First indoor soil grow

[Gnostic]

OK folks its been a long time since I grew anything,30 years and never indoors. first to my soil mix. I am using a mix of one bail Pro-Mix (peat small perlite and compost, 0-0-0) with 1/2 a bag of worm castings 1-0-0 and 40lbs of manure, 5-0-0 added to this is #3 Perlite (1/4 to 1/2in. stuff) 2cu. ft.
Currently I have three seedling showing three to five sets of true leaves very tightly stacked on all six varieties.
Lighting for these seedlings will be kept on a 24 hr. day light cycle until they reach 20” to 24”. They are currently under a four foot, eight tube
T-5 lamp,( 40,000 lumens @ 6500K) at approx. 6 inches from tops. Currently they reside in 18”, 6Gal. containers three plants to a container, 9 plants in total, 1.5 " of #3 perlite in bottom of container to promote drainage. In Two weeks they will be moved to their own 18” 6Gal. containers and be placed under a 1000w HPS light using a super spreader in conjunction with an adjust-a-wing reflector. Current temps---floor 66 degrees F, soil surface---76 degrees F, plant tops 80 degrees F. plant height is only 4 to 5 inches. feeding will be going to every other watering w/ 6tsp of Big Bloom per gallon of water, along with 2tsp Grow Big as well as 1 drop of superthrive and 1/3 of a cup of 3% h202, (hydrogen peroxide). opposite watering will be with O2, Superthrive and H2O2 mixer. Any comments or suggestions will be welcome. thanks all...

 

[lazarus718]

Sounds like a plan, I'm not as careful as you with my lights, as soon as my girls get their roots showing through my peat pellets I pop them in their final resting places and crank on my 400W MH. They have CFL's giving them energy up to that point and I just slowly lower the MH over the course of about 10 days until it's sitting ~14 inches from the plant tops.

 

[Gnostic]

thanks, what i was wondering is if yourself or anyone else can advise. I think I will put them in final containers next time. stil not sure about light increase from CFL's to HPS or MH right away, Reasons? more lumens?

 

[lbezphil2005]

Nevermind, I slept since then.

 

[woodsmaneh]

I would move the T5 as close as I can get them without touching the plant. Put a small fan blowing across the tops gently. You want to get the bottom of the pots on some foam insulation, the low temp is slowing growth. When you switch lights start the 400 at 10 inches and move it down as close as you can get it after a few days. You can start your seeds under the 400 also. Most stretching issues are because the light is too far away. The best way to find the right height is put your hand palm down over the highest part of the plant, if you feel heat on the back of your hand it's too close. Next time you build a soil try to build a better balanced mix, you have a heavy N but almost nothing else. I hope your using composted cow shit? The raw stuff is not a good idea as it is hot and will burn roots.

 

[lazarus718]

I'd ease that HPS down on them when you switch, don't drop it to 10" above the tops right away. They need a period of about a week to adjust to the new intensity and the heat from it. You can use them for seedlings and veg, which I do, and I find that I get less stretch that way. Mine are under CFL's until they outgrow my little Jiffy greenhouse, then I put them in their final containers and hit them with my MH. You're going to find a lot of debate on here whether to put them in their large containers right away or to plant them into smaller ones and then move up to the larger...I believe that in the larger container their roots run deeply immediately and you don't have to worry about them getting root bound at all. I believe the energy they spend on their roots early on is better for them and the slower vertical growth in that time is worth it to me...others will argue that they take too long to veg because they have so much room for their roots...different strokes, different folks.

 

[true blue]

i agree straight into there resting after the seedlings have a few leaves.Easing them into the light slowly in first week.I used miracle grow with seaweed extract my first grow with northern lights got good yield about 6oz for 3 plants,i was happy anyway
nice and sweet red eyed demon for many months after.

 

[Shredder]

In my experience when you put tiny plants in big containers you end up with unused soil right under the root ball, but if you transplant small plants into say one or two gallon containers, then transplant to a bigger pot a week or two before flowering, you don't have this problem. And then there is the consideration that your soil mix may not have enough nutrients to last the whole cycle. Whatever you try, good luck......shredder

 

[Gartner]

Marijuana Indoor growing

Looks great, as for the first time you have started indoor, you have a proper planning, As indoor growing is entirely different from out door, as the temperature, lightnings, ventilation has to be changes as per the growth of the plants...

Regards..:harvest: