1st Time Grower w/Lowryder

[OperaYak]

Hello folks, first time I have tried growing anything (never even planted a flower before). I have perused these forums for a long time, but still am a little confused. I hope it is because I am such a layman in this field, and not because I am a fool. I bought some "Automatic AK47" from dopeseeds.com and have gone through the germ stage. Now I am ready to plant them in a pot. I have 3 going into a 5 gallon pot and 2 going into a 3 gallon pot. Just going to be a small closet grow. The thing I am the most confused about is the lighting.

I understand the lighting is the most important thing in getting nice growing plants. But I have read so many different suggestions as to what kind of lights to use. My wife was trying to help and bought a "Helical 42W" bulb, and it says it puts out 150 watts incandescent power. I plan on doing a 18/6 light schedule. Is this going to be enough, or do I have to buy some sort of special bulb set up? I assume I might need to get at least one more light fixture/bulb, but as I said I am confused and am searching for some guidance from the well experienced and very helpful community I have come to see exists on here.


Any help is appreciated, thank you for your time.

 

[ChicagoJoe]

Good luck with your grow.
That one bulb is enough to get your seedlings established, but you are better off making a decision about lighting based on:
the size of your grow area
amount of $ you plan on spending
heat issues

I've said this before to other people and I'll tell you too.

Get your grow room, cleaned and set up BEFORE you start any seeds or get clones.
Since that didn't happen for you, tell us what your plans are.

 

[tribesun75]

Hey there OperaYak, She had good intentions but that bulb will do little to nothing for growing. I dont know what kind of budget you have, but I am going with CFL's because I don't really have a budget right now...broke. I got my setup at Lowes. The two vanity's were on sale for $10 a piece. Two three prong extension cords were $6/pc. (2) 4pks. 26w 6500/k (for veg.) were $9.50/pc. Two cans flat white spray paint, 4.25/pc. I'm having to start mine in a 31 gallon Rubbermaid container due to funds. So far though I'm on my 6th day and have had no problems. It's still early, so we'll see. As far as smaller grows and with my limited experience I like the CFL's. Hope this helps a little. Will follow along for sure!

 

[OperaYak]

Chicago - What do you mean by "clean up" the grow room? I picture a sterile room, and wearing hairnets/booties when I read that. Am I over exaggerating? I don't have a "grow room" per se, right now I have the plants in my 2nd bathroom (pictures to follow). I plan on moving them to my closet area (if needed). I think I might end up having heat issues in the closet, and don't really want to go through the hassle of getting intake/outtake fans. Definitely trying to do it on the cheap side for the time being. As I get more knowledge, I plan on sprucing my method up.

Tribe - Thanks for the tips, I plan on making a run to Lowe's tomorrow and seeing what they have. I like the cheapest way possible at the moment.

 

[OperaYak]

Sitting on bathroom counter for time being.

3 germs in the pot.

Where I eventually want to put the plants.

 

[tribesun75]

Hey man, Be Irie sent me this link...I had problems too with the whole pic thing. Photo Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos Hope this helps.

 

[OperaYak]

Tribe - thanks for that link. Pictures loaded perfectly.

 

[tribesun75]

You're very welcome my friend. And it's funny that they are in the bathroom. Every time I go in mine I just see this perfect 3x4ft. space that would be perfect for the little ladies...only problem is I'd have to rip the toilet out! The old lady wouldn't like that to much.

 

[OperaYak]

So I went out and found some new light bulbs that I think would work from the suggestions I have seen. Anyone care to give me a yea/nea on them?

Since I added a new light, I had to rearrange. I know it is not ideal, but I am just trying a few things out before I get proper set up. How far should the lights be from the plants? I don't want to burn them by having the light too close.

 

[tribesun75]

Much better man! Perfect lights. As far as distance away, everyone has told me no more than 2 inches. Just watch the heat buildup. If you can keep your hand under one for a minute without discomfort then it is o.k.

