i have a grow space of 3x3x6 topped with a 600w hps light. my seeds have just sprouted and im wondering when i should introduce them into the hps...currently they are still in paper towelling....im concerned about the heat from the hps and have been advised to keep the light at the top for a while.....any suggestions... also this is going to b a hydro setup...growing media of perlite, no soil. thanx guys.
600w is a bit much 4 seedlings, a fluro will do but if thats ur only light then id do this. as ur seeds have split them plant them, put the light on but far away, the warmth will b good 4 them, the light is bad till they have broken ground, cover where u have planted with some card till the seed pops up, then take it off. now the seedling has poped up u can start getting it used to the light, drop the light by a few inch every day (2 or 3) till ur about 2foot away, ur plant shud b about a week old by now with lots of roots and growing well. if the seedling dont seem to like the light at any point then back it off. have u thought about mixing some vermiculite in with ur perlite? how do u intend to water them? hand? drip?
thanx for yr reply. how will i know if they dont like the light...this is probably a silly question but iv never dun it b4. also it was suggested to me to put them into the light at 2-3inches, what do you think. only want 4 plants to start with...not greedy. what diff will the vermiculite make?? using a drip watering systeem. chow.
no it dont sound stupid, this might tho. if they dont like the light they wont look happy! the heat will make them wilt or burn or go yellow. just get a feel 4 the plant. i realy do think a small fluro 4 the 1st week or so will b a good idea, then move them under the HPS at 3 inch like was suggested to u. 4 plants is a good move, i think that makes the best use of a 600. vermiculite will hold a bit of water in ur pot. if ur dripper blocks it will give u time to find out and fix the prob, better than losing a plant. also it helps to spread the water better in the pot, rather than it rush through the perlite its held ther and gives it chance to spread. some ppl mix it in 50/50 but even 20% will help a lot. if ur running a drip have a think about using clay pebbles insted of perlite, much better and dont cost a lot more than perlite. mayb 4 ur next grow now this 1s started. oh and if ur gonna grow with just perlite surporting ur plant get ready to tie it up to stop it falling over when it starts to put on height. good luck..
im stoned so im just checking.... plant hight 2 to 3 inch tall, not the plants 2 to 3 inch from the light?
go out and buy 2 4' shop lights with cool spectrum bulbs. this will be much better for veg and increase you chance of getting females. Once they outgrow the lights put them under the HPS and continue veg, take clones put them in your floro setup. Swich the clones to 12/12 after the root and are transplanted to sex. Then take out the males that you took cutting from that came out male (male plant=male clones). First grow? I would say hydro isnt a good idea for a beginer without a deacent amount of research, if your going hydro DWC (bubbler) is a much better system.
i meant 2-3 inches plant height, not putting the light that close! im not that silly...i will get hold of some vermiculite today as suggested, sounds good. I have gr8 patients so trial and error it is, you dont learn if u dont give it a go. ive done a little growing outdoors but its just too risky where im situated, so inside from now on.
it gets a lot more air and water to the roots, the more air roots have without drying out the better they work and the better the plant grows. in bubblers the roots hang out of the bottom of the pot str8 into the water that has a LOT of air bubbles in it from a air stone giving the roots a huge amount of wot they need. sometimes bubblers r run with drips aswell. have a look at this link http://www.overgrow.com/article/12/1 u will see it uses the clay pebbles i thought u might wanna try. if u wanna build 1 then dont b put off by them linking all the buckets together. ucan build them as "stand alone" units, it just means u have to do the water in each pot seprately. i was gonna build 1 like that and have an extra bucket to mix the water 4 the 1st plant in then just put the plant in that as i emptyed the bucket it came from and used that bucket 4 the 2nd plant.....etc...
great info there, but im wondering...is it possible to have the plant in the bucket as described, but having each bucket as a seperate system with drainage and its own airline...then you could just change the solution when required and have multiple lines for air to all the buckets... would it be detrimental to the plants to sit in the same solution until it was time to change it??(which could be done by hand to save $$$) this would also mean the system could be more portable if required....
/\ Thats is how it is done normaly. each bucket has its own plant and its own airline. All the buckets are usualy linked together to a single control bucket wich can also have or be a resevoir thisway you only make changes to a bucket with no plants in it and you dont have to play with each bucket. If you have extremly diffrent strains, with diffrent flowering times, its a good idea to have each strain on the same system.
^how often would you be looking at changing nutrient solutions in a bubbler setup?? and would the rooots be totally immersed in the solution from transplant?? also what age would u put yr babies into a setup like this?? thnx
they go into teh bubbler one they haev developed long roots in teh areo cloner or whatever meathon used. The water level is set at 1/2 below the net cups for initial transplant. The water level must be maintaned anc can be done automaticly with a 1/2 strength reserve tank with a float valve to control flow. and nutes should be adjusted about every 2-3 days. The water should be changed every week to 2 weeks.