First time grower using 3x DInafem California Hash plant seeds. Looking for some advice. After germinating my seeds in water, they were planted in well watered organic seedling soil. Following two days of nothing, the cotlyedons came out and the plants now stand at about 2 and a half inches each. They are under just 2x 23w cfl lamps at the moment (until I move in to my new place on sunday), in a specially prepared box with a small fan and reflective mylar on the walls. This is temporary until I move, where I will have the use of a large reflective grow tent, complete with 400w HPS (planning 14 weeks of veg) and a 600 watt metal halide (planning 3-4 weeks flowering). Worried that my seedlings have stretched due to rather weak cfl start they are having to life. Will transplant them to the main tent on sunday. What soil and nutrients shall I use? Also, will planting more of the long thin stem underground this time promote a healthier structure in later life? Don't want this poor start to life impacting on the proper grow in the tent!
14 weeks of veg and only 3-4 weeks of flowering? Good luck with that lol. I think you meant it the other way? And if so you wont have to flower for 14 weeks =p & MH is for veg HPS for flower.
SomeRandomNewb must be right. You switched those up on accident. HPS produces the red spectrum which is better for flowering while Metal Halide produces a wide range spectrum similar to the sun, but focuses more on the blue spectrum for vegetative growth. Either way, you would want to flower for 8 weeks rather than 4. If you harvest earlier than 8 weeks, chances are your bud will not be very potent since the plant didn't have time to mature; not to mention you will have less yield. If you can, I'd use Fox Farm soils. Ocean Forest or Happy Frog would work great. They are hot soils and should be able to feed your plant for at least 3-4 weeks before needing any nutrients, possibly even longer. It also has some organic matter in it that creates a pH buffer zone and keeps the soil at the correct pH level. As for nutrients, there are tons of different people who use different things. I personally use Advanced Nutrients (AN) Bloom A & B plus some of their other nutrients to promote more bud growth in flowering. AN nutes are also pH perfect, so you can mix them with pretty much any pH of water and get the correct pH. With both one of those soils and the AN nutes you should be good to go. If you haven't decided yet I would recommend smart pots. They are made of felt and allow excess water to drip out of the bottom eliminating the possibility of over watering. Not to mention when the roots hit the pot wall they air prune themselves which ensures the roots will form a nice big ball instead of leaving empty pockets of soil like plastic or ceramic pots can. Yes, you can plant her a little deep so the main stem has a little more support. Or you can use a small stake or toothpick to keep her upright. Make sure as your plants grow you try to keep the light the optimum distance away from your plants. Any 600w should be kept at least 1' from your tallest cola. Always do the back of the hand test to see if it's too hot. Radiant heat can be dispelled with moving fans in the grow room, so even if the radiant heat from the light feels decently warm on the back of your hand remember that fans lightly blowing on colas will keep that temp down. 400w should be anywhere from 8" to 1' from your plants minimum.
Thanks for both of your responses. Very helpful. Fear not, I did indeed mix up my original comments about Veg/Flower. That said, on further research I think I will now actually do 8 weeks of Veg - given that I have a large tent and only 3 plants on the go. I have ordered a large bag of the Happy Frog alongside some AN Bloom A & B. Currently looking into finding 3 of those 'smart' fabric pots - what size would you recommend (especially given I am planning on going a longer veg period)? In terms of the transplant, how much of the stem can I afford to bury (I would like to take about an inch off for optimum stability) and do I need to prepare it with anything to promote root growth etc? In terms of heat, I have a 7 inch desk fan in the tent, so hopefully that wont be a problem. A few other questions - when should I start thinking about topping (again in the context of a longer veg period)? Also, what are your thoughts on a few other plants being in the tent? I have 3 small chilli plants that would really benefit from the conditions (this would also make spending so much cash on energy a bit easier to take) - I am just wary about pests/mould etc. It is worth noting that these plants would be well away from my marijuana, on a different level below the main shelf, and would thus not be competing for light etc. Thanks again for your help !
I veged my plants for 7 weeks before flowering and now about 7 weeks into flowering they are essentially root bound in 5 gallon smart pots. I'm almost finished with my grow though, so it's whatever. I'll get bigger pots next time if I'm going to veg for the same amount of time. You will want at a minimum 5 gallon smart pots, but probably should err on the side of caution and go with 7 or 10 gallon instead. As far as burying the stem, you should be more than fine with an inch. As long as the cotyledons (the oval leaves) are above the dirt you should be fine. You don't need to use anything to promote root growth, just make sure after transplanting that you give the new soil some water. If you transplant directly into a big container without stepping up through pot sizes, make sure you don't water it too much. The larger pots will retain water for much longer and if the roots stay wet for too long it discourages root growth. That's why we have to have a dry/wet cycle in soil grows. Don't top your plants until they are at least at the third node. Some people, including myself, like to way until the 5-6 node and then top down at the third. That way the third node has had some time to develop. That way you also can clone the top you just took off if you choose to. I don't see any reason why you couldn't grow more than one type of plant in your tent. You'd have to worry about pests and mold either way, so it shouldn't make a difference. I'm going to quote another users post that has some good information about light cycles if you haven't already read it somewhere.
At least 5 gallon pots should do but if it is too big for the tent then you should to go smaller with shorter veg time I guess. You can bury the stem as much as you want in fact roots will start coming out of the parts of the stem that is buried. You don't really need anything for root growth happy frog should do well for a few weeks nutrient wise then you will want to add some. The desk fan sounds like it would be fine as long as it creates good circulation and you can keep the room temperature at optimum levels then it will work and lastly I like to top on the 5th node.
im not sure about the other plant's.. if they have been originally outside i'd keep em there due to pest's and bugs. topping ive heard all kind of different thing's the most common is top at the 4th node and every 3 or 4 nodes after that and every time you top you add a week into veg.