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Hisoka
Well-Known Member
Hyena you have fucked me up with some knowledge and my eager to smoke mind has soaked all that up, ima spark a bowl of some random shit and see what I can do. I go to grow room naked or almost no shoes allowed but I feel like nothing I say now will have meaning xD them details just put the word of cannabis in my heart n soulHisoka:
You asked for advice. Here it is...
FIRST, never get high then write an advice column. However, since I have just done so, forgive that this might be somewhat detailed. I love details. And getting high.
NUTRIENTS: The place most newer growers make serious mistakes is NUTRIENTS. We always focus so much on nutrients but frankly that is the simplest aspect of growing, often people just make it the most complex. If you want the best results here are two rules regarding nutes:
1) KEEP IT SIMPLE. All you need is the General Hydroponics three nute system (or similar, that's just the one I use). They have already done ALL THE THINKING FOR YOU...STOP THINKING.
2) Always use HALF the recommended amount. Plants DON'T NEED VERY MUCH. And, the soil retains these things so the new roots are always pushing into places where the nutes you have added are still there, waiting to be used. LESS IS MORE!
LIGHTING: GREAT LIGHTING=GREAT PLANTS. For the size of the grow space you have you'll need at least 1000 watts and it sounds like you have 1400 but I have found one 1000 watt MH/HPS centered in the space, augmented on the edges with inexpensive LED lights works best to balance light with heat. Multiple HID lights get things uncomfortably hot awfully quick, requiring beefed-up ventilation, etc. One 1000 will more than do the foundational job in your space, and if you want more, pick up some original 300 watt Mars Hydro LED lights, they are about 60 bucks apiece on Ebay and 3 or 4 of those would perfectly augment your edges without adding much more heat. Plus, four of those would basically use the same electricity as the one 400 watt HID but give you WAY more useful light.
Growing plants successfully requires big picture thinking. It's like driving on a four-month road trip...gentle corrections and steady speed get you there, while swerving and lots of starts and stops do not. When you're new it's easy to get caught up in a lot of details and when you see fifty different bottles of nutrients in a grow shop it's natural to believe they all have value but take a look at my grows and remember I don't use ANY of that junk.
You want to focus your efforts on achieving the solid 90% that every cannabis plant can easily achieve, and worry about the elusive "extra 10%" (that all those other things are supposedly for) later, when you have this all down pat. For example, aquarium fish don't require 50 different kinds of water...they just need regular water kept clean. So it is with cannabis plants; they just need adequate light, a basic set of nutrients and the PH to be kept in range.
Don't fiddle. The fact that a plant survives something you do doesn't mean that thing was good for the plant, as they are very hardy. Do your first few grows using ONLY the tried-and-true nutes at half-strength and you will be fantastically successful. And in soil, use only a full bucket of fresh water with a small amount of PH Down mixed in to adjust your PH. Small adjustments are best. Soil is more forgiving of mistakes than hydro, but those mistakes are much harder to undo in soil so its best to never make them in the first place.
Every time you transplant a plant you set it back. The plant mainly gets its nutrition through millions of tiny, fragile root hairs, and you do damage to them every time you change containers-no matter how gently you transplant. Your plants should go from their dixie cup to their permanent soil bed and never move again. I have found it easier to make a soil bed using one rectangular "container"...a sturdy framework about 4 x 4 feet, 1 foot tall, simply built from available lumber (brand new from the store...you don't want pests from boards that have been outside somewhere), and then lined with several layers of thick, black plastic (must be opaque). Fill with Hydroton (expanded clay pellets, cheap) for the bottom couple inches (to give runoff water a place to collect below the soil layer) then put your soil on that. Done...a grow bed! Now all your plants' roots will co-mingle and grow everywhere instead of being bound by a pot. This works MUCH better than pots and multiple transplants and is much more easy to regulate.
Little things can mean a lot! For example:
-Once you have a good grow space, you need to make it COMPLETELY light-tight. ANY light leak (or light intrusion such as just visiting the grow) during the dark period, once you begin flowering, will cause your plants to morph, change sex, and will WAY reduce any yield you get. That one thing is more important than all the nutrients in the world!
-BUY NEW SOIL. EVERY TIME. If you can't afford fresh, steriized soil made specifically for growing then you can't afford to grow. One little bug you can't even see can raise an army that will destroy your plants before you even know what happened. They come in soil that has been outside. Don't start your grow with those little buggers already in your grow bed!
-If you have properly constructed your grow room you will never have a bug problem unless that bug comes in ON YOU! NEVER go in your grow room wearing anything (especially shoes!) that has been outside in the yard or even walking across your lawn. It is a BILLION times more difficult to get unwanted visitors out than to never bring them in!
Final important point: Constant contact and messing with your plants is fun but if you want to really grow something you need to leave them alone. You must choose between having little green pets that you play with, or athletic beasts who grow in solitude and achieve perfection while you chew your nails waiting for those frosty colas. Choose wisely, Grasshopper...make it about what's best for them and you'll achieve your goal and then some.
I could go on but I have already poured a lot in your cup and my buzz needs to be refreshed. The bottom line is: Great lighting, basic nutes, and a stable environment works best. Then leave them alone.
Hope my advice is taken as it is intended...to help, to encourage, and to inspire. Not to preach or imply that my way is the only way. I know simple is best. Because I'm simple.
Keep in touch and good luck.
Peace, Hyena.
Sent from my SM-G920V using 420 Magazine Mobile App
can't wait to see em blossom
