Howdy

First of all I better give you a run down on my set up. Running a 300 watt dual spectrum cfl + 125 watt red spectrum cfl as my main two lights. Around the sides of the room I have 4 x 20 watt warm white cfls and 1 x 30 watt daylight umbrella cfl all the wattages are actual wattages not equivalents. My grow space is around 1 metre x 1.5 metre x 2 metres. The room is painted flat white with some silver reflective foil around the sides below the side lights for max reflection. I am using some 5 ltr polythene plant pots with organic compost to grow 5 x bahia blackhead cuttings 4 x nl seeds feminized mix and 1 x bag seed.

I vegged to a height of around 6 or 7 inches and went 12/12 around 3 weeks ago. I aready knew but all 10 are fine looking ladies and I am doing a sort of hybrid SOG grow where I move the taller plants together and keep the rest under the 300 watt dual.

The lights are never any more than 6 inches away if anything I would say the average distance has been more like four but it all seems very stretched. I feed them twice a week with 2 different ferts. I use miracle grow all rounder and a organic seaweed extract with sequestered iron.

I have loads of small buds that are popcorn sized but the nodes look kinda stretched(1 to 2 inches) and I am worried all I am gonna end up with is about 1 oz of popcorn buds from 10 ladies and that would be a tragedy!!Any advice or comments would be gratefully received.

I am definitely not an expert. But i think Nl is a sativa which tend to be lanky. Not sure about the other strain. Also 5 liter pots seem kinda small. I am using 12 liter pots and only vegging my plants for 2-3 weeks. I might be able to get away with a two gallon but one gallon seems real small. I think you can gett 2or3 gal square pots pretty cheap . cfls dont really penetrate that well no matter what the wattage. I keep mine an inch or two away and check them everyday to see if i need to move them up. The smaller cfls(23w) you can put really close like a half inch away if you have a fan blowing over them. The high wattage bulbs get too hot for this. I got lots of popcorn on my first grow also. I think trimming some/most of the undergrowth and just allowin the top couple of nodes to grow will also help.

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My six plants are 100% legal. Thanks prop 215

you also have only been under 12/12 for 3 weeks. It usually takes a week or so for the plant to really start to flower and I think northern lights takes like 10-12 weeks to finish so you should have tons more bud growth. You will be amazed at how much they fatten up in just the last two weeks. Also plants do most of their stretching during the first three weeks of flower so they should at least slow down on the stretching

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My six plants are 100% legal. Thanks prop 215

You will definitely put on the most bud weight in the last two to three weeks, but if you are really worried about having all the popcorn buds then you could always just harvest in stages. Just cut the top buds off when they are ready, and move the lights down so that the bottom smaller buds will continue to mature. It will take a few extra weeks but should be worth it.

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When true patriots become labeled as enemies than you can bury my corpse right beside lady liberty's.

Patience my friend.. They should fatten up in time!

Thanks for the answers so far guys. It's my first grow so I probably just being a bit para due to that, but by the same token I'd rather ask a stupid question, than make a stupid mistake. The stretching during the first few weeks of flowering is not something I had ever heard of but I suppose no matter how reading you do, you will always miss something.
This might be another stupid question, but say my buds are about half an inch long at the moment and the next node is about 1 1/2 inches below can I expect this to fill out a bit in the coming weeks or does the bud itself lengthen and the gaps just stays? Sorry if I am being a little dense but I have never watched a bud develop before.
My lights have just gone on and I went in for my daily peak and I noticed I starting to get some frosting on the leaves of the Bahia's but I dont have a lot of leaves around the bud like in Ganathans avatar.

It sounds like your doing really well, and remember, Like Jangel will tell you,,A stupid question is one never asked,,, It is your first grow, so ask all you need,, The gap you mentioned from one bud to the other, Most likely that will beautifully fill right in... I'm excited for you and your first grow!!!

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lol... it should fill in nice like was said before, don't rush it man... relax, kick back, and just wait for good things to happen. This time is when you learn for next time, so keep asking as many questions as you need to.

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When true patriots become labeled as enemies than you can bury my corpse right beside lady liberty's.

Thanks again guys, you have set my mind at ease and I will just chill and wait for the good times to roll .

I have been reading up on adding molasses into my fert mix but when should I start adding? I have also read that some growers use it right through the flush period and others that stop for the flush. Anybody have any experience?

lol... it should fill in nice like was said before, don't rush it man... relax, kick back, and just wait for good things to happen.

The gap you mentioned from one bud to the other, Most likely that will beautifully fill right in... I'm excited for you and your first grow!!!


I have been into my room to get something and I have just noticed that the plant from the bagseed which is about 30 inches tall now and has a bud site spaced about inch apart for 18 inches of the plant. OMG............if those gaps fill in as you guys say they probably I will be in dreamland. I am very excited now!!