So I’m so frustrated and discouraged. I see all these people on here that try growing for the first time and have all the success yet I studied as much as I could for almost a year before I tried to grow and have had several failed attempts. I’m on another one now I need some help with. I started 3 autoflower seeds I bought from ILGM on the same day and the plan was to grow these 3 plants in a 4 bucket RDWC system which I did. You’ll see in the photos something happened because of the 3 seeds that were all germinated the same time, one was a Skittelz which turned out to be a male and I didn’t realize till too late as some sacs had already busted. Anyway I removed it immediately which used to be in the back right bucket. The back left bucket is a Wedding Cake seed which is now basically completely wasted because this Gelato plant grew like a tree and took all the light. Now as you see the buds are almost touching my light and I have literally ZERO room to raise the light any more. This light is the MarsHydro TS1000. There’s no heat really at all coming from the light onto the buds but the light itself is again as close as it can get. I think it has finally finished stretching as of day before yesterday. Should I continue this grow or call it another lost cause and cut it down before I waste any more time and money? Next question is if I should keep going, I am supposed to add a supplement called Kool Bloom powder for ONLY the final 2 weeks of the grow before flush. I’ve done this whole grow with General Hydroponics Maxi Grow and Maxi Bloom and Cal Mag. About 3 weeks ago I also began supplementing the Kool Bloom liquid as instructions said do. I just don’t know when my final 2 weeks will be to know when to do the 2 weeks of Kool Bloom powder. The photos I just took and these plants tomorrow will be 13 weeks old from sprouted seedling. (Just breaking soil) I’ve never understood when the count begins and online research gives many different answers so still baffled. I’ve seen other commenters on other sites talking about harvesting their Gelato Autos in 12 - 13 weeks from seed to harvest and one guy said he harvested Gelato in 9 weeks seed to harvest. I’m at 13 weeks sprout to now and I don’t look anywhere close to harvest time.
Took me 5 years to get a grow going in 1978.
40 years of working for the man and now I grow.
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- Indoor
- Seeds bought from here (ILGM.com)
- Autoflowers (Sweet Mix Pack - Gelato, Wedding Cake, Skittelz)
- Using RO Water I make at home
- pH I kept at 5.8 till flowering then 6.0 since
- Grow method is Hydroponics R-DWC 5 Gallon (4) 5 Gallon Buckets (1 is res)
- Nutrients - General Hydroponics Maxi Series (Maxi Grow, Maxi Bloom, Kool Bloom Liquid, and Kool Bloom Powder)
- MarsHydro TS1000 LED Light
- Temps - Day 73 Night 68
- RH in tent Day 45-50% Night unsure
- I run portable AC in the room but outside the tent and also dehumidifier
- Ventilation system 4" inline fan and carbon filter also another 4" inline fan pushing fresh air INTO tent
- I did do Co2 when they were seedlings for the first few weeks
- Been attempting to grow for about 3 years now
- Budget is whatever is necessary to get the job done
- Hydro method is R-DWC (4) 5 Gallon Bucket system with 1 being just a reservoir. NO scratch that actually 2 are now just reservoirs being that one of the plants wound up being male so had to go. (Also confused about that. I bought guaranteed feminized auto flower seeds so how did I get a male?
- Water temp stays between 66 - 68F
- Lighting Watts 1000 watt LED
- 3 X 3 Tent
- Mars Hydro
Im pretty sure that the 9 weeks they were referring to is flowering weeks dont get discouraged tie plant over to make level and dont over think the time lines they are all different you grow your grow enjoy it they are female they will be ready when they are good luck
I’m pretty sure that mars hydro ts1000 is not enough for that tent, also the cause of the huge plants. You generally want 35-40 watts per sq. foot of space. The ts1000 draws 150w so in a 3x3 you are only getting 16.7 watts/sq. Foot. I know I know… it’s false advertising from the light companies. I know, I have the same light in my 2x2 and that’s about the max for that light.
For you a HLG 350r would be sufficient.
You need a stronger light. That light may be enough for one plant. But 3-4? No
Edit: the problem isn’t how you’re taking care of the plant. The problem is your equipment only, your plants look healthy! Stretched like a Mf but healthy.
This crazy stretch…was that caused by me or something I did or is it just the genetics?
About your (all) plants.
They grow, they stretch if not enough light is received.
They stretch to beat the competition.
Males stretch more-faster than females, IME.
The HLG350 is 50% at 25 inches, these have no stretch.
Technically the light is the cause for all your pain…upgrade that and I promise you won’t regret it.
DON’T be discouraged, the only issue you’re having right now is the lack of experience gro bro! And by the comments it’s looking like you will be getting that hurdle behind you.
Training your plant to grow the way you want is always a battle fought uphill, the closer you can keep the node spacing the better if you have height limits. Photoperiod plants can be trained more aggressively since the grower chooses when flowering begins and can allow adequate time to heal.
