I started out my first grow about a week ago using some bagseed in my window sill. The inspiration behind it was a post I read on a different forum where someone started a 75 dollar grow project using CFLs. I had some old seeds saved and figure why not try it. My main thing is I am extremely broke at the moment. So far the project has costed me about 28 dollars and I can't afford to put much more money into it untill I start getting more hours at my job in about 3 weeks. Here's what I've got right now, tell me if anything's out of line. My camera is broken so no pics yet sorry. I have 2 plants sprouted and sitting under 4 26 watt daylight CFLs. I am just using a power strip and adapters that convert the lightbulbs to 2 prong plugs. 4 of them fit perfectly on one power strip and I hung them about 2 inches from my plants. The whole set up is in a cardboard box for the time being but I will likely end up making a box out of 2 rubbermaid containers once they get about a foot tall. I cut a hole in the side of the box and attached a fan which seems to be working well for a little breeze and to keep the CFLs cool (not that they get very hot anyway). No reflectors for the moment but I'm trying to think of something. The dirt is miracle grow brand, and it says on the bag it has slow release nutrients to feed a plant for up to 3 months. It was left here by a roommate who moved out last year and I only used it because I am trying to cut costs. I will need to get more dirt anyway once I transplant so that can be fixed. The 2 plants are maybe 3 inches tall now and the stems turned sort of reddish colored which I hope is normal. I also planted 3 extra seeds today that germinated later than the first 2, and just stuck them in the box just in case of bad luck with males. So, does anyone have advice on this budget grow? I've read 100 watts per plant and I only plan on having one plant. I'll likely get 4 more CFLs eventually just to be sure. I heard of someone using space blankets instead of mylar to save money, any advice on that? I'll probably make a DIY carbon filter once I make the final grow box. Any other tips to save money? I am kind of lost on how much/how often to water them, for some reason it seems like guides never talk much about that. Should I try LST on my first grow? Should I be very concerned about PH levels? Sorry if this got kind of long. I think I've done my research pretty well but I still feel like a huge noob to this.
I'm a new grower also, but from everything I've read here Miracle Grow w/ time release ferts is bad JuJu. You're going to want to get them out of that. Space blankets are made of mylar. That's what I'm using. $2.50 each at Wally World. I'm also trying to do this on a slim budget, I started much the way you are. I've got around $75 bucks in to mine a little at a time, there's a link to it in my sig.
Well that's some bad news about the soil. To be honest I didn't even look at the bag before I planted them and then realized after they sprouted what the soil was. Stupid mistake on my part and hopefully it won't ruin the entire grow. It seems like a bad idea to transplant anything until the roots take hold so I'm just going to see what happens. At least I learned something, pay attention to details. What section of walmart do you find the space blankets? I checked the camping section and couldn't find them anywhere. I probably just need to look harder.
I have a great low cost all in one grow setup illustrated and everything at this link: http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/353472-awesome-all-one-grow-setup.html It is made with bookcases,tape, and tag board, and you can clone/veg/grow/cure/flower in it all for under $100 with materials from your local big box store! To get off of the miracle grow path, you could GENTLY knock of the dirt on the roots when soil is dry, and your ready to transplant. Then place them in better soil. The first watering after transplant, make sure the new dirt is moistened. If it is dry the roots won't work thru it as well in search of moisture. Something with worm castings and or bat guano is great, and drains well. Generally, once a plant establishes good roots, say mid to late veg- they need watered once 2-3 days (this is based off of a 10" pot with fan blowing, and temp above 60 at all times) Check the soil by sticking your finger in it 1-2" deep... if it feels moist it probly doesn't need water right then. If it's dry water it. When it comes to the emergency blankets- they'll work. Flat white is very reflectie- those vinyl tag boards are great. A 4x8 sheet of insulation would be great to cut up and place around one plant.
Ya, I wouldn't transplant them until the roots fill out. Maybe do a forum search for "miracle grow time release" and a ton of stuff will pop up with ways other people handled it. What size pots are they in now? The mylar space blankets are in the camping section with all the small portable camping stuff like water purification tablets, magnesium fire starters, compasses, egg holders etc. There small, but not too hard to find. The Wally World near me only stock a couple of them, so yours might haver been out.
Co-sign the guy above me, i wouldnt suggest Miracle-Grow just bc when the nutes ran out (1month when the package says 3months) i noticed IMMIDIETLLY my plant just came to a hult in growth, nothin BAD happened but it made me resort to gettin fert from my local Home Depot. Im a first time grower myself and i abidly check my plant to make sure its ok..But i will def be using organics and ferts next time just bc once my "dirt" became Dirt and i added nutes it grew much quicker. ( i used 5-3-3 just because im new and didnt wanna run the risk of burning it. You can use a higher amount if your feeling froggy, just my opinion, im just paranoid my work will be futile so i "under" everything (underwater undernute etc.) to be safe. Good Luck!!
Micrable Grow is a brand They make normal nutrients that can be used with your plants (the kind you mix with water) However, they also make a lot of newbie-deadly products like soil with time-release ferts and "miracle" formulas of growth which newbies dont know what they are for. I use Miracle Grow standard fertilizer for vegetation 20-10-15 . There is no difference than other nutrient brands.
Thanks for the advice guys. I think the miricale grow soil will work fine for now, the plants are looking good and I don't have to mess with it besides watering. It will give me some time to decide what I'm going to transplant them into and what to feed it. Last night some growth started popping out from the in between the seed leaves so I'm feeling optimistic. I got a crummy webcam pic I'll attach to this post. You can't really see much but meh.
Nice dude ic u got ur 6500's and those look like coffee cans which u can grow for a while, youll b just fine, like u said now u worry about watering and temps dude good luck!
Just a little update. The girls are loving that miracle grow shit. They're getting a bit of nute burn but they'll be fine. I was worried about how much to water them but I'm using the finger poke method and it's all good. Woke up today after not checking them for a while and this is what I see Who needs anything else? I think I found myself a hobby.