A couple weeks into growing my first plant! Question on topping

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ecksit

ecksit

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As the title states this is my very first time growing a plant and so far I have not killed it! This is kind of a test run for me and if it produces buds I will plant some more of the seeds I have. I just have a question about when and where exactly I should top the plant. Included are some photos. Also, I have noticed a bit of "leaf burn" i'm not really sure what the correct term is. Its only on the tip of one of the leaves, not a very large spot but should I be worried? Also due to the lighting and poor camera it looks like the stems and leaves might be yellow, but they aren't quite as bad as the photos would suggest.
 
A couple weeks into growing my first plant question on topping
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A couple weeks into growing my first plant question on topping 3
PizzaBob

PizzaBob

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What’s your goal for this plant? As how big do you want to get it, what size pot will you flower it in, what type and how much lighting, how big will the room be? Is it an auto or feminized?
Regardless of the answers if you want to top it, it’s too soon and too low. You’d want top such that you have 3-5 nodes left. And top higher up, as high up as possible.
Perhaps you may want to flower after it grows few more nodes without topping and take clones from lowest branch(s). Or after a few more nodes grow top it two nodes down and that could be a mother clone. You may not want to put time, space , money into an unknown and potentially male plant.
 
GNick55

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yep to your question about topping, nice to try to leave a bit of stem for added strength..
are you feeding and what is the soil? your using?
 
ecksit

ecksit

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What’s your goal for this plant? As how big do you want to get it, what size pot will you flower it in, what type and how much lighting, how big will the room be? Is it an auto or feminized?
Regardless of the answers if you want to top it, it’s too soon and too low. You’d want top such that you have 3-5 nodes left. And top higher up, as high up as possible.
Perhaps you may want to flower after it grows few more nodes without topping and take clones from lowest branch(s). Or after a few more nodes grow top it two nodes down and that could be a mother clone. You may not want to put time, space , money into an unknown and potentially male plant.
My goal for this plant in particular, since its my first one, would be to simply not kill it lol. If it gets to the point where it actually produces buds (hopefully its female) I would be extremely happy. Its going to be meant for my personal use, no selling it or giving away by any means. Size wise, I would like it to get as big as possible, but its currently only in a small closet so I'm not sure how much it will restrict its growth. The current pot I have is about 1' diameter x 1' deep. I have some 5 gallon buckets though that I could transplant into. Its a single light currently (here) since I'm only doing 1 plant. I'm not sure exactly what plant it is, the seeds were gifted to me so I haven't a clue if its auto, feminized, etc. Is there any way to tell once it starts flowering? Also, when will I be able to identify the gender?

yep to your question about topping, nice to try to leave a bit of stem for added strength..
are you feeding and what is the soil? your using?
I am not feeding it any nutrients as of right now, as I'm not really too sure what I should add to it. As for water I've been using fresh rainwater (its been raining a lot here recently). The soil I'm using is just some cheap potting mix that I picked up, same exact as this but I only paid $8 for it at my local hardware store.
 
ecksit

ecksit

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ok
do you see any teeny tiny fly’s around her?
Actually yes. I noticed a few about a week ago there were these tiny gnat looking flies.. about 4 or 5 of them flying around the plant. I didn't do anything about it though and they seem to have disappeared on their own... not really sure what that was all about
 
GNick55

GNick55

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Actually yes. I noticed a few about a week ago there were these tiny gnat looking flies.. about 4 or 5 of them flying around the plant. I didn't do anything about it though and they seem to have disappeared on their own... not really sure what that was all about
that soil is famous for gnat problems..
 
PizzaBob

PizzaBob

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My goal for this plant in particular, since its my first one, would be to simply not kill it lol. If it gets to the point where it actually produces buds (hopefully its female) I would be extremely happy. Its going to be meant for my personal use, no selling it or giving away by any means. Size wise, I would like it to get as big as possible, but its currently only in a small closet so I'm not sure how much it will restrict its growth. The current pot I have is about 1' diameter x 1' deep. I have some 5 gallon buckets though that I could transplant into. Its a single light currently (here) since I'm only doing 1 plant. I'm not sure exactly what plant it is, the seeds were gifted to me so I haven't a clue if its auto, feminized, etc. Is there any way to tell once it starts flowering? Also, when will I be able to identify the gender?


I am not feeding it any nutrients as of right now, as I'm not really too sure what I should add to it. As for water I've been using fresh rainwater (its been raining a lot here recently). The soil I'm using is just some cheap potting mix that I picked up, same exact as this but I only paid $8 for it at my local hardware store.
Ok so before I break it down for you how much money do you plan to invest now and over the next 6 months to a year.
 
ecksit

ecksit

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Ok so before I break it down for you how much money do you plan to invest now and over the next 6 months to a year.
Umm, that's not something I really thought about yet. At the moment I'm not looking to get a massive harvest or anything just enough for myself to enjoy, so just a few plants here and there down the road. What did you have in mind? I'd be willing to invest a bit of money to get a better quality yield for sure, I just don't need to grow a ton of plants.
 
MilkyTrichomes

MilkyTrichomes

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Planning and patience. Try to think a few weeks ahead of the plants needs. Ask a lot of questions but do most of your own research. There are a bunch of great growers on this site, if you give them the info they’ll keep you on track. FWIW I’ve learned more from my errors than I have from my limited success. Good luck!
 
