Novice first attempt - some basic question's

[Behindtheneedle]

Hi Guys,

I'm a complete novice wanting to start my first small grow, I've been reading a lot but most guides seem to contradict each other in places. I'd appreciate some help with some of the basic's!

Setup will be a small and hopefully stealthy 2 plant grow (Shiva Skunk) in 60x60x140cm tent, going to try a Prakasa 90w LED (I will have a 250w HPS available if the LED proves underpowered).

1. I'll be using John Inne's No.2 soil. Some say this should provide enough nutrients for the entire grow (thinking 6week veg / 7-8week flower) but some say start to add fertiliser's after 4-6weeks? - will be doing root riot cube > 5l pot > 10l pot I think

2. I understand that watering should be done bit by bit until some run off appears to avoid over watering, is this principle true for seedlings as well or do they require much less water? (i.e. should there be no run off for the seedlings)

3. Will the LED be safe to put the plants under once they have germinated - initially at a distance and gradually bringing closer, or should they be placed on a windowsill for a few days first? (do not have CFL's). The LED shouldn't burn them as heat is minimal, but I'm worried about the light output being too much for the young plants to handle?

4. If it is safe to place under LED right away, should the cycle be 18/6 right from the start or should the seedlings have 24hr light for a while, then down to 18/6 once they are a little sturdier?

5. I understand that tap water should be left to stand for 24hrs before watering due to chlorine, etc. Is there anything extra that should be done in especially hard water areas, boil first then stand for 24hrs for example?

Any help is much appreciated!

 

[sLai*kRoLa]

Hi can say for sure that leds are safe for seedlings, and that you dont have to worry about time regime, choose which ever you feel is better. For a tent that big i should use leds for veg and hps for flowering. i cant coment on watering right now, sorry

Keep it up!

EDIT

First time when you start 12/12 with hps and leds are jobless, rigup some small mom/clone/veg LEDbox. You'll become perpetualy unstopable.

 

[stillsmokin843]

cant comment on led as far aa watering goes it fine to water any plant till you have run off the trick is dont water it again to soon. you have to give the soil time to dry out. as it dries it creates oxygen for the roots. i use the weight method lift each pot you will notice that the pot gets lighter and lighter until it feels abnormally light. this is when you water make sure its before the plant starts to wilt as that would be just a lil to long.

 

[Behindtheneedle]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I want to try the LED the whole way through to see the results, the HPS is only there in case the LED just doesn't work. I do like the idea of becoming perpetually unstoppable though haha

I've read about the lift method, will do. A little worried about the balancing act though, no doubt will over water as I've read most novice's do!

Anyone have any suggestions on nutes and the soil? I don't want to overdo the fertiliser!

 

[stillsmokin843]

i would suggest buying some meters ppm and ph thats what i have always gone by bro. takes all the guessing work out of it. gh make user friendly product. not that nutes are my strong suit.

 

[joejusttyped]

You'd get better results using both lights instead of just the led, imo. The prakasa sounds like a lower end led on the market no offense. Or do what others have said and use the led for a bonsai mom and veg box! Goodluck

 

[Habel]

You will need some fertilser at some point, depends how long your veging for, but id say get some Canna vega, and canna flora, ( they do organic to!) and when the leaves start to yellow give them a feed, half strengh at 1st, then full stregth next, and the yellowing should go. Normally you need to feed once per week, then stop feeding 2-3 weeks before harvest and just use plain water to flush out the ferts, leaving tasty buds!

 

[stihgnobevoli]

i would get a ph meter cheap one, or just do the drops. i wouldnt worry about ppm unless you are doing hydro, and even then you don't really need to know ppms if you are following the directions on the bottle and using the wise rule of starting at half or quarter strength nutes and going up from there.

you're a long way from being dialed in to the point where ppm meters and knowing the exact ph down to the hundreths of a level are going to be useful to you.

KISS

you need to know the ph of the water going in and coming out as runoff, and you need to feed your plants weak untill they show you they want more than what you are giving them. for nutes i would go with something simple like general hydroponics grow+bloom (lucas formula, basically 2x the amount of bloom to micro you use per gallon of water) or maxibloom which is just lucas formula in crystal form 7 grams per gallon. http://lucasformula.com/
use it the same from beginning of grow till 2-3 weeks before harvest then plain water till chop. soil i would use whatever you like, probably just use seedling starter mix or if you want to mix your own im sure you can find plenty recipes around. a basic one to use would be to get 2 parts topsoil, 1 part compost, 1part perlite, 1/2 part sand. this should last through veg and into early flower where you will need to start feeding more nutes. such as the lucas formula.

the rest of that will come later.

quickest way to ruin your first grow is trying to start on level 23 instead of with the tutorial.

 

[Stress_test]

Hi Guys,

I'm a complete novice wanting to start my first small grow, I've been reading a lot but most guides seem to contradict each other in places. I'd appreciate some help with some of the basic's!

Setup will be a small and hopefully stealthy 2 plant grow (Shiva Skunk) in 60x60x140cm tent, going to try a Prakasa 90w LED (I will have a 250w HPS available if the LED proves underpowered).

