hey guys I have been reading this forum for a couple months now and decided why not try to grow something if i have all the materials just laying around. I am using all stuff I already have to practice just to see how things go so maybe i can learn a thing or 2 before dumping cash into a new hobby. here goes Using bag seed that apparently "came from really good plants" my guy gave me when i asked for seeds but who knows. using 5 26 watt daylight flouros 6500k and one 2700 42 watt only been on since last night up until now on day 2 or 3 depending how you look at it on a 24/7 setting. 1 medium size small room fan on low setting pikes general purpose organic potting soil. distilled water from wal-mart I only had 4 seeds used the paper towel trick and they all busted thru in like less than 24 hours. QUESTION HERE. I read that you are supposed to soak the cups of soil with water before putting the seed in. I did this but then i kept reading that you are supposed to REALLY SOAK these cups untill water keeps running out and that you cant overwater the soil but rather just water too often. I did not know this so i didnt want to put to much water when i pre soaked the cups. I am on day 3 since i first put them in the paper towell. I planted them last night in the cups. NOW i have heard it is ok to water seedlings with a teaspoon and others say never water untill it breaks the top. How do i know to water them more or not? it seems dry when i poked my finger in this morning. SO at this stage. 1. I have germed 4 seeds and planted them in the party cups. Given my predicament of being a newbee and seeing as how i may or may not have underwaterd them what would you guys do at this point? Should i just wait a few days and see what happens?? some say i should see a sprout overnight and some say as much as 2 weeks before anything visual really happens. Do I have too much light on these 4 cups? Thanks a lot guys!! i had pics of my setup but my sd card reader is not working for some reason. I really appreciate any help or just general chat haha im bored today. thanks a lot.
And if it indeed might take 2 weeks to sprout should i water again before then??? thanks letz grow some budzzz
One, you need to relax. Just mist the soil when it seems really dry until they cracked and have leaves then you can start watering and waiting for run off. And yes, it could take a day or two, or could take 7, you never know. Bu honestly you are way over reacting, you dont even have plants yet, just give em' time, I mean that the longest post I have ever seen about how much to water seedlings.
Ok sorry i just didnt have anything to do today and i was stoned and bored lol thanks for your advice
Hey bro, I have just started germin' myself for the first personal grow. However I have aided countless people with their plants and I can tell you this; when you think something is wrong, add time. At some points it will seem as though you fucked your plant all up, don't give in to those impressions. Just continue to give it time and the plant has a way of growing, I'm tellin' ya this plant was meant to grow. At one point a friend accidentally snapped his three month old plant's stalk, we gingerly resurrected it with popsicle sticks and about three weeks later it was almost mended and then started to continue with its leaves growth. Only a month later it even made tiny little buds. We never go the chance to harvest it, never underestimate how nosey neighbors are either. Anyway, just give it time bro.
I know i just feel like a virgin again and I want something to happen i have really bad adhd and i need to work on my patience.
You have a looooong way to go, at least 2-3 months if not more like 4, and then you have to account for drying and curing.
if you're going overcaring this much already, your plants are doomed. the most common newbie mistake is overcaring. weather it be over nuting, watering, trimming, whatever. you are going to need to learn patience and quickly. best of luck. now hurry up and wait.
just keep the soil moist..if it feels dry...water it a bit...doing this will help build a strong root system and make sure you dont rot out the roots...i have had a seed that stayed under the dirt for 2 weeks before sprouting out..have also had some that pop out 12-24 hours after planting..just differs...just keep an eye on them and five it some time and youll be on your way to growing your own bud
It's good to do a test run, it will help get that patience in check but don't get down on yourself for caring too much, it's common and also shows the necessary dedication you will need later. Hang tough, be very aware of the above warning, we see it all the time. Newbie mistakes that rule the roost are 1. Over watering- yes, plants droop when they have TOO MUCH water as well as not enough 2. Overfertilizing.- These nutes are used in very small amounts,.."more is often not better and more often,...detrimental. As for the seedling,...moist but not wet. The roots will need to breath as they develop and SOAKED soil doesn't allow that. Good luck, happy growing
I think everyone else basically covered everything i could help you with you got all the info u need there. But i just wanted to say very wise of you to not go and invest a lot of cash in your grow, i do think you should go buy nutrients for ur plants tho, you cant go wrong there and you will have it for multiple grows if your only growin 4 plants. go with a 3 part fertalizer and if you have a extra few dollars get some flower boosters, (any brand really, its prefrence) you can use more than one flower booster just make sure they all correspond and you arent using soil nutes in dwc / hydro. I went and dumped a lot of money on my first grow, *800$ alot* and i am now jobless and broke, its really all i got for a hobby other than tokin n chillin wit friends, and as of now i been job huntin for a while. but smoetimes i wish i woulda went a little less high tech haha.
other than what I stated above, if I could give 1 piece of advice to a new grower ,.....spend the $100 and buy a good ph pen, I use the Oakton ecotestr2. It'll save you lots of time and money in the very near future. To troubleshoot anything, and there will be lots of things,....you start with ph. Make sure you're not locked out. That's the very first, #1 thing to troubleshoot ANY issue other than pests. Without a pen, you're guessing=wasted time and money
I have never used a PH pen before, but I am definitely going to look into it. Friends and I usually just let the plants do their thing, adding water and actual sunshine worked just fine. But if I could learn how to balance ph lvls and properly nut Im sure Ill get a much better yield.
No dobt about it man, ideal growing conditions = ideal bud =). But if you dont feel like droppin 100$ on a electric ph tester you can allways buy the one that i have currently. itll get you in the hang of testin your ph before you go buy all the high tech gadgets being only like 25$ Heres what it looks like and the link will be below the image. This is the one i have, it works relatively good And its deffinetly accurate. (comes wit 7.01 cal solution) Link: Find Milwaukee pH Meters at milwaukeetesters.com
Wow holy crap guys thanks for all the good info and fast repsonse. as of this post 2 out of 4 have broken the surface already!! about an inch above the soil with 2 little mini flowr lookin thangs. I could not find the FF stuff everyone raves about anywhere local so i am making a trip to a hydro store tomorrow to get some. I know everyone on here seems to have their own special setup etc like mixing OF with LW any recomendations? and is all of FF stuff is good?, should i just get the whole line of nutes etc?? Would it be a bad idea to transplant them into FF soil even tho i started them in some basic pikes organic potting soil? thanks guys as always additional tips etc are always appreciated more pictures soon cams batt is dead.
Oh and i was wondering. Ph is Ph am i right? could i not just use a pool water testing strip for now to see about where the ph is? or is it not the same thanks Trying to see if its possible to keep total cost of this project below $100 from start to finish. will probably get close when i go to the store tomorrow. =(