Lighting heights and when to move them up?

I know this sounds like a dumb question. But I’m wondering if I’m screwing something up. Right now I keep the lights about 17inches from plants lights and there is no upper growth

These two autos are my concern. Should / when do I move the light up? (Please note - I started Them in 12/12 and they now have been at 20/4 for the past week)
Did I screw up? Lessons need to be learned. Please be honest on what you think is wrong with these girls. (New lighting soon - they are under a 600watt led, so I know they wouldn’t grow great. But I was expecting some height by this time.
I’m going to be re watering them more as well. I screwed that up and was under watering them.

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Here’s a really good write up about LED lighting. It’s easy to read and will give you the information you’re looking for.

It’s better to read it so you know how to adjust everything throughout the grow. You’ll get the answers your looking for in it.

This one first

https://www.reddit.com/r/HandsOnComplexity/comments/17nxpy/using_a_lux_meter_as_a_plant_light_meter/

Then delve into it more with this write up

https://www.reddit.com/r/HandsOnComplexity/comments/17nxhd/sags_plant_lighting_guide_linked_together/

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Thanks for the help! Reading it now

Much appreciated

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I dont see any signs of light burn or heat stress. Are you sure the light is 600 watts? Is it turned up all the way? What light is it exactly?

It seems to me 600 watts that close should have crisped them, so I am wondering about the light itself.

I suspect there are other issues going on, because they are pretty small, but I doubt its all the lights fault.

When did you start them?
What are they growing in?
What are you feeding them?
How often?
PH?
EC?
Tent temps?
Tent relative humidity?
Air flow?

Lots of things will effect growth rates other than lights.

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That’s the light

When did you start them? Dec 13th
What are they growing in? Soil mixed with perlite in a 2 gallon cloth/mesh pot.
What are you feeding them? Fox farms nutes
How often? I messed up and was under watering them as I stated :pensive:. The will now be getting a lot more for the pot size.

PH? No clue how to test.
EC? No clue how to test.
Tent temps? 76-80 degrees
Tent relative humidity? 46%
Air flow? Yes one 11inch fan and right now an intake using an intake booster - it actually blows in a lot of fresh air. ( the tent puffs up when closed)

Oh, ok. Thats NOT a 600 watt light. Look at the second line in the specs. Its actually a 108 watt light, which is on the weak side. That 600 watt number is pure 100% BS marketing crap.

If anything, you could probably move the light a lot closer and be just fine. The leaves will tell you if you are too close. You will get light burn and curling.

For a rough guide to get you started - put you hand at canopy level with the lights ON. If you can hold it there comfortably, the light is fine. If your hand gets too hot, the leaves will also think its too hot, and that means its too close.

Every thing else looks ok to me other than the fact you have no idea about PH or EC. EC is one way to measure strength of the nutes by the way. PH is more forgiving in soil, but its still important. I would suggest you look into a PH meter of some sort or even test drops would be get you close. Just dont get one of those cheap $10-$15 ph pens. They are worse than useless because they are never accurate.

With something like Fox Farm, measuring EC is less important as long as you measure carefully, but a way to measure EC accurately would be best.

How strong are you mixing your Fox Farm? The leaves look a little dark, but there isnt much sign of nute burn, so Im guessing your in the ball park. I would recomend you stay at 1/4 to no more than 1/2 the strength listed on the bottles.

There is maybe some discoloration around the tips, but its hard to judge from those pics. You could have a nute imbalance from an incorrect PH or you could just be over watering at this point - hard to say.

Those look like fabric pots? Are the elevated in some way so they dont sit in standing water? You want the soil to dry out pretty well between watering. You mixed in perlite, which is a good thing.

I would not water until the pots start to feel light. You can also check the stems. if they are getting soft and flexible, they need water. If they are stiff and firm, they dont. Over watering is just as bad as under watering.

Edit: If you think you have been over feeding, then do a flush with plain water every other feeding for a while. That will help clear out built up salts in the soil.

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Those autos are starting to flower, they will get a little bigger, but not a whole lot more.

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Is that because of the light? Or because I started those two at 12/12?

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How old are they? Most likely it’s because of age. They start flowering around 3-4 weeks and will stretch for a week or two after.

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They are 3 weeks to the day. I’m hoping the next run. They grow bigger than poppa smurf lol I’m learning and I’m getting better results from what I’m seeing

This was my first plant I ever grew. Back in August/ September

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Most people flower their photoperiod strains on a 12/12 schedule to trick the plant into thinking the days are getting shorter and it needs to start it’s flowering cycle.

Autoflowering plants don’t rely on a shorter light schedule to start their flowering cycle and normally will start flowering on their own within three weeks to a month after germination occurs. This will even happen under an 18/6 or a 20/4 or a 24/0 lighting schedule.

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Im a long ways from an expert on autos, but I have noticed a few things that may explain the smallness of your plants.

  1. That light is on the weak side, so keep it closer in the future. If it has a variable option, turn it up all the way. The weal light will slow things down for sure.

1A) starting out at 12/12 didnt help for sure.

  1. I have seen a HUGE variation as far as how big autos grow. Ive only started two sets of plants, but each time I popped 6 identical seeds, picked out the three best/fastest ones, and each time the sizes of the plants as they grew was highly variable. I always seemed to get one that was a real champ and the other two were far less vigorous. One was always the runt. The variations seem to me to be wider than with photos.

  2. You may be over watering and/or over feeding and or incorrect PH, and/or not letting the pots dry out enough. All those are just guesses though.

On the plus side - the plant is still alive and really dont look all that bad. Some of mine looked far worse at one point or another. It looks like they will finish just fine with a little extra attention :smiley:

I’ve personally noticed autos are more sensitive to light.

I’m growing an auto right now and I can’t get it above 20k lux on average without seeing light burn the upper leaves.

Same LEDs I had a photoperiod sativa at 90k lux and no signs of light stress. 7 other photoperiod plants at 43k under same lights without issue.

The longer light period is definitely a factor, but overall the two autos I’ve grown in the last 3 months were both more sensitive to light than the photos I’ve grown under the same lights.

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