First time growing CFL - any help is welcomed

[giry]

Hello, for couple of weeks i`ve been reading all kind of stuff about growing, so i decided to give it a try, so i`ve set up a light sistem that looks like this :

What i used :

2.

3.

Some pics while working :

The plants :
1.

2.

The problem is that the plants started in my balcony and that didn`t work to good for them.

Some facts : the seeds are random stuff, probably alot of males and hermafrodite but thats less important, being the first time i try this will be more for practice, no point throwing cash on good seeds when i don`t know what to do with them.

Food :
I was looking for a good food, i can`t remember where but i know i took some notes and i was supposed to look for "Early growth stages: 7-9-5 or 5-10-5 or 4-5-3" , but i could not find anything like that so i took this :

N : 3,5
P2O5 : 7
K2o : 4,5
MgO : 1

Others :
B : 0,013
Cu : 0,003
Iron + EDTA : 0,021
Mn : 0,011
Mo : 0,0011
Zn : 0.0058

Recomanded 20ml to 2l of water, use once every 2 weeks


Light :
2x 24w : 1200 lumens(each) - 6400k
1x 23w : 1550 lumens - 2700k
1x 20w : 1350 lumens - 4000k
1x 22w : 1297lumes - 2700k


Questions :
1. Is the food any good ? should i use it, and if i do, should i folow the instruction from box ?
2. Light is kind of low from what i read on others should i remove plant nr 2(in first pic the one from left) and leave just the first one (right) ?
3. The white on sides is paper is this bad ? i`ve read that white is one of the best reflective but i only had paper around
4. i`m thinking to put something cover with white paper on top to reflect the lost light, should i get something else ?

Any help is more then welcomed, first time here so please add anything that might help, even link long articles, i`ve read some and i can read more if that will help
I`m not english native so excuse me for posible mistakes in text.

Thanks

 

[KPC Organics]

thoose CFL's are way to high up. they need to be about 2 inches from the seedlings. and DO NOT feed them until they get into vegetative growth which is about 4 weeks after germination!

 

[giry]

thoose CFL's are way to high up. they need to be about 2 inches from the seedlings. and DO NOT feed them until they get into vegetative growth which is about 4 weeks after germination!

Ok, thanks, i`ll do that now , the food that i listed is good ? should i use this or look for something else?

 

[oldrthandirt]

Giry, Good start and I like the way you did your lights, it looks to be expandable so thats a good thing. I would recommend a reflector of some type. There are a lot of home mades that can be found on here. Flat white latex paint is really good for a reflective material. As for the plant food I would do a bunch of reading to see what others use and like KPC says dont worry about the feeding till they have about 4 weeks of growth going.

 

[giry]

Giry, Good start and I like the way you did your lights, it looks to be expandable so thats a good thing. I would recommend a reflector of some type. There are a lot of home mades that can be found on here. Flat white latex paint is really good for a reflective material. As for the plant food I would do a bunch of reading to see what others use and like KPC says dont worry about the feeding till they have about 4 weeks of growth going.

Hi, thanks for the info, the problem with other products is that i can`t find them here :| like miracle grow or other names, i have them all on a paper and i`ve looked like crazy but no luck.
I`ll try search more about food and proper way to do it, i`m relaxed now with the food i thought "early growth stages" means i need to give a bit of food even at start.
I`m thinking to make the sistem bigger but atm i`m just trying the see with my finger, getting some info + experience then i`ll figure out something bigger.

Btw i`m planing to move one to a bigger container when you think is a proper time to do it ? don`t want to kill it :|

Thanks

p.s : what you think about that white paper i used is it any good?

 

[KPC Organics]

ur welcome but uhhh i would use Fox Farm's GROW BIG liquid fertilizer. its N-P-K is 6-4-4 . the nutes u have will work but u want a higher nitrogen concentration for vegetative growth , and when u flower look for higher phosphorus fertilizers , i recommend fox farms TIGER BLOOM 2-8-4 . i used both of those products my first grow and had an excellent harvest!! p.s. u can buy white visqueen to reflect the light but ur grow box is very small and i don't think it would be worth buying a big roll of it just for that box, its up to u tho........any ways hope that helps man.

 

[giry]

hmm i had this info "Early growth stages: 7-9-5 or 5-10-5 or 4-5-3" can`t remember the link to give, so its wrong ? i need nitrogen more then phosphorus during veg ? thanks again for infos


p.s : the names of the product don`t help me to much i can`t find them here, the n-p-k and other info will be good to search something in that range

 

[Electricthom]

Hey giry, Just thought I drop a idea or two in the mix to try to help you avoid some of my first timer errors and ways I avoided spending money. I use cheap emergency blankets that come in first aid kits to line the walls in my veg tent. They're mylar and reflect just about the best plus I got them out of friends kits for free. A foil baking tray makes an OK temporary reflector for over a light and can take the heat from the lights. Keep the CFLs horizontal as the most light comes out the sides. Get a PH Meter! The drops and strips dont work as well and they are as cheap as $13 US, and ph your water every time. And do what ever it takes to find good nutes. I can get miracle grow and lost most of my first plants because of it, it left me with cal/mag def. and nute burn. I suggest a 2 or three part liquid, with it you can control what the plant gets and back off or increase to find what works for your plant. I grew in 2 liter bottle coco hemy's and once I stopped using the MG and switched to a Gro/Micro/Bloom liquid mix all the bad things stopped happening. I used bag seed too and grown well they can give you bud much better than the bag they came from.

