Beginner Question

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by LetGo, Sep 7, 2012.

  1. Doing an indoor grow.... Came to a conclusion on lights after posting/and doing research.
    However I hear an abundance of pros/cons of miracle grow brand. I have looked ALL over town for fox farm and its to not be found/heard of. So I was thinking of going with mg organic 10/5/5

    Anyone have any input on soil I should go with thats found at hdepot/lowes/wally world. Going to grow 2-3 home plants for personal use. Using a 4ft 4bulb t5ho shop light with reflectors. 18/6 hour cycle(6500k) 12/12(3x 2700k 1x6500k) flower. 20k lumens in a white painted closet 6'w 20"d 6'h.(enough space?)

    Doing 3 gallon pots with 30% perlite/70% ?


    Also other questions besides fertilizer. This is my first grow, once I get clones do I keep them under lights for 24 hours? or 18/6 for 1-2 weeks?
    Going to use probably 2x 150watt cfls or 4x 100watt cfls
    100 puts off more lumens. Off the 3 plants I plan on taking 2 clones each plant and trashing the 3 weak clones to keep a cycle of 3 plants.

    Plan was to veg them for 4 weeks then flower to keep them small and compact since I am not using HID's

    Also whats a good plant food I could find at one of those three stores?

    Any input/critique welcome, just not on HID's because I don't want to go that route ~_~

    LetGo
     
  2. Anyone?
     
  3. #3 InTheGarden, Sep 7, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 9, 2012
    Hey LG. I would suggest that you go the better (and cheaper!) route of mixing your own soil. You will find that among most long-time soil growers we aren't big fans of FFOF, you can do a lot better than that on your own. Here's what I would do:

    -buy a bale of Pro-mix (cheap at home depot, lowes, wally's, or even better, a farm&feed store) pro-mix is basically just peat moss and something added for aeration, and it's super cheap
    -get some compost or earth worm castings (EWC)
    -get a bag of perlite (just plain perlite, you don't want perlite that has miracle grow ferts added)

    mix up the pro-mix, perlite and compost at a rate of (these are rough measurements, don't stress out over getting the percentages exact):

    20% compost/EWC
    20% perlite
    60% pro-mix

    The best and cheapest place to buy stuff like this is at a farm/feed store. Check and see if there is one in your area. Farm/feed stores will also usually order products for you if they don't have it in the store.

    -Buy a good, all-inclusive organic fertilizer. I would suggest: Espoma brand "tomato-tone", "garden-tone", or "plant-tone" (these are 3 different kinds of Espoma brand organic ferts, tomato-tone is my fav because it has the best nutrient profile for cannabis, but the others are very good as well). You should be able to find Espoma brand products at any good garden center, home depot, wally world, or lowes. Other good options are: Down to Earth brand all-purpose organic fertilizer, and Dr. Earth brand "Tomato, vegetable and herb" or Dr. Earth "all-purpose" organic fert.
    -buy a bag of kelp meal (a farm/feed store will have this, or will order it for you. If you have to, buy it online. It's totally worth it.)

    Now that you have your pro-mix, perlite, and EWC/compost mixed up, add:
    -2 cups of your organic fertilizer
    -1 cup kelp meal

    NOTE: the above amounts are for 1 cubic foot (roughly 7 gallons) of soil. If you have more than that, increase the amounts. (if you have 10 gallons of soil, use 3 cups organic fert and 1 &1/2 cups kelp meal)

    After you mix the soil, it's best to let it sit for several weeks so that the soil microbes can start breaking down the amendments. Although, if you want, you can plant directly into this soil without letting it sit and it won't burn your plants

    This is way cheaper than buying pre-mixed soils, and you will end up with a much higher quality soil. Plus you won't have to spend money on chemical nutes! This will give you a solid organic soil that doesn't require any additional fertilizing. Just water with regular (non pH'd!!) water. If you're using tap water like me, let it sit out overnight so that the chlorine can dissipate. If you want you can add a little bit of high-P guano for flowering, but this mix is totally capable of getting you through a complete veg and flower cycle with no additional fertilizers needed. Also, don't use pH up/down or chemical nutes with this soil. That will kill off all the beneficial microbes and then you will really have a problem.

