Hey all, just another "beginner" trying to get his shit figured out I have a few bag seeds that I've been meaning to plant but have never known what exactly I needed, or just assumed it was too expensive. So anyways, I recently invested in some basic supplies and just stuck one of the seeds in the soil. Hopefully those more experience can help point me in the right direction ::Materials used:: -Greens Mix 100% organic blend (mixture of Shpagnum Peat, Reed Sedge Peat, -compost, and composted manure) -Perlite -Lime -pH meter (cheap-o 2 prong one) -[2] dome reflectors with the clamps -[3] 13watt 2700k cfl's -[1] 26watt 4500K clf -12v computer fan, not sure on how much air it's moving(and I have several others if needed) -Mylar ::Game Plan:: I used about a 1tbsp of lime per gallon of soil, mixed in with about 20% perlite to promote good draining. I bought Miracle-Gro Perlite which I think has some extra shit in it, so I hope that doesn't come in to play later. I am trying to keep it SMALL! my grow space is a cabinet on my dresser and it's about 4ft tall and 1.5 x 1.5 ft. It's in a solo cup size pot at the moment, and will be transplanted into an 8in pot (roughly 5/8 of a gallon) once it's ready. I'm fairly confident that the soil mixture is solid, and will not need nutrients until a little later. also worth mentioning, tap water pH is right about 7, and before adding lime, soil pH was about 7.3 so hopefully the lime brought it down a bit, and will try watering with a water/lime mixture next if still too high. I know that I need another stronger light to add, and I will do so ASAP, but at the moment, I just have the 26w/4500k and 13w/2700k light in the domes about 4-5 inches from the top of the pot. I'd like to go 24/7 with the lights, but I think I might have to cut it down to 18/6. Any effects to changing the light from 24/7 t o18/6 once it's popped its head out of the soil? I rigged up a somewhat rough stand for my fan and lights and have them pointed towards the pot. and perhaps later I can make changes as I see needed. Thanks everyone who takes a look at this thread. It really does help! Below is a picture of how it is looking currently. Put it in the soil last night around 8 or 9 http://i.imgur.com/7HEa3.jpg
Adding lime to your water will increase PH, not decrease it. Go to lowes and look for Robeck's drain cleaner stuff. It's 100% lye. Just carefully mix it into a 2 liter full of water. This will make a TON of PH down, and it's useful for drains. When you mix it, mix a very small amount of lye with a large amount of water and dissolve it. The reaction is exothermic, and it will give off heat. Be cautious and you'll be fine. It's 14 bucks and it'll make a few hundred gallons of PH down if I remember correctly. 18/6 or 24/0 is fine, both work well. You can switch between the two whenever you'd like. I just wouldn't be doing it every day. You should really consider using HID lighting. If you're strapped for cash, get on craigslist and look for old high bay HPS systems. Usually you can find a ballast with a bulb for under 50 bucks. These old magnetic ballasts work for a long time also.
Wow, ok, that's some good knowledge. And I'll invest in the lye pronto. Probably stop and buy 6500K lights while I'm out... Any recommendation on the increment by which to change the pH of the water being given to the plants? I've heard that the water should be around 6.5-6.8 ideally. Also, any ballpark estimate on how much lye to mix in the 2L of water? I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks
Suggestions: When you transplant into a bigger pot, try and fill the soil ALL the way to the top and pack it down (when you water the soil level recedes and compacts) Try to get some more lights. General Rule of Thumb is 100 ACTUAL watts per plant
The PH chart below is all you'll really need to know. It lays it out for you! Don't worry about being perfect, 6.5-6.8 will work fine. If you see any weird things happening, check your PH. No idea how much to add. You can really go at your own pace and make it as strong as you'd like. For what it's worth, I make my PH up very potent, because I run a 25 gallon system, and I don't want to be putting half the bottle in to raise my PH. If you're adjusting small amounts, like 5 or less gallons at a time, I'd suggest not making it terribly potent. It's something you'll kind of have to play with. I saw it mentioned on another forum that you could technically add an equal amount of lye to water by weight and it will fully dissolve. Of course, that's going to move your PH a lot. To be honest, I can't quite remember how much I put it mine... which is going to be a bitch when I make more. When I made mine, I started by the 1/2 tablespoon I think. If you wanted to get crafty, you could simply weigh the lye and slowly add it to your nutrient mix. Once you find out how much lye went into your mix to correct the ph you could assign how much liquid you want that to take. Say if you want a full 10 ml oral syringe to be about how much you use per say 5 gallons. With that, you'd have 200 doses in a 2 liter, so just multiply the weight of lye added to your soup and use that in your 2 liter. That was pretty clever... thought of it all on my own... lol
Sweet. that's an awesome chart. I'll have to play around with that for a bit. To my surprise, this morning, I tested the pH of just a pot of the soil mixture, and it had gone down to the low 6's even after I added the lime yesterday. Anyways, just mixed in another 1/2tbsp of lime and pH went up to a healthy 6.5. Also, does anyone have a tip to find the most inexpensive thermometer/moisture meter? didn't think I saw one at the local lowes or home depot... should look a little harder next time things to take away from today: -more lights -more soil -adjusting pH thanks again
Does anyone have any recommendation on keeping humidity up? meter reads about 20%, but I think it should be a little higher... Any tips? In recent news, I now have (3) 26w 6500K bulbs, and added an exhaust fan. The plant just sprouted too, so I'm very happy about that!
Day 4: Temps have been great, but our dry air here is killing the humidity. Using about 78w total for lights- (2) 6500K, and (1) 4500K there seems to be a small brown spot on the tip of one of the leaves... hasn't raised too much concern though