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Need some help..

L

libby

Member
nugg,

Noboby likes to read text like that, put it into sentences, at least, i want to read it, but struggle.

Old man and al that:tiphat:
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
haha my bad ill try again...

Okay, so im back and a little more prepared but still have a ton of questions...

I recently visited a local growing shop to pick up most of my materials as of now i have picked up

-1000 watt hps setup with ballast
-a few bags of roots organics soil
-16 oz bottle of cornucopia plus advantage grow (premium fertilizer) with an analysis of
2-1-2
-a quart of cornucopia plus Dr thomas' necessary plant energy premium tricarboxylic acids, --a 2 light fixtures that hold 2 t8s each the wattage on the t8 bulbs i have are 32 watt 6500 k

i plan on using the t8's for vegging and the 1000 watt for flowering

I also purchased a pocket sized ph meter (hanna instruments) and the primo family microprocessor conductivity & tds meters with automatic temperature compensation (which i dont really know how to use eithor of those to be honest)

this also came with cleaning solution as well as buffer solution ph 7.01 and 1500 ppm tds solution. Any info on these would be very helpful on how to use and when.

I had also set up a timer in my grow area and have some concerns.... it is in an attic and is pretty chilly up there.

However i went down and picked up a space heater tonight but my temp is still kinda low at 63.. :( is this going to be too cold for my clones?

A few have rooted (from a different place) but im not sure if some have since they were put in cups before showing roots. (if it helps they were cut from a friend last week and all are still nice and green healthy looking)

The one other main concern i have is that its pretty dirty up there nothing really airborne that i can see, but definately old timber dust insulation etc....

Basically im a little worried about whether there will be mites or other living organisms that will affect my crop.

I have spent about 700 dollars on all my equipment so far and want to make sure this is all worth the effort.

One last thing i was also curious about is the type of yield i should expect off from 10 clones.

As i said they will be veggin under 4 4ft t8 lights 32 watt each 6500 k and then budding under 1 1000 watt hps. Thanks for the help in advance!

btw ill post some pics up in the near future
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
actually just checked the temp and its at 53 :( its night time and its getting colder...ill keep you posted on my official low temp and high temp ....
 
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Pompey_Monkey

Member
Welcome to the joys of indoor gardening Posternuggbag!

First things first - get a heated propagator for your clones - Root development is so much better at the correct temperature. You probably won't need the cover on it as the cuttings have started to root. Be aware that the soil will dry out faster though! Also Rhyzotnic (which I believe is basically seaweed extract), or similar, really helps get the roots going. Strong roots = strong plants = big buds! :)

As for your attic being grubby, they all are! lol Also the environment (specifically temperature) in a roofspace is notoriously difficult to control. I don't know where you are, but here in the UK, an uninsulated attic can go from near freezing to over 30C in the space of a few days and can easily reach over 35C in the summer. You'll need at least a tent to have some chance of maintaining the temperatures in the ideal 20-25C range.

And don't forget ventilation! you can take it for granted in the great outdoors, but plants need lots of fresh air. Lots of it. Really. You may get enough in the open roof space, but once the grow area is enclosed, a dedicated ventilation system is essential. The minimum would be a passive intake with an extraction fan. Get a fan with a rating that will clear all the air in your grow space about 20 times an hour. The fans are rated in either cfm (cubic feet per minute) or m^3/h (cubic metres per hour) or similar. The calculation is straightforward enough.

If the smell of weed might land you in trouble, either from the law or thieves, you'll need a carbon filter too. Go for the better quality ones - they'll save you money in the long run.

Many roof growers go to the effort of building an insulated box with the air intake from the house to provide a more consistent temperature. Also cool-tubes or air cooled reflectors are essential to remove the heat from the bulb in summer where I live...

Unfortunately indoor growing, particularly in the attic, is one of those hobbies that will make you want to go and buy another item of equipment every crop, just to "make it a little better" each time. It can be done on the cheap, but then you'll visit the forums and see what other people can achieve with better environmental control and you'll soon be lusting after that new fan or reflector etc.

That's enough from me for now, I'm sure I've given you enough to mull over! ;)
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
Pompey Monkey thanks for the input and suggestions! that night i ended up going down to the local Walmart and picked up one of the portable fan heaters with a temp adjustment on it.

It seems to be doing the trick, although it does fluctuate a little for the most part its stayin in the 65-77 region.

I did notice that the soil does dry out quite fast with the heater on it but dont mind since im around the apt a lot of the time.

Ive been watering about every other day and i just soak the cups right up and wait til nearly completely dry (not sure if this is the best watering technique)

As far as a tent it isnt really in the budget right now since i am going to be spending quite a bit on a good carbon filter in a few days. (Looking to spent about 3-350 on one since its a pretty big room and there absolutely can be no smell getting out!

I still havent figured out how im going to approach the air circulation yet...i have vents on each end of the attic however i covered them with cardboard so that no light can get out...and if anyone has any helpful info on an easy way to go about dealing with ventilation im all ears! :)

im going to take a few pics of what i have going so far and post them up shortly after so you guys can see what exactly is going on..the babys are growing fast! Lots of new roots showing also!

I plan on picking up the HPS 1000 watt conversion bulb for my light fixture as well as the carbon filter and 10 3 gallon buckets and also a little bit more soil..

