First time grow and with LED - advice please!

[Bootsy]

Hi. looking good, I wish my new plants looked that nice. Lighting. Hard to really tell, but to me It looks like youve got relatively long spacing of the nodes on some, which could indicate you needa little more lighting, even at this stage. if my initial spacing is more than an inch, I worry about height. At this time, I would likely put the lights closer but I really try to keep stretch to a minimum. I am still learning the numbers game with lighting, but from what i have found, youd want to have a range of 500 to 700 all over to maximize. Your light par chart is nice but, it drops off quickly from the center, and super quick with distance away (so not much penetration relatively for COBs). as you get into flowering the girls will need more light to produce well. It is just numbers, but Quoting from another reputable web-site "The PPF rule for optimal lighting is 65µmol (Usable PPF) per square foot or 700µmol (Usable PPF) per square meter". Note also, a PAR over 1000 seems to be a general consensus cutoff above which you likely end up with issues. Note that mfrs do not necessarily quote actual numbers - which became very evident when i got a PAR meter and checked lights I have access to. I apologize for getting long winded, a trait of mine. in short - suggest you consider lighting as an upgrade to your system.
Regarding when to start flowering - Im sure youve read that try to allow for doubling of your height. your tent is same as my 3 by 3, and height can be an issue, but it is super dependant on the strain of plant. I usually grow different strains together and under the same systems I have seen from 6 inches stretch to over almost 3 ft. Because of this I usually end up switching too early since it sucks to have the tops burnt. I try to have at least 6 inches of basically upright colas before I switch, but still figuring things out after quite a few grows. All the best

[transcend]

Hey not a problem, I can be long-winded too!

I've got a 400w ballast and reflector on hand, and an HPS bulb for it. I'm unsure how many hours the bulb has had (got them off a pal), but I'd really like to try flowering with the COBs just to see how they go. I've seen pics around of people getting some great results with them, and since mine uses about 1/4 of the electricity I'd like to see what I can get out of it.
If the buds come out average I'll use the HID next grow.
I did notice that about the par charts, seems leaving them about 18" above canopy gives the biggest footprint of usable light (second chart pic).
I'm wondering if since I'm only gonna be flowering 2 plants at a time max, if I could rotate them 90/120/180⁰ (haven't decided how much) a day so all the colas get time under the stronger light.
Also looking at maybe a couple of 45w bloom CFLs (one each side) for supplemental lighting.

[Bootsy]

hi. sounds like you got it covered. moving around and stuff will work. take your time upgrading and adding equipment. IMHO In your size tent, CFL's will not do much except for starting your plants - I did try side lighting and agree with the consensus that it is mainly a waste of time. I think COB's are great but suggest if you get more, go with somewhat higher power/intensity to get penetration - yours are relatively small. my first grow in 3 by 3 tent was with a used, cheap 150W (from wall) blurple LED light, and although not ideal, I got a decent yield of tasty, effective, product that was worhtwhile and entertaining - so what if a little larfy. If Perfection is a goal, not an expectation, it stays fun - at least for me.

[transcend]

Thanks for the tips Bootsy, yeah I'm not expecting stellar results for my first grow, but hey if it happens somehow I won't complain! I do have a similar blurple light to the one you mentioned, but I'm hesitant to use it.
I bought it online and the retailer failed to mention the cooling fans would sound like a helicopter winding up for takeoff in my garage! Not exactly discreet haha

[transcend]

Well things are ticking along nicely, looking at taking a few cuttings and switching to flower once I've got my clone box up and running (this week hopefully)

[transcend]

Hey all, I'm almost 2wks into flower now.
Switched to bloom nutes at the flip.

The grease monkey plants (left) are certainty showing their sativa side and are stretching more than the bagseed plants. I've leveled out the canopy with the help of some unused foam workout mats.

