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widairyfarms

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Hi all,
I am a first time grower(never inhaled though). I am looking forward to the wealth of knowledge this forum will provide me. I am VERY excited but I'm really trying to stay calm and not make ALL the rookie mistakes that everyone makes. I am a really fast learner and I still remember most of H.S. chem and bio so reading max yield or understanding n-p-k #'s are not too hard. Compatibility and certain trace minerals and are things to learn in the future. I feel the need to get the basics down first. I am using ancient techniques(I'm using soil). I have already mixed one batch with not enough vermiculite and perlite. Those little girls had to be re-transplanted. I just got my Verde today and started my foliar program and already have some homemade compost tea. I have a simple set-up. Basement (unfinished), low humidity, low light, 250w dual ballast sun systems 2. running MH 18-6 on a timer. 16" above the canopy. I have well water and the previous owners installed a RO filter system on the tap and I live in a giant sand pit. Too many close neighbors to grow outside and I live in a less than tolerant county. I look forward to learning from all willing to contribute.
Thanks Again
widairyfarms
 
Welcome to MP.....mistakes will happen, and they are just as important to learning as your successes will be.
I would not add vermiculite to my medium(soil). Perlite and Sweet Lime is all I use to amend my soil. RO water can be a PITA to grow with. I believe the peeps that use it also have to use Cal/Mag additives. I am guessing you are looking to go all organic? Teas and composts are great for Organic growing. They are not used much in non Organic grows though. Chemical Nutrients will kill a Micro Herd and one is needed for an Organic Grow.
 
Welcome to MP! I am an organic dirt farmer. Love the soil. Let us know what ya need there in your giant sandpit...doesn't sound attractive.... Glad you are with us.
 
I agree with everything Hamster has said. In addition, I have a couple of other things.

Do you have a dedicated space set up in the basement. If the plants and light are just set out in the room, the light is disbursing throughout the entire space and you are loosing valuable lumens. A 250 light is a small light to begin with, so you want to make absolutely the best use of it possible. You want a minimum of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and 5000 lumens per sq ft for flowering. You also want to use a HPS for flowering rather than a MH. Your light is good for about 7 sq ft when vegging and a little under 6 sq ft for flowering. So, maybe you can set up a little space with reflective sides that is about 2 x 3 where you can control the environment for your plants. The walls can be painted with FLAT white paint, which is quite reflective.

I would recommend running your vegging lights 24/7. Cannabis is in a class of plants that does not need a dark period and it will grow all the time the lights are on and other needs are met. Plants vegged with 18.6 light tend to stretch more and therefore have less budding spots. You want the spaces between the branches to be very short. Depending on the age of your plants, you may also be able to get the light closer. Did you get an air coolable hood? This makes cooling the light and your space a whole lot easier. Read up on ventilation. This is almost as critical as your lighting and is a lot more complicated than figuring out lumens and sq footage.

I think that before getting too caught up in the food, I would get a space set up and dialed in. Plants do not need or want any food for the first several weeks of life. Getting your space s34et up right should be your first concern.

What is Verde? What is a "foliar program"? I am not really a fan of spraying plants with stuff unless you have a deficiency or an insect problem.

It is a mistake INO and IME to just put things into your soil without really knowing what they do. For instance, vermiculite holds water--not something we want with cannabis. In fact, the perlite and the vermiculite are kind of opposite things--pertlite aids drainage. Vermiculite holds water. We have some very good organic soil recipes here. Trust me when I say that coming up with your own good soil recipes can be very very hard. The amount of knowledge you need is staggering. So, rather than try to reinvent the wheel, I would suggest using one of the tried and true soil recipes and tea recipes. You may want to buy some prepared organic nutes to supplement the teas and nutrients in the soil. As Hamster mentioned--chemical nutes and organic nutes do not go well together. So, if you are going organic, make sure EVERYTHING you use is organic, even the soil. I find organic growing can be quite tough. When you get a few grows under your belt, you can start experimenting. But there is a huge learning curve to this growing thing.

I am not a fan of RO systems because they waste so much water--it can send 4-5 gallons of water down the drain to get 1 gal of "pure" water. I would encourage you to have your water checked to see what is in it. It may be perfectly fine to use your well water.
 
I live in an area where all my well water is slow sand filtered and not too many other farms around(less chems in the water table). However when we bought this property we were made aware of our Highly acidic water(pH5) out of the tap! Hence I have the ro filter and a neutralization tank. No I don't have a closed in space yet. Short on cash Cuz I don't have a job at this second. I am looking at a grow room or setting up gorilla film. The light is no through vent lamp. I have ten live seedlings and plan on culling to three after sexing. I was "set up" by the guy at the store for seedlings. I know I can take three or two all the way with my merger set up. I just have to be patient. Thanks for the feedback gents.
 

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