Hello

[QueenTokelove]

Well this is my second attempt at posting here, wiped the first one out by accident...Just wanted to say hello. Did a lot of reading on this site before deciding to join.....

This is my first attempt at growing but decided to do it for several reasons. I need it medicinally,tired of paying the salesman, and needed a new hobby besides gaming. So why not do something I love, right?

I have started on 7/11/11 with 6 plants. So about now I am about 5 weeks into it. I have noticed that out of the 6 plants, 3 are girls, 2 not sure yet and 1 is a male. I have moved the male away from the girls but don't want to destroy him so I figure I will let him live to see how far he goes. I am using my closet to grow in with 3 cpl lights, not sure if I need more if those are enough.

I am using generic organic soil because I have read different opinions on using Miracle Gro, some say it's ok to use and others say it is not. I am using seeds that I have saved from the salesman. I figured since it is my first time to use those. The salesman had pretty good smoke. Also that it is not a good idea to have seeds sent to where I am growing. So as much as I would like to have the best seeds, I value my freedom a little bit more. If there is a way around that, please let me know.

I am trying to get the right food for my plants but I am a bit strapped for money and on a limited income. So, I was wondering what can I use for the time being til I can get the good stuff. While researching I have seen people mention using coffee grounds, egg shells, and epsom salt. Should these things be mixed together or in individual containers? At the moment, I am just using egg shells in water though my plants do have egg shells in the dirt as well as on top of the dirt. I did mix some used coffee grounds in water to make a kind of tea but has been scared to give it to my babies.

Any and all suggestions are welcome but please remember that I am a NOOB so if at all possible keep it simple and in basic layman's terms.... I will include pics so you can see where I am and if you notice something I am missing....

Can't wait to hear back from you guys!!! happy growing....

 

[Captain Kronic]

Not sure what wattage those CFLs are but I think your gonna want something stronger for better results.

I don't recommend MG for MJ but, it is better than nothing!

As for the nutes, if you are ready to get that into it, then by all means there are household items (some of which you named) that you can use... w/5 or 6 plants though it is pretty cheap to get yourself some decent all purpose ferts and keep things simple!
Another consideration there is, do you want to go organic or do you care?

I think in the long run that you will need quite a bit more for your closet in terms of equipment also!

Also, it looks like they are getting a tad too much H20?

Welcome to the 420 Mag family... it's great to have you w/us.
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PS... I'm going to request that your thread be moved to "Plant and Bud Photos", you will get much more/better feedback/help there... I hope you don't mind!

Well this is my second attempt at posting here, wiped the first one out by accident...Just wanted to say hello. Did a lot of reading on this site before deciding to join.....

This is my first attempt at growing but decided to do it for several reasons. I need it medicinally,tired of paying the salesman, and needed a new hobby besides gaming. So why not do something I love, right?

I have started on 7/11/11 with 6 plants. So about now I am about 5 weeks into it. I have noticed that out of the 6 plants, 3 are girls, 2 not sure yet and 1 is a male. I have moved the male away from the girls but don't want to destroy him so I figure I will let him live to see how far he goes. I am using my closet to grow in with 3 cpl lights, not sure if I need more if those are enough.

I am using generic organic soil because I have read different opinions on using Miracle Gro, some say it's ok to use and others say it is not. I am using seeds that I have saved from the salesman. I figured since it is my first time to use those. The salesman had pretty good smoke. Also that it is not a good idea to have seeds sent to where I am growing. So as much as I would like to have the best seeds, I value my freedom a little bit more. If there is a way around that, please let me know.

I am trying to get the right food for my plants but I am a bit strapped for money and on a limited income. So, I was wondering what can I use for the time being til I can get the good stuff. While researching I have seen people mention using coffee grounds, egg shells, and epsom salt. Should these things be mixed together or in individual containers? At the moment, I am just using egg shells in water though my plants do have egg shells in the dirt as well as on top of the dirt. I did mix some used coffee grounds in water to make a kind of tea but has been scared to give it to my babies.

Any and all suggestions are welcome but please remember that I am a NOOB so if at all possible keep it simple and in basic layman's terms.... I will include pics so you can see where I am and if you notice something I am missing....

