My first attempt at anything

[SoFlaMike]

Hello everyone, i'm 100% new to growing. I simply have no idea what i'm doing, but i hope i found the right place. ok, i have some seeds that my buddy gave me... he told me it's really good stuff (we'll see).

I have everything in a closet, but its not sealed off... is this a problem?

I don't have a 400w HPS light, but i do have this... will it work?

its a 20" 96w 50/50

i just had some seedlings (regs), but they never got past 2 inches. They had the round leaves, 2 pointy leaves, and it was beginning to sprout 2 more pointy leaves. White spots ended up covering the leaves, so i took them out since i assumed i had the light too close to them. I'm trying again with the light a little farther away.

I'm also using scott's seed starting potting soil. Something tells me that i'm not using the right soil. I just need somebody to show me what i need. I'm trying to hold off on the HPS light for a little while, but i will eventually get it

Thanks a bunch for the help everyone

Mike

 

[Wayzer]

hey buddy, nice to see a new grower

First off, what u have there is enough to start some seedlings but u won't get any bud, or any decent bud... U nedd at least 2-4 more of those.

Secondly for seedlings u could use a 50/50 perlite/soil mix which gives the plants an easier time developping roots cause the perlite makes everything more airy which is good but it dries out faster so u have to watch out.

Thirdly with fluorescents the light needs to be as close as possible at all times so that wasnt ur problem at all.

What are the dimensions of ur room? Do you have fans circulating air? Are u checking the waters PH?

I def think u should invest in an HPS (250w or higher) or get alot more fluoros and some cfls and pack that room with light.
There are lots of good threads with soil mixes, i'll post some later i'm at work.

 

[SoFlaMike]

Wayzer, thanks for the quick reply man!!

i'm not looking for the greatest bud right off the bat, i think the experience is very valuable too... i just want to know what i'm doing before i jump into getting the expensive stuff...

its a decent sized closet, but i'm only using a corner of it. Should i get some wood and enclose it?

I'm not really checking the pH. you think that might have been the problem?

i know i'm not doing everything i should... that's why i'm asking

 

[Lungus]

The white dots you saw were more than likely damage caused by either mites or thrips which stunt and can kill plants.

 

[SoFlaMike]

The white dots you saw were more than likely damage caused by either mites or thrips which stunt and can kill plants.

come to think of it.... i just remembered i saw these little white bugs... smallest things i've ever seen just crawling thru the soil... that's not good, is it?

 

[SoFlaMike]

by the way, what plant food should i be using?

 

[Lungus]

Crawling in the soil, you've got thrips most likely, if you look at them close and they kinda looked like mosquitoes they're fungus gnats and apparently they can strip a crop of vegetation in only a few days if left unchecked. Alternating applications of something like a spray with pyrithrins in it that kills adults with neem oil that inhibits reproduction and kills eggs I believe. This should help with your bug problem.

 

[astronaut]

no, insects aren't good, guy.

You can carry a few plants far enough under that light for you to make their home a little nicer, believe me. I've got 9 plants going for a little over a month now under 2 shop lights, 4 bulbs in total. Um.. Keep that light as close down upon them as you can w/out it getting too warm, IE. a half inch from their tops if it's possible. Lol.

The plants are really just fine under this lights, It's not enough to support them for getting TOO big, and it's not reccomended as enough to flower, but from my experience a vegging plant just vegs a little slower when it doesnt have the light it really needs.

thats not such a big deal. Scotts seed starting soil works, i saw my friend use it, but it seems very powdery and I would add some perlite.

BTW. I haven't fed them anything but water and they're doing just fine.

Edit, i reccomend doing searches for how to water them too, cause that's an easy mistake.

 

[Lungus]

The flouros will work for vegging though it will be slower than an HID light, but in IMHO you will need an HID light either MH or HPS for flowering if you expect to get buds like you see posted in the forums. Think to delivering 7,000-10,000 lumens per sq. ft. for optimum growth. Remember light is the engine that drives growth, all the expensive fertilizer and growing tecniques in the world don't replace the essentials like lots of light and fresh air.

