gorilla zkittles photoperiod day fifteen

[carlosescobar]

Ive got a quick question about lights , ive got 2 gorilla zkittles through the seedling stage , and i have a viparspectra xs1000, how do i find the correct distance to get the most from the light , (its at 16 inches at the moment) and at 40%, and when do i dial it up a bit from the seedling setting ?
is it better to be closer to the plant at 50% or futher away at 80%.
my last grow the light was 24'' away from the plant and i dont think it pushed the plant to produce tricomes and smell.

 

[Redneckx]

It depends on what you want, you can keep your lights closer to the plants or hang it higher away for more stretch, but the electric costs will rise.
I like to mine more sturdy and less stretchy (shorter nodes), adjust the intensity to their stage and actual height. I try to keep mine always around 30-45cm away from the plant is a good way to give them proper light expose without burning them, in flower I get the light a little closer.
Letting the plants grow closer to the light will save you a dollar on the bill and the plants will like it.

 

[MercDod]

Ive got a quick question about lights , ive got 2 gorilla zkittles through the seedling stage , and i have a viparspectra xs1000, how do i find the correct distance to get the most from the light , (its at 16 inches at the moment) and at 40%, and when do i dial it up a bit from the seedling setting ?
is it better to be closer to the plant at 50% or futher away at 80%.
my last grow the light was 24'' away from the plant and i dont think it pushed the plant to produce tricomes and smell.

In my opinion, the seedling stage for most photoperiods is the first two weeks. The start of the third week I consider start of veg. You should adjust your light so it is at the correct PPFD/DLI. About 20 DLI and about 300-500 PPFD. You will play this "game" where you try to stay in those perameters AND possibly maintain the temperature also using intensity and height.

I think I said that right, LOL

Short answer, height does not matter as long as PPFD and DLI is correct.

 

[Redneckx]

In my opinion, the seedling stage for most photoperiods is the first two weeks. The start of the third week I consider start of veg. You should adjust your light so it is at the correct PPFD/DLI. About 20 DLI and about 300-500 PPFD. You will play this "game" where you try to stay in those perameters AND possibly maintain the temperature also using intensity and height.

I think I said that right, LOL

Short answer, height does not matter as long as PPFD and DLI is correct.

Your right, did let the measuring out, because I thought @carlosescobar isn't that new here to the Farm and know that he has to check the ppfd's at each adjustments are done.
From seed start at 100-150ppfd and increase it continuously as they grow.

 

[MercDod]

Your right, did let the measuring out, because I thought @carlosescobar isn't that new here to the Farm and know that he has to check the ppfd's at each adjustments are done.
From seed start at 100-150ppfd and increase it continuously as they grow.

No issues, not trying to step on any toes. Have a great day!

 

[Redneckx]

No issues, not trying to step on any toes. Have a great day!

All good
It's 2 am in the night right now, gotta sleep asap...thank you, enjoy your Sunday ;)

 

[carlosescobar]

It depends on what you want, you can keep your lights closer to the plants or hang it higher away for more stretch, but the electric costs will rise.
I like to mine more sturdy and less stretchy (shorter nodes), adjust the intensity to their stage and actual height. I try to keep mine always around 30-45cm away from the plant is a good way to give them proper light expose without burning them, in flower I get the light a little closer.
Letting the plants grow closer to the light will save you a dollar on the bill and the plants will like it.

I'd like to keep them short , stocky and spread out , so ive just lowered it to 14'' and given the stems a little bending.
Ive got several grows under my belt now , indoor and out, but they always mess up at the end..from bad watering , too many, or the wrong nutrients, too much defoliation, (plant couldnt persire so it just rotted). my last one i top dressed with too much sulphur and i think the soil ph plummeted so the plant just stopped, its was still smokable but its very average.
so now i have made all the mistakes this grow should be a good one..but with this one i thought i would ask the experts before i do anything drastic. I am being quite harsh with the watering and they seem to like it , Im only watering every 3-4 days .
so i dont overload the roots this time i want to do more foliar feeding , so i was thinking of perhaps every 5-6 waterings, give them plain water and a misting with diluted nutrients,? what do you think ?

 

[Redneckx]

I'd like to keep them short , stocky and spread out , so ive just lowered it to 14'' and given the stems a little bending.
Ive got several grows under my belt now , indoor and out, but they always mess up at the end..from bad watering , too many, or the wrong nutrients, too much defoliation, (plant couldnt persire so it just rotted). my last one i top dressed with too much sulphur and i think the soil ph plummeted so the plant just stopped, its was still smokable but its very average.
so now i have made all the mistakes this grow should be a good one..but with this one i thought i would ask the experts before i do anything drastic. I am being quite harsh with the watering and they seem to like it , Im only watering every 3-4 days .
so i dont overload the roots this time i want to do more foliar feeding , so i was thinking of perhaps every 5-6 waterings, give them plain water and a misting with diluted nutrients,? what do you think ?

