Trying to do these plants right

[chemwagon]

I've been trying to grow some plants for the past 4 weeks now.
Strain: Chemdawg; 8 plants
Set-up: Grow Tent 4X6X6, 8 T5 HO 54w bulbs in overhead fixture,
Medium: Soil, little bit of miracle gro, water
no extra nutes.

This is my first grow ever attempted, and I've made a few mistakes...
Mistake 1. I started growing the seedlings for the first week on a table next a sunny window
Mistake 2. I Once i got all 8 of the plants into the tent, i kept the light fixture about 4ft away from the plants, wayyy too far.
Mistake 3. My research suggests the wide and bushy is the way to go for indoor grows, so i started to LST the plants... by bending the main stalk to achieve a bent plant.

Since last week, i have found and corrected all of my mistakes. The main stalks are now vertical(as vertical as they'll get), the overhead lights are now about 4-6 inches above the plants, i have placed an additional fan in the tent, and i have properly bent he branches down to try a 4-way LST on two of the plants(the most mature ones) I have also added a scrog.

*Some plants are bigger than others as they were the closest to the light when it hung too far above*

Now, the plants are looking a lot better. Much more green than before, the branches are actually beginning to thicken and grow outward.
However, some fingers have begun to cup just slightly, like they are being closed on the middle crease of the leave ever so slightly to make a "V" shape.
I think it's because of the light being really close now, i have to up their water intake, which i just did today.

But what i really want to know is, are these plants gonna be the weirdest lopsided, stunted, plants that will ever be grown? and can they actually make it to harvest?

[Canuck147]

Hey chemwagon - mistake 1(a)- you are using miracle grow. Miracle Grow is for tomatoes, it doesn't do well with cannabis plants.
Are you spraying your plants? With what?
You haven't mentioned if you check the pH of your water. Very important to have balanced water 5.5-6.6 is acceptable.
Got any perlite/vermiculite in your soil.
Growing autos or photos?
Good luck growing.

[Potted]

Hay CW welcome to the show, to answer your question I need to know what type of soil? Is it draining well? What’s your temp. And light schedule? It all helps to make a informed response. Lol

[chemwagon]

Hey sorry about the lack of info!

1.)Water ph- unidentified as i do not own a ph test
2.)No perlite or vermiculite
3.) I'm actually using bag-seed from a pack of chemdawg that I picked up, and I have a small hunch that they are feminized. def photos
4.) I spray the plants with a mist of water before the lights come on.
5.) 18/6 light to dark cycle
6.) using Organic all purpose potting soil
7.) temp stays at around 73-78 degrees F

[Canuck147]

Any pool/spa store - buy litmus paper.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Evening Chemwagon, you really need to get away to monitor your PH, that's very important, your plants can't feed-grow very well ,unless the ph is in a certain range, even the strips would help you alot, you can get them pretty much anywhere, good luck CW.

[Potted]

How true,DASS69 ph for soil.go to a Walmart,or pet store and pick up some ph strips (cheep) and test and adjust.

[chemwagon]

To be honest, i thought the whole PH thing was a myth. Seeing how that it actually matters, I've placed an order for a ph test. But if it i the ph, then what do i do?

Here are some shots of the two best plants. Theyve been topped, and are currently undergoing what i believe to be a 4-way LST method as seen on the groweedeasy.com website.
I'd love to hear what anyone might think about them.

[UrbZ]

I would suggest adding some perlite to your soil when you transplant to gain drainage. When the soil is almost completely dry, water them with like 5.8-6.0 ph plain water prolly a gallon or gallon and a half should do the trick. This will completely flush your soil. It also a good idea to check the water that come from the bottom of your pot. As this is just as impirtant as water going in.Your looking for that same ph range. 5.5-6.5.

The V shaping could be heat too.You have any ventilation, know what temps are in grow room?

Also be careful misting right before lights on. The water spots can burn leaves in intense light. They work like a magnifying glass. Switching to misting right before or after lights out will help the plant intake the h2o. Darkness is when the stomata open the most. You can tell this happens by your plants smell. The stomata opening is what makes plants loud right after lights out.

