First Indoor CFL Soil Grow Box

[QCseedstarter]

Hey everybody been lurking around reading for a little while. Decided to get a grow going.
medium - regular potting soil
Strain - bagseed
Indoor grow
Just planted after germination in a 5or6inch pot
lights - 2 × 13w micro mini cfls. Putting out 825 lumens a piece
. Just literally planted an hour or so ago.
Going to use a couple 18 gallon(I think) Rubbermaid totes for grow box. Any
and all advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
oh and im not using any nutes yet. Read all over tht its bad
for seedlings thks in advance everyone.

 

[QCseedstarter]

First pics going to have them on a 24/0 lighting. Was wondering
If I can go straight to 12/12 or no

 

[ilikebike]

ok man looks good so far, what kind of potting soil are you using though? how did you germinate the seed? Those lights will be good for the first week or 2 but you should probly think about gettin at least 100watts of power in there when it starts to get bigger. I wouldnt suggest changing the light schedule to 12/12 this early, it will screw the plant up its not even mature enough to flower so turning it to `12/12 will likely kill it. Do you have any ventilation in your grow room? any idea how you will build the grow box? Do you have any way of testing the pH of your water? to high or to low pH will cause nutrient lock out. just some things we should know so we can help out later dude@!

 

[QCseedstarter]

ilikebike. Its currently just sitting in a open tool box, just till I get
box setup. To make the box im going to use two totes an put them lid to lid.for ventilation
im planning on using a comp. fan mounted at the top to suck air out(basically going to make a negative pressure to pull new air in. Don't have anything for Ph yet. Or nutes for
tht matter. Any suggestions on what to use. Oh I was also thinking of using a second fan on the side to move the leaves an such any ideas about this.

Thanks in advance everyone

 

[QCseedstarter]

Sorry forgot to answer about soil an germ. To germ I soaked the seed for 24 hours then used the paper towel method. The seed began to crack open an I planted it. The soil is gardenscape all purpose potting soil the ingredients say organic compost, peat humus, sand,composted and aged softwood bark fines and last but not least perlite.

 

[ilikebike]

ok so this will be a smaller novelty grow, im just trying to get an idea of how big the plant is gonna be and how much room you will have for light, if your going to keep the plant in the same container you planted it in then you may want to switch the light cycle when you see 4 or 5 nodes (branches) depending on how much room you have. You also going to want to look up a DIY cfl fixture to get more light in a smaller space . if you are going to transplant the plant into a bigger container so it can grow a bigger root system and produce more bud i would suggest doing it in a few weeks once it has built a good root system then transplant it into a slightly bigger container when you go to flower it.


you need to get a pH test kit or a digital pH meter. you can buy a pH test kit at a pool store some time s you can find them at walmart. you need to maintain a ph of about 6.0 most tap water is above or below 6.0 and will screw up your plants, if you have no way of gettin a meter or test kit then you should just water with bottled water. usually has a pH of 6.0 .

as for nutrients may i suggest going to lowes and going to the gardening section and look for SHultz Liquid Plant food 10-15-10 it comes in a small box and contains a bottle of liquid plant food with dropper. you dont want to give the plants nutrients yet, but come time that will work perfect!

 

[QCseedstarter]

Scored a two drawer fake wood file cabinet its 2ft3inches in height×14in×14 I think I can pull it apart to make it a seamless reflective box. I might have to use foil(very low budget at moment) to do so but I thought with being able to pull it apart I would be able to get the foil glued flat as possible. Any thoughts on how this might work out or am I wasting time in advance everyone

 

[Mark Green]

Hey Qcseedstarter please DO NOT USE FOIL! I can totally dig the going cheap because of a budget. However for a similar price you can get a few emergency blankets. They are made of mylar, easy to work with ,fairly cheap, and at 2 bucks for 3x5.5ft... hard to beat!
Also a side note: the ones that i got had exactly 420 folds, odd and kinda funny.

 

[ilikebike]

^^^^yeah what he said, u can get emergency blankets in the sporting good section at walmart, they have a silver reflective side that is good for lining your walls and its only $2 like mark said!

 

[QCseedstarter]

So the box should be big enough then?

 

[Truth Seeker]

So the box should be big enough then?

whats good QC!!!

I think if your going to use that box, you might want to do a 12/12 from seed grow!!! that sounds, like only enough room for only 1 plant a time, and there is a height restriction... do a search in the forums for 12/12 from seed, im sure you'll find something, I have read somewhere in the forums that they use computer towers hollowed out, Printer Packing Boxes... theres ways bro!!!



P.S. check out Blue Planet Nutrients!!! super low prices!!! great nutes!!!

 

[QCseedstarter]

Well here she is. She sprouted about 2 an a half days after I put her in soil an she was going good but seems to have stopped growing an the stem is a deep purple an seems like the leaves are curling a little any advice to help her back on her way to womanhood. Thanks in advance

 

[QCseedstarter]

Ill try an post some better pics asap. My camera on my phone kinda sucks

 

[ilikebike]

What are your temps at? Also what is the pH of your water

 

[QCseedstarter]

Temps are all screwed up I have it in a wide open room the tool Boo it sits in is over a vent but I don't think its helping with warmth much if at all. An im using tap water that's sat out open for over 24 hours. Money got tight so I haven't been able to get supplies yet.

 

[Mark Green]

What's the moisture in the pot like? Might be over/under water. Just my guess.

 

[QCseedstarter]

Not sure the top of the soil is dry but almost just under the surface is still real moist I think I might have over watered her. Not sure what to do to help

 

[ilikebike]

try repotting? i mean transplanting it into new soil would give you a fresh start. I think the temps jumping around so much or staying to low or too high could be effecting the plant. also if you dont know what the pH of your water is it is probably way to high and causing nutrient lock out. Try watering with bottled water from now on until you can get a pH metter and some pH down

 

[Mark Green]

Yea, to wet... Transplant, you will have to be real careful for she is small.
Or.., try to pun a small fan next to the pot and try to dry it that way.
Or.., wait for it to dry out normally.

 

[QCseedstarter]

I was wrong the soil wasn't very moist. I gave her a good watering now to wait n c if. She pulls through
everyone for all the help