1. I'll be using John Inne's No.2 soil. Some say this should provide enough nutrients for the entire grow (thinking 6week veg / 7-8week flower) but some say start to add fertiliser's after 4-6weeks? - will be doing root riot cube > 5l pot > 10l pot I think

2. I understand that watering should be done bit by bit until some run off appears to avoid over watering, is this principle true for seedlings as well or do they require much less water? (i.e. should there be no run off for the seedlings)

3. Will the LED be safe to put the plants under once they have germinated - initially at a distance and gradually bringing closer, or should they be placed on a windowsill for a few days first? (do not have CFL's). The LED shouldn't burn them as heat is minimal, but I'm worried about the light output being too much for the young plants to handle?

4. If it is safe to place under LED right away, should the cycle be 18/6 right from the start or should the seedlings have 24hr light for a while, then down to 18/6 once they are a little sturdier?

5. I understand that tap water should be left to stand for 24hrs before watering due to chlorine, etc. Is there anything extra that should be done in especially hard water areas, boil first then stand for 24hrs for example?

Any help is much appreciated!

I get asked this almost every day by patients.

Usually I suggest bottled spring water for seedlings. It isn't distilled, but is filtered and doesn't have any chlorine in it but does still contain some trace minerals.

The best method I have found that is fast, easy, and accurate, is to use a measuring cup and water in 2 stages, by weight. First weigh a pot filled with dried soil. I usually suggest that they fill an extra pot, water it and allow it to dry. This will give you a comparison to judge the weight by.

Next, water in 2 stages: First is just a fast "wetting" of the soil: Using fresh, pH'ed water; pour 1/4 of the pots volume in and move on to the next, most of the initial water will flow through and out the bottom. But it will wet the soil and help wash any accumulated salts and soak the soil in the bottom of the pot enough that it will hold water.

Once all the plants are watered, wait 5 minutes and start again at the first pot: Using your nutrient solution; pour in 1/4 the pots volume and you are done.

From experience I know that a 6" pot will weigh just under 2.5 lbs. I usually suggest filling them to a dry weight of 2.25 lbs and water when the weight is below 2.5#.
A pint is a pound... So 1 pint of water weighs 1 pound. And .25 pints/pounds is 4 ounces. If you water @ 2.5# then the pot still contains approx 4oz of water, watering above 2.25 and below 2.5# is ideal because the soil will still be slightly moist but not dry enough to harm the roots.

This technique allows the soil to dry quickly and while it does require more frequent feeding/watering, the faster cycle promotes healthier roots and plants, and allows you to supply the plant with more water and nutrients than the conventional alternate watering/feeding because you can feed every watering cycle, it also eliminates any necessity to flush until the plants are ready to finish. It also nearly eliminates the possibility of over-watering and it reduces nutrient waste from over feeding and flushing to 0%...

@--> I've never used that soil before so I can't advise about it. But I generally recommend planning on transplanting into larger pot a couple days just before flipping 12/12.
The reason I suggest this is because so many people are using pre-fortified soils. Most if not all of the pre-added nutrients should be used up about the time they begin flowering which is also about the time you will be changing the nutrients.

Then if you have planned on transplanting already you can re-pot into unfortified, neutral soil for the finish run and not have the premixed nutrients causing issues and fluctuations.

 

[Phaeton]

The last two posts are the bomb.

I keep a digital scale in the budroom, and the pots have the target weight written on the side with a sharpie. I have big pots and little pots, plastic and ceramic. I cannot keep them all straight and labels help me.

That is all.

 

[ThePizzaMan]

IF I could go back in time..I would skip the soil...and go straight for the Coco...so much better. Get yourself some Flora Nova Grow and Bloom.....and just enjoy the process. Make sure you have your odor control in place before you start growing...

Good luck!

 

[grassott]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I want to try the LED the whole way through to see the results, the HPS is only there in case the LED just doesn't work. I do like the idea of becoming perpetually unstoppable though haha

I've read about the lift method, will do. A little worried about the balancing act though, no doubt will over water as I've read most novice's do!

Anyone have any suggestions on nutes and the soil? I don't want to overdo the fertiliser!

Forget soil. Use 3:1 perlite/vermiculite mix in hempy buckets. They call it "hydroponics for dummies", that's why I grow this way lol.

Research hempy buckets. Here's a good start...
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=98419

Use LED for veg and hps in flower. 90w LED-esque bud is fluffy popcorn, even at the tops. However, they rock in veg. I seen it on another forum somewhere. Hope this helps. Peace.

 

[HempAlchemist]

make sure you have your room setup before you start growing. hopefully you havent started yours. this is the #1 error new growers make. build your system, test it for a few days, once your happy with your tests then put plants in. this will prevent most growing issues like heat, RH, odor, etc. plus trying to build a system around growing plants sucks bound to break a branch or two in the process.
for an area the size of yours (which is about 2'x2'x4.5' for the ppl that dont know metric) i would look into ScrOG to get the most out of your lights. this will allow for the most effective use of growing area

 

[cobcoop]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

I want to try the LED the whole way through to see the results, the HPS is only there in case the LED just doesn't work. I do like the idea of becoming perpetually unstoppable though haha

IF the LED doesn't "work", you'd more than likely have to scrap the grow and start over. IE it wouldn't be prudent to let the plants get to that point and expect them to 'turn around'. Rock that HPS all the way through flower, you'll get much better results IMO.

Enjoy your new addiction.

 

[Behindtheneedle]

wow, thanks for all the excellent advice guys. Everyone has their own methods so I'm cherrypicking bits and pieces, hopefully all goes well!

I've been testing out the equipment and rearranging my grow space etc for the past week and I've finally just started germing, trying my best not to sit and stare at them willing them to grow!