Can't wait to hear back from you guys!!! happy growing....

 

[QueenTokelove]

Thanks, Capt. I don't mind you moving my post to another thread. I can use all the help I can get. Actually my bf bought 2 of the lights which are 38 watts, thats what he said. I should've paid more attention myself. I am not sure what the smaller light is to be honest but felt that maybe it could use more light but wasn't sure. You said I could use a few more things? Such as? I thought about a fan but read somewhere that for the size of my closet that simply leaving the door cracked would suffice.

Um, which things have I listed that I should use? Um, mg is that in the coffee or epsom salt? Never was much good in science. And honestly, not sure if I wanna go organic or not just figured maybe it would be better? As I am new to this, I am full of questions. I have looked over some of the links you provided. I had also read that they should be watered twice a week or when top dirt is very dry. I just watered them yesterday(sunday).

 

[CannaVince]

Hey queen welcome those plants are looking good!!! They are tall and skinny cause of your lighting situation!! More bulbs on those girls and get them real close!!! Like within 6 inches!! Your going to need a fan of some sort for fresh air to circulate!!! And to exhaust the heat from the bulbs!!! You will be able to shop around for some newbie nutes!!!! If your going to leave the door open for air then how do you plan on keeping those girls in the dark for thier night cycle???? Complete darkness is as important as are the lights during the day cycle!!!!! Goodluck girlie!!!! Well be watching!!!

 

[CannaVince]

P.s queen get that foil down from the walls!!!! It reflective props are aweful!!!! The origal flat white paint on the wall in the pics is much better alone than that foil is!!!!

 

[QueenTokelove]

Thanks Vince. Hmmm, I was seeing in other people's pics that they had foil up so I thought that would help but since you're the pro, I will take it down. Since reading your reply I have put stuff under the girls to move them closer to the light. Actually I was giving them air from a huge fan that is blowing in their direction, if I moved it any closer, it would blow my babies over. I was giving them air during the daylight cycle. So they need the air at night then? I have started a notebook since I can't remember everything everyone tells me.. I was hoping someone could tell me what stuff around the house I can use to give them nutes until I get to Home Depot or somewhere. I have noticed that many here seems to use products from FoxFarm or Tiger Bloom, are those the ones that are preferred? I was getting kind of discouraged looking at other peoples plants that seem to be in the same stage as mine but looks so much fuller. But I shall not give up on them and I have to remember that this is my first grow. I am noticing though with one of the girls that she is already beginning to sprout already. I am curious to how long I should leave them in veg state? They are around 11 inches already.

 

[CannaVince]

Hey queen the white walls will be so much better for you!!! Your plants look fine so dont give up ever!!!! They will stop stretching for now if the lights are now closer!!! You know if you can only afford a couple of nutes then i recommend a ginourmous!!! 0-18-16 its like 15bux!! Since your into the end of vegging soon!! Also i would reco. A cal/mag to keep on hand!!!! Under 10 bux!!! Ive used MG singles on a grow in the past and it was fine!! At HD for 7 bux!!! Be careful of over nitrogening them at this point!!! Watch that ph!!! How old are they since birth?

 

[CannaVince]

I think most of us here will admit weve used MG in the beginning!! On our first grow anyways!!! Youll be fine !!! You will want the total control for that next grow though!! So your garden and your taste will change!!! Youll love organic growing !!

 

[QueenTokelove]

Well I started them on 7/11 so they are just a lil over 5 weeks. By my calendar I should begin the flowering stage on the 26th of this month. But I was reading on here that some do not start flowering until they are at least 18 inches but some has started when they were 12 inches so I am kinda confused. Um what is a ginourmous? Remember I am a noob so no idea what that means. How would I be over nitrogening them? So I make sure I don't. Sorry for all the questions but like my mama use to say the only dumb question is the one not asked....Still waiting to hear what I can use around the house. Not time to water yet since the pots are still feeling heavy.

 

[QueenTokelove]

I am so trying to get use to this site. I was trying to post pics of two of my plants that seem to be trying flower or whatever but not sure how. What I am trying to find out is if the plant in the second pic is a male and the female that seems to be ready to go into flowering? Anyone can help with this?

