It’s hit or miss with the amount of stretch based on strain and other variables. They might grow considerably over the next week or two, or possibly stay fairly short and just bush out.
I just noticed you said you had on 24/7 until recently. That could definitely have contributed to your really tight node spacing and low plant height. I start my autos on 24/7 but just for the first few days above ground. Then I go to 16/8, not 18/6. My lights are strong enough for me to achieve a DLI as high as I need without needing more than 16 hours. I feel like the longer rest period helps a lot.
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@Cap_Ron thank you! Should I do any defoliating? Also what are the numbers I’m trying to reach on the photone app? Ive kept the par at or around 450
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Also is 20/4 good God autos?
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They can handle more light than that. You should go up gradually, but depending on how many hours you run the lights for each day PPFD between 600 and 900 is a decent range. If you’re running longer hours keep the PPFD on the lower end, and vice-versa. There are tons of online DLI calculators that will give you the info you need.
As far as the fan leaves, I definitely wouldn’t remove more than necessary, but if there are any that will pose a strong risk for mildew issues it’s better to get rid of them. One thing to look for are wet spots that form when fan leaves rest on each other. Look for them just after lights on. Look for any leaves that are sitting on each other and separate them and look for moisture. If you find examples of this, then you should strategically reposition them, or remove a few if necessary.
In general, I remove leaves that are either a risk, or a big nuisance. Usually any leaves that are growing towards the center of the plant can go as well. They’re not going to get much light anyway, and the more airflow under the canopy the better.
I put a blue dot on a leaf in your pic to show you the ones I mean that are growing towards the main stem. You can remove them all around, maybe 3 or 4 per session. I like doing it before I water/feed, not after.
I prefer 16 on and 8 off for my autos. PPFD averaging 750 to 850. I adjust PPFD up or down based on the individual plants appearance.
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That was perfect man ur awesome! I’ve noticed that if I dim my light I can get it closer with higher readings but won’t that have a negative effect on the plant being not as strong light?
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The distance doesn’t really change anything if you’re adjusting the power with it. The total number of photons is all that counts in the end.
The most common recommendation I see for DLI is from 40 to 50. That’s how I chose my 16/8 schedule. 16 hours on at 700 PPFD is about 40 DLI. 16 hours on at 900 PPFD is about 52 DLI. So I usually shoot for right smack in the middle of that range and then adjust like I said if it looks like the plants want more or less.
Keep in mind that when you see people talking about raising the power for the flowering phase, it’s mostly because they have to cut the number of hours from 18 down to 12. With autos, we don’t have that need, so I just let them cruise as close to 45 DLI from Veg all the way through until the last couple weeks of flower, and then I lower it to avoid foxtailing and help keep temps down.
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Okay so with that being said is it okay to turn my light down some to lower it and reach higher numbers without burning the tips?
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Yeah, you can definitely move the light closer, just don’t go too far all at once. It’s safe to go from 375 up to about 475 - 500 or so.
A few things to check. Did your fixture come with specifications that say how far it needs to be kept from the plants?
Use the photone app to get to around 475, and then see how much clearance you have left. If you still have room to move it closer, you can bring it up to 600 a couple of days later.
Once you find a comfort zone, use a DLI calculator and decide on a permanent schedule.
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Yes the light did come with the setup. It’s a 400w led. It has 10 settings from 0%-100%.
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Bend a little and rhen stop until the next day… rhen bend a little more.
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I’d use the photone app and get a true reading of the PPFD on all the settings. Then you’ll know exactly what you have to work with.
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I just looked up a dli calculator and put in my info. It was very enlightening on my setup.
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Okay so I weighed the plant yesterday and it was at 18.4. Took off only 4 leaves and this morning it weighed 14.5 lbs. Not much visible growth do I’m confused bc now it also looks rather sad…
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It could be that it has been eating. Is it feeding time? Do your pots seem lighter?
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She might just be thirsty. If there’s that much of a difference in weight it’s because your soil is dryer than the last time you weighed it, unless you took off 4lbs of leaves, lol.
You did good, she’ll perk back up in no time. I’d tuck those 2 giant solar panels on top though. Just push them down between the other growth. The shoots underneath will thank you for it!
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I may have panicked a lil…She’s happy now:+1: after a good feeding. I’ve never watered heavy enough to get any runoff. I just gave it a lil water when I felt it looked dry bc I was afraid of overwatering. This time I gave it plenty and seems to like it
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Drought to flood and back! She looks good tho. Keep doing what your doing
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I would suggest keeping your clippers away from her and let her grow. Especially given its your first grow you have nothing to base your leaf removal off of other than internet rabbit holes. Simply put its a plant and its going to grow as long as your feeding her and taking good care of her.
Defoliation should be reserved for flowering and removal of damaged leaves in general for a first time grower imo. Point being right now she just trying to get enough weight on her to be a nice healthy plant. Since youre not familiar with the transition stage we call the flowering stretch or late veg stretch its impossible to understand whats about to happen once you flip her to 12/12.
The general rule of thumb is defoliation after 21 days into flower. The reason being is around that time frame most if not all of your bud sites will have emerged by then without having to stop and repair itself everytime a leaf is removed. Making it way easier to determine which, if any leaves will need removed.
Its like getting a puppy thats getting bigger but definetly not a dog yet. Then you leave for a week and come back to full grown crazy beast that needs a haircut badly. Also like a dog she will do much better with training. LST to be specific. Training a puppy is easier than fixing a dog. Go gentle, give her treats afterwards and talk sweet to her. 
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