New grower

carypetro · Jun 11, 2012

Greetings, started my seed in water for 1day, then in moistened paper towels. After 1 day I have 3 seeds with white root tails. Those went into potting soil today. Hoping my other seeds take off. I have a clamp on lite with reflector and a 60 w bulb on the planted seeds.
Don't know what kind of seeds I'm dealin with, they were givin to me. I chose the dark ones and they seemed firm when squeezed.
I am building a 2' x 2' x 6' cabinet. Tying into the dryer vent for air flow will use a small fan to circulate air.
I will paint the cabinet gloss white for lite reflection. I think that's it, what do you think?
Any suggestions will be carefully appreciated and considered.

jagle · Jun 11, 2012

carypetro said:
Greetings, started my seed in water for 1day, then in moistened paper towels. After 1 day I have 3 seeds with white root tails. Those went into potting soil today. Hoping my other seeds take off. I have a clamp on lite with reflector and a 60 w bulb on the planted seeds.
Don't know what kind of seeds I'm dealin with, they were givin to me. I chose the dark ones and they seemed firm when squeezed.
I am building a 2' x 2' x 6' cabinet. Tying into the dryer vent for air flow will use a small fan to circulate air.
I will paint the cabinet gloss white for lite reflection. I think that's it, what do you think?
Any suggestions will be carefully appreciated and considered.

the 60watt blub, is a special grow light or a normal light.
if its a normal cfl, what spectrum is it, often noted by a colour on the side of the bulb, or the box, 2700k is commonly known as warm white. you want somewhere in the 4000k + range...

That cabinet should be plenty size, what lights are you using for the whole grow, the same one? gonna add more? or change to a hps? all these ideas your thinking please share wit us so we can help.

carypetro said:
Tying into the dryer vent for air flow will use a small fan to circulate air

do you mean the intake or exhaust from the grow room will be tied to this? please explain more.

you need enough air flow, and will need a proper intake/exhaust.. without fresh air youre plans will die, please do not over look this. so if you could clarify what your plans are here, that would be a great help.

the small fan to circulate air, what kind? i would use an 8inch desk fan (commonly about 20 euro, or dollars).

And matt white, not gloss is a better reflector of light, mylar is better but not by much, but lets not get into that debate here.
for your cabinet a coat or 2 of matt white should be fine

carypetro · Jun 12, 2012

Thanks for the replies guys. The light is a regular 60 watt bulb off the shelf of wally world. I thought adding 2 or 3 more would be ok for the cabinet. Thanks for the tip on the matt white paint. I thought gloss would be good but I will change that out. The vent is for exhausting the air out of the cabinet. I'm thinking a simple bath fan would be enough. Just put an electrical plug on it for the power.
This is all small scale on a limited budget. I live in an apartment with just enough space next to the washer and dryer. I am a decent enough carpenter, pretty good mechanic, but a little weak on electrical but don't see any thing to overwhelming here.
Keep them cards and letters comming! Thanks.

jagle · Jun 12, 2012

if you want any decent yeild, use 6-8 cfls. have to be cfls, and you want at least 20cfl watts, which is 100 incandescent watts.the bathroom fan should work as an exhaust, but youll need some way to get fresh air into your cabinet too. also your gonna need a carbon filter and some ona gel as the plants begin to flower at some stage to control odor. .
and ya nothing too tasking electrical wise..

carypetro · Jun 13, 2012

Thanks to all! Will keep you posted.

sprizzle · Jun 13, 2012

hey bro u don't wanna use normal incandescent lights. to get enough light outta them would result in way 2 much heat.
at least use cfls.

carypetro · Jun 13, 2012

Ok, first I have 3 sprouts this morning. 1 is already showing serrated leaves and is about 1 1/2" tall. 4 of the seeds that were stil in the paper towel I planted this morning. Don't have much hope for the others but am keeping them going.
sprizzle, what are cfl lights? Are they expensive?
I do have more seeds to start but am waiting to see how these do 1st.

carypetro · Jun 13, 2012

And thanks to Beezie, Jagle,and Spizzle for your comments, I need all the feedback I can get.

LexLuthor · Jun 13, 2012

CFL means compact flourescent, you will need to use those. They sell them at wal-mart and they are not expensive when compared to high wattage grow lights. Get as many CFL lights as you can fit in there and make sure you Top your plants to keep them short and bushy because CFL are not effective if your plants grows too tall. Someone suggested a carbon filter but considering the size of your grow cabinet and your limited budget I would not worry about a carbon filter right now. I am growing a plant under a 600w HPS in my closet and this isn't my 1st time doing it without a carbon filter. My room smells dank but thats it, I keep air freshener's throughout my house and the smell doesn't escape my bedroom so you should be fine without the filter.

