First timer here, few questions

Hey there guys, just like to say I love these forums. I'm a n00b at growing anything, especially this type of plant. I kind of started germinating some bag seeds, well honestly i just planted them in a small petri type dish with a lot of water and a little soil and no more than a few days later I had little green guys popping up everywhere. When I say everywhere I mean I put about 20-30 seeds in there lol. So far I have around 14 of them in two half gallon pots.
Maybe 8 in one and 6 in the other lol.

Unfortunately I did not find this forum or any forums for that matter when I moved them to the pots because i had no idea what i should do. Now I know 1 plant per pot but what If I just wanted to see which one fights it out for top supremacy, would the plant(s) be ok?

Also I went to the store and picked up 2 23w CFL 6500K and hooked them up, oh yea my room would be in my closet about WxHxL 4'x8'x2'. I dont have alot of room to grow so should I just go with the flow and see what happens or get one or two more lights for it?

Also do you think I should get a fan in there? How far away should the lights be away from the plant, is there a rule of thumb? I should have used organic soil but mistakenly used time release nutrient soil, seems to be doing ok lol

Sorry this thread is all over the place, have so many more questions but figure I should read more.

This is my first grow ever and started off very non serious, but now I want my babies to grow and grow and grow!!! lol

Again sorry for any mistakes I have in this thread.

Thank you for taking the time and reading this:wave:

EDIT: What time should I do 24-0, 18-6, or something in between or it really doesn't matter?

Edited by KBnugz, 12 June 2012 - 06:39 PM.

i would pick some of the better seedlings and work on those...put the others outside. you will need more light at some point. 150w total for one plant and 50 for each additional. a fan is always good. i dont know what else to add right now.....but grow it

Im going to get a little oscillating fan today, do any big name stores carry anything 6500k bigger than 23-26watt. I went to home depot and lowes and saw nothing bigger in the 6500k range.

The 23 watt bulbs offer the most efficiency. Just buy more of them.

Thanks for the feedback man, if I were to grow 2 plants how many do you think? The other poster said 150 a piece. Is that when the mature due to the growth that will happen or all the way through the process?

I will look for the answer to the next question but would like an answer if that's possible, whats the difference between a cycle of 24 on 0 off or 18 on and 6 off? And is it ok if i leave the closet door open during the on cycle with the lights still on?

Thanks for the feedback man, if I were to grow 2 plants how many do you think? The other poster said 150 a piece. Is that when the mature due to the growth that will happen or all the way through the process?

I will look for the answer to the next question but would like an answer if that's possible, whats the difference between a cycle of 24 on 0 off or 18 on and 6 off? And is it ok if i leave the closet door open during the on cycle with the lights still on?

While you're in Veg you can do 18/6 or 24/0, there are people on both sides of the fence. If you're trying to save money on electricity go with 18/6. If you're doing 18/6(or 12/12 in flower) you'll want it to be pitch black in the grow area. Light in the dark period can stress out the plant and make it hermaphrodite.

Good info man, I don't pay for the electric so I'm going 24/0 lol. Now will doing that make it grow faster since it will be photoing 24 hrs a day instead of 18? Just out of curiosity.

Thanks

Good info man, I don't pay for the electric so I'm going 24/0 lol. Now will doing that make it grow faster since it will be photoing 24 hrs a day instead of 18? Just out of curiosity.

Thanks

I'm not sure to be honest. I'm sure that's the reasoning behind doing 24/0, otherwise everyone would be doing 18/6 How much more growth you'll get in Veg I wouldn't be able to say... it likely depends on the strain and a number of other factors. I'm new to growing as well, this is all second hand information I've gathered from reading forums and experience with my first set of ladies.

I appreciate the honesty, It's good to know there are other people out there starting to realize the potential of doing it yourself and being beginners lol

I appreciate the honesty, It's good to know there are other people out there starting to realize the potential of doing it yourself and being beginners lol

I'm on my first grow also and i do 18/6 there's lots of people that do 24/0 and 20/4. I've watched my plants closely, there all autos and they seem to look like they are getting ready for a sleep after 17 hours of light. They still grow during lights out and imo they like a little rest. 20/4 would probably be better than 24/0 as a lot of growers say they don't gain anything from the extra 4 hours of light. Good luck

CFLs have a slower growth rate than HID, generally speaking. 4 bulbs @ 26w won't hold a candle to a 400, 600, or 1kw HID when it comes to growth rates. For this reason my bulbs never went less than 24/0. Benefit or not, it doesn't hurt them.

Change your bulbs after 6 months or you'll start to notice even slower growth rates.

Good luck with your grow!!

That makes a lot of sense take no notice of what i posted as your not using hid lights. Good luck with your grow

Unfortunately I'm on a tight budget, and as I said in my first post this started off as a "I don't care whether they germinate or not" type of attitude thinking that it wouldn't even make it to where I could see anything coming from it. But, alas It poked its faces out my soil and are now growing. If I was serious and had a bigger budget I would have done more research and made it alot better than it is.

I'm not aiming for the best bud ever, just don't want to give people my hard earned money for stuff that I can do myself. I'm sure that's the same reason some people on here started lol.

Thanks for the replies guys, if i'm missing anything feel free to buzz in on some of these other questions I will be asking soon lol.

Thanks again,
NuGz

If your budget is tight and you don't like giving away your hard earned money then why don't you do it right the first time?

Because I rushed into getting things without properly researching, plus unfortunately I do not have my own place and am still young. So being discrete is a big part, Have lights, bag seeds, soil +nutes, and water. Whether these plants do well or not next time I will make sure that I have learned enough to make it a spectacular grow. I understand this time is kind of a if a mess up no biggie, it's a learning experience.

You know?

Good shit man

Right on bro, I'm only hoping they make it through the entire stages of its life. I made a couple mistakes early on so we will see how it goes, and from now untill its ready for harvest, if it makes it that far I will keep saving my bag seeds till I have it down to science or at least till I know enough. Then get good seeds!