 

[Zinkopig]

Yeah dude when i first got my cfl setup it ran hot as hell ( i really wasn't expecting it) Now i run 12 cfls i have 2 pc fans blowing air up at them and one bathroom fan pulling air off the tops. I can touch the bulbs with the back of my hand and they are cool to the touch no matter how long i leave it there. I think the key is to have some air blowing directly on the lights to keep them cool. The glass of my lights is cooler than the air temp. At 10 inches away from my seedlings they streched like crazy so i put them 2 inches away and they grew thick fat and fast!! Now i have em an inch or less and all is good in the hood man

 

[Wingman420]

OperaYak, and so far, your head and heart are in the right place. +Rep
As tribesun75 stated CFL's can be placed just inches away from plants causing no harm.
Another tip when buying lights look for the temp they burn at it will be in degrees Kelvin. A general guide is 6500K or higher for Veg and 2500K or lower for Bloom, meaning you will need different bulbs for Bloom.

 

[OperaYak]

So Veg stage is while they are still small, pre-flowering stage? Takes about a month in that stage? I am beginning to think I am in way over my head here. I might need to take a step back and rethink all of this. Any guide's anyone can point me to for reference (preferably free ones)?

 

[dohmixer]

So Veg stage is while they are still small, pre-flowering stage? Takes about a month in that stage? I am beginning to think I am in way over my head here. I might need to take a step back and rethink all of this. Any guide's anyone can point me to for reference (preferably free ones)?

I'm in Good Luck with your grow OperaYak, peruse this How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know for information

 

[OperaYak]

Thank you to everyone who took time to check this out, appreciate all the words of wisdom. I just kept charging ahead on my 1st grow, lost a couple of plants due to a light falling on them. Ohh Well life goes on, and I shall learn from that mistake.

It is now the 19th day since I put the seeds into the peat pellet, and they seem to be a hardy group. I haven't used any nutrients on them yet, as I think I am going to wait until the end of the week to start that. I haven't checked the Ph levels or anything, I only use tap water that has sat out for 4-5 days, and I haven't used any nutrients on them yet. I think I am going to wait until the end of the week to start that.

Is it too early to determine sex yet? I think I got a good pic of one of the plants pistil areas, and it looks like female to me. All 3 of the seeds so far look like the same in the pistol area. Can anyone look at this pic and tell me what they think?

Here is an over the top look at the biggest plant so far. 19 days since I started germ process, and 14 days since actual planting. Does it look OK so far?

 

[OperaYak]

Japanfreak, thanks for the easy to follow words of advice. I will take up your suggestion for more light, but I do have another question then. How long does the Veg stage go for? I had been under the assumption it was a bout a month of veg and a month of flowering. Is there any thing I should look for that would indicate the end of one stage and the beginning of another one?

 

[PatrizioD]

Ive read that alternating nodes are a sign of sexual maturity. Wasnt too sure what that meant, but figured it means that the side branches will start alternating sides, like one on the left, then one higher on the right, then one higher on the left, and so on. Other than that, its up to you. This can be done almost any time, based on your personal needs; whether it be space requirements or just the desire to speed up the process. All you need to do is switch the lights over to lower color temps and shorter light periods. Me and Diemand Edge have our first grow going on, and you can see we put one of our plants into flowering at 1 month, another at 5 weeks, and the next will probably go in another week or two (6-7 weeks from sprout). We'll see how it all ends up!

 

[OperaYak]

Day 23 since the start of germination. It has been really nice outside the last couple days, so I just put the pot outside for most of the day. They seem to like it a lot, as they have grown quite a bit the last few days. I think I found the sex of 2 of the plants out (pics to follow).

Now a simple question. If I have found a male in the pot, should I throw it out right away? Is there anything a male is useful for?



Here is the male:

And here is the lady:

Sorry if the pic quality is a little low, I am not good with cameras. Thanks for checking this out. Any suggestions or nuggets of info you want to leave is appreciated.

 

[OperaYak]

So the last plant has sexed itself good, and it is a female. 2F and 1M, pretty lucky for my first germination. Any suggestions on what to do with the male?

 

[dohmixer]

So the last plant has sexed itself good, and it is a female. 2F and 1M, pretty lucky for my first germination. Any suggestions on what to do with the male?

unless you want to pollinate your females get rid of it