Hope this helps.

[chemwagon]

Hey UrbZ, i just checked on the heat with the back of hand test, seemed fine. The temp is currently at a nice 75 F. I have a small fan on one end of the tent, blowing air directly into the light, and out the other end via 2 computer fans in the wall. Also what do u mean by flushing?

[UrbZ]

Temp is perfect that elimantes one issue right of the back.

Flushing is when you water the plant after being completely dry with enough plain pH at like 6 water that you get 20% run off. Runoff is what comes out in the bottom pan blow your plant. What this does is get rid of all the old nutrients in the soil and should balance your pH levels. I would say shoot for a quarter gallon or a little more of runoff with a gallon and a half.

[chemwagon]

ok awesome! i will do that as soon as i have the correct level ph water. Thanks a lot for the assist!

[chemwagon]

As a side note, im a little concerned about getting to harvest. All of the plants, being at 4 weeks, seem severely stunted in growth in all aspects of the plants. Should i scrap 6-7 of them and just keep 1-2 to really look after? will i get a bigger yeild this way? or is it better to keep them all? my end goal is for this particular grow is to have a BIG yield. Quality will come once i have some more experience.

Would love to hear what anyone has to say!

-CW

[abadtrip]

U can get all of your plants to harvest if u have the time to dedicate to the craft. I grow at max 4 plants and at times spend an hr each day per plant caring for them. If you want a big harvest you will need to spend alot of time loving your plants. Check everything control your environment. Research everything u can.

[chemwagon]

Hey abadtrip, I am fully committed to these babies, and am putting my best foot forward! glad to know that they could all be full size beauties by the end!

[Potted]

Pouring ph,ed water thru the soil until it comes out the bottom,and do again,and again your flushing out all the built up nutes and salts from the grow. Makes for a smother smoke.

[chemwagon]

Hey all! just tested the water's pH lvls, looks likes it's between 6.2 and 6.5. im guessing it's a little too high but im not sure how to lower it.

Any suggestions would greatly help!

-CW

[UrbZ]

Hey all! just tested the water's pH lvls, looks likes it's between 6.2 and 6.5. im guessing it's a little too high but im not sure how to lower it.

Any suggestions would greatly help!

-CW

Thats your water before going into the pot? If so thats fine. You shouldnt need tp drop it unless your runoff when watering is way over 7

[chemwagon]

Corrrection: the water going in before was 7.2 i was using regular tap water. filtered water reads 6;2

[UrbZ]

Okay yup def. too high ph at the start.. Just wait til the pot is very dry. And fully flush and water it til you get a good reading on your runoff ph level.

Switching to filtered water you may want to add cal/mag to your routine. Filters take a lot of the goodies out of water. Plain tap water has them in it bit lose them in filtering.

They should be looking goid in no time.

[chemwagon]

Awesome! Tomorrow i will begin to flush and post before/after pics here. Thanks for the assist!

[oldjarhead100]

Hey Chem everything above is good info but I want to talk about your plants(no oh shits)In your forth picture you can see where the plant was topped,well looking down the stem you can see the next node and the next node and so on ,what I want to point out is that if you top a plant with the node the way yours is will slow the plant by as mush as 2 weeks but if you top it when the new growth nodes are between the bottom 3rd node and the second node I will top my plants if they have a half inch new growth shoot or wait until they do .thats my experience anyways good luck

[chemwagon]

Yo Jarhead, thanks for the reply! So if i'm reading this right, you're suggesting to top the plants earlier on in their life as it will not slow down their growing process. is that right?

[oldjarhead100]

I'm saying that when you top, be sure to top at the node with at least 1/2 inch new growth shoots,If you top and there is no growth shoots just fan leafs it will slow plant down, if you top at node with 1/2 inch new growth shoot it wont slow down

[oldjarhead100]

I had to tie down so 3 week old autos so I took a couple of pictures for you in the first you can see below my thumb the growth shoots are not visible yet so I go to the next one down that had a 1/2 inch growth shoot