indosmoke-firstgrow/bagseed09

[indo smoke]

what up people, new to the site..

i've been burnin for a good number of years for my age, and after putting it off for awhile i've decided to grow for hopefully my first of many times.

currently i am 2 weeks into my veg stage. (i plan on keeping everyone updated with pictures and news as often as i can starting NOW to improve my yield as much as possible)

to start, i had 4 personal seeds of my own that i had found in some very good bud, (i never find seeds in this weed.)
also i was given around 20 seeds from my friend who distributes, though i never saw this bud i heard it was some ok chron.
i germenated the seeds and roots formed from almost all of them.
i was given miracle grow, cow manuer fert, and 2 big buckets by a friend who recently gave it up. how is that to start?
i mixed the soil and the manuer and put 10 seeds in each bucket.
i had 8 sprouts in each bucket!
of the 16 sprouts i narrowed them down to 7 by digging up the strongest looking ones and transplanting them to seperate buckets.
i have 6 and 1/2 inch buckets holding the 7 sprouts.
each bucket holding each sprout contains the miracle grow/cowmanuer mix.
how long will these buckets last?

as for my growing space, i cornered off a section of my walk in closet for it, i'ld say its around 4ft x 3ft x 2ft. (i'll post pics tomorrow)
4 sides of the cornered grow spot - 2 being the ordianry white dry walls in the closet, 1 being the back of an old dresser, 1 being the back of an old coffee table... best to have these walls/sides white, right?

for light i am using 4 100 watt CFLS that i purchased from home depot.. i believe they are the the n vision daylight bulbs(i didnt want to spend a lot on lights my first go at it, and after some research i saw these lights would do for less.) ...thinking of uping it to 5 or 6 if needed. what do you think?
i have a large domes for each light and have shaped them into sort of a retractable roof for the top of the grow corner that i will raise as the plants grow.
as of now i have 1 fan running on the plants.

the lease to my place ends mid august so i was hoping to have my girls close to done by then... just to let yall know the time schedule i'm working on.

all your advice will be appreciated

[indo smoke]

the current set up

[indo smoke]

shitty grow spot, but it's my first and temporary.... i move in august and i already have a small closet completely devoted to growing..

[SouthernWeed]

Lose the miracle gro...it'll kill your plants with time release ferts...look for a shop that sells fox farms ocean forest soil...good stuff there...

For veg you want 6500k flouros...for bloom 2700k...these k or kelvin ratings should be printed on the box. From the looks of your pics, which can be decieving, your lights are to high. Get them within 2-3 inches of the tops of the plants and check them several times a day. Plants can come in contact with flouro tubes, but not the metal reflectors.

Check your ph...with that soil mix I'm betting its well over 7.5...probably over 8...way to high. Shoot for 6.0-6.8...use dolomite lime to lower ph. if you dont have a soil test kit...they sell em at lowes or home depot...use litmus strips to test the runoff when you water, this isn't the best way to check but it beats nothing.

As far as the walls...check around and find somewhere that sells mylar, and line the grow area with that...its not too expensive, and it will pay for itself many times over in increased yield. Fight the urge to use tinfoil...it can make reflective hotspots and burn your plants.

I'll be dropping in from time to time...glad to help if I can.

[indo smoke]

southernweed
what stores can i get the fox farm from?? home depot lowes wal mart? or a specific gardening store?
when should i transfer soils? ... when i do should i upgrade to bigger pots or will the ones i have work till the end since i am not vegin for 2 long..
as for nutes... which ones should i be using now? or is the cow manuer my buddy gave me fine..
ya my lights are to high, when i get back to my place i'll lower them.. and i'll grab that mylar from my friend... thanks brotha

[Smoke4Life]

You can find where to buy fox farm soils on there website FoxFarm Soil & Fertilizer Company

[TorturedSoul]

Hope the strongest looking ones weren't the males lol.

Those bulbs are most likely 23-26 watts each, not 100 watts.

Might benefit from raising the fan slightly so that the air is not blocked by the bigger pot. BTW it's always best to fill them. When you repot them add some perlite to the soil. Many add 25%.

Some good gardening centers carry FoxFarm products and probably 85% of the hydroponics stores.

[SouthernWeed]

Originally Posted by indo smoke

southernweed
what stores can i get the fox farm from?? home depot lowes wal mart? or a specific gardening store?
when should i transfer soils? ... when i do should i upgrade to bigger pots or will the ones i have work till the end since i am not vegin for 2 long..
as for nutes... which ones should i be using now? or is the cow manuer my buddy gave me fine..
ya my lights are to high, when i get back to my place i'll lower them.. and i'll grab that mylar from my friend... thanks brotha

Fox Farm Soil...check online for distributors in your area

Upgrade pot size to 1 gallon or larger as soon as you can get the soil...today would be good!!!

Manure (cow) is a ph buster...would quit with it asap

Nutes are a touchy thing...a little online research would be a good idea...I don't know if you have a organic/chem preference...I'm using Fox Farm (organic) in my first hydro grow, but my next go round will be with DutchMasters Gold (chem)...Let me know what your organic/chem preference is and I can tell you some places to go and look so you can make an informed decision.

[indo smoke]

today i moved the girls into seven 2 gal buckets, changed the soil to fox farm ocean forest, bought fox farm grow big liquid plant food, and moved the lights lower.. what next?
babies r growin up.. i'll put pics up in an hour or so

[Legalize09]

sounds like your on the right track..stick to the FF feeding schedule and u should do great

[indo smoke]

should i start the ff nutes today or let the plants settle in for a day or 2

[SouthernWeed]

Originally Posted by indo smoke

today i moved the girls into seven 2 gal buckets, changed the soil to fox farm ocean forest, bought fox farm grow big liquid plant food, and moved the lights lower.. what next?
babies r growin up.. i'll put pics up in an hour or so

Good job on the soil. Wait at least a week to start feeding nutes. This will give the plants time to recover from transplant shock. Your plants may start to look a little droopy and generally sad...don't worry This is completely normal for transplanted plants, and with the change in soil, it may be a bit more pronounced. They should recover nicely, and when they do there will be a surge in growth.

What is next? Waiting, I know it's hard, but it's what is next. Try not to overwater. I assume you watered the well after the transplant, if not, then give them a good soaking. Then wait 3-4 days to water again. You can check the soil by gently burrowing you finger down the side of the container...when the top 2-3 inches are dry, then give 'em another drink. The most common mistake is overwatering and over feeding, although your purchase of fox farm nutes make nute burn much more difficult. It's pretty hard to burn plants with organic ferts...but it can be done. Eventually you are going to need more light, but you can waith on that for the time being.

Good start brother...I'll be checking in. + rep for luck!

[indo smoke]

should i go pick up 1 or 2 more daylight cfls from home depot..? or am i good till i get my bulbs for flowering?

[Smoke4Life]

I would say you are good for now with the lights you have but the again it never hurts to have a few more

and I'll be watching this one

[SouthernWeed]

The more light the better...cfls don't penetrate as well as HID lighting, although at this point penetration isn't much of an issue. I would pick up more if finances allow. And get used to moving your lights around a bit. also, I notice the leaves are wet...if you are foliar feeding, try doing it at the beginning of the dark cycle...droplets of water or water/nutes can cause hotspots and leaf burn.