Light Question—Am I screwed?

[Weedly]

I’m a few days into the flip after spending two weeks carefully scrogging my plants. Now they are the tabletop shape that I read I was going for, but my question is this: the plants are basically wall to wall in my 4.6’ x 2.3’ tent, but I only have two Spider Farmer SF1000 lights, which are much smaller than the tops of the plants. I used the Photone app and found that the light over the outsides of the plants is much lower than in the center where at about 14” there’s about 800 ppfd. The plants seem happy now, but once they start growing buds way out from the center, are they going to suffer? What happens if a bud doesn’t get enough light? I am a medical user who doesn’t go through a lot, so I’m more after quality than quantity. Was scrogging with my setup a mistake? I really can’t upgrade the lights this grow. Is there anything else I should do?

 

[Justlovetogrow]

I’m a few days into the flip after spending two weeks carefully scrogging my plants. Now they are the tabletop shape that I read I was going for, but my question is this: the plants are basically wall to wall in my 4.6’ x 2.3’ tent, but I only have two Spider Farmer SF1000 lights, which are much smaller than the tops of the plants. I used the Photone app and found that the light over the outsides of the plants is much lower than in the center where at about 14” there’s about 800 ppfd. The plants seem happy now, but once they start growing buds way out from the center, are they going to suffer? What happens if a bud doesn’t get enough light? I am a medical user who doesn’t go through a lot, so I’m more after quality than quantity. Was scrogging with my setup a mistake? I really can’t upgrade the lights this grow. Is there anything else I should do?

Plants look great to me I’m sure the outsides will bud up just fine

 

[BearWater]

their great little lights! I’ll bet you pull some nice nugs man! : ) you can get them at the sweet spot so the area is still reaching the edges, and you can pull the branches around possibly.

 

[R4V3N]

You should be good, the upwards growth is your main concern, and you have plenty of room. Anything underneath that is void of light, you can trim off anyway to get airflow underneath. You can also move your lights around too, as with a net the plants are basically locked in place. So I'd do some tilted light angles to light up the back buds for a few hours a day, to mimic the suns movement since you cant spin the plants around.

 

[Captspaulding]

You should be good, the upwards growth is your main concern, and you have plenty of room. Anything underneath that is void of light, you can trim off anyway to get airflow underneath. You can also move your lights around too, as with a net the plants are basically locked in place. So I'd do some tilted light angles to light up the back buds for a few hours a day, to mimic the suns movement since you cant spin the plants around.

Well, also at the same time he could also go ahead and open up some light to some of that mid canopy real quick if he would only remove large obtrusive fan leaves pointed inward towards center mass of the plant that are blocking multiple potential top sites with the stretch he should be able to pull all the tallest stuff. That’s already there out to the outer edge of the pot and allow that mid canopy to stretch up and it’ll even out and double the potential.
Light tilting is an interesting idea. I’m not really sure if the squeeze will be worth the juice though there’s lights are pretty powerful even with the slight tilt to any of these LED panels that are out nowadays the light penetration on them is so good it’s gonna negate any tilting of the ballast that you may or may not do just in my opinion.

 

[HerbalEdu]

2 sf1000 do scale a bit small for an even light coverage and light dispersion near tent border with a 4,6'x2,3' tent, you might get a few more larfy buds on the side than in the middle under each light.

not much you can do aside upgrading your light for some whose panel dimensions scale better with your tent dimensions.

(as comparison i'm running a sf2000 200W in a 3x2 tent)

(you can eventually upgrade with a third sf1000 in the middle and see wich panels orientation offer the more even light coverage and light dispersion, i think with three you may want to orient them perpendiculary as now)

 

[Weedly]

Thanks everyone!
I’ve been hesitant to do too much defoliation as a first time grower, but I have been trimming the big leaves down low to keep the air flowing around the undercanopy. I have a fan down there. If I am after bud quality rather than quantity, would it be better to trim the small bud sites forming underneath the canopy, or would that stress the plant more than removing the fan leaves above them?

 

[Captspaulding]

Thanks everyone!
I’ve been hesitant to do too much defoliation as a first time grower, but I have been trimming the big leaves down low to keep the air flowing around the undercanopy. I have a fan down there. If I am after bud quality rather than quantity, would it be better to trim the small bud sites forming underneath the canopy, or would that stress the plant more than removing the fan leaves above them?

I’m a fan of lollipop the bottom third of the plant stripping everything down to the medium because all the popcorn and lower canopy growth can also cause a bunch of stress. A lot of that stuff can die back sometimes depending on what your micro climate and grow areas like and it can be more stressful to a plant than it is to try to keep any of that stuff or remedy it with nutrients, light adjustments, etc.

 

[Weedly]

Also, I failed to thank everyone for the information about the lights. It really calms the nerves. I had a moment of panic when I realized at the height where it was 800 ppfd in the center, it was only 400 six inches out to the sides. I think I may be able to train the bigger sites more towards the middle underneath the lights as BearWater mentioned. (I don’t know how to cite specific snippets of previous posts yet, but I’ll figure it out soon!)

 

[OldOneEye]

Distance of light to the canopy requirements are not only due to
Temps but also the light needs the distance disperse into the core light pattern. Raise the light and inch or 2 and you will increase the size of the pattern.

 

[Weedly]

Distance of light to the canopy requirements are not only due to
Temps but also the light needs the distance disperse into the core light pattern. Raise the light and inch or 2 and you will increase the size of the pattern.

That’s interesting. If I lower the temp, would that reduce the light requirement, even if it does extend the growing period?