Thats a good idea how you are saving some seeds, especially since your using CFL. You don't want too many plants because the CFL bulbs are relatively weak intensity wise compared to HID's. Don't forget to top them and if you don't know how to do that just look it up on YouTube, there are some good videos that show exactly how to Top. The most important thing about growing is knowledge, the more you know the better you can grow, so keep reading these forums and Google "how to cultivate marijuana" and just read all you can.

Good luck!!

neverbreak · Jun 13, 2012

remember that cfls work best as close as possible to the plants, almost touching them ya know. if ya have 'em far away the light intensity is insufficient and the plants will stretch. ya wanna keep 'em short and bushy, so as lex says, top them and have those lights really close to the plants.

neverbreak

carypetro · Jun 14, 2012

You guys are great! Thanx for the info. It is amazing how fast these little gals are growing. Anticipating a rich harvest.

jkar_928 · Jun 15, 2012

harvest is a ways down the road you should just concentrate on plants while they veg cause a lot can happen from now till harvest just keep the those CFL's close and air movement good luck on your grow. You should snap some pics for us to see.

LexLuthor · Jun 15, 2012

carypetro said:
You guys are great! Thanx for the info. It is amazing how fast these little gals are growing. Anticipating a rich harvest.

I know how you feel bro, my 1st grow I was so excited about the harvest too. Like jkar said concentrate on the stage of growth your plants are on and harvest will be here before you know it, keep us posted.

nebulius · Jun 15, 2012

Time goes slow when you have pot to grow.:(

carypetro · Jun 16, 2012

Very true! Time will go slow. That's a benefit at my age. Bought cfl's yesterday. Also a power strip for power, a desk fan, a "T" duct for tying into the dryer vent.
3 plants are about 4". 1 Plant is 2" she came up late. But have started 4plants. I have about 25 seeds left, hoping I won't have to use them.
One question. I planted them in "seeding and potting mix". Will I still have to feed them or am I good for about a month. The cabinet should be done by next week due to having to buy a little at a time.

jagle · Jun 16, 2012

wont need food for at least the first 3 weeks, once they get about 4 or 5 nodes then i start feeding, the plant will let you know anyway, itll begin to lose its green on new growth, and the oldest leaves first

LexLuthor · Jun 16, 2012

carypetro said:
Very true! Time will go slow. That's a benefit at my age. Bought cfl's yesterday. Also a power strip for power, a desk fan, a "T" duct for tying into the dryer vent.
3 plants are about 4". 1 Plant is 2" she came up late. But have started 4plants. I have about 25 seeds left, hoping I won't have to use them.
One question. I planted them in "seeding and potting mix". Will I still have to feed them or am I good for about a month. The cabinet should be done by next week due to having to buy a little at a time.

What brand of soil are you using??

carypetro · Jun 16, 2012

I bought it at a big box store and it just says "seeding and potting mix". It was on sale 1/2 off. Says it has peat moss, vermiculite, andbark fines. I don't see any nutrients listed.

LexLuthor · Jun 16, 2012

carypetro said:
I bought it at a big box store and it just says "seeding and potting mix". It was on sale 1/2 off. Says it has peat moss, vermiculite, andbark fines. I don't see any nutrients listed.

Something like Fox Farm that has fertilizers in it can feed your plants for the 1st few weeks without any nutrients. Now your soil has no ferts so I would allow them to grow the 1st week without anything then keep a close eye on them everyday and if the leaves start to yellow and/or show signs of deficiency then give them a grow or veg nutrient solution, something high in N (nitrogen). Just feed them based on there needs, not what you think they need, if they are nice and green leave them alone. Alot of people will overfeed a perfectly healthy plant because it's growing slow and they think it will make it grow faster but they end up doing more harm then good. Remember you are using CFL lights and your growing in soil so don't expect fast and vigorous growth. Also, when you feed make sure you us 1/4 the recommended dosage and work your way up from there. At the most you should feed every other watering and if they show signs of deficienies then post some pics up here so we can help you diagnose the problem, but most likely it'll be N def.

carypetro · Jun 18, 2012

Thanx for the advise Lex. So far they are great and growing well. I will post some pix soon so you guys can look at them, see what you think.

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