First Grow - Can I induce flowering

[Derismith88]

I am on my very first grow and the seeds sprouted on December 1st. I am using two 300w Viparspectra LED's. The plant is fem Northern Lights. I think I want to induce flowering tomorrow, butI wanted to get some advice from those more knowledgable than me before doing so. The plant is about 10 inches tall at the moment, and I was having trouble finding any information on what the optimal time to flower would be for a good yield. If I flower now will I be likely be wasting a a significant portion of the yield? Based on the current size, what would even be a reasonable expectation in terms of dry weight?

This is all very new to me so apologies in advance if the questions I'm asking aren't even the right ones, but appreciate any advice you can provide!

 

[Weasel]

At five weeks old your plant should be sexually mature, meaning that it will start to flower soon after it's put in a flowering (12/12) light cycle.
Indica strains such as yours generally roughly double in height during early flowering. They elongate in shape and send up shoots, becoming taller and lankier, usually. That's called the 'stretch' period.
People can never accurately guess yield because there are so many variables, and obstacles (us) in the way of optimal health and maximum yield. But at a glance I would say that it's about the size to yield roughly half an ounce. Give or take half an ounce
Judge when to flower by the amount of available space you have, and the amount of available light.
I don't use LEDs. Are your LEDs actually 300 watts each, or is it just one of those silly 'equivalent to' advertising terms? The only wattage that matters is what the wattage they actually draw from the wall. Aim for roughly 50 watts per square foot of plant canopy.
If you have a fairly wide area, and want to fill it with as much plant surface area as possible, then look into training your plant to make it wider. Most training falls under the term 'LST'. Most training is done in the veg stage, some in early flowering.
Or if you want a natural looking plant in more of a tree shape then just leave it alone.

 

[Derismith88]

Thank you for the response! I willcheck out the LST training you mention. For the most part, I tried to keep this first grow as simple as possible so I could work on understanding the basics without overwhelming myself too much and doing things that I didn't fully understand. Your guideline for the wattage is helpful though as that is one thing I was struggling with determining.

As I go into flowering, should I be doing anything with the lower branches at any point so they aren't taking energy and nutrients if they aren't receiving light or am I better off just leaving them do you think?

 

[Buffo420]

I too am doing my first grow right now with LED. I discovered something though as far as taking pictures. When I started I was getting pictures like you posted here with the pink tint. The best way to get a good photo is to open your area either just before your lights turn on or just after they turn off and use your camera with a flash. That has helped me get significantly better pictures of my girls! Good luck!

 

[Derismith88]

Thank you for this suggestion!

 

[Weasel]

I usually remove lower, small shaded branches. But you don't need to.
If you're aiming for a simple and natural grow to understand the basics, which is a great idea by the way, then just leave them.
Shaded growth won't produce much bud, and shaded lower leaves will eventually die back later in flowering. First though they will be utilized somewhat by the plant for the nutrients contained in them, so in that respect they provide a bit of a buffering function for the plant.
The plant will naturally focus most growth at the top near the light. You're probably not actually going to see a huge difference in yield if you remove lower growth but it does make things more tidy looking.
Definitely clean up any shaded growth that is very dense, and/or completely dead. It could cause airflow or mold problems.

 

[Derismith88]

Sweet, I willmake sure to keep an eye on the lower portions.

In terms of switching over to flowering, is there anything in particular I need to worry about in terms of switching my nutrients, or should I just be okay to water with Tiger Bloom next time I need to water.

Also how often would you recommend watering during flowering does the plant want significantly more than veg?

 

[Weasel]

I'm one of the few people around who has no experience with those nutes- Tiger Bloom and the others in that line.
But in a general sense- when switching to flowering I continue with veg nutes only, for the first week, then 1/2 veg nutes/1/2 flowering nutes for the second week and possibly the third depending how the plant looks. There should be a feeding schedule on your nutrient bottles. Always feed lighter than the recommended amount. Seems like you've done fine so far.

In general plants use less water during flowering. That's mostly because they're under shorter hours of light. Late in flowering as they finish up they will stop drinking almost completely and that's one sign that they're done.

Water pretty much the same way in flowering as in veg. Which is to give a wet-dry cycle. Water them well, then don't water again till they need it.

Judge when to water by the weight of the pot. That's really by far the best way, IMO. Test the weight of a pot full of dry soil. (I'm using the term 'soil' loosely- I mean -growing medium)
By dry I don't mean blowing away in the wind as dust dry, just fluffy and containing the barest amount of moisture. Very light. The weight of that dry pot is roughly how heavy your pot should be before needing water again.
Another way to test that range and find out when to water is to let the plant go just to the point of starting to wilt- then check out how light and dry the pot is. That's the maximum point of dryness and shows you the weight range you have. Know what I mean?
I'm not reccomending you let the plants get to the mild wilting stage every time- though some growers actually do that. It won't hurt them though. They'll perk up immediately after watering.
Having said all that- the wet-dry cycle is somewhat more important during veg than in flowering. It promotes good root growth. Roots grow best when the growing medium is almost dry.

The one thing you do Not want to do is have the plants constantly wet. That will cause all sorts of problems. Even having the soil/medium just constantly 'average/moist' isn't good. So judge by weight, and don't water a little every day keeping things at a constant state. Aim for them to dry up once in a while.

 

[Derismith88]

Thanks again for all these thoughtful responses. I will go with the nutrient schedule you outlined, but feed lighter than recommended as you said, I saw that suggestion a couple other places as well. I was definitely over watering plants the first two weeks of its life and noticed the problems itcaused, so cut back and it seemed to start thriving.

I will keep an eye on the weight of the pot - but allow it to dry out to ensure it isn't just sitting in a constant state of moisture! will continueto post pics as it moves and grows into flowering

 

[fozzy]

No Title

I'm growing the same strain right now too. I've had luck with topping and LST. She looks good and healthy I would pop some of those tops off and tie her down to spread her out and give her another 2 weeks or so. Look up mainlining, LST, and manifold styles of training on this website!

 

[NebulaHaze]

In general it's recommended to switch to the flowering stage when your plant is about half the final desired size (since as others said it may double in size during the flowering stretch). So for example if you have room for a 2 foot plant, you probably want to switch when the plant is about a foot tall. At least that's how I do it

 

[Weasel]

I looked up your lights. They seem to get good reviews.
They are 136 watt lights. They are not 300 watt lights.
Recommended coverage is 4 square feet each- which would be providing 35 watts per square foot- generally considered around the minimum wattage you'd want per square foot. However, the technology may, presumably, be good enough to account for using less watts/foot.
You can definitely veg a lot longer if you want to fill the potential lit area you have. Or turn one light off.