Complete First timer here we go!! Please give advice!

[stides]

Well ive been encouraged to start a grow journal. Now that I have the 15 required posts for posting images now im gonna start it

Ive been wanting to grow weed ever since I moved out of my parents house in 2004 but ive never gotten around to it until now. I bought a hydro system off some guy in 2005 for $700, which im pretty sure was a ripoff. Although I got 1 1000 watt HPS ballast and bulb and 1 400 watt HPS ballast and bulb, im sure its not worth $700. Anyway after I paid him he disappered and never showed me how to use it.

So 4 years later, after watching some grow "how to" guide videos on youtube I got back interested in growing again. I tryed germinating some seeds from my personal stash but none of them sprouted. I then went down to a local cafe and bought some seeds there for $30 for 5. I thought this was expensive but the guy guaranteed they would sprout, so I payed the guy and took my little seeds home.

After doing the method of putting the seeds in a shotglass of water for a day then planting them in soil in dixie cups, I proceeded to break out my 1000W HPS light for a 1 foot by 2.5 foot closet. lol dont laugh I told you I was a rookie. Anyways to make a long story short I came back an hour later to find that my walls in the closet were on the brink of starting on fire and it had to be a good 110 degrees in the little closet. Even with me being a noob I knew this wasnt right

So I decided since I didnt have a suitable light for my grow area I researched what would be a correct grow light for my area. I ended up ordering the SUN SYSTEM 150 HPS grow light for my closet. The seedlings have sat on the window sill in my apartment for about 2 weeks now and to me seem to be growing quite nicely.

This is at 2 weeks
*Sorry mod edited* see left thumbnail



Finally today my SUN SYSTEM 150 grow lamp arrived today. I just finished transplanting them into larger containers and moved them to my grow closet.
*mod moved pic* see right thumbnail



Now comes my first string of questions. Please bare with me I told you this is my first grow.

1. Is my light too close or too far my plants?
2. Now that I have moved them into the larger containers do I need to water them more then when they were in the dixie cups?? Approx how many millilitres of water should I give them a day now?
3. I havent given them any nutrients yet. Any suggestions on what first nutes I should be giving them?

Please also keep in mind that im using Miracle gro soil (0.18-0.10-0.10). I found out from a lot of people that this isnt the best soil to use but it was the most expensive at the wal mart so thats what I bought. So if you could help me work with what I have that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much guys, this site seriously rocks!

 

[stonedrone]

First off I would suggest that you fill up those pots with soil cause you've got a little stretch going on. If that's not possible for any reason I'd say give the stems a light pinch.

As for watering you can wait until the soil is dry on top, and underwatering is better than overwatering.

You can probably move that light closer but I'd reccomend moving it a little at a time.

Lastly you probably won't need any nutes for a while since your soil is pre fertilized.

 

[nikimadritista]

Hello Stides man!
Nice to see you're starting a journal!
Hope it works out for you
I'm probably not the best person around here to advise you, but I have learned a few things I wouldn't mind sharing...
For the lights - try holding your arm just where the tops of your plants are... If the heat doesn't burn you - your babies will be fine too... Once you measure the safe distance hang a string or some kinda threat from your lights to the plants, than start moving the lights up as the plants grow...
About the watering - there isn't a perfect formula of how many ml to give your babies... You will have to guess.. the easiest way is buy a moisture meter from the grow shop and measure the moisture before watering... Another way is to lift your containers before and after watering - that should give you an idea of how heavy they are when dry, which should help you determine when your girls are dry and thirsty again... Try that, it's real easy
As for the nutes - take your time... Two weeks is early, especially if you got the fancy bag of soil
Give them another week or two and start giving them some grow nutes, I use these for example hXXp://www.biobizz.nl/products.php?nid=190&cat=p
but there are many others... Try starting with 1/3 of the recommended dose, and than slowly increase the dosage every time you feed them.. Nutes can be harmful if not used wisely... Read before you feed

Hope that helps bro!
Keep posting.. I'll keep watching...

