New! Need help from Pros! Desperate

[newgrower92]

Hello I am a new grower and I just ordered everything I need (at least i think so) to start. But this is my first grow and I'm very nervous about messing something up.

The lighting kit I purchased is 1000 watt Grow Light w/ Switchable Ballast & MH and HPS Bulbs 6" Air Cooled Hood. I plan on using a basic bedroom as my grow room which is why i went for the 1000w light. The room tempature is usually about 75 degrees i believe. I purchased 6 Big Bang seeds from bonzaseeds.

*Question 1* how do you feel about my lighting kit? Is it too much light and can it actually kill my plants? also is 75 degrees to cold to grow in? i feel as if the strong 1000w light should give some added heat but again i have no experience.

The medium I purchased was one bag of Happy Frog soil and one bag of Ocean Forest soil which I plan to mix together evenly.

*Question 2* What do you think about my medium and do you have any experience with it? I herd that it is good to mix some dolomite lime in with the blend of Happy Frog and Ocean Forest but I'm unsure about how much. and also using this medium, when should i start feeding fert?

Next, I decided to go with Fox Farm nutrients because they are cheap and i heard they are easy to use.
I have purchased Big Bloom, Grow Big, and Tiger Bloom but I am unsure of what type of feeding schedule to use and scared of over/under fertilizing as from what i herd this is one of the more common means of failure among new growers.

*Question 3* How do you feel and what are your experiences with Fox Farm nutrients? also where can i find a fert feeding schedule for buds using fox farms? and do i need to purchase any other fox farm fertz or are these 3 all i need?

My next issue is deciding what to size pot grow my bud in. I have herd that smart pots work very well but i am not familiar with them. Also i am not sure about what i should start my seedlings in after germinating them and when or what i should move them into when they get bigger. If i had a choice i would prefer to only move them one time, no more after germination. I was thinking maybe from a solo cup to a large smart pot if they are good for an indoor grow.

*Question 4* what size pot should i start out in? also when should i move it into a bigger pot? Can i go from a solo cup to a large sized smart pot? if so, what size should the large smart pot be?

*Question 5* Lastly, i live in NYC, can i just use the water straight from the tap or do i have to do something or buy a filter or something for the water?

Please please please help me. this is the best site with the best people and as an up and coming grower i really need some help from the pros.


THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Flower Child]

Hey New Grower! Welcome to
I'm no expert but do have a couple grows done so thought I might chime in.

1. Your light sounds great since you have lots of room. I've started seedlings under a MH light and they do fine. Just keep it far enough away from the seedlings at first ( at least 3 feet when they are sprouting) and gradually lower it on them over a few days. The thing to be concerned with when using a HID light is the heat. They generate a lot. Hold your hand under the light at the top of the plants- if it feels too warm for you- it's too warm for them. Your room temp of 75 might become too warm once the light is running. I try to keep temps over 60 degrees F and under 85 degrees F. You didn't mention any ventilation? You will probably need an exhaust fan and if you're worried about smell- a carbon filter. Also a small table fan is useful to blow over the top of your little plants. It circulates the air under the hood and strengthens the plants stems.

2. Sounds like a great mix. I use straight FFOF.

3. Google the Fox Farm website and they have a printable schedule there for soil and hydro. When you start feeding your plants in a few weeks, go with 1/4 strength then 1/2 strength feedings before using the full dose listed on the schedule. Fox Farm can burn if you're not careful. The FFOF soil has a lot of nutes in it already. And you can get a great harvest with only the trio of nutes.

4. With pots it depends on how long you plan to veg your plants- (how big you want them to get). A good rule of thumb is 1 gallon of soil for every month the plant will live. Solo cups work great for seedlings (just don't forget to punch drainage holes). Transplanting veg. stage plants is fine.

5. City water likely contains chlorine which cannabis doesn't like. Letting the water sit out for a day before watering allows the chlorine to dissipate into the air.
You will likely want to get something to measure the ph of your water at some point. Especially since adding nutrients can raise or lower the PH substantially. Some people will tell you that when growing in soil that water ph doesn't matter. I've experienced plants that contradicted that theory so I try to give them water with a ph around 6.75.

Happy Growing!

 

[newgrower92]

Thanks a lot for your reply, this answered a bunch of questions I had. On that note i just have a few other things id like to ask you:

1) Do you know what brand of carbon filters are good and not to expensive?

2) What is the beth method of germination?I've heard mixed reviews about paper towel?

3) After removing them from the solo cups, what size pot should I put them into?
I am growing big bang, if you are unfamiliar with it heres a link: https://www.the--------.com/big-bang-marijuana-strain-review/
Id like to put them straight from solo cups into the pot they plan to live in for the remainder of its life (approx. 8-9 weeks flowering).
Do i have to put them into gradually bigger pots or can i just use one big one the whole life cycle?
I was thinking of using 3g smart pots because I've heard they are good but I'm not sure if i should go bigger or if i should use regular pots?

