New to growing basic questions

Discussion in 'Hydroponic Growing' started by Farmer619, Mar 19, 2012.

  1. Hello my name is Paul and I'm new to growing marijuana, I recently built a small grow room at my house and put together a hydro set up, with the help of a friend.

    I have 3 plants growing in a hydro set-up( not sure the type) where they sit in rocks and the water is pumped from the reservoir where after flowing through the rocks it is drained back into the reservoir. The plants do not stay submerged in water.

    I will attach a few picture for you guys to refer to and also tell me what you think about it :)

    One of my questions is: How much should I be watering them?
    -I found out the hardway that growing in hydro requires them to be watered more then I thought. I was watering them only 3 times a day for 2 minutes.. Unfortunately the plants started dying. One survived(the biggest of my 3) And I got 2 new clones and started letting the pump go 24/7. It seems to be working so far, they have grown a lot.


    Another question is I've noticed on my larger plant that the roots have traveled through the whole 3 gallon container it is in and are laying in the bottom of the bucket where the water flows. Is this okay? Should I replant them?


    3rd question is I've noticed some build up near the base stem of atleast one of my plants. Attached is a picture that shows a close up of it. I was wondering if anyone can tell me what it is and if I should be worried about it and what not.

    4th question Right now I know my plants are in the vegetative growth, in order to start the flowering stage is it as simple as cutting the hours of light the plants receive to a lesser amount? Right now they get 20/4, I've read to change to 12/12 and it's as simple as that.

    5th and final question I know i've heard of people putting orange peelings and all that strange stuff with the plants, but does it really work? what all effect would it have?



    Like I said, I'm a new grower and I'm going through a lot of trial and error. I would be happy to crop anything off these plants, but of course I would prefer to get the best I can. Any help is greatly appreciated.

    Check out the pictures I took and leave any feedback or questions you may have for me as well :)


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    This is the little grow room I built using simple supplies and equipment.
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    These are the roots showing out the bottom of the bucket
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    This is the strange unknown build-up found near the base of the stem
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    These are just 2 pictures of the plants.
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  2. nice grow

    u can water them 24/7 or every few hours for about 15 minutes each feeding make sure u move that water tube it will rot ur stem

    cant replant hydro unless u use net pots

    the build up might be rot feed the roots not the stem

    12/12 for flower

    orange peels not sure about but cold temps turn some purple
     
  3. So the roots showing through the bottom are not a big deal ?
     
  4. fine as long as they dont sit in standing water
     
  5. Bongboi basically hit the nail on the head. I would add that your gonna want to get nutrients specifically intended for flowering when you switch to 12/12 or your gonna get nutrient deficiencies due to the plants different needs during flowering, but use them on the mild side. I've found that most nutrient companies want to sell as much as possible so they direct you to use very strong concentrations. This often leads to nutrient burn which you do not want to deal with on your first grow.
    As for orange peels, they are very acidic which could easily throw off your pH in a hydro system (get a pH meter and test daily if you don't already). I'd say forget all the crazy tricks for now and really take some time to learn everything you can from your plants. They will tell you everything they need once you learn their language. If you are paicient and pay enough attention you should learn something new every day. Good luck bro.
     

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