 

[giry]

Hey giry, Just thought I drop a idea or two in the mix to try to help you avoid some of my first timer errors and ways I avoided spending money. I use cheap emergency blankets that come in first aid kits to line the walls in my veg tent. They're mylar and reflect just about the best plus I got them out of friends kits for free. A foil baking tray makes an OK temporary reflector for over a light and can take the heat from the lights. Keep the CFLs horizontal as the most light comes out the sides. Get a PH Meter! The drops and strips dont work as well and they are as cheap as $13 US, and ph your water every time. And do what ever it takes to find good nutes. I can get miracle grow and lost most of my first plants because of it, it left me with cal/mag def. and nute burn. I suggest a 2 or three part liquid, with it you can control what the plant gets and back off or increase to find what works for your plant. I grew in 2 liter bottle coco hemy's and once I stopped using the MG and switched to a Gro/Micro/Bloom liquid mix all the bad things stopped happening. I used bag seed too and grown well they can give you bud much better than the bag they came from.

Hi, thanks for the infos, cfl are horizontal, i`ll try to add the foil baking tray tomorow, i`ll try to find some emergency blankets and use those on sides instead white paper, i only found strips for ph but i`ll look for a meter if you say is better. I think i`ll ad a pc vent seems kind of warm inside ~30c (85F) .
With the food i`m a bit confused right now, when i was reading some articles i saw that they require more phosphorus during veg and KPC said that i need more nitrogen, i need to read some stuff about this food

I suggest a 2 or three part liquid

- you mean i should mix 2-3 types of food or to try out more then 1 ?

Thanks again

p.s : found some stuff about food here bring the coffee we have work to do ....

 

[Electricthom]

KPC is correct they need the N in veg. I use General Hydro three part. It has Gro, Micro and bloom. At first the mix will have more Gro than Bloom and I increase amounts I add to the water according to GH's chart and how old my girls are. By the time I flip to 12/12 light it is equal amounts of GRO/Micro and Bloom the week by week the Gro Nutes (which has more N) is reduced as the Bloom nutes are increased. By the end there is no Gro in the water just Micro (mirco nutes and things they need) and Bloom. As I was able to afford it I added different things to the base mix, KoolBloom to add weight, RapidStart for the root development and Floralicious Plus to increase aroma and size. There are other additives I will get as I get money but like I am I get 30+ grams average from each 60cm tall plant in the 2ltr bottles, perfect method for smaller grow areas. You will fine tune to fit your space and climate and it will all be good. I got my Ph meter online for less than I payed for test strips that turned out to be way off and slowed the growth in my room. Being in coco hempies which is Hydro but hand watered like soil I Ph at 5.8 out of the tap my water is 7.4 if I didn't lower it the high ph will lock out nutes and not let the plant absorb them. It is the easiest thing that made the MOST difference in my success.

Sorry , I tend to rabble but This site is about helping each other and I am just glad to share what helped me along the way. Follow some others journals and they will come back to yours to help you. Great community, you'll be glad your here as I was.

 

[giry]

KPC is correct they need the N in veg. I use General Hydro three part. It has Gro, Micro and bloom. At first the mix will have more Gro than Bloom and I increase amounts I add to the water according to GH's chart and how old my girls are. By the time I flip to 12/12 light it is equal amounts of GRO/Micro and Bloom the week by week the Gro Nutes (which has more N) is reduced as the Bloom nutes are increased. By the end there is no Gro in the water just Micro (mirco nutes and things they need) and Bloom. As I was able to afford it I added different things to the base mix, KoolBloom to add weight, RapidStart for the root development and Floralicious Plus to increase aroma and size. There are other additives I will get as I get money but like I am I get 30+ grams average from each 60cm tall plant in the 2ltr bottles, perfect method for smaller grow areas. You will fine tune to fit your space and climate and it will all be good. I got my Ph meter online for less than I payed for test strips that turned out to be way off and slowed the growth in my room. Being in coco hempies which is Hydro but hand watered like soil I Ph at 5.8 out of the tap my water is 7.4 if I didn't lower it the high ph will lock out nutes and not let the plant absorb them. It is the easiest thing that made the MOST difference in my success.

Sorry , I tend to rabble but This site is about helping each other and I am just glad to share what helped me along the way. Follow some others journals and they will come back to yours to help you. Great community, you'll be glad your here as I was.

Hi, thanks again for the input, i added today something reflective on top ... not the best solution but was the one that i could do it today and i guess anything is better then nothing , here some pics

Thanks

 

[voucher]

If Miracle Grow is all you can get your hands on, it's better than nothing. Use the tomato for vegging and the flower for flowering. You will need to get your hands on some Epsom Salts. That will help keep your leafs green. Often the package will have directions for gardening. (wish I knew this before). Also look in the FAQs here. There are lots of guides on nutes and the basics. Try to find a local hydroponics type store or perhaps a nursery for your nutes. I notice your not in the United States (the plugs!). You may not be able to find the same brand names.

