I have fixtures, need advice on bulbs and feeding

Indoor Growing Lighting
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Hello, this is my first time growing. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and wow there is so much information out there. It’s a bit overwhelming. I have two small plants and had questions about lights. Right now I have a shop light with two 30watt fluorescent tubes. These are several years old, look like they are about to go out and based on what I’m reading, are just too weak even if they were brand new.

Right now they are about 4 inches above the plant. I’m hoping to use my existing fixture but maybe purchase some new bulbs. Any suggestions? Something I can buy at Home Depot is a plus.

Also, should I start giving them nutrients now? I planted these guys about 6 weeks ago and although they appear healthy, they are slow growing. Is that because of lack of light or lack of nutrients? Both maybe? They’ve been growing by windowsill light and only have had light from the tubes for a few days.

One last question, I’m growing a CBD strain and hoping for more CBD than THC or a 1:1 ratio. Do the plants have different needs to achieve this?

This is my practice run from gifted seeds before I do the real deal. Im not even sure if they are male or female. Just trying to get all my growing mistakes out of the way now! Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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Ok so I can help out if you can answer a few questions here for me!

  1. What kind of fixture is that? T12, T8, T5, T5 HO? This is important to figure out because you can buy bulbs at Home Depot for all of them I believe.

  2. What kind of soil are you using? If it already has nutrients in it, and the girls look healthy, then they don’t need extra nutrients just yet.

  3. To achieve the best results you’ll need to replicate the best climate and give the right amount nutrients throughout the entire grow.

I hope this helps, and I hope I can continue to help you out. Ask away with any questions!

:v::evergreen_tree::evergreen_tree:

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The amount of light from outside is not enough and they have only been under the lights for a couple days. Give them a chance to react. Brighter bulbs may help but you really need some reflective surface on the sides of the plant to save some of the energy from the lights.

Are you planning on growing in a tent, outside or in a room?

What kind of soil are you using ? Most soils do not need nutrients until late in vegetation or early flowering.

If you grow inside, a pH meter is almost required to have a good grow. The pH of the water and nutrients is very important for a keeping your plants healthy.

In order to really give you relevant information, this is some of the information needed by us. This will also give you a place to start on what you need. You might not need all this stuff right now but may help you direct your grow. I will be glad to answer questions as you run into them. The first grow is the toughest. Jerry

COPY/PASTE: This “Support Ticket” into your forum post. Answer these simple questions the best you can. If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so = NA

ILGM Support Ticket:

What is the strain and type(unknown bag seed, strain name, regular seeds, feminized seeds, auto-flower, etc)?

Indoor or Outdoor? If outdoor, planted in ground or in a container?

Size of space (max height and area, length/width)?

Soil or Hydro? Type of Medium used? System type?

pH?
- Of the soil or medium (root zone/reservoir/run-off)?

 -  Of the water and/or nutrient mix that is fed to the plant?

Type and strength of dose of nutrients used? NPK?

Temperature? Day vs. night temp or highest and lowest temps? Root zone temps?

Humidity %? Day vs. night

Light system/watts/lumens/FLUX/PAR?

Ventilation system? Size? CFM? CO2?

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier?

Number “weeks/days” from into Season, Vegetative Growth or Bloom/flowering?

Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer. Feel free to elaborate, but try to be brief and to the point. Short and to the point questions and/or facts will help us help you.

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What kind of fixture is that? T12, T8, T5, T5 HO? This is important to figure out because you can buy bulbs at Home Depot for all of them I believe.
T8 4ft light fixture

What kind of soil are you using? If it already has nutrients in it, and the girls look healthy, then they don’t need extra nutrients just yet.
It’s an outdoor potting mix. It does have nutrients in it already and they do look really healthy. I originally was going to grow them outdoors but the weather has stayed colder than it should for this time of year. Is it ok to stay with this soil mix if they seem happy? I assume switching out soils when I increase pot size would be a bad idea but I don’t know much about growing!