 

[BearWater]

I think I may be able to train the bigger sites more towards the middle underneath the lights as BearWater

Absolutely dude! : ) I had nugs from other plants pulled through to stakes that weren’t in their pot! gottem in where they fit in lol.

to highlight and respond you select the text and it should ask you if you would like to reply. You can also grab quotes and take them to other threads and insert them.

 

[voltage]

I’m a few days into the flip after spending two weeks carefully scrogging my plants. Now they are the tabletop shape that I read I was going for, but my question is this: the plants are basically wall to wall in my 4.6’ x 2.3’ tent, but I only have two Spider Farmer SF1000 lights, which are much smaller than the tops of the plants. I used the Photone app and found that the light over the outsides of the plants is much lower than in the center where at about 14” there’s about 800 ppfd. The plants seem happy now, but once they start growing buds way out from the center, are they going to suffer? What happens if a bud doesn’t get enough light? I am a medical user who doesn’t go through a lot, so I’m more after quality than quantity. Was scrogging with my setup a mistake? I really can’t upgrade the lights this grow. Is there anything else I should do?

Looks great!
I have 1 sf1000 and a hlg100 in a 2x4 i can't complain about either. If anything you might end up with a small amount of larfy buds.
I use the larf for concentrate. The concentrate helps with my medical condition and its great for making tincture/ edibles and traveling.

 

[OldOneEye]

That’s interesting. If I lower the temp, would that reduce the light requirement, even if it does extend the growing period?

No, that wasn't my point. Distance from light to canopy, if your light is too close you get burns from 2 potential sources. Radient heat which is minimal with LEDs but is still there and 2ndly the heat from the light photons which is more impactful with LEDs than with HID lighting. A secondary reason for distance between light and canopy the light photons need distance to diffuse, for the different colors on your light, and mix together. That is why a manufacturer tells you how far your light should be from your canopy. That is th3 distance the light needs to travel to "mix" the light photons and create the core light pattern the manufacturer says the light will cover.
Sorry for rambling.

 

[longbottom]

their great little lights! I’ll bet you pull some nice nugs man! : ) you can get them at the sweet spot so the area is still reaching the edges, and you can pull the branches around possibly.

I'm using an SF-1000 as well and love it, nice to see two in action !

OP, Your plants look amazing !

 

[Weedly]

Sorry for rambling

I’m pretty sure I’ve learned more from listening to people ramble about what they love than I ever have from people lecturing me about what they don’t. So please, ramble on.

 

[longbottom]

2 sf1000 do scale a bit small for an even light coverage and light dispersion near tent border with a 4,6'x2,3' tent, you might get a few more larfy buds on the side than in the middle under each light.

not much you can do aside upgrading your light for some whose panel dimensions scale better with your tent dimensions.

(as comparison i'm running a sf2000 200W in a 3x2 tent)

(you can eventually upgrade with a third sf1000 in the middle and see wich panels orientation offer the more even light coverage and light dispersion, i think with three you may want to orient them perpendiculary as now)

Side tracking a bit but I just noticed the new SE-1500 this on the spider farmer site...... I'm loving my SF-1000 it does the job very well for me in a small space, but this has my interest...

Spider Farmer SE1500 150W Led Grow Light For 2x2FT Grow Tent

Spider Farmer SE1500 150W LED Grow Light for 2×2FT Grow Tent, Smart WiFi & Bluetooth App Control, Dimmable Full Spectrum, High Efficiency Indoor Plant Light.

www.spider-farmer.com

 

[longbottom]

I’m a few days into the flip after spending two weeks carefully scrogging my plants. Now they are the tabletop shape that I read I was going for, but my question is this: the plants are basically wall to wall in my 4.6’ x 2.3’ tent, but I only have two Spider Farmer SF1000 lights, which are much smaller than the tops of the plants. I used the Photone app and found that the light over the outsides of the plants is much lower than in the center where at about 14” there’s about 800 ppfd. The plants seem happy now, but once they start growing buds way out from the center, are they going to suffer? What happens if a bud doesn’t get enough light? I am a medical user who doesn’t go through a lot, so I’m more after quality than quantity. Was scrogging with my setup a mistake? I really can’t upgrade the lights this grow. Is there anything else I should do?

You grow like I do, low and even... What will happen as they enter flower is all the colas will move more to the middle under the lights (might require slight training--I haven't had to though).... You'll be fine, your no where close to "screwed"... One SF-1000 per plant will knock it out of the park !!!

Not sure if this picture shows it well, but all of the colas moved in from the outside towards the light.( they were much further out while in Veg (looking a lot like your plants...)

 

[Weedly]

What will happen as they enter flower is all the colas will move more to the middle under the lights (might require slight training--I haven't had to though).... You'll be fine, your no where close to "screwed"... One SF-1000 per plant will knock it out of the park !!!

Very comforting to know. I will watch for that and give them a gentle nudge if they need it.

 

[longbottom]

Very comforting to know. I will watch for that and give them a gentle nudge if they need it.

Yep, plants put some work in too, they seem to know where the best light is and move to it !

I don't want to come in as a know it all, and you seem to have your plants set up nicely. (low and flat is great !).... Remember that if even just one cola becomes higher than the rest, the plant will put a majority of its energy into that highest cola... (I call it king of the mountain)... All of the lower buds will suffer.... Make sure you keep the colas even in height as flower moves along.... If they are all even, they will all get HUGE !

This is not a light tip-----it can double or even triple your harvest... (as well as being insanely potent)....