 

[SoFlaMike]

The flouros will work for vegging though it will be slower than an HID light, but in IMHO you will need an HID light either MH or HPS for flowering if you expect to get buds like you see posted in the forums. Think to delivering 7,000-10,000 lumens per sq. ft. for optimum growth. Remember light is the engine that drives growth, all the expensive fertilizer and growing tecniques in the world don't replace the essentials like lots of light and fresh air.

well, i know i'm not going to grow something like these nice ones on the first try... this first grow is basically to see if this is something i'd like to put some money into. If things go well, then i'll be getting all of the gadgets.

maybe if i get past a 2 inch plant, then i'll probably start to put money aside

 

[Wayzer]

welllllll, for seedlings i dont use any ferts but i do like to throw in 1/2 of the recomended amount of superthrive to my water after the seedlings have poped and been growing for 2 weeks at least.
well to get the maximum amount of watage per sq. foot u would need to enclose the area... or else ur wasting alot of light, especialy if ur usuing a corner. Aswell get AT LEAST 1 more of those aquarium lights and u could get some bud... airy and low yield for sure with extended flowering periods... give it a shot

 

[SoFlaMike]

welllllll, for seedlings i dont use any ferts but i do like to throw in 1/2 of the recomended amount of superthrive to my water after the seedlings have poped and been growing for 2 weeks at least.
well to get the maximum amount of watage per sq. foot u would need to enclose the area... or else ur wasting alot of light, especialy if ur usuing a corner. Aswell get AT LEAST 1 more of those aquarium lights and u could get some bud... airy and low yield for sure with extended flowering periods... give it a shot

just got back from the store... scrounged together some spare change and i got the stuff needed to make a 2x2x3foot box

i also got some white paint for the inside

 

[Wayzer]

Thats a start!
You didnt mention if u got any, but if you diddnt ur gonna need a couple of fans for air circulation and for exhaust.
Other than that godspeed to ya and post some pics of ur box when ur done, i'd love to see it.

 

[SoFlaMike]

i have 1 of these... what should i do with it?

 

[Lungus]

That will be fine for blowing air over the plants. Now you need another one to ventilate the box and you should think about a charcoal filter because if you get the air exchange and humidity right those plants will really take off and get stinky.

 

[SoFlaMike]

That will be fine for blowing air over the plants. Now you need another one to ventilate the box and you should think about a charcoal filter because if you get the air exchange and humidity right those plants will really take off and get stinky.

thanks man... i have some charcoal too... i could rig something up to one of the fans... i saw a DIY charcoal canister thread here... looks simple enough

 

[1TWISTEDTRUCKER]

mike i'll tell you up front i'm just now getting srarted myself,but i've been doing research over at og b4 the crash @ here,in hightimes,c.c.@heads mags.for about a year now.btw if you can get heads they're realy good on the diy stuff.you prolly wont need to worry bout odor controll for a while,you do need ventalation in your box though.i just gotback from hd i got a 70fpm bathroom exaust fan for like $22 try putting on top of ur box @ drill like 1/2' holes in the bottem to let in the box.a good source for a cheap hps light is md hydro.good luck man.

 

[funk_buddha]

What you've got is perfect, i wish i'd saved some of the overgrow shots i saw of plants vegged and flowered under lights virtually identical to yours. About an ounce one guy got growing 2 plants in plastic bags propped up on books (to get into the sweet spot [middle] of the light) with the lights leaned in the corner of a white closet.

They were some beautiful plants.

Currently i'm growing 4 plants just about finishing up their first month of flower after 1 month of veg. They were started under 77w of CFLs and currently 2 are under 2 40 watt flourescent tubes (2700k).

They're beautiful and i cant wait to smoke them, the trichomes are already covering the buds on 1 plant.

Top them and tie the resulting 2 branches the length of the tubes, you'll get killer light coverage and tons of budsites.

I'd post pictures of mine if this wasn't my first post (refugee).

 

[funk_buddha]

I hope you see this for inspiration dude. These are mine, barely more than 2 months old.

 

[Creeptic]

What you've got is perfect, i wish i'd saved some of the overgrow shots i saw of plants vegged and flowered under lights virtually identical to yours. About an ounce one guy got growing 2 plants in plastic bags propped up on books (to get into the sweet spot [middle] of the light) with the lights leaned in the corner of a white closet.

They were some beautiful plants.

that post on OG was the post that inspired me to start my grow... i figured if he could get those results with such a minimal set up, that i had a chance to plant something as well!