I know they are kinda blurry but took it with my cell phone.

 

[CannaVince]

Ginormous is a product of the humbolt co for nuting!!! Its 0-18-16 .. Remember that nitrogen is the first number!!!! Then phospate second and third is potash... You at your stage should be feeding them a high phosphate and higher potash diet!!! Very low to none on most nitrogens!!! Some are necessary!!! The Ginormous also has iron, mag trace zincs and trace sulfates!!! The pics are too blurry for me to tell sex!!! If its a girl then you could start her flowering anytime!!! I would repot before you go into flowering!!!! Bigger the better!!!

 

[QueenTokelove]

Hmmm, Ok Vince, I will try to take pics with my digital camera see if that works any better. No answers to stuff I can use around the house for the moment? Just wanna use something til I get paid and can go shopping. I have been giving them egg shells in water for the moment. But next time I water them, I was gonna try the ground coffee and water mix. Will that help? And if I change the lighting cycle to 12/12 for the flowering girl, how will that affect the others? I started them all at the same time but they are all bag seed. I am trying to take another picture but it is still showing blurry with digital cam so my bf took pic with his phone, hope you can see it better.

 

[WillyBudz]

Most pics you see of people using "foil" is really Mylar. Flat white paint is in fact better than foil.

You will probably need a little more light for when you put into flower. Make sure when you do go into flower you have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of Complete dark per day.

12", 18" doesn't matter, it all depends on container size and grow room height. You do not want to outgrow your setup. (root bind if containers too small or plants too tall for room if put into flower as big plants.)

For cheap nutes you can use GH hydro nutes. One draw back can be salt build up in soil tho. MG is better than nothing.

Epsom salt is home remedy for magnesium.

If you go 12/12 for one the others will need their own light source or go into flower themselves.

To get best effect from household items you would need to get a compost pile or two going. You can get a compost pile with high N for veg etc.. etc but, wayyyyyy to much going on for a small grow. Get some MG or similiar to start with, whatever you can afford.

 

[CannaVince]

Yah you know ive never used egg shells or coffee ever!! Coffee sounds too starbx!!!! Can you see the white pistols comming out of the little round caylx's? I think they look ok just need a bigger pot and more soil!!!! Start the 12/12 after a period of 30hrs dark and in 7-10 days youll be able to sex them!!!!

 

[QueenTokelove]

I read the used coffee grounds from some site, not sure if it was this one or another one. Or I prolly did a search on what to use. I was really lost til I found this site...Thank the Goddess I found you guys! No I don't see anything white coming out of there yet. I just repotted them actually from out of cups about a week ago. I didn't have enough dirt to cover about 2 of them but I plan on getting some more stuff hopefully this weekend. My bf has been helping me along with things like setting the lights up. Speaking of lights, at the moment I have 2 38 watts and one that I am not sure of...I am seeing people speak in watts or k. What would be the best cfls to use?

 

[CannaVince]

38w is that the 150? I use mainly 23w with a Y spliter on them to put two lamps in each so each is 1600 lumens!! I have ten bulbs in my clonebox so its 16000 lumens for first stage!!! After 5 weeks i switch to MetalHalide 400 w with the 6 Y split lamps for around 59000 lumens!!!! But i have a monster exgaust with filters going!!!! So at least hit HD and get the Y splitter for the bulb socket! Then put 2 extra bulbs blazing!!!

 

[iminadaze]

you beat me to it CannaVince, but I typed it up so I will post it anyway.


Hi Queen
When You are talking about CFL bulbs the watts in energy used is the watts you want to mention. A 23 watt cfl will put out about 100 watts of light compared to an incandescent bulb. If your bulbs are 38 watts each then they are putting out 140-150 watts each. The K that you are talking about is the color temperature of the bulb in Kelvin. For vegative growth it is common to use 6500K bulbs, and for flowering you would use 2700K bulbs.

I think If you pick up 2 maybe 3 more 2700k bulbs you should have a good amount of light to get them really going. They sell splitters at home depot for the light bulbs. I have 10 bulbs on one socket, here is a pic to give you some ideas.

