Hello. I am excited and a little scared at the same time. I love mary jane ...A LOT..and am ready to grow my first crop but I have ZERO idea as to what to invest in to do this. Ok, here goes. I live in an apartment so space is at a min. I want to use a grow tent..size is about 51" * 22" * 48" w,d,h.. I am purchasing this exact model Grow Tent | Mother Keeper | Silver Lined Grow Tent Now here are my questions. I am using auto flowering seeds for my first crop because I am terrified of trying from start to finish and I have read that using autoflowering seeds is great for beginners. I want to know this..WHAT DO I NEED IN THIS TENT?? I know i will need an inline duct fan...should I get the 4" or the 6" one? The tent holds both sizes Do I need one duct fan or 2? As far as lighting goes I plan on using LED Light to grow the plants..the tri band led lights that is..Why?? because I read that you can get the same output as 400w hps lights but only use 95 watts in real electricity...that is for the more expensive one which is here HTG Supply - Gen3 UFO LED Grow Light I also read that with the triband system of lights that you can basically grow the plant from start to finish without having to change the light type...is that true? Will I need one or two of these lights for this size grow tent? Moving on, is it best to germinate the seeds prior to putting them in the soil or not? If I do put them in the soil without them being germinated, can I immediately turn on the light cycle or do I need to wait until it sprouts? I plan on planting only 4 plants and I plan on using 2 gallon size pots..is that ok for this size grow tent? what soil do you recommend that I use..I was going to use regual Miracle grow with pearlite..is that ok? Nutrients?? do I really need them? I read that I will need to feed the plant vegetative nutrients after about 2 weeks of growth and then at weeks 4-6 I need to feed it flowering nutrients. What brand is recommended for indoor growth? I will also need to flush the plant for 7-10 days before harvesting...is there a nutrient for that also? The strains that I plan on growing are 2 pots of Nirvana Short Rider and 2 pots of Barneys Pineapple express...I purchased my seeds from here ! Buy Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds - Auto Flowering Cannabis Seeds - Updated:06/05/2011 The UK's Largest Auto Flowering Cannabis Seed Bank Finally, will I need that big open silver exhaust running in my grow tent also?? or will the duct fan be enough? I am so sorry about all the questions but as I said I am new to all of this and dont want to waste my money on the wrong things and I actually want this to be a success. I am in no rush to harvest my babies and will take the proper drying and curing methods very seriously. Please help a lady out with any answers to any of these questions. Thanks so much.
Moving on, is it best to germinate the seeds prior to putting them in the soil or not? I dont know all these answers but i do know you are better to germ seed before potting. just use the paper towel method mate, this is very easy to do. im new to growing autos and i have a 100% germ rate using this method. Try surfing around the forum my friend you will get all these answers if you look hard. Jamie's tip of the day.... Dont try to find the perfect way to grow, this is different for everyone, just experiment! you are defo going to make mistakes but you will learn the best way for yourself eventually. Im about 16 days into my first auto grow and at first i made mistakes but thanks to this site i have fixed them. goodluck
I would say yes, germ ahead of time. so you can guarantee your tap root is facing down when you drop it in.
Lots of good questions. Besides the genetics of your seeds the environment you provide your plants will determine your overall Yield. Will you be running Co2 in your tent? ( If you are planning on it you can have your tent's temperature anywhere from 80 to 84 degrees.) Without Co2 Do not let it exceed 85 degrees because then you will begin to experience root rot and other problems. Co2 will also help increase your yield but you need to get your co2 up to around 15,000ppm in order for that to help with your yield. If you use 4" or 6" it all depends on how much heat is given off by your lights. I would recommend setting up your tent plugging in your light in there and seeing how hot it gets first off. You may be able to get away with 1 inline fan to save on cost. I would always recommend 2 fans if temp is an issue. One fan blowing cool filtered air in and one fan blowing the hot air through a carbon filter to remove the heat and smell. a 6 inch duct will have more room to move air so if its too hot in the tent I'd use a 6 inch. You can grow a plant with 1 specific light but I wouldn't recommend it. Plants request specific light spectrum during different phases. During Vegetation they will want a blue spectrum light and during flowering they will want a red spectrum light. As for LED I'm going to stick to HPS I am going to wait to see better results from the LED's. I'd recommend a 4 to 600 watt switchable ballast so you can run Metal Halide for veg and get a hps for flower. You will have better chances of the seeds sprouting into seedlings if you germinate. As for Soil I can not help there I do not run with Soil too messy for me. Nutrients will be the most important thing. Some people do not start nutrients until 2 weeks. The most important thing about nutrients is your PPM level. If you decide to go without soil I recommend General Hydroponics Flora series. As for Flushing I would really concentrate on learning about what your plants are going to experience during veg so you can give them the exact environment they need. Go step by step learn veg, then learn about what your plants will experience during flower and then Harvest. I hope this all helps please do not hesitate to hit me up if you have any questions. Even the worlds best growers were at some point beginners...
i find the best method to germinate is drop ur seeds in a pint glass of water leave 24 hours then plant in soil wait a day or 2 and bobs ur uncle lol