1st time indoor soil CFL grow

Hello everyone. After several attempts to find the right forum I think I'm in the right place.
Have a grow just starting. I'm germinating right now.
Before I begin a few details.
I live in a tropical location far far away from the USA. I can't mail order nutes or grow supplies. I can't grow outside. I have neighbours.

It is hot outside and hot inside. 26-34 degree C.
The RH inside varies between 55-70%.

I'm growing in a spare room that has a small window which is upstairs and most importantly NOT overlooked or passed by.
I can't cut holes in the walls or make any structural changes whatsover to the room.
I have made a grow cubbyhole using an upturned piece of furniture which should suit my needs nicely.

I've included a link to my album where the pictures should explain all.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=34048

The room does not have A/C (as of now) and is too hot with the CFL's going and the fans on.

My questions are numerous...

Is there anything I can do to line the inside of the grow box to make it safer or more reflective. Right now I'm concerned about it being a fire risk.
Next the soil is some I got from a locally owned garden center. There are no big chain stores out here for that kind of thing.
It is just potting soil for normal plants. Organic. It is black in color with large squishy bits in it and hairs.
Is it any good?
What should I be mixing it with to make it better for my plants?
There is some stuff called 'Seed up' I am using but beyond the title it is all written in 'Tropical dialogue.'

That's all for now. Wish me luck

Broken ground!

Broken ground!

YES!! We have lift off. The Tangerine Dream germinated nicely so I planted and today I had a nice little green shoot. Since it was just a party cup pot I put it outside today during the day and when I came back it was above ground.
The NL auto still has not broken the surface after 3 days and the Afghan KR auto did not respond to papertowel therapy so I planted that in a slightly bigger soil pot of pre watered 'seed starter' soil.
Now they are all under CFL lights. I have just under 20k lumens on the three pots right now in my home made cab. There are 2 fans. One small at ground level inside blowing one way and the other large one blowing at the opening from the outside in.
Ventilation is still a problem. Have the window open but partially blocked so the light is not too bad. The cab shields a good portion of the light anyway.
Since the climate is so good I intend to put them all outside again tomorrow unless the TD has grown too much. Don't want anyone seeing my baby so may not risk it.
Not really happy with the light set up yet. Especially the big 65w CFL's which I think are wasted at this stage. Just can't seem to get the right fitting to get them nice and close. The best clip light I have has a 50w limit so won't take them! Shame because it is a very strong clip. I'll have to keep on looking I suppose.
Will now go and update my album with todays pics. Fairly happy with the set up although I know I need to get some A/C and possibly an air purifier down the road to control the smell. Have a model in mind and may try and get a pic tomorrow or the next day to show.
Temp is ambient 30 degrees C in the room and 32 degrees at pot level. Too high I know and will have to get some water cooled A/C at the very least. RH at 65% in room.

My questions are right now what should I do about my mis firing autos? They keep drying out so I sprayed a bit of water on the surface of the NL today. Hope that works. How long should I perservere with them?

Should I be putting the plants out in the sunshine during the day? The climate here is nice and warm and sunny. They get a nice breeze out there but I know I can't do that much once they sprout and I don't want to stress them by varying their light schedule.

So much ahead of me. What should be my main concerns at this stage?

Some new pictures in my album....

https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=34048

My NL Auto has sprouted at last! I was really worried. It was the first one I tried to germ using all the conventional means and in the end just planting it in a pre watered party cup and putting it outside to get the lovely sun here did the trick. It was in the cup for 3 days before it finally showed today. I wish I could keep all my plants outdoor in this climate. They'd grow up big and strong in no time. However as soon as they sprout they must come in and remain inside for the duration.

Still worried about heat but got an A/C unit now and should have it all ready to go by tomorrow. Good news because I think I'm above the temp threshold of being able to grow effectively without it.

Humidity remains at 65%. I have used a portable dehumidifier in the small grow space. Seems to have helped by 3-4%. May try another later on in the week if humidity remains a problem after the A/C unit is on.

If my new pics do not appear here I'll post them in my Album. The link appears below...

cfl can't penetrate very far. better to keep lights right above the plants and grow many short plants instead of trying to grow a few taller plants. Good luck!

Anti said:

cfl can't penetrate very far. better to keep lights right above the plants and grow many short plants instead of trying to grow a few taller plants. Good luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Anti. Have moved the CFL's astonishingly close to the plants. You can see a pic of my light set up in my album. Don't see how they can survive with all that light in their faces but we will see....


Am only growing 3 plants first time. Have limited space so they should not get too big. The TD is meant to grow to 1 metre which is about all the vertical space I have so that would be perfect.

The way they are looking today they may not get anywhere at all though. The leaves on my TD plant are yellowing a little at the edges. The soil looked a bit dry too so I watered them. I have been so concious of the danger of overwatering I may have waited too long to water them. Others have commented it could be the soil or the ph or both! Hopefully tomorrow I will see an improvement or a deterioration. Looks like I'm going ph checker shopping tomorrow!

One thing is true. They ARE growing allbeit very slowly. One of the best things about doing a daily journal is getting to see the difference in the pictures day by day.

The 3rd plant still has not sprouted. I put it in a larger pot with a different type of soil. Not the mix recomended to me by the local garden center but just some 'seed starter' soil. It is an auto so may need to be patient. It has only been 3 days since I planted it in it's pot. It could be a dud seed as it was an overnight 'floater' when I tryed the shot glass germination technique. We will see.....

The