Brand new indoor grow Op, Just starting out. Please help?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by Batman316, Jan 16, 2012.

  1. I was helping a friend of my grow but I didn't learn a whole lot about the grow process, I did most of the cutting and and stuff like that. However now that I have my own space to do it I had a few questions (I would just ask him but he is "Temporarily Unreachable" We'll call him "Mark").

    Lighting, I was told that CFL bulbs work just fine and they don't burn out very often but Mark and I had always used VHO lights, because Mark said it helps them grow quicker and they're better for the plants. Also he just did an 18/6 shut off for the plants all through out the stages of grow and I'm quite sure it should be different?

    Watering, He just told me to make sure that the dirt was wet throughout. Is there a better scientific and factual way to measure your plants intake?

    Best kind of dirt, I'm in a desert area so I can't use just dirt. Mark also said that using just potting soil it bad for your plants because of all of the added chemicals in it, does it really matter?

    This is being done in a big walk in closet also trying to be done for on the cheep.

    (I posted this in another thread and I think this is better for it.)
     
  2. Lighting cycle should be either 18 on/6 off or 24 hours on for vegetative. When you switch to flowering you want to do 12/12. Not too sure about CFL's as I use HPS lights and T5's. You can get a 4 bulb, 2 foot long T5 for $100 plus 25 for the lights.

    For a soil grow I think its best to let the soil dry out after each watering to reduce the chance of root rot. I don't let them get bone dry to where the plants start drooping, but usually 2-3 days between watering depending on how long until the soil dries.

    For soil I use Sunshine Mix #4. I like soil that is as neutral as possible since I can easily add and control the amount of nutrients going into the soil. Plus new plants/cuttings that go into soil can burn if they have too many nutrients in them from the start, so your friend was right.
     
  3. As far as lights go, you can use CFL's with success. Just remember you need 100 actual watts for the first plant then 50+ for each additional. You can get small HID lights fairly cheap on ebay that will be more effective as well so you may want to look into that.

    Like project J said you want your soil to dry out a bit before you water again. One of the biggest and most common mistakes is over watering.

    I use FoxFarm Ocean Forest soil, and my girls love it. I will tell you this much DO NOT skimp on your soil! I used something from Walmart on my first try and fought ph problems the whole time. Since switching to FFOF my plants are happy and healthier than ever.
     

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