The grease monkey budlets are developing, but the bagseed plants seem to be slower, I'm thinking it's genetics but am also a bit worried one of them might be herming as the bud sites look a bit frosty (pollen?). Is it to early for immature trichomes?
I started a different thread asking that specifically to just to widen the net of opinion.

I'm thinking I might try to tie the outer stems to spread the canopy open a bit to improve airflow as it seems a bit crowded now!

Your collective advise is, as always, much appreciated!

[transcend]

Hey everyone,

Am at the end of week 4 of flowering, and have noticed what I'm worried might be balls one one of the plants (closest right in the tent). What do you guys think??

I thought I had what might be a banana on the same plant (see pic) but when I pulled it off it seemed like 2 pistils growing together.

Also, is my canopy too crowded??
I'm getting paranoid about bud rot moving forward, humidity gets up to about 60-65% after I water.

[Puglover1]

Do you have enough fans running? What's your RH between waterings? You have a full tent, The canopy ideally you want to be level. If you can see thru to the dirt from the top, budsites aren't blocked by leaves and leaves aren't laying on each ... Do you use a de- or a humidifier?

[transcend]

Hi, I've got an oscillating fan blowing over the canopy (enough to make them wiggle slightly) and a small fan blowing air at pot level. Extractor runs 24/7. My RH has been in the low 50s between waterings but the weather (and ambient humidity) here is all over the place lately.
No major blocking of bud sites or anything, but 2 if the girls are a bit bushy in the middle now.

I have 2 small desktop dehumidifiers (roughly 10x6x4") in the tent, but I think they're probably not up to the task.
Newbie mistake, bought them because they wouldn't take up much space.
I think I'll buy a more powerful decent sized one tomorrow. It'll be a squeeze in there (next time I'm only doing 2-3 plants to leave some space) but I'd rather have healthy buds rather than roll the dice and end up with zombie plants!

[golfnrl]

I bought a room humidifier for the lung room. That has helped me regulate the RH in the tent a little more consistently. The lung room humidifier stays at 60%. It would be 55% but there's no setting for that. I have a 1 gallon humidifier in the tent that keeps the RH inside at high 50's low 60's day and night. Where I am the RH is all over the map this time of year and so are the temps. Makes it difficult to regulate the grow conditions. I also have a lung room de-humidifier that stays set on 55%. The lung room de-humidifier works so that I don't have to have one inside the tent. What I have found is the temps inside the tent are about 6-8 degrees warmer than the lung room. Same with the RH. I know what you mean about newbie mistakes. I have a small fortune invested in equipment I tried once or twice because I didn't know any better. I've had 4 plants in 5 gal cloth pots in a 2x2.5x6 and a 3x3 as well. Both very crowded and no bud rot or WPM. Now it's just two plants in the 3x3 and working on correct VPD trying to improve quality over quantity. Your plants look good. I'm hoping you have a bountiful harvest.

[transcend]

Grabbed myself a 2.5gal/day floor standing dehumidifier and threw it in the tent. As expected it was a bit of a squeeze, but within an hour my RH was down to the sweet zone, and 12hrs later is still at 45%.
Plus now my heater doesn't have to work as hard too!

[transcend]

Hi everyone, halfway through week 8 of flowering now.
Was having trouble with my jewelers loupe so I ordered a usb microscope and gave it a run today.

Looks like (from what I can tell) my smaller bagseed plant might be ready to chop, heaps of milky trichomes and some amber ones too ( amber moreso on the sugar leaves). The others plants are still clear/maybe just starting to turn.

Is it normal for some strains to stay green and lush all the way up to harvest?? I was under the impression the fan leaves would start yellowing as harvest approaches..?
Or could it be a high CBD strain?

And as it took me by surprise a bit, am I too late to do a preharvest flush? I'd like to chop before too many amber's appear (I'd like the high to lean more on the heady side than couchlock).

Apologies for the cruddy trich pic, damn hard to keep still!
Bud the foreground is the bud, the out of focus part is the sugar leaf.

Thanks in advance for your help!!