 

[Flower Child]

1. Unfortunately the good ones are all expensive. If you're good at DIY however, lots of folks have made ones using fish-tank carbon- search the journals here for good ideas on how to do it-some folks have made some nice ones here.

2. The secret to paper towels is not touching the tap root and still be able to place it root down it a pot. My hands aren't that steady so I soak the seeds in water for 8-12 hours then place the soaked seeds in "root riots" which are cake-textured starters.

3. If you have the time to give them a nice vegetative period of 6 weeks of so before the flower period it will increase yield a lot. So I'd go right from the solo cup to a final container of 5 gallons. Smart pots are good because they give the roots lots of ventilation (Cannabis likes well aerated soil). The only con I've heard about smart-pots is that the roots can get damaged when moving the pots around due to lack of support. I use air pots which aerate well and still give a bit of support.
If you go with regular pots drilling a few more drainage holes in the container will help.

 

[MacEFL]

I use fabric pots and went straight from a cup into 3 gallons. Took a month of veg to fill the pot with roots.

 

[Marzbadrock]

First off dont pH your food nothing. Dont feed your plants for the first month, water only. Foxfarm soils are hot! Add 2 tablesppons dolomit per gallon of soil. Get a RO for your tap, get a decent one for about $100, but add cal/mag in RO water. I would add 30% more perlite to your soil mix. Start in small pots and transplant after good roots develop.

 

[Marzbadrock]

As for foxfarm nutes they are okay but there are way better products my top 3 in order are...atami, advanced nutrients, botannicare,

 

[newgrower92]

First off dont pH your food nothing. Dont feed your plants for the first month, water only. Foxfarm soils are hot! Add 2 tablesppons dolomit per gallon of soil. Get a RO for your tap, get a decent one for about $100, but add cal/mag in RO water. I would add 30% more perlite to your soil mix. Start in small pots and transplant after good roots develop.

Hey just wanted to know what you meant by "get a RO for your tap?" also they don't sell just perlite near me i couldn't find it anywhere, do you think that could be a problem?

Also, do i really need to add anything to the water? i was under the impression that if i left it out for a day all would be well.

 

[Marzbadrock]

Reverse osmosis
A RO will make your water to just water, no chlorine, no minerals nothing. That's why you need a cal/mag supplement if you use a RO system

 

[newgrower92]

Can i just leave the water out for 24 hours instead of buying a RO?

 

[Marzbadrock]

And the extra perlite is beneficial for drainage and toot development but not a necessity. They do great just straight out the bag

 

[Marzbadrock]

IDK about letting it stand for 24 hours, I live in the mountains and have great water so my knowledge of recycled sewer water is non existent

 

[Flower Child]

Can i just leave the water out for 24 hours instead of buying a RO?

I live in a city and use city water. That's why I suggested you do as I do and simply let it sit out for a day- a lot cheaper that way and the plants should be OK. And you won't have to add the cal mag.
Do look into checking the ph of the water though. Ideally get a nice meter, but they are a bit pricy, so for 10 bucks you can get a PH test kit with the vial and drops at any hydro store.

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

I cut FFOF with Light Warrior on a 1 to 3 ratio when I dropped my seeds in the dirt. I let them soak for 24 hours in distilled water. 95% of them popped within 24 hours. After 3 weeks, I transplanted into FFOF and cut it again with Light Warrior. Believe me, I am in the end of week 4 of vegging now and still don't need any nutes. The tips of fan leaves still show very small signs of burn from the FFOF, so I will not add any nutes whatsoever until they are done feeding on the FFOF.

Good Luck on your grow!

 

[newgrower92]

Thanks for all the help guys, i think i might actually make my set up in one of my bathrooms.

Just have my pots in my tub so the excess water could just drain easily.

Then i could hang my lights from above and also there is a vent right above it, not to big but i think that should help out and save me money on having to buy one myself and it'll help out with the smell.

have my fan on the side of the tub.

then around the tub on the tile walls, i could just set up some mylar and be good to go.

What do you guys think about that?


BTW flo, I'm taking that last part of your signature its awesome lol

 

[Flower Child]

Thanks for all the help guys, i think i might actually make my set up in one of my bathrooms.

Just have my pots in my tub so the excess water could just drain easily.

Then i could hang my lights from above and also there is a vent right above it, not to big but i think that should help out and save me money on having to buy one myself and it'll help out with the smell.

have my fan on the side of the tub.

then around the tub on the tile walls, i could just set up some mylar and be good to go.

What do you guys think about that?


BTW flo, I'm taking that last part of your signature its awesome lol

I found it somewhere as an anonymous quote and love it- glad you like it!

The bathroom idea sounds great- Although I do have 2 thoughts-

Big Bang is a short wide plant and 3 or 4 will likely be all you will want to crowd into a tub.

A 1000 watt light is going to generate a lot more heat than you think. I'm not sure that a bathroom vent will be powerful enough to keep up with cooling that light.

Do you have the light already? - you could always test it in the Bathroom before hanging to see if the heat will indeed be the issue I think it will be?