If you like that, then stick to the method keep the plants close to the light, 14" is about right for that, but always watch your lady's if they seem unhappy when upping 20% on your light, hang em a couple inch higher let them grow in the sweetspot and so on.
In your last grow, 24" in flower is way too far away, especially for the xs1000!
Love to use my xs1500 pro 2023 version very much! Always keep pushing my plants to the limit and reach above 1000ppfd during flower and they love it!
Best thing is learning from own mistakes and never give up.

Let us know more about your setup, soil & nutes.

Never spray anything during flower, the first week of 12/12 it's okay but after is a big risk to contaminate the buds with anything in the fertilizer. Just don't do it.
3-4 days dryback is always my choice if I can do it. And I'm growing in pure coco most ppl won't recommend that.

A friend of mine did a spray with mega Crop which didn't ended well..it was just a test so no biggy.
You can spray very light solutions to correct defiencys. Me personally love to foliar with silica(mono silic acid) and fulvic, and sometimes(before cloning with molasses) to increase the Brix level.(Caution, they burn quickly)
As long y don't over do it, spray once or twice a week not more. Just watering would be good when in Coco with synth nutes to flush out some salts and decrease EC, once or twice a month. Me wanted to flush because i'm a little scared of salt build up and always forget that. Now my frostette got a little N tox, nothing much i'm worrying about but nothing I like to see as well..

 

[Grownsince95]

Just keep in mind a light on lower power closer to the plants has much less penetrating power on the canopy than a higher power light further away.

So if 40% at 18" gives you 400 ppfd and 80% at 36" gives you 400 ppfd the light at the top of the canopy are equal but as soon as you start measuring lower than the top of the canopy you will see the ppfd drop off much faster on the lower power light. Depending on the height of the plant, the lower growth could be receiving half the amount of umols than the higher powered light even though the tops are equal.

It's called the inverse square law and it's helpful to keep that in mind as the plants get bigger.

 

[amneziaHaze]

download free app ppfd meter.switch to lux because it does that the best. or buy a luxmeter its 10$ or buy a ppfd meter thats the best but can be 50+

then google how much does cannabis like on average.
now comes the hard part each day look at the plant and determin if its stretching or is it lowing the light.or worst case scenario is it showing too much light

fun fact color of light will really affect the look of your plant.soo if you want really stocky plants push that blue.if you want her to stretch push red.

 

[carlosescobar]

download free app ppfd meter.switch to lux because it does that the best. or buy a luxmeter its 10$ or buy a ppfd meter thats the best but can be 50+

then google how much does cannabis like on average.
now comes the hard part each day look at the plant and determin if its stretching or is it lowing the light.or worst case scenario is it showing too much light

fun fact color of light will really affect the look of your plant.soo if you want really stocky plants push that blue.if you want her to stretch push red.

ive got a 50w red/blue panel but its mainly red , i wonder if i should put that in for a while?

 

[amneziaHaze]

ive got a 50w red/blue panel but its mainly red , i wonder if i should put that in for a while?

more watts is allways better but the red will make larger distance between nodes

 

[carlosescobar]

If you like that, then stick to the method keep the plants close to the light, 14" is about right for that, but always watch your lady's if they seem unhappy when upping 20% on your light, hang em a couple inch higher let them grow in the sweetspot and so on.
In your last grow, 24" in flower is way too far away, especially for the xs1000!
Love to use my xs1500 pro 2023 version very much! Always keep pushing my plants to the limit and reach above 1000ppfd during flower and they love it!
Best thing is learning from own mistakes and never give up.

Let us know more about your setup, soil & nutes.

Never spray anything during flower, the first week of 12/12 it's okay but after is a big risk to contaminate the buds with anything in the fertilizer. Just don't do it.
3-4 days dryback is always my choice if I can do it. And I'm growing in pure coco most ppl won't recommend that.

A friend of mine did a spray with mega Crop which didn't ended well..it was just a test so no biggy.
You can spray very light solutions to correct defiencys. Me personally love to foliar with silica(mono silic acid) and fulvic, and sometimes(before cloning with molasses) to increase the Brix level.(Caution, they burn quickly)
As long y don't over do it, spray once or twice a week not more. Just watering would be good when in Coco with synth nutes to flush out some salts and decrease EC, once or twice a month. Me wanted to flush because i'm a little scared of salt build up and always forget that. Now my frostette got a little N tox, nothing much i'm worrying about but nothing I like to see as well..

ive seen someone on YT growing 4 with one of these lights so i'm sure it can be done.
Ive got them in soil with 10% perlite, mixed in some michrorizae , some rabbit droppings , (i soaked them in water then used that water on the pot a couple of weeks before the plants went in )
nutrient wise i was going to use a house plant food for veg because it has a perfect NPK and an orchid food for bloom time . and they seem to have all those micro nutrients in there as well like sulphur, zinc etc... and ive got some rhino skin and big bud , for later on .
tonight will be their first drench , the leaves are just starting to wilt...i read once that drought stress can help build stronger plants .

 

[carlosescobar]

Just keep in mind a light on lower power closer to the plants has much less penetrating power on the canopy than a higher power light further away.

