I have a few questions - Total Newbie

[About400and20]

Hello,

This is my first time growing.

I don't even know if this is the correct board for such questions so please move me if i'm offtopic.

I'm planning on growing a single Northern Lights plant in soil in a grow closet i created measuring 50cmx55cmx90cm (20''x22''x35'') but i have a few questions!
First of all, the height seems alittle bit limited, its 90cm but the plant can only grow 55 centimeters before touching the 200W CFL lamp if i have it on the highest position. Should i end vegetative growth early or will some good LST prevent them from reaching the lamp? I'm only growing 1 plant in 1/4 of a square meter (3 square feet) so there is alot of room to expand!

Also, watering: I searched on alot of forums and there were many different ways of knowing when to water, but since i plan on doing an automatic watering system i need to know exactly when and how much to water. My pot is quite big (i don't know the math behind it but it has 24cm diameter (9.5'') and 20cm height (8'')).

Temperatures are also quite worrying me. Right now i have an incomplete air circulation (only intake fan, running from USB 5v instead of 12v, so its CFM's are very low) and the temperatures near the exhaust hole on the top reach 40C (104F) after a few hours while the temperature near the soil is 30C (86F). (but i will fix this soon with 2 fans). What should the temperatures near my plant be at most? Should i have a third fan blowing on the plant as well? Both the exhaust and the intake holes take indoor air and there is no way i can make it outdoor, is this going to be a problem? Am i also going to need a carbon filter? Or will the scent of one NL plant be too little of an issue?

Thanks for bearing with my questions!

 

[Dan Ultra]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Welcome to the site!!

Height- check out Fluxing. You can follow my grow journal as I am also dealing with low ceiling height. (4 feet) It's basically a more extreme version of LST.

Watering- No safe way to do this other than checking on your plant and feeling when it needs water. Auto watering systems are not really ideal as they can water too often, causing over watering or, in extreme cases, root rot. How much to water depends on your medium and pot size, but water to have about 20% run off.

Temps- unless you are going to use a CO2 system, you should try your best to keep them below 80F. This is another issue that I am dealing with in my grow journal. It's a pain, but it is workable.

Filter- If stealth is an issue, then Yes, you will need a filter. Even one plant can smell up an entire house when in flower.

If you need help with anything, fell free to ask. I have some links and video tutorials in my signature that might be of use to you in your journey here on 420mag!!

 

[About400and20]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I checked this 'fluxing' technique you mentioned, and it looks like it is exactly what i need for my setup!

Also for the temperature thing, I did some calculations, and found out that with the 2 40CFM fans ill have for intake and exhaust im going to refresh the air inside the box every 20 seconds! If my calculations are right, there is no way this is going to heat up.

For the automatic watering system i am planning, I am going to use a moisture sensor, I just don't know how much water to pump in. I guess this is proportional to the size of the pot. Should i make it water until some water starts leaving from that hole under the pot?

By the way, i have already planted a seed which germinated correctly, but hasn't showed up yet. How much water does this want? Do i keep the soil around it always moist? I watered it when i planted it, and then 2 days after i added alittle more water, and then 2 days after i added just a few millilitres of water to keep it moist. Should i give it more now? Less? Am i killing it? (I added water every time i saw the soil around the seed take the same colour with the rest of it, instead of the dark brown it has when its moist)

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I checked this 'fluxing' technique you mentioned, and it looks like it is exactly what i need for my setup!

Also for the temperature thing, I did some calculations, and found out that with the 2 40CFM fans ill have for intake and exhaust im going to refresh the air inside the box every 20 seconds! If my calculations are right, there is no way this is going to heat up.

For the automatic watering system i am planning, I am going to use a moisture sensor, I just don't know how much water to pump in. I guess this is proportional to the size of the pot. Should i make it water until some water starts leaving from that hole under the pot?

By the way, i have already planted a seed which germinated correctly, but hasn't showed up yet. How much water does this want? Do i keep the soil around it always moist? I watered it when i planted it, and then 2 days after i added alittle more water, and then 2 days after i added just a few millilitres of water to keep it moist. Should i give it more now? Less? Am i killing it? (I added water every time i saw the soil around the seed take the same colour with the rest of it, instead of the dark brown it has when its moist)

Lots of questions. I'll throw my 2c in for a couple of them. A flux type training, or low stress training - basically tying down and spreading out the growth- will give you a plant that's low and wide and has a flat canopy under the light. This means less height and less shaded branches. A scrog (screen) will work very well to keep the plant low and spread the branches out for maximum light exposure.
The water use is mostly based on the size of the plant, not the pot. You can fill that space with one plant though I think you'd benefit from a bit more light. I'd also use a bigger pot than you mentioned if you're growing a 10 sq foot plant.
At any rate you can, and should repot up in size as needed, and you can add more lights when needed so don't have to worry about that quite yet.
The water useage is going to be constantly changing based on a few changing factors. You can hand water it while you're working on the auto watering system and get a feel for it. Overwatering is a common problem.
Hmmm- what else? I'm a bit worried about that sprout if it hasn't come up yet but there's still hope. The soil should be just very slightly moist, not wet, and warm like 75c or more.

 

[About400and20]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Thanks for the reply!

I made a serious converting mistake on my first post (fixed now). The area is 3 square feet, not 10, so the light and the pot are actually quite good for it.

