new grower looking for opinions

[imbecile]

still in 24 hours of light when should i change to 18/6

 

[RMCG]

Never.

 

[XmanN]

heres what got for the moment....any opinions changes seen that i need to make... i think i may need to raise the cups up more......towards the light.. what kinda potting soil is recommended? my hydro res keeps leaking and i cannot keep it under control so i guess back to dirt for the moment

You can have those cfl's about in inch from the tops of your plants. Just make sure you move the light up so the plants dont touch the bulb/s. Will you be using your HPS? If so you may need to cool the room ie.. A/C or in & out vents.

Fox Farm is really popular but ive heard stories of bad batches, so i use roots organics. I have seen grows with miracle grow organic that put out some nice buds. I would stick with the dirt its more forgiving than hydro.

I recommend you reading up on or even watching the grow guides on this site. They may answer alot of your questions.

 

[imbecile]

i will be using my hps prolly for flowering maybe for the ending of veg stage too.... i have noted the ventalation problem but i dont kno what to do cause i cant really go adding vents for ac .... i need something i can HIDE... so to speak.. any ideas on that

 

[dextr0]

I closet grow homie. Basicly I have thick Sun Shade visors hanging in front and on the sides. Pretty ghetto. I have a 400w CMH bulb in the center (kind of centered anyway) with two cfls. on the outsides. It gets pretty hot in there but nothing over 85 i would say. I have a little fan and a box fan that blows in and sometimes i swich it to blow out. Depends on what i wanna do. CMH growing IMO is different then reg growing in that its easier and more complicated. Complicated in that its new and with that comes misunderstandings and new rules, easier in that you are now getting a more over all affect (more on this later if anyone is intrested i may start a tread. I dont think there are many CMH threads if any here). Anyway my light does not throw heat like yours does. Well in truth i dont know how other HID work because ive never used one. I know i can touch my 400 and I wont get seriously hurt or even a blister as long as its a short contact. I can and do keep my plants with in 6in of my light. Someone else is gonna have to step in on this one.

 

[dextr0]

Check out some of the threads on micro growing in the general indoor growing section here on THC Farmer. Check their setups.

 

[Tex]

heres what got for the moment....any opinions changes seen that i need to make... i think i may need to raise the cups up more......towards the light.. what kinda potting soil is recommended? my hydro res keeps leaking and i cannot keep it under control so i guess back to dirt for the moment

K.I.S.S. hommie.. Keep it simple stoner.. :D There is nothing wrong with soil or soilless grows, especially if your newer to growing or don't have the space. Hydro has no buffer zone and can be a drama queen sometimes.. :D

Okay!!! Right off the bat, I can tell from you pics that your "potting" mix is NO GOOD, bro. I don't see any perlite or other drainage promoter in that medium. It looks like thick garden soil, I could be wrong tho. Start with a good soilless mix like Sunshine Mix #1 or #4, or Promix soilless. NO Miracle-Gro or crap like that bs... Most hardware places, home depot, lowe's, etc., carry Promix soilless bales. Most nursery or grow shops will carry PM or Sunshine soilless mixes as well. Grab some Superthrive too, bro. It is B vitamins + hormones, great old school product that will jump start your plants and help them recover from stress and disease..

Also, do away with Jiffy pellets. Just use 8oz styrofoam cups with holes cut in the bottom for drainage. Fill with Promix or Sunshine Mix and use that for seed germination and even cloning, put in dome under lights. Works amazing!! ;)

Transplant all your good plants into your soilless medium in standard black plastic nursery pots, and water in with Superthrive and 1/4 strength nutes. Get away from ceramic pots man, they really collect heat and will fry the roots once they circle the bottom. This will solve 98% of all your problems. I use Sunshine Mix #4 exclusively, and sometimes I cut/mix it with FF's Ocean Forest in a ratio of 1:1. Sunshine is a very light weight, base medium with no extra fert. fillers, it has lime for ph stability and a wetting agent, perlite, etc.

Also, I would make sure your main CFL's lighting or side lighting fluorescents are "daylight" or have a kelvin temp of around 5K-5600k. You do not want to use those nasty purplish "grow lamps" they sell for vegging, but do not want to use warm cfl's either. You can throw in a warm bulb with all daylight lights, but I'd mostly use all daylight fluorescents during the veg cycle. Of course for flowering, go with all warm cfl's that has a much lower kelvin temp that reflects the flowering spectrum accurately.

Lastly, I'd use the 400w hps for vegging, too. It will produce much more lumens for much bigger bushier plants. When your plants get bigger, start pinching them under a node or union, it will cause it to collapse and bush out from that site above the pinched area. Use a small fan to constantly blow on the light to exhaust the heat from it and the plants out of the area. Set it all on a timer for 18-6 and the fan & light will both operate at the same time. Foliar feed with a good kelp extract & Superthrive, right before or when the light first comes and you should be golden!! The kelp really helps to "harden" the plants from heat or cold and will cause better root and branch formations, thicker stems, etc. Cannot go wrong with kelp foliar feedings!!!

Hope it helps ya!! :sun2:

 

[dextr0]

There you go. This man speaks sense, follow his way for awhile. Peace.