So if 40% at 18" gives you 400 ppfd and 80% at 36" gives you 400 ppfd the light at the top of the canopy are equal but as soon as you start measuring lower than the top of the canopy you will see the ppfd drop off much faster on the lower power light. Depending on the height of the plant, the lower growth could be receiving half the amount of umols than the higher powered light even though the tops are equal.

It's called the inverse square law and it's helpful to keep that in mind as the plants get bigger.

ive got a 100 w white led panel i was going to position half way down the plant when i switch over . but yeah good point , i might have to tweak it again...lol and ive got to decide whether to take off those fan leaves that are covering the lower growth

 

[Redneckx]

ive got a 50w red/blue panel but its mainly red , i wonder if i should put that in for a while?

Those lights can be pretty good for clones. For everything else except under canopy light(for color or stress with UV) I wouldn't suggest them..

ive seen someone on YT growing 4 with one of these lights so i'm sure it can be done.
Ive got them in soil with 10% perlite, mixed in some michrorizae , some rabbit droppings , (i soaked them in water then used that water on the pot a couple of weeks before the plants went in )
nutrient wise i was going to use a house plant food for veg because it has a perfect NPK and an orchid food for bloom time . and they seem to have all those micro nutrients in there as well like sulphur, zinc etc... and ive got some rhino skin and big bud , for later on .
tonight will be their first drench , the leaves are just starting to wilt...i read once that drought stress can help build stronger plants .

The results growing with four of them won't be much better than using your xs1000 correctly.
Your soil and feed seems to be solid, if there will appear some more problems during flower or you're not satisfied with handling those fertilizer, I would get some mega Crop, super easy to use and it makes your plant flourish and y can go use the calculator for one or two part https://greenleafnutrients.com/mega-crop-2-part-single-tank-use-calculator/
Rhino and big bud will be good Additives.
Don't let your leaves wilt or let them dryback too much, it stresses the plant and the roots, but in soil you need a dryback, so maybe water them a day earlier.
Adjust your water quantity to the plants need and to get a 3-4 day dryback. If you like stronger stems use a fan which rotates around them and give them a good breeze.
Nothing is more important then to read your plants, keep em praying, lush Green and drybacks then it will be a success.

ive got a 100 w white led panel i was going to position half way down the plant when i switch over . but yeah good point , i might have to tweak it again...lol and ive got to decide whether to take off those fan leaves that are covering the lower growth

Your light is a fullspec not white, it got all y need from veg to flower.
And don't take off any leaves this early, wait until they reached a couple nodes more and around 25cm from soil. Before and during flower y will defoil them anyway and with the stretch they will push lower nodes out anyway.

 

[carlosescobar]

Those lights can be pretty good for clones. For everything else except under canopy light(for color or stress with UV) I wouldn't suggest them..

The results growing with four of them won't be much better than using your xs1000 correctly.
Your soil and feed seems to be solid, if there will appear some more problems during flower or you're not satisfied with handling those fertilizer, I would get some mega Crop, super easy to use and it makes your plant flourish and y can go use the calculator for one or two part https://greenleafnutrients.com/mega-crop-2-part-single-tank-use-calculator/
Rhino and big bud will be good Additives.
Don't let your leaves wilt or let them dryback too much, it stresses the plant and the roots, but in soil you need a dryback, so maybe water them a day earlier.
Adjust your water quantity to the plants need and to get a 3-4 day dryback. If you like stronger stems use a fan which rotates around them and give them a good breeze.
Nothing is more important then to read your plants, keep em praying, lush Green and drybacks then it will be a success.

Your light is a fullspec not white, it got all y need from veg to flower.
And don't take off any leaves this early, wait until they reached a couple nodes more and around 25cm from soil. Before and during flower y will defoil them anyway and with the stretch they will push lower nodes out anyway.

cheers, i think that was a bit too long for a dry back, last nights water went straight through. Ive got my fan going, ive got a mini heater keeping everything warm , and ive even found a mini speaker which plays birdsong.
nothing can go wrong now haha.
oh i had a seedling which perked up so i am going to put that under my T6 in a seperate cupboard .

 

[carlosescobar]

Oh i just realised i already started a thread with my gorilla zkittles , so heres the results .
they are in soil ,perlite, clay balls, microryzea and grass cuttings and i think i would have put some rabbit droppings in there as well . viparspectra xs1000 light , i kept it quite close through the grow
went well till flipping to flower , some leaves went yellow , i think this is when the soil was used up AND i found out i was giving half strength nutrients, so i upped that and 3 branches stretched right up 12 " above the rest so they have been sitting a bit too close to the light ...hence the yellowing , apart from that i have left it alone , left the leaves on this one... and its just been plodding on . Its got about a week to go so what i plan to do is snip off those 3 uppermost colas and hopefully the plants energy will then go to all the lower branches !? Im taking 1 every 3-4 days to lessen the shock.
I dont have a clue what it smells like because i had a heart attack in oct which seems to have knocked out my sense of taste and smell .