Any brand of nutes you get should be started at 1/4 strength. Work your way up slowly. If you notice nute burn, back off and flush with water. You seem to have a nice budget grow going. Good luck and have fun!

 

[giry]

If Miracle Grow is all you can get your hands on, it's better than nothing. Use the tomato for vegging and the flower for flowering. You will need to get your hands on some Epsom Salts. That will help keep your leafs green. Often the package will have directions for gardening. (wish I knew this before). Also look in the FAQs here. There are lots of guides on nutes and the basics. Try to find a local hydroponics type store or perhaps a nursery for your nutes. I notice your not in the United States (the plugs!). You may not be able to find the same brand names.

Any brand of nutes you get should be started at 1/4 strength. Work your way up slowly. If you notice nute burn, back off and flush with water. You seem to have a nice budget grow going. Good luck and have fun!

hi, and thanks for the info, i`ll look more into the Epsom salts didn`t know about that, i`m not in USA thats way i can`t get my hands on some products, i can`t get miracle grow i can`t find pretty much any mark from what i found in guides for growing.
Anyway today i saw some leaf burn i guess i have some hotspots or something like that so i put the light higher to see how will be.

Thanks

 

[Electricthom]

I didn't see what your using for medium? Some potting soils have nutes in them and it can be to strong for seedlings and cause burn. You'ld pretty much have to touch the leaf the bulb to have cfl burn one, I've done it

 

[giry]

I didn't see what your using for medium? Some potting soils have nutes in them and it can be to strong for seedlings and cause burn. You'ld pretty much have to touch the leaf the bulb to have cfl burn one, I've done it

Hi, it`s from reflective material on top, i`ve just added that, they are in the same soil for 2 weeks and i didnt even water them in the last 2 days so i`m pretty sure it the `top` that i`ve added yesterday. i`ll see how will be later, eventualy i`ll add some pics .


Thanks

 

[giry]

hello again, i thought i should add some pics after ~10 days

any advice still welcomed, on first one you can see the burning marks, from then i moved a bit the top cover hopping that i`ll don`t get any other burns and seems it worked.

Thanks

 

[giry]

i want to move them in bigger pots, should i wait more ? they are a little bigger then in the last pics, but i just found a nice soil + i finaly found perlite so i was thinking to make a mix and move them there, should i wait more ?

 

[oldrthandirt]

Giry, I usually transplant mine as soon as they are about 3" tall and start with the verigated fan leaves. As for pot size I bought some 5 gallon feed buckets at a local farm store and my plants go from starter pots like yours directly into the buckets. Also when I do transplant into the buckets I dont water directly onto the plant, I water the outside rim of the bucket to make the plants roots go looking for water. This causes the roots to fan out and grow better root structure.

As for nutes, when I was starting out growing mj I went to a farm store to ask about fertilizers. If you have a knowledgeable farm store they can help you a lot and maybe help order the nutes you need. Let em know its for houseplants and that you don't want to use Miracle grow. If its a good farm store they will love you for not wanting to use MG and will help you all the more.

 

[oldrthandirt]

After I finished my post I went looking on the site and remembered where I learned the most about growing. Heres the link. How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know.

Like you, me and a lot of others here, your first grow is full of excitement, expectations and questions. The best advice I can give you is to keep your first grow simple and learn how the plant grows. MJ will, if you let it, grow in a pot of dirt and only watered. It is a hardy plant that loves to grow. Use this first grow to learn and don't stop reading and asking questions. What this and a lot of other sites are about is perfecting the way YOU grow your plants so that YOU get the best results. This can only be accomplished by learning, mistakes and gaining knowledge of your plants. The other best advice myself and others give to you is to have fun, have patience and watch your plants. They will tell you if something is wrong, not quite right or happy.

 

[giry]

Heya oldrthandirt and thanks for input, i did some reading including the topic you linked, i allready moved my plants ( i just didn`t had time to make some pics and post them) in 4-5 gallon pots, they are looking fine (some burns i think from reflective top as i put them to close to light ... very close).
I started to learn some LST on them, till now its looking good, i was thinking to do some more LST`ing on them for 2 weeks and after that i will start feeding them a bit, leave them for 2-3 more weeks in veg then turn the flowering phase on, till then i hope i can redo the light sistem as i don`t like (losing to much light on the sides) so i will go for a square shape.

I was thinking this days and i will go with clones after i learn some basic stuff.
I was thinking to get some Blue mystic seeds (i did some reading on strains and how they are, and this suits very well for me, small, smell is not bad, seems the best to start with after i finish my experiements with bag seeds).
I was thinking to put ~5 x 24w cfl in veg room to keep the mother and the `babies` and ~8 x 24w in flower, i only want to grow 2-3 at the same time so i think it will be decent light ...

I`ll get some pics later .... thanks for the help

p.s : they are getting a bit smelly (for the moment its like something like mint), this is what i don`t want my box is not quite designed to filter the smell, i hope will not get very intense in flowering.