One more thing...ill try to take pics of the roots so that maybe someone could let me know if they think i should start giving them nutes. The clones were cut roughly 2 weeks ago and since ive had them since thursday the roots are showing in all but 2 cups...Stay tuned for a few pics! :) Thanks for reading and for any helpful input!
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
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Pompey_Monkey

Member
I was thinking more of a heated mat rather than a fan heater - be careful that you don't fry those babies - although they look ok in the pics :)

The carbon filter won't be properly effective unless you can direct all of the air in the grow area through it - hence the need for a tent.

Also, be very careful with that 1000W lamp - you'd be surprised how many small gaps there can be in a roof - especially around the eaves, as they are usually designed to "breathe". When you get it, set it up and turn it on at night, and then go do a circuit of your house to check for light leaks. These are are a fast ticket to arousing suspicion.

Sorry for the negative slant, but these days many more people are aware of growing techniques than they were even 5 years ago, thanks to the popular media. Even if it's legal and "cool" to grow in your locality, you also don't want to advertise to potential theives!

As for the clones, they look ok. I personally wouldn't feed them with anything except root stimulator (in my case Rhyzotonic) until after they've been potted on and have become established in their new pots. Others may disagree ;)

On the subject of potting on, try to keep the increment fairly small - this also encourages healthy root development. If you pot straight into big tubs from your cups, the roots will all grow straight out until they hit the sides and then just circle around, wasting loads of lovely soil in the middle of the pot. In your case, I'd say 6" (150mm) pots would be the next step. Wait a few more days for the roots to fill out those cups first though. You can put them into the 3 gallon pots after that.
 
M

Moots

Member
I'd spend a day or two cleaning as best as I could. Cleanliness is most importance. Dust, dirt, debris, all welcome pests and mold. I'd take a few days of cleaning before even considering getting things set up.
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
your right moots i definately gotta get some time to clean up shop in there.

I went and picked up some more gear on friday and totally screwed myself over! I had

purchased a metal halide to hps conversion bulb about 220 dollars i think...anyways burnt

it out and im pretty sure it was my fault...rookie mistake. Had it plugged into a power strip

and i think the power strip could not handle the wattage and the breaker went and shut

off all the things that were plugged into it.... when i turned everything back on the bulb

had a dark black spot near the base. I am assuming i burnt it out because of this?

Anyways im going to call my local grow shop and see if there is anything i can do or if im

just going to be eating the dough i paid for it. Also picked up a few more bags of soil and 3

gallon pots and just finished transplanting them into their new homes friday night! really

bummed about the HPS bulb but excited about their new growing homes...6 of the buckets

are roots organic soil and 4 are Fox farm ocean forest.. Ill post some more pics tonight or

tomorrow! always appreciate any comments or helpful tips :)
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
new updated pics

http://tinypic.com/r/11j7me8/7

http://tinypic.com/r/24oucrr/7

http://tinypic.com/r/14nlfnc/7

http://tinypic.com/r/2vt1hms/7

http://tinypic.com/r/dmu0pe/7

http://tinypic.com/r/an24ap/7

http://tinypic.com/r/la3rm/7

http://tinypic.com/r/24deus0/7

http://tinypic.com/r/25qq14o/7

http://tinypic.com/r/1zqyas3/7

http://tinypic.com/r/zstbs/7

http://tinypic.com/r/2w4e92r/7


i have been only giving these clones straight water as of now. I had purchased some

CORNUCOPIA PLUS Dr Thomas' Necessary Plant Energy Organic Acids Auxilliary Supplement

http://www.cornucopiaplus.com/tricarb.html

The application rate says to ass to nutrient solution at the rate of 3 teaspoons per gallon f

for ph stability. I am completely new to all this nutrient stuff and want to make sure i dont

over or underfeed. I am currently using roots organics in 6 of 10 of the pots and fox farms

ocean forest in the other 4. Is this going to be overload for them? Should i maybe do half

the concentration listed? I wasnt sure so i havent added any of the plant energy yet, but

if it will speed growth i really want to get these going. As you can see they are well rooted

clones now and most are about a foot tall.

Any help would be really appreciated. Also the other question i had is when is a good time

to top them? And if there was a good link on how to top correctly on here. Thanks for

reading!
 
teh_piper

teh_piper

Member
I've never used "CORNUCOPIA PLUS" but I read about it in your link. It's not actually nutrients, but a buffer and supplement. A buffer meaning it lowers your pH, so you need to be keeping an eye on your pH if your going to use it. Is your water or nutrient solution pH to high? What kind of grow/veg nutrients did you plan on using if any?

But since your using organic soil, and FF ocean forest used to be pretty hot (I believe they dialed it down a bit in recent years) your plants may not need many nutrients at all. You just have to pay attention to what your plants are trying to tell you. If the bottom leaves are starting to yellow a tad, it might be tight for some vegetative phase nutrients. And remember any watering and feeding need to be pH checked if your unsure of the pH. To high or to low pH will lock out nutrients, and that is a pain in the arse

After reading that link again, it seems to me that the CORNUCOPIA PLUS acid stuff just buffers your soil and nutrients so it is the right pH range and your plants can metabolize nutes and what not efficiently. I think the appropriate range for soil is something like 6.5-7
 
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Posternuggbag

Member
:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( My cousin had me come over to check on his plants becasue of a bug

that seemed to be sucking the juices out of his leaves and tonight i found a few on mine!

I dont know what they are and need some help! they are very tiny i tried to take a picture

with my camera but they arent coming out clear enough they seem to fly a little if i try to

touch them and they almost appear to "hop" to another spot....im very stressed and dont

want to lose the time/money ive put in so far.... SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!! Im going to try

and use my gfs camera since its alot nicer than mine and hopefully we can get some pics

to help identify what it is :(
 
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