Ok.. Virgin grower here for MJ Here's my soil mix I got 3 gal peat 3 gal 1/2compost 1/2 ewc 1 1/2 gal perlite 1 cup organic kelp meal 1 cup organic alfalfa 1 1/2 cup organic tomato maker 4 cups azomite rock dust 1 cup organic lime How does this sound so far? I'm planning on vegging under 269 watt cfl 6500 k and two 55 watt 2700 k Vegging I'm thinking of purchasing an additional 125 watt or a 250 watt 2700 k cfl I am going with cfl because of low energy, heat and I'm growing in a box I built witch is 23" 24" by 36" I have a DIY carbon filter, I will take some pics when I have more time. My next issue is how to start the seed. I'm leaning towards planting directly in to my main pot and no transplanting... Or I have these small ass peat cups I will start them in. My biggest fear is burning them in my soil because it has only been cooking for about 2 weeks.. I forgot to take some soil out for sprouting before I added all the amendments.. Dummy I know. I would like to start next week . I'm unsure if I should let my soil cook longer or just go for it... Any help would be gratefully appreciated!
What genetics? That's a pretty small box. If you can wait two more weeks and are by chance using Autos, I'd plant directly into your final pots.
Yeah but I only plan on one at a time and LST. I believe they are 50/50 Shark widow auto , delicious critical super silver haze auto and sleek stack skunk regular
Just thought I would also let everyone know those bulbs are NOT going to be used! I know they won't do dick when it comes to growing.
I can't read most of that. But I would be careful of the bottled stuff if you are going organic. The dry stuff could be good soil amendments though. Sent from somewhere over there. No, not there...over THERE.
Right on man. Well if it's efficiency you are looking for in lighting...cfl's are not the answer. LED's are. Not sure about the bud production....but cfl's are not very good at producing buds anyhow. Even at 3ft tall you will have a hard time running regular strains. My ceiling is 6 1/2ft and it is a serious pain in my ass.
You definitely need to do more reading before you get started growing if you think perlite is going to make your soil dry faster. It's actually to add aeration and store water.
Ok I'm not trying to be rude but perlite when used in soil is not for holding water it is used for soil aeration and better soil drainage.. Green sand and gypsum would be better for water retention...
Well I added another 1 1/2 gal of perlite gunna move my box to its semi permanent spot and see if I can pop my seeds ...
I haven't got a light for strictly flowering yet. This is what I'm thinking is it over kill for one plant? http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-Compact-Fluorescent-Growing/dp/B00HG1J2PK/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1410583929&sr=8-7&keywords=Cfl+grow+light
So check this out man. Take that big 4 cu. ft. bag of perlite and place it in a rubbermaid container. Open up the top of the bag and pour some water in at least a gallon or two ( I can't remember, I don't use perlite anymore) once you get a little runoff into the rubber maid stop adding water. It takes a little time for the water to penetrate all the way to the bottom, so go kinda slow. Take note of how heavy the bag was before and after doing this to get an idea if the perlite actually holds water or not. Although this is not why you should add the water. Add water so you're not inhaling the perlite dust, which is no bueno for the lungs.
http://www.therm-o-rock.com/images/uploads/Therm-O-Rock-East-Perlite-SDS.pdf Here is the Material Safety Data Sheet on perlite. Be smart. Be safe. RD