One tried and trued method to feeding the plant is urine. I know it sounds gross but if you're in a bind for cash the urine will do better than the eggshells alone. just make sure you dilute it first. 1 part urine to 10 parts water. here is a content breakdown that I found at another site so you have more info... Happy Growing!




Urine Nutrient Levels (approximation, will vary according to diet)
Alanine, total ..... 38 mg/day
Arginine, total ..... 32 mg/day
Ascorbic acid ..... 30 mg/day
Allantoin ..... 12 mg/day
Amino acids, total ..... 2.1 g/day
Bicarbonate ..... 140 mg/day
Biotin ..... 35 mg/day
Calcium ..... 23 mg/day
Creatinine ..... 1.4 mg/day
Cystine ..... 120 mg/day
Dopamine ..... 0.40 mg/day
Epinephrine ..... 0.01 mg/day
Folic acid ..... 4 mg/day
Glucose ..... 100 mg/day
Glutamic acid ..... 308 mg/day
Glycine ..... 455 mg/day
Inositol ..... 14 mg/day
Iodine ..... 0.25 mg/day
Iron ..... 0.5 mg/day
Lysine, total ..... 56 mg/day
Magnesium ..... 100 mg/day
Manganese ..... 0.5 mg/day
Methionine, total ..... 10 mg/day
Nitrogen, total ..... 15 g/day
Ornithine ..... 10 mg/day
Pantothenic acid ..... 3 mg/day
Phenylalanine ..... 21 mg/day
Phosphorus, organic ..... 9 mg/day
Potassium ..... 2.5 mg/day
Proteins, total ..... 5 mg/day
Riboflavin ..... 0.9 mg/day
Tryptophan, total ..... 28 mg/day
Tyrosine, total ..... 50 mg/day
Urea ..... 24.5 mg/day
Vitamin B6 ..... 100 mg/day
Vitamin B12 ..... 0.03 mg/day
Zinc ..... 1.4 mg/day

approx 2 liters is excreted /day.

You will need to flush more often because of salt buildup.


You can add ground up whole grain cereal to the top layer of your soil before watering for more Phosphorus.

Just make sure you remove what you added after a few days to prevent mold.

 

[iminadaze]

38w is that the 150? I use mainly 23w with a Y spliter on them to put two lamps in each so each is 1600 lumens!! I have ten bulbs in my clonebox so its 16000 lumens for first stage!!! After 5 weeks i switch to MetalHalide 400 w with the 6 Y split lamps for around 59000 lumens!!!! But i have a monster exgaust with filters going!!!! So at least hit HD and get the Y splitter for the bulb socket! Then put 2 extra bulbs blazing!!!

You and I have a very, very similar grow setups, and we both gave her about the same recommendation. Just shows how well 420 teaches.

 

[QueenTokelove]

Wow@urine, it does sound gross. But not sure I would want to do that due to being diabetic and I take insulin along with other meds so I am not sure how that would work. I did read somewhere about using a multivitamin that I would take for the plants. I guess letting it dissolve in water. Has anyone heard of this? I am starting to have multiple jugs of stuff...lol..I have one with epsom salt/water, egg shells in water, and used coffee grounds/water. If I didn't think my urine was toxic due to the meds I am on, I would try that.

Thanks for the info on the lights guys, it sounds to me like I am going to need 10 cpls as a minimum. And I will definitely be looking for those splitters when I hit HD up and will be looking for cpls in packs instead of buying them in singles.

I am glad my bf has gotten into it a lil bit along with me. He does all the setting up for me as far as lighting goes. But leaves the girls up to me to take care of. I think it drives him a lil crazy that I have been on here just about all day since I have joined. But what can I say, I love a good read and I am a sponge or try to be when it comes to learning new things. Thanks guys, you're the best teachers!

 

[CannaVince]

Wow daze I think we are growing in the same green house! I have to say the urine info is SO Amazing!!!! Great find on that passing of quality information!!! Yah you know I would be a failure if it wasn't for you great peeps here at 420mag!!!! Queen I told you this is the place to be!!!!! You ll be so proud of yourself on that very first harvest!!! I was speechless when I harvested my first batch!!! Still am !!!