I recommend doing some grow journal reading here and starting one yourself. It helps to document all you do and when so you can reference it.
I agree with the other members on the lighting issue. I had the same problem brother. If HLG is out of price range, check out Green Beams lights. I use a 240w fixture for 2-3 medium size plants and am 100% satisfied.
Keep your head up, you have done so many things the correct way. Learn from it and keep moving forward!
And with forum support issues can be resolved. Good Growing to you.
Lights was the reason it toook me 5 years to get a grow going.
1973, light bulb and dirt
1980 Fluorescent bulbs and more dirt, good Afgan seeds (6, 4M/2F)
1983 HPS and really good AFGAN weed clones
1984 A new profession
2022 China Cheaper lights
2023 HLG 350
Getting better at the 1984 HPS-1000watt level, with 750Watts, currently.
Numbers and wife’s calendar may require shutting down tent indoor continuous grow.
Summer potential improving.
Better lights or bust, for me.
Note, My pictured “MALE” has purple and white pollen pods and was never in flower tent.
Male is stuffed into corner in clone tent, after being sawed in half and stuffed with two females in a gallon jug. Seeds and pollen collecting in clone tent.
Pollen sacs pulled and transported to female flowers.
Experiments support PHD goal.
Newest problem Nitrogen or lock out problems.
@Hogbud has it right. I will get my PHD with forum guides and guidance.
@Marvieman you have found yourself on an awesome forum. I stumbled across this place and have learned so much and am still learning. Your “failures” will become valuable experience ( aka school fees ) and success will be your motivation.
I would advise to invest in a better light set up for your stretching situation like the others have above. Its one of the most important pieces of equipment to produce quality dense bud!
Same as mine bro does my head in 
my Mars hudro fc e3000 gives me no stretch even if I have it higher than the recommended light to plant distance
Mars also at 50% at 60cm
I don’t know hydro so I am no help there. To me though it looked to be the most technical type of growing one could choose. For that reason I started with dirt. I also started with autos, did OK I learned and switched to photos. Also moved to coco.
My suggestion is grow 1 plant. My thinking is to get the bucket system dialed in and simply learn the plant. If you stay with autos who knows what it will do. Grow like the Geleto or be a 9" bust that starts flowering in 14 days. I prefer photos hands down but plenty have success with autos.
You needed to recognize what the Geleto was doing and manage its growth immediately. This could have been done using LST or a net and SCROg her under control.
I grow in a 3x3. 150 watt light of any brand is inadequate. If sticking with Mars, its FC-4800 would fill the tent nicely. I run between 280 and 450 watts in my 3x3.
As for getting through this grow, super crop the crap out of her and drop the light. Make room for her because she needs to be bent over and will fill up the space. You may need some clips or wire to support where the branches are bent.
Assuming you solve the lighting issue, you’re going to need to supercrop those now. That’s going to take some thought (where to bend and what direction for each branch) to get it all even, but it seems like that should work. Then with the light, you’ll be back on track. Don’t fret and DONT give up - they look good. Read up on supercropping, it’ll make you pucker for a bit. 
Just have honey and tape on hand for a crash kit!
I appreciate all the responses and I am not doubting or arguing with anyone about my light situation but I am confused about it because my first 2 grow attempts were in a 2X2 tent with an even smaller MarsHydro TS600 light and I was not having the issues I’m having now. My issues then were pH problems but I still wound up with good usable buds but just not to the level I’ve seen others achieve in a 2x2.
TS600 is 100w covering 4 sq ft = 25 watts/ sq ft
TS1000 is 150w covering 9 sq ft = 16.6w/ sq ft
this results in a 33% reduction in light. Then when considering 100 w for a 2x2 is undersized for flowering, things just do not add up in your favor. One other thing. The amount of reflected light in a 2x2 is more than in a 3x3.
you hit it on the head. what is your objective? What I would do is add the TS600 to the 1000 in the 3x3. And, as mentioned super crop / bend them to get the flowers out of the lights.
A light that many have used successfully in a 2x2 is the HLG Patriot 150. It is high quality, super efficient and would run circles around the TS1000 even though they draw the same watts. The difference is the Samsung diodes used in HLG products vs BridgeLux LED used in the TS series.
Thank you for breaking that down the way you did. Makes MUCH more sense now and greatly appreciated
Agreed. In essence, the tent sq ft is more than doubled but the light only gained 33%. And the 600 was already a little undersized. 250W in your tent will be around 28 per ft, which is a major improvement for the short-term, but a lot of folks here still think is a bit low. @beardless and others have more experience than me, but I think you’re gonna want the capacity for more like 35-40 w/ft going down the road. I think your chart says you supplement CO2, which may require even more light. I haven’t used CO2, but if you are then make sure to account for that too.
Lighting can be tricky and I wish I could spend my first $$ differently than I did. I remember watching my first plant grow (white widow auto) and grow and grow… So I’ve been there.