 

[imbecile]

obviously i cannot chainge soils now.... what would u reccomend i do with what i have... i am also growing one in a jiffy pellet in hydroton well it was a clone but it seems to be doing well massive root system

 

[Tex]

Why can't ya change soils bro? Just take the plants out of their pots and transplant them with the least amt of old soil. Turn the existing pot upside down with the plant in-between you fingers and tap on bottom til it slides out.

Was there something I missed in your posts why ya cannot transplant, sorry if I missed it man? Jiffy pellets are cool man, just trying to help ya out. The pellets are just spagnum peat moss, they have no lime for ph. After a bit they will drop very low in ph/acidic due to moss breaking down and your plants can go south.. They are notorious for making plants damp off, too.

Just trying to help ya out bro.. Happy harvests!

 

[imbecile]

i went to lowes nothing didnt know what i was talkin about on the spoild i will wait till mon to goto a nursery to find that stuff... the pottin soil i got from my grandfather it came from walmart. i just was under the assumption it wasnt good to disturb the roots

 

[imbecile]

how soon should i move what i have under my 400watt hps?

 

[dextr0]

When you have good vegetative growth. Stop watering all the time. Let them kinda dry out in between periods. Not bone dry just a little bit.

 

[imbecile]

k and as some1 was saying use 1/4 strenght nutes? i am using the recipe for success kit by technaflora

 

[imbecile]

neways today all my plants were completely in dry zone..... on moisture meter so i watered them today ......just alittle to see how it lasts till i get off new pics will come soon

 

[imbecile]

how ofter should i water my plants...like how dry should my moisture meter be b4 adding water approx how much and should it always be 1/4 strenght nutes or should i alternate feed water water?...whats ya'lls experience... i found some promix...kinda pricey....savin up for some for now myst work w what i got..

 

[dextr0]

IMBECILE: what up? sorry been procrastinating but i want you to learn a little on your own homie. Have you been reading up on the subjects you feel you need to on this site?? Lots of info for us here man....Anyway. How has the 1/4 strength nute been treating you? Where are the pix??...

Watering. I personally water when my pots feel light. No need for a meter the weight tells you all you need to know. Like i told you before, dont let em get to dry. My rule is if i scratch the surface and its dry an inch or two down you need to water.
Having a damp medium (your soil in this case) attracts fungas gnats. Trust me you dont want them they spread desease like a mf and the larva live on eating your roots when they run out of organic material in your soil.

Promix. Your gonna have to buy some man. I was gonna break the news to you later and then let you decide what to do. Thing is once you start in soil its best to keep going like that because to switch to hydro you would have to clear the roots of dirt. Im not saying its not possible, its just added stress. It is up to you though. If you get that aero bucket to work, i would love to see it in action.

 

[imbecile]

Not much man been waitin for the pots to dry out .... just started 1/4 stregnth nutes.... on 3 rest still to wet.... will be doing the promix thing soon everything i read says best.. as far as hydro goes im putting it on back burner trying to come up with an experiment...but while experimenting y not have something going too... my "friend" that deals with alot of different good bud gave me some seeds he got outta some master kush so i am working on germing them now.... looks like ill be getting that promix tomorrow and transplanting everything.... i got 1 growing in straight hydroton what u think heres a pic of it too.... i just recirc water 2-4 times a day... i change water completely ever 3 days used 1 dose 1/4 strength nutes on it got new leaves forming almost immediately...

 

[dextr0]

Looking good man! Thats what i like to see. Im sure its not time to transplant yet and to tell the truth them girls look like they are doing very good in that soil for now. Swich it out if you want though. It does look like it could use alot of perlite for aeraition, as roots can get root rot from setting in water. It also attracts diseases. Just a thought. Remember you dont want plants to get rootbound as that will start a bunch of diff problems. Most of the time i go by my cannopy (whats above ground), as it directly relates to root size. The best way to tell when its time though is when you see those roots comming out the bottom holes (all your pots should have these for dranage!) its time to transplant. Those plants have been very wet everytime ive seen em man. Im just sayin.

I wanna see more of that hydro set up. I havent seen it from the start so idk. Are the bottom leaves the only ones burnt??

Are u using the hps now?? Them girls are staying squat like you want i know that much!!

 

[imbecile]

yeah the bottom leaves were only ones burnt i gave it alittle trimming earlier clearing away some of the dead... i am also farly satisfied with my ph its running like 6.5 in the soil... i am using reverse osmosis water from wal-mart... with h2o2 added...still toying with the amount.... using 3% tho... as far as the hydrosetup im planning a cat litter bucket square 5gal i think it is with a air pump... i would like to usemy 360 sprayers too but i keep getting leaks....that has been my setback...water leaking.... i just put those 2 under the hps tonight....will start documenting growth... and now i realize u were speaking on the hydroton setup.... i cloned it into a jffy puck weeks ago....had it in hydro system it started leaking uber bad... pulled it out put it in a flower pot with a water retaining bottem and i pour a minimal aount of water through it afew times aday always leaving about a 1/4 in in the bottom of the water catcher... rootsystem was immac since transplant from mardi gras cup it started in.