 75% of full strength grow formula....THE PLANTS let me know when to up it to full strength....The tips start coming out slightly lime green, and rapid growth slows a little....Full strength, in my experience with DYNA product, is a tbsp per gallon....then when I induce flower, I continue GROW FORMULA until 10 days into timer flip....This is important to support that INSANE stretch the first 2 weeks of flower...Then I switch to full strength Bloom formula....POINT BEING, I only need to recognize how a cpl different mixing rates behave...ie, MY WATER with full strength grow formula, and MY WATER with full strength flower formula....As a sanity check, I WILL make sure the pH is doing things consistently, but the tap water HAS A CONSISTENT pH so you pretty much know what you will need to do.....I usually need to Add a tbsp of vinegar to a 5 gal bucket of MY MIX with full strength flower (I mix in a 5 gal bucket), and its almost spot on....JUST LEARN how YOUR WATER, WITH YOUR NUTES behaves... It impossible to tell anyone how much of THEIR pH adjusters to add to THEIR WATER with THEIR NUTRIENTS....anyone that can turn a pH pen on and off will understand how theirs is behaving after just a cpl watering..... Problem is with these inexperienced growers using DWC systems, or anything with remote reservoirs, REALLY NEED TO LEARN pH behavior....CAUSE IT WILL DRIFT in those type systems....With DTW, its mix, adjust pH, and water....NO CHASING drifts around....YT
Are you still sticking with 1000W MH/HPS lights as 10-30 years ago? Have you looked into CMH/LEC or LED?
For RIGHT NOW, I am running 1000w HID lighting....BUT, After extensive research, I AM NOW CONVINCED that there are QUALITY LED's that match and possibly exceed growth and flowering....LED was the future of hydroponic lighting for sometime now...THERE ARE A BUNCH on the market that are not worth a shit, but are a few that are.....EXPECT to pay $900+ dollars to get a QUALITY LED that truely replaces your 1000w HID system....I attached a pic of the one THAT WILL my 1st LED purchase....I like the 'panel' design as opposed to the integrated box/cabinet design such as the Black Dog systems....Those also WEIGHT A LOT MORE than he panel design....So, Technology has finally caught up with the LED's...Efficient, cooler, and PAR ratings are insane (No wasted spectrum)....Even 5-7 yrs ago, too many ppl were still on the fence with LED's being able to TRUELY replace, and give the results of HID systems....SOME are there, MANY ARE NOT...Quality lighting is essential to a great crop, SO DONT CUT ANY CORNERS GOING WITH LED....Do your homework!!!!!....YT
I believe there is a future cannabis project podcast where they actually debunk the 16 elements and its actually 82. If I recall correctly. Might be something to look in to.
Go pop some pimples.... 16 elements are provided in dyna gro nutrients...some elements like chlorine and nickle are usually omitted from MANY list since they are needed in such micro amts....No one can even place a RECOMMENDED amts to be in nutrient formulas, but if you can read past more than growing forums, you can find out the rolls of some extreme micro elements....some micro elements can also appear as impurities with some solutions... Maybe if you spend some time learning how to grow, you wont have time to sound like a troll in forums....YT That 82 podcast thing was probably discussing your IQ...Not a total loss, but needs some work..