Grow log ( first time growing )

Nice looking Boxer. As a no oboe you have a lot of mistakes to learn from. You can minimize mistakes by spending a few bucks on books to learn how to grow and to reference back to. Ed Rothensal and Jorge Cervantes both write great books and both are experts. Their books will teach you everything you need to know.

Look into upgrading lighting and use organic soil that's not MG. Sure it will work ok but it has tons of issues. It usually has time released nutes and is known to contains bugs. Ever their perlite contains time released nutrients. Kelloggs Patio Plus is all organic and has bat guano, earth work casting and other beneficial nutrients.

Lighting. I'm not sure the route you plan to go but check into t5's. A sun blast 4' x2' 8 bulb light works great and cost less than $200. It will last you a long time and I grow 8 plants under one using 3 gallon pots. With a change of the bulbs it would work for flowering also although HPS is a lot better. Don't forget to add a fan to move air around the grow room.

 

I only use CFL's because I don't grow any more than 3-4 plants at a time and the electric bill for HPS, MH, HID, or LED isn't worth the amount of bud you get from just a few plants, plus they run hot. Using CFL's won't effect potency, that's all in the strain.

As far as soil goes, I would use a soilless organic mixture. You can get 100% pure additive free peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite from any garden store and that always works awesome for me. I mix 70%peat 15%perlite 15%vermiculite. Don't feed your seedlings nutrients. You can mix in bat guano and worm castings if you'd like although i've never done it, just read so. I start feeding Fox farms grow big at half strength around the 6th or 7th set of leaves.

(2) 200W CFL's would be good for a while but you're going to need more than 2 bulbs when the plants get bigger because you'll have really shady area's. I would get maybe (4) 42W CFL's and then add a few 26W CFL's for reinforcement lighting when they get bigger. Your bulbs need to be nearly touching the plants in order for it to absorb the lumens offered by the bulb. 2'"-4" is optimal. 5" is too far. The amount of lighting in the Flowering stage is directly proportionate to the amount of bud you'll get all said and done.

I would get this lighting situation taken care of immediately. Your first picture clearly depicts your plants growing towards the light... they aren't getting enough. You'll end up with what will look like a "Charlie Brown christmas tree" lol

Good luck man, we're here for ya

 

Makes sense my man. Don't you wish there was a way of knowing the sex before all the time and effort you put into them? That is one thing I wish i could change lol

I'm following your post dude, keep us posted, good luck, any questions (even if you think they're not good) just ask and we're all here to help.

 

Dude i might sound like i have some cool set-up but in all reality mine is just as basic as yours. I have the basic, bare bones deal going on... but it works. I live in an apartment complex. When my Wife and I buy our first home (if we ever get the chance) then i'll use a room for strictly growing but for now, gotta do what you gotta do!

When you buy your pots, DO NOT GET JIFFY POTS! They work for some i've read but mine died and i decided it was because the peat cups are high in acid and it was killing my seedlings. Make sure the pots you buy aren't too big. If you're going with my medium suggestion then you'll have immaculate drainage to begin with, but the vermiculite retains moisture, and too much moisture in a big pot with new seedling roots can cause root rot for your little babies.

We're glad you joined us, bro.

 

Fox farm IS organic, it says it right on the bottle. And as far as your fire hazard goes.... you dont have to be an electrician to keep your electrical wires neat.

Thank you for nit picking literally everything I said to this grower.


and by the way, CFL's do not effect potency, only yield. I've been doing this a lot longer than i'm assuming you think I have been. Thank you.

 

Need A Light Upgrade,, But Other Than That Your Good..

Spaceman Charlie..

 

I'm very confused. I was quoted by someone and your name is the one under the quotation.


someone dissected my post, but its quoted.

 

It was Kronically Insane that dissected my post, but it is apparent that he doesn't know how to use the quotation feature.

 

Work in progress! It looks good. That space looks perfect too.

 

[quote name="Always_Lifted" post="19815186" timestamp="1396910477"]

If op can afford LED they are the coolest running and cheapest to run. They just are costly to purchase. After that T5's are the next coolest and cheap to run. It will produce enough light to penetrate the canopy and produce a good yield. LED will yield just as good if not better than t5's watt per watt. HPS and MH are costly to run but will produce the best results. They however run very hot and need proper cooling and air movement to keep the grow room cool. Cfls are the cheapest to purchase and can be plugged into a standard light socket. They however do not produce much light and they will run hotter per watt used than both t5 and LED. The yield and potency will be low and is not going to work on plant with some size to them. Running the light op has will be better than cfls.

This is what you would call a Fire Hazard. Keep it simple and use the minimum amount of lights and plugs. The more plugs, wire and lights the more chance of a fire starting. Plus when you add up all the bulbs you are using the wattage used would be used more efficiently in a T5 light setup plus you get rid of multiple lights. You can simple change the tubes to either flowering spectrum (2700k) or to veg (6500k). Even with cfl you will need to have bulbs for veg and bulbs for flower. The better and more light you have the larger the yield, buds develop denser and potency is increased as long are the light spectrums are correct.

I would get this lighting situation taken care of immediately. Your first picture clearly depicts your plants growing towards the light... they aren't getting enough. You'll end up with what will look like a "Charlie Brown christmas tree" lol

Good luck man, we're here for ya[/quote][/quote]

the lighting is my first priority right now but I'm trying to keep it under $100. I have looked at a lot of t5 systems and I was wondering if a 2, 4 foot tube setup would work fine if I cover the walls with a something reflective. My goal hear is to keep them semi small yet bushy. My preferred hight is between 2 and 2 1/2 feet (I'm not worried about the amount of bud I get as long as I can produce some) I plan to use LTS to control growth.

Sent from my SM-N900P using Grasscity Forum mobile app[/quote]

Get the 4 bulb it will work well for your set up and produce enough light to grow a good amount of flowers. The cost in electricity will roughly be the same as running a computer. Most T5 systems gave an outlet so you can daisy chain another light to it.

 

Only two of the bottled products are organic. You have to check closely to see what's in the bottle. Most organic nutes are produced from products such as bone meal, kelp, alfalfa meal, fish meal and so on you have to look closely to see what your getting. Organic nute should have ORMI certified sticker on label.

 

U was breaking down issues with each section in order to answer each issue.