I just started my first grow. I purchased a total of fourteen seeds: Blue Cheese, Pineapple Chunk, Humboldt, Jack and, Purple Bud. I started them in Organic Jiffy Potting Soil. I was wondering when I should start feeding them. I do not want to burn them so far so good. 100% germ all are little healthy plants. Also should I worry about heat issues using 2 100w replacement CFLs placed about 6-8 inches away?
Your plants will run out of the nutrient stores they were born with at about the time the single-bladed leaves reach full size and the 3-bladed leaves start to appear between them. This is the point where seedlings should be moved from the inert seed-starter soil or peat that they were first planted in, into larger containers of nutritious soil with Worm Castings and other amendments. A good vegging soil mix can provide them with sufficient nutrients until they're moved into their flowering soil, depending on what size you veg them to, without the need for manual fertilizations. Personally, I never use manual feedings during veg. Light intensity is the reason for a required distance between the plants & bulbs. The heat from any good grow light can be managed using the right techniques & equipment.
One 20qt bag of your favorite organic soil. 6qts Worm Castings. 2-3c (depending on nutrient levels) high-P organic fertilizer like most Guanos and/or Bone Meal. 2c Kelp Meal. A cup of high-N fertilizer can be added if the high-P stuff you used has very little. Add about 2qts extra Perlite to improve drainage- this may be adjusted depending on the makeup of the base soil. Mix thoroughly & wet until a handful drips just a few drops when moderately squeezed. Allow to sit for at least a few hours (overnight works well) and then test the pH. Add a little lime if too acidic. Scale the recipe up or down as necessary.