I was thinking of a scrog, but most scrog plants i saw were too high to fit in this box. I had this idea of putting a glass screen so my plants cant grow into the lamp but this would not be the best thing to do on a plant right?

By the way the seed was planted 4 days ago (the last watering was earlier today). It had a healthy root and i kept it warm and moist for the most part, so i'm not really worried at this moment. I read that it could take up to a week for it to sprout.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Ok. My mistake re the size. That sounds good then for pot size. Most scrog screens are about 8-10" above the pot but if you wanted to you could get it down to 4" or less easily enough. Then 8-12" space for buds rise above that. Is your 55cm available plant height meaning -just the plant not including the pot height? Flux or scrog/Lst either one you can train down very low.
You won't be able to easily calculate the water use I think without basing it on real life experience with your plant first.
Soil can be overwatered -so you have to give the plant what it can handle based on it's root system and what size container it's in at the time. However, there are a few options. You can add lots of perlite to the soil, which helps drainage. Or you could consider growing in coco or rockwool. These are very difficult to overwater so your watering system can soak the pot completely with no problems at all. Much simpler.

 

[About400and20]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Yes 55 cm is the available plant height, but i want to stay well below that. If i understand correctly, flux'ing means splitting the plant into two main stems (cutting the top?) and making the plant a Y shape, and then scrog would mean forcing all of its stems at the same height. Therefore i am going to use both, for better energy distribution.

I am going to be careful not to overwater it, and make a graph of how much water i used every time, and then im going to switch to automatic, when i know im not going to screw it up and the plant is going to be alittle bit stronger/more tolerant to mistakes.

What about nutrition though? I have some organic tablets for flowering, but nothing for vegetative growth!
The soil i bought claims it has a pH of 5,4-7,2, 110-290mg N per litre, 120-285mg P2O5 per litre and 1,5-2,5g salt per litre.

I know the pH is good, but i dont know if the nutrition is enough or maybe something is missing?

 

[Dutty Panty]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Welcome to 420. Alot of cool micro closet grows on here to check out as well.

 

[OttawaGreen]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

If you need to squeeze a little more height in them switch from a normal pot to a shorter Rubbermaid bin or a cut down 20L pail or Similiar that is closer to the size of the space but not as high. Those bins and pails are easily cut with hd scissors l. Could gain 4" easy by only making it 4" deep but still having just as much dirt/root mass.

 

[About400and20]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

A week passed and it didn't sprout! I carefully dug it up and found it out in a very bad shape (rotten? I dont even know how rotten seeds look like but i guess they were rotten). I had soaked them in water for a day, and then in paper towels, but now i read that this shouldn't be done for new seeds. Lesson learned. This time i put it straight into soil and watered it. I don't really know how much water that little seed needs though. Should i put like alittle water every day around it (not directly on top of it)? If im right, if the soil gets dry at any time, it will die, but if its too wet, it rots. What clues should i look for when watering?

By the way i put it straight into my big pot, to avoid failing transplanting.

Gosh, im such a noob i can't even get it to sprout

BTW: I made a new ventilation system using 2 fans from myold computer and a 12V adapter i found laying around, and its pretty good right now, I'm getting 78F near the bottom (although the air temperature is probably lower, the thermometer gets heated up by the lamp) and 84F at the exhaust on the top. I ordered 2 new fan's though and this will almost double my CFMs, cause these guys make alot of noise especially when i close the box and the pressure gets lower.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

I doubt if you'll be able to find any people on this forum who haven't killed their share of seeds! The first method might have worked but where things crash and burn is when the sprout sits in soil that's too wet or cold. It should be basically as dry as you can get it and still be able to call it "moist" if that makes any sense. Maybe like fresh bread or cake. And warm. Feeling it with your finger up to an inch down it so should tell you what you need to know. The soil probably won't be drying out dry fast without a plant in it- so resist the temptation to water it unless it needs it- then just a few drops at a time but not soaking anything. Personally I like sprouting them first then planting them, I hate wondering...

 

[OttawaGreen]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Yeah seems like overwatering to me. Overwater is number one plant problem for all new growers I bet.
Next batch paper towel until a good tap root like 1/2" or more then to moist dirt. Not soaked though.
Also good if dirt mix is not too dense with some air space. Not much experience with dirt though I use hydro.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Yeah seems like overwatering to me. Overwater is number one plant problem for all new growers I bet.
Next batch paper towel until a good tap root like 1/2" or more then to moist dirt. Not soaked though.
Also good if dirt mix is not too dense with some air space. Not much experience with dirt though I use hydro.

Careful if the root grows into the paper towel. If it does don't try to pull it out just cut out and plant the bit of the paper too. Or use cloth instead. Good luck!

 

[About400and20]

Re: I have a few questions [TOTAL NEWBIE]

Careful in the root grows into the paper towel. If it does don't try to pull it out just cut out and plant the bit of the paper too. Or use cloth instead. Good luck!

I planted it straight into soil without even waiting for it to pop. I'm 100% sure it's a viable seed and i don't want me to stressing it with my careless handling, I only put it into soil, poured some water, and now its day 2 and the soil on top the seed is still looking dark brown. This soil is the best soil for outdoor plants i could find in the local market, and it feels moist even when its not, i dont know how to explain this, it's not like usual soil you find outdoors, it's very spongy too! (I can upload a closeup picture if you want to take an actual look)

I have a feeling the less i participate in it's grown the better.

I mean seeds in nature usually don't have an anxious man disturbing them every 12 hours, and still sprout.