PizzaBob

PizzaBob

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Umm, that's not something I really thought about yet. At the moment I'm not looking to get a massive harvest or anything just enough for myself to enjoy, so just a few plants here and there down the road. What did you have in mind? I'd be willing to invest a bit of money to get a better quality yield for sure, I just don't need to grow a ton of plants.
Alright I’ll break it down. But before I start you need to figure out the genetics. Just one bag seed is a gamble. You might end up with a male. If you don’t know how to determine or even what makes them start to flower then you have some reading to do. Find an actual book not online stuff.
To answer the soil question I personally like soilless mixes. Maybe the most common is Promix. I recommend you get bale which will cost 30 bucks. And get fabric pots off Amazon. No pladt

Next for fertilizer I suggest FloraNova. It’s a true one part and I can attest that it is great and easy. Get the combo pack on Amazon which includes the grow and bloom. You don’t use both at same time rather ones fir veg stage other fir bloom.

I can’t stress enough to not listen to anyone about adding this or that additives to get big frosty nugs. If you decide to drop a few grand and plan to produce some weight I’ll show you a simple yet effective recipe. But for now just the FloraNova.
Then there’s that light. It’s not gonna do much. I’d keep that for veg and clones and get this light. I have a bunch and they are legit and cheapest you’ll find.
BLOOMSPECT SS4000 LED Grow Light, Full Spectrum Dimmable LED Plant Growing Lamps with LM301B Diodes & MeanWell Driver for Indoor Plants Veg & Bloom, 4x4 ft Coverage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088FKV8CX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_H44P8EYQCHDK7SJJCVQW
More to come…
 
Nectarivorous

Nectarivorous

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I topped precisely where you are now. Full disclosure my first grow. I topped precisely where you have circled, above 4th node. Really does keep things low and small, almost like mainlining. Used LST to tie branches down and keep the canopy low and even.

Having said that I did a lot of research and had a very clear plan about what I was trying to achieve with my grow. If you're not there yet you've still got research to do, but seems like that's what you're doing now, and using this plant as your practice dummy. That's a fair plan. But until you know clearly what you want your grow to look like, it's hard to train your plants with confidence. Look into Scrog and SOG and a few other options. This will give you an idea of what they may look like when topped at 4 but of course strain and environment will all go into determining that. ☺️ Peace and blaze, enjoy the grow man it's good medicine!
 
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Edinburgh

Edinburgh

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You do not transplant autos, nor do you top them, I would put in pot prob a 3 gal let it run for 35 days if it starts flowing you will know you have an autoflower .
 
growsince79

growsince79

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Alright I’ll break it down. But before I start you need to figure out the genetics. Just one bag seed is a gamble. You might end up with a male. If you don’t know how to determine or even what makes them start to flower then you have some reading to do. Find an actual book not online stuff.
To answer the soil question I personally like soilless mixes. Maybe the most common is Promix. I recommend you get bale which will cost 30 bucks. And get fabric pots off Amazon. No pladt

Next for fertilizer I suggest FloraNova. It’s a true one part and I can attest that it is great and easy. Get the combo pack on Amazon which includes the grow and bloom. You don’t use both at same time rather ones fir veg stage other fir bloom.

I can’t stress enough to not listen to anyone about adding this or that additives to get big frosty nugs. If you decide to drop a few grand and plan to produce some weight I’ll show you a simple yet effective recipe. But for now just the FloraNova.
Then there’s that light. It’s not gonna do much. I’d keep that for veg and clones and get this light. I have a bunch and they are legit and cheapest you’ll find.
BLOOMSPECT SS4000 LED Grow Light, Full Spectrum Dimmable LED Plant Growing Lamps with LM301B Diodes & MeanWell Driver for Indoor Plants Veg & Bloom, 4x4 ft Coverage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088FKV8CX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_H44P8EYQCHDK7SJJCVQW
More to come…
No need to spend a lot of money now. A single $75 150w hps can easily produce 4-6oz of AAA+ bud in 3-4 months. Quality will be every bit as good as a $1000 light.
 
PizzaBob

PizzaBob

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No need to spend a lot of money now. A single $75 150w hps can easily produce 4-6oz of AAA+ bud in 3-4 months. Quality will be every bit as good as a $1000 light.
That’s a true 400 watt w Samsung LM301B and 2 Meanwell drivers for 200 bucks with the coupon. It will do circles around a 150 hps. It has a dimmer and reds and IR. And the heat output is nothing compared to the hps. And no need for new bulbs every 6 months. So I will disagree with you. This room has a mix of the 200 watt version and a full spectrum triple chip light.
 
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growsince79

growsince79

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That’s a true 400 watt w Samsung LM301B and 2 Meanwell drivers for 200 bucks with the coupon. It will do circles around a 150 hps. It has a dimmer and reds and IR. And the heat output is nothing compared to the hps. And no need for new bulbs every 6 months. So I will disagree with you.
Disagree with what? Of course a 400w led will grow more. I never said it wouldn't. I just said the quality from the hps will be every bit as good.
 
Nectarivorous

Nectarivorous

708
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I've got this coming from Spider Farmer in a couple of days. Not as much power as the 400w Samsung but great spectrum and everyone swears by them. Nice upgrade from my Mars Hydros. Will be starting a grow diary/review shortly so watch this space! Heard nothing but good things about their lights, and especially their bars these days. Will probably just keep my canopy to 3x3 as I don't think I'll be able to fill my 4x4 wall to wall on 300w. But really looking forward to see what quality it comes up with. Watch my grow diary, I find more. Yakshima.
 
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growsince79

growsince79

9,065
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That’s a true 400 watt w Samsung LM301B and 2 Meanwell drivers for 200 bucks with the coupon. It will do circles around a 150 hps. It has a dimmer and reds and IR. And the heat output is nothing compared to the hps. And no need for new bulbs every 6 months. So I will disagree with you. This room has a mix of the 200 watt version and a full spectrum triple chip light.
According to the amazon reviews, they are lying about the leds being samsung 301h.
 
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