    Also, I have my clones on an 18/6 cycle. You can do a 24/0 cycle but I think that they need that dark time just like everybody else. I would go for 4x100 watts. HTH. You can PM me if you have any more questions. :smoke:
     
  4. #4 Kronicly Insane, Sep 8, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2012
    You hit it in the head. Just to add MG has time released nutes which make it the problem. If you add some blood and bone meal it will add some organic fertilizer. You can also use Epsum salt to help the plant. They can both be purchased at you listed stores however it might be harder to find at this time of year. I noticed you don't have air circulation or exhaust. Also a thermometer/ humidity thing would help. If you can double the lights it would help drastically. If you can budget a HPS light I would recommend that over T5's. Then the t5's can be used in a separate box just for vegging the next crop to be flowered. I look forward to seeing the plants. Good luck and let use know if you need help.
     
  5. #5 LetGo, Sep 8, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2012
    Not getting an hps or mh anytime soon, maybe after a few successful grows.
    I will have a ph/moister meter in the soil and a fan for circulation.


    Is there any bag pre-made soil to make this easier? (of course I will still add perlite) also what about adding ewc to like say mg organic? or is tha too much?
    Getting 5 different bags to mix my own soil sounds more expensive and more work.
     
  6. #6 InTheGarden, Sep 8, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2012
    It's actually cheaper to mix your own vs buying prebagged. Once you get your ingredients it's super easy, and you don't have to buy them again for awhile. I am linking you to a thread about ready to grow bagged soils. The thing about building your own soil is that you know exactly what's in it. Once you do it it the first time it is super easy.
    Check out this thread: http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/988488-ready-grow-bagged-soil.html

    When using a bagged soil you are most likely still going to need to add some nutrients in the form of an all-purpose organic fert (see my recommendations above) and some kelp meal, but that's it.
     
  7. A lot of the ingredients that you buy to mix your soil will last you forever. Using your own mixed soil will give you the results you are looking for without any hassle. Using miracle grow with time released nutes is bad news bears.

    You get what you put in. If you want to take a bunch of shortcuts, your plants will reflect that. It's much less of a headache if you do it right the first time.

    The list of ingredients that Inthegarden gave you is a nicestarting point if you want to just try out your greenthumb.

    When growing organically in soil you don't really need to worry about ph at all. As long as the water that you are giving the plants isn't totally whacky, the plant will regulate the ph itself.

    Growing in self-mixed soil is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to grow I have found. I have a no-till, water only mix in which I add teas every once in a while. I grow in 10+ gallon pots, and once a plant is harvested, I plop in a vegging plant, add some earthworm castings, and continue growing. No need to add extra 'nutes' or do anything.

    You can make it as simple or difficult as you'd like.
     
  8. :wave: I grow in and believe in FF, but like your advise. Check out some of my posts I'm sure you'll see a pic or 2. It's just easier for me to have a bag of FFOF around instead of a gazillion other things. Personal preference though.
     

  9. FoxFarm Soil & Fertilizer Company

    shows you where to get the products in your state
     
  10. #10 deadheadganja, Sep 9, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 9, 2012
    im going to follow InTheGarden's instructions on mixing my own soil here,

    need something clarified please,
    after mixing all that together, during the flowering stage, should i still add "Big Bloom"

    or does "-2 cups of your organic fertilizer" ... "I would suggest: Espoma brand" , replace needing to add nutrients like "Big Bloom"?

    or is this organic fertilizer a completely seperate thing from additional nutrients like "Big Bloom", etc?

    thanks :)
     
  11. No. When growing organically, the plant is able to access the nuterients that it needs when it wants them. No need to give 'veg' nutes during veg and 'flower' nutes during flower.

    If the big bloom is not opened, return it.

    Just to clarify, You don't need ANY additional nutes when growing organically.
     

Share This Page