The temperature and humidity seem like an ideal environment for the plants. It’s warm and bright but not too hot. The room it is in tends to stay a bit stuffy/humid. It is being grown in our bedroom and we open the window that is located right next to the plants for a few hours each day in order to bring in fresh air. Is that a sufficient ventilation ‘system’?

I don’t have any way of monitoring the humidity. If it’s important to keep track of, do you have any recommendations for what to purchase for monitoring it? (Amazon or Home Depot)

Also, I water when the pot feels light and I can stick the tip of my finger in the soil and it comes out dry. It seems to need water nearly everyday. Is that pretty normal for these plants? I’m use to watering my other house plants only two or three times a week.

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I’m growing currently in an unused open closet in my bedroom where one of the walls is a window.
I did go ahead and add reflectors to the space based on your recommendation.
This is just for my fiancé and myself and in an effort to save money in the long run and be able to have more control over our smoke. It’s less about massive yields and more about practical/easy long term growing practices and quality.

ILGM Support Ticket:

What is the strain and type(unknown bag seed, strain name, regular seeds, feminized seeds, auto-flower, etc)?
Unknown - Came from a local dispensary

Indoor or Outdoor?
Indoor

Size of space (max height and area, length/width)?
9ft H x 5ftL x 3ft W

Soil or Hydro?
Soil

Type of Medium used?
Indoor/Outdoor Potting soil

pH?

  • Of the soil or medium (root zone/reservoir/run-off)?
    Ph = 7 - Run-off

  • Of the water and/or nutrient mix that is fed to the plant?
    Ph = 6

Type and strength of dose of nutrients used? NPK?
None yet

Temperature? Day vs. night temp or highest and lowest temps?
70 degrees on average day and night

Root zone temps?
45 at night
Up to 65 degrees during day

Humidity %? Day vs. night
Unknown

Light system/watts/lumens/FLUX/PAR?
Shop light with two 32 watt T8 Tubes 4500k I think

Ventilation system? Size? CFM? CO2?
Ability to open nearby window :slight_smile:

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier?
None

Number “weeks/days” from into Season, Vegetative Growth or Bloom/flowering?
About 5 weeks Veg Plants are roughly 10" tall

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Root zone temps are pretty cold. Should be more in the mid 70’s. That is closer to the temp that the cannabis grows best in also.

Your pH for runoff is not terrible but could be a little lower 6.5 - 6.7 or 6.8. Your input water should be pH balanced to 6.4 - 6.7 with the sweet spot at 6.5.

No real need to add nutrients to the soil until the plant has 4-6 “families” of leaves or until they are flowering. Remember when you first start adding nutes that you always check the pH after adding anything to the water. When adding nutrients Start low and go up slow. Most agree to start with 1/4 of what the dose on the label is and work up to 1/2 dose for a while. Then let the leaves tell you how fast to increase. When the tips start burning, back down for a while.

Hope this helps. Jerry

PS: Agree with you that this is the only way to really know what is in your cannabis !

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Those root zone temps were kind of a guess. It is next to a window and that area stays a bit cooler at night. I’ll get a proper temp gauge in there to check for certain. Is this sufficient? Amazon.com

The PH was done with strips so I’m comparing colors on a chart. Not super accurate. If it’s better to get it more exact, do you have any recommendations for something I can purchase to keep track of it? I noticed there were ones for soil or water and wasn’t sure which would be better to work with.

Thank you for all of your help!

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Home Depot sells hygrometers, which is what you’ll need to measure humidity. Just ask the front desk or check online ahead of time and it will tell you the aisle and bin to find it in.

Amazon also sells them, hygrometer.

:v::evergreen_tree::evergreen_tree:

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Just type in “pH meters for growing marijuana” on Amazon and you will get many instruments between $15-25 up to $70 or more. . You need one that measures water (aquariums). Jerry