First Time Grow

[kushykush11]

HI im doing my very first grow i am currently growing 5 plants 1 indica ( unknown strain) and 4 sativas (romulan haze) i am using two 45 watt 6500k cfls and 2 75 watt phillips agro lights. one plant is a week and 6 days from sprout was wondering if there was anything i could do to make it grow faster and bigger? thx 4 help

 

[TheLorax]

Honestly, just add more light

 

[Heraldo]

I'm with thelorax. Not enough light for so many plants.

 

[kushykush11]

ok thanks im growing in 2 card board boxes stacked on top of each other. so my growspace is very poor and limited . I have about 6 cubic feet of room and its about 5 foot tall how many lights would i need and what kind of lights would you recommend? please note i am on a very tight budget thankyou.

 

[kushykush11]

here are some pictures to give you an idea of what im talking about.

 

[MRXC]

Yo man thats a start i see a lot but alufoil makes a lot of hot stopts you dont have that now becouse you have to little light. Its a good idea to look for a wooden cabinet and paint it flat white on the inside and move it all in there.

you are mixing electricity water in a cardboard box... Thats asking for a fire... Its a hazard.

And if you have a little bigger cabbinet you could add more cfl's or go a little bigger and get a 150 watt hps. I have one and am verry happy with it and bought it for € 78,- for the electric ballast, bulp and the cooltube. So not very expensive.

But one thing I love is that you have started to this great hobby and I wish you the best of luck. But be save

You want to smoke and don't get smoked

 

[kushykush11]

thanks man i will keep that in mind i am pretty sure this grow will have to stay in the cardboard box since i am poor lol.
i will keep my eyes out for some mylar to replace the foil with and try to make a reflector for the lights to go on.
i hope i dont need to add more lights right away i need to wait a week till next pay day to even start thinking about adding to it.
i also was wondering if there was anything i could add to my soil to make my plants happier or no?
i currently use bonemeal in my soil. thanks alot for the help!

 

[dick23rk]

Hey kushykush. There are lots of factors here that could be resulting in your slow growth rate. Air flow would be a big one. I see you have a fan inside the box moving air around, but do you have fresh air getting inside the box? Air circulation is always a big thing (I have experienced this problem myself) I wouldn't say it is just the wattage of lights you have being the problem, you do have 240w total in there at the moment which should be ok to get 5 plants started for the first few weeks (it is not optimal but not to little either).. The others are right when it comes to tinfoil, creates hot spots and doesnt actually reflect as much as you would think especially when it is all wrinkled up. If you can find mylar that would be best, but even some white poly or flat paint would help. (the cardboard box would be more dangerous if you add more light, maybe find some small sized wood to make a frame and line it with the poly if fund permit)

When it comes to adding things to your soil it is important to know what the soil already contains. Did you use seedling soil or is it a potting mix from a chain store or something more advanced from a hydro shop? There are lots of different organic nutrients out there that you can use along with the bonemeal you are using but I personally have not done straight organic grows. Judging by your one close up photo that plant is looking happy as it is for now. Most soils aside from seedling soil will contain enough time released nutrients to last 2 or 3 months. (Sometimes this is enough, sometimes its not)

So let us know what you come up with and what type of soil you are using and maybe we can all help you a little further. More light and air flow would be a key factor but I wouldn't go adding to much more light to a cardboard box. There are lots of DIY things you can do, it just depends on what you can scrounge up and afford at the time. I know this can be hard at times, I have been in the same boat as you.
Best of luck and take care!

 

[hydro1000]

Welcome Kushykush glad to see you have started growing your own and welcome to the best site on earth!
To be totally honest, I would ditch the box and pick up an old dresser anything of wood not paper or cardboard. Safety first, hot lights and paper are not a good mix! I've seen and heard of a lot of lights coming loose, falling and landing to whatever is under them. Some people get lucky and catch it in time, others well looking for a new place to live. I have 2 fire extinguishers, one in my flower room and one just outside the door just in case I can't get in the room.
Great job so far! I will be following along!
Play safe

 

[kushykush11]

the soil mix i'm using is Organic Promix premium vegetable and herb mix thats all i have for now ..

i also made a very ghetto light reflector will upload pics of that soon.

 

[kushykush11]

heres what it looks like now keep in mind i did all this with 0 funds also was wondering how far away or how close plants should be to these lights

 

[dick23rk]

With cfl's you can get them pretty close, up to a couple inches away. General rule of thumb, if you put the top of your hand at the same height of the plants - directly under the light, and hold it there for up to 30 seconds. If the heat from the light starts to irritate or burn your hand then your plants are to close. On the other hand, if your lights are to far away they will start to stretch looking for the light because the further away the light is, the less light the plant is actually getting. So all in all, get them within a couple of inches for sure.

Judging by what I can see on the front of your bag of soil is that it would have nutrients in the soil itself. Maybe time release ones? This would mean every time you water there will be nutrients released. I don't have any hands on experience with organics but hopefully someone else can chime in on that part for you.

Best of luck!

 

[kushykush11]

thanks that helped alot one last quick question i said i had 2 45 watt cfls while they use 45 watts and put out 150 watts each i was wondering if this info makes any diference. ( haha i cant spell)

 

[dick23rk]

thanks that helped alot one last quick question i said i had 2 45 watt cfls while they use 45 watts and put out 150 watts each i was wondering if this info makes any diference. ( haha i cant spell)

Yes there is a difference actually I'm glad you asked. It says they put out 150w per bulb but this is just the amount of light they are equivalent to in an a normal incandescent bulb. The 45w is considered your wall watts - what it is actually drawing from the wall (this is what you should go by for growing)
Hope that makes sense to ya

 

[kushykush11]

ok perfect thanks in the next week or so. i will be purchasing a 65 watt cfl equivalent to 300 watts. its much larger than the others i have seen i hope its a good idea i will keep the thread updated if anything goes wrong with my plants or just for progress pics i guess thanks again!

 

[kushykush11]

side note i am down to 4 plants because i felt 5 was to crowded

 

[kushykush11]

i magically conjured up some funds and went to wallfart and bought 4 23w Cfl bulbs and a turkey pan i have installed them will upload pics soon

 

[dick23rk]

Hey kushykush, good that you got some more lights, that will always help things out. Remember, by adding those 4 lights your temperatures will also go up. Make sure you keep good air circulation in there as well with aluminum foil as is may create hot spots. Also, have you tried to find anything else for a home for the plants? Maybe someone, somewhere, is giving away an old dresser or something? Best of luck!

 

[kushykush11]

I am keeping my eyes open for a good size cabinet on the side of the road also since i removed the floods and put in the 4 cfls my temps went down to the perfect temp right in between 75-80 f i thinks thats a good temp anyways.

 

[kushykush11]

update