Oh, and did you ask the guy in the Cafe what strain your ladies are??
Also try to get a bigger grow room where you can plug the 1000Watt... You won't be sorry

 

[ishnish]

shoulda try'd the 400 watt in the closet. thank whatever deity you worship that your place didnt burn down.. imo..
your 150w setup looks good, im sure the light could go a lil closer though..
anyhow, the best advice i can give you is.. READ READ READ!
i'm a year and a half into growing my own and still keep learning new things almost every day... :48:
Good luck.
:watchplant:

 

[stides]

First off I would suggest that you fill up those pots with soil cause you've got a little stretch going on. If that's not possible for any reason I'd say give the stems a light pinch.

As for watering you can wait until the soil is dry on top, and underwatering is better than overwatering.

You can probably move that light closer but I'd reccomend moving it a little at a time.

Lastly you probably won't need any nutes for a while since your soil is pre fertilized.

Hey thanks for the advice. Keep in mind I just literally moved transplanted them 30 mins ago. They were stretching because I had them in the window of my apartment and the sun didnt shine in the window that great after 1:00pm because of the layout of my building.

After me telling you this would you still recommend moving the light closer or waiting a bit?

Hello Stides man!

Nice to see you're starting a journal!

Hope it works out for you

I'm probably not the best person around here to advise you, but I have learned a few things I wouldn't mind sharing...

For the lights - try holding your arm just where the tops of your plants are... If the heat doesn't burn you - your babies will be fine too... Once you measure the safe distance hang a string or some kinda threat from your lights to the plants, than start moving the lights up as the plants grow...

About the watering - there isn't a perfect formula of how many ml to give your babies... You will have to guess.. the easiest way is buy a moisture meter from the grow shop and measure the moisture before watering... Another way is to lift your containers before and after watering - that should give you an idea of how heavy they are when dry, which should help you determine when your girls are dry and thirsty again... Try that, it's real easy

As for the nutes - take your time... Two weeks is early, especially if you got the fancy bag of soil

Give them another week or two and start giving them some grow nutes, I use these for example
but there are many others... Try starting with 1/3 of the recommended dose, and than slowly increase the dosage every time you feed them.. Nutes can be harmful if not used wisely... Read before you feed



Hope that helps bro!

Keep posting.. I'll keep watching...



Oh, and did you ask the guy in the Cafe what strain your ladies are??

Also try to get a bigger grow room where you can plug the 1000Watt... You won't be sorry

Hey thanks for the tips. I gonna try that arm trick! The guy did tell me what strain they were but I forgot. (I smoke a lot of weed too hahaha). Basically I told him it was my first time and he suggested this strain that was good for the first timer because they are very strong and can take abuse. Also I dont know if they will all be ladies cuz they werent feminized seeds, but heres to hoping that they are!

Also I do plan to put that 1000 watt to use sometime. But this being my first time I want to start off slow then work my way to more advanced growing!

shoulda try'd the 400 watt in the closet. thank whatever deity you worship that your place didnt burn down.. imo..

your 150w setup looks good, im sure the light could go a lil closer though..

anyhow, the best advice i can give you is.. READ READ READ!

i'm a year and a half into growing my own and still keep learning new things almost every day...

Good luck.

hahaha ya that would of been BIG TROUBLE if I burnt the apartment building down trying to grow maryJ. Trust me man im spending almost as much time readin as my plants are spendin under the light!

 

[swiftgt]

hay stides
sounds like you had a rough start man!
well not to worry,
im glad you have not been disheartend by your near arson attempt! lol
any way
to anwser your questions,
1,move the light to about 12" and check the temp with your hand,
2,you need to add some drainage to that soil,
add 20% perlite to the soil,
when you have that done you can water once every 2 days or so,
and you will be watering them untill water runs out the bottom of the pot,
make sure your pots have holes in the bottom!
3, i have used mir grow before, it works ok and is great for getting you out of a jam, but you are better off investing some wise money and get your self some advanced nutes sensi grow, 2 part, and some advaced nutes conisure bloom nutes,
these are not cheap, but i have gotten very good results from them every time and they are a very easy product to use,so less mess ups!
if i could make some suggestions,
you should look at getting,
a good extractor fan and a carbon filter,to insure no smell escape, i assume you live in rented appartments?
you should invest in a good ppm metre and a ph metre, you can get them here,hXXp://www.eseasongear.com/hydroponics.html
dump that smelly tin foil and get your self some mylar, tin foil is no good man,
but you can buy mylar cheap on ebay, just look out for those emergency survival blankets, there made of mylar and are cheap! keep it to your self though!
also are you aware that plants will grow better in veg under the light from a matal halide or cfl, and better under hps for flowering,
you could pick up some good price envirolite's or eco lites look for the 6400k version there for vegging plants,
oh and have you looking into growing an auto strain,
i think it would be perfect for your closit,
and check out my grow,j and others on here, you will be amazed how much you can learn from watching other grows!

 

[stides]

hay stides
sounds like you had a rough start man!
well not to worry,
im glad you have not been disheartend by your near arson attempt! lol
any way
to anwser your questions,
1,move the light to about 12" and check the temp with your hand,
2,you need to add some drainage to that soil,
add 20% perlite to the soil,
when you have that done you can water once every 2 days or so,
and you will be watering them untill water runs out the bottom of the pot,
make sure your pots have holes in the bottom!
3, i have used mir grow before, it works ok and is great for getting you out of a jam, but you are better off investing some wise money and get your self some advanced nutes sensi grow, 2 part, and some advaced nutes conisure bloom nutes,
these are not cheap, but i have gotten very good results from them every time and they are a very easy product to use,so less mess ups!
if i could make some suggestions,
you should look at getting,
a good extractor fan and a carbon filter,to insure no smell escape, i assume you live in rented appartments?
you should invest in a good ppm metre and a ph metre, you can get them here,hXXp://www.eseasongear.com/hydroponics.html
dump that smelly tin foil and get your self some mylar, tin foil is no good man,
but you can buy mylar cheap on ebay, just look out for those emergency survival blankets, there made of mylar and are cheap! keep it to your self though!
also are you aware that plants will grow better in veg under the light from a matal halide or cfl, and better under hps for flowering,
you could pick up some good price envirolite's or eco lites look for the 6400k version there for vegging plants,
oh and have you looking into growing an auto strain,
i think it would be perfect for your closit,
and check out my grow,j and others on here, you will be amazed how much you can learn from watching other grows!

Thanks for the tips man. Now I got a specific question for you (or anyone) about ventilation. How can I ventilate this closet properly??? I opened the door yesterday after i was out for the day and the temperature inside the closet was 110 DEGREES!!! I rigged my own makeshift vent system with a fan and some cardboard to push hot air out the crack of the door in the top but obviously this isnt working.

Any ideas how to ventilate a closet?? Im I gona have to make holes in the door? It sucks cuz i have to leave the door open on the closet now and I cant sleep in my room cuz the light is just too bright.

 

[nikimadritista]

I'd suggest U turn the light off while you sleep... From 12 to 6.... 6hours sleep is not bad for your ladies.. And they'll keep vegging... During these six hours you can have the door closed... And than open it when you wake up...
:hubba:
That if you don't wanna drill the closet...
If you can drill than place a fan sucking air out as high as possible...
Also get a fan for your light... to cool it down...
Take the ballast out of the closet if you haven't yet... it can get pretty hot...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I would have waited a little bit longer to have transplanted them. They did not need that large a container yet. When your plants stretch like that, you should bury them up to the leaves when you transplant them. Get a fan on them to try and strengthen the stems.

Watch the MG soil. The nutes are released when you water. Overwatering can kill your seedlings.

You are going to have to cut holes someplace to ventilate. You need to bring cool air in and exhaust hot air out. Do you have a source for cool air? Do you have an air cooled hood?

If you cannot afford mylar, FLAT white paint is a good reflector. While not as good as mylar, it is far superior to foil--foil is for cooking and making hats.

 

[swiftgt]

hey man,
to ventalate your closet you are going to have to either keep opening and closing the door, or,
you could buy an extractor fan and carbon filter, set it up in your closit, and vent the hot air up through the ceiling of your closit, just cut a 4" hole in the ceiling and put the duct into the hole,
with a carbon filter on you wont have to worry about the smell, and when your finished you can cover up the hole with somthing,

 

[stides]

New Pic of my plants.. well 1 of them, the others look similar. Hows she look? Good health? Its about 3 weeks old

btw the little leaves that first sprouted when they were babies on the bottom are yellowing and dying.. my friend says this is normal but he also told me you germinate seeds by placing them in a wet paper towel under a light

 

[swiftgt]

looks fine, maybe alittle streched move the light alittle closer if you can,
and yea its normal for those leaves to die after a few weeks,
yea you can germ like that,put them in a sealed clear plastic bag,
it stops all the moisture escaping,

 

[stides]

looks fine, maybe alittle streched move the light alittle closer if you can,
and yea its normal for those leaves to die after a few weeks,
yea you can germ like that,put them in a sealed clear plastic bag,
it stops all the moisture escaping,

Oh good im glad that is normal for those leaves to die. I also just moved the light down 4 chain rungs closer to the plants. Thanks for the tips

 

[swiftgt]

no probs man,
you should give the stem a little pinching as well,
not too hard just enough to damage it alittle,
the plant will heal in about a day and will become stronger,
works great to reduce strech as well.

 

[stides]

no probs man,
you should give the stem a little pinching as well,
not too hard just enough to damage it alittle,
the plant will heal in about a day and will become stronger,
works great to reduce strech as well.

yea my roommate keeps telling me to pinch it but i really dont trust him hahaha. I forgot to mention my roommate's method of germinating seeds did not involve a sealed bag. It was just seeds in paper towel, on a dinner plate, under a regular house light bulb at about 6 inches distance. I came back the next morning to find a rock hard dryed out paper towel with some crumbly dried out seeds inside. So this is why I ask you instead of him if you could tell me exactly what its meant by "pinching it"??? where exactly do you pinch it? Know any tutorials for this??

 

[Caretaker]

To pinch its as easy as finding a spot on the stem or branch and just squeeze it till you hear a pop. This will stop the plant from growing up and broaden out more. I tried this for the first time recently and the plant ended up stretching between the 2 nodes I pinched real bad. But I run 12/12 light to keep control so I dont have to pinch.

 

[swiftgt]

pinching like most things has its uses,
but is not a fix for every thing,and different strains can react differently.
i wouldnt really pinch a flowering plant,
i would only recommend it in the veg stage,
as for doing it,
grasp the stems between your finger and thumb and slowly squeeze,
not too hard though you do not want to split them stem,
you want to bruse it,if you snap it, it will take longer to recover
do this along the stem right to the top,
you can even pinch the side branches abit if you want them toget fatter to support bigger buds,
it also seems to help make cuttings stronger,
it takes practace but you will get the hang of it,
if you do split the stem dont worry,
just put alittle tape around the stem, take it off after a week, it should be fixed,
you must remove the tape or it will become a stem restriction!

 

[stides]

Alright guys things were going smoothly for about 2 weeks there but now I got another question/potential problem.

Anyways the girls (hopefully) are about 40 days old now from seed. Check out the thumbnails and tell me how they are looking. I jimmyed the pots around in a different layout so all of the plants would be more centered under the lights.

Now my problem. The lower leaves on all the plants seem to be yellowing and dying. Im no expert but im assuming this is because of lack of water? I was only watering the plants about 75 ml of water a day each. I guess this isnt enough because a lot of things ive been reading suggest 200ml of water a day for plants in my grow stage.

So anyways ive up'd the water to 200mls a day. What should I do with the dying/yellowing leaves? Should I clip them off or will they come back to life with the increased watering?

edit: added picture of yellowing leaf. Notice the small first leaf underneath it is completely yellow and dead.

Other then that please comment on how you think my plants look health wise.

Thx in advance everyone for your priceless advice!

 

[str8t0thetop]

i always read you shouldnt water everyday its working well for you doing that?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Get rid of the foil
Get your light closer.
Don't cut off fan leaves, they will fall off when they are no longer useful to the plant.
Do your pots have adequate drainage?
You should give your plants a big drink of water and then let them dry out before you water again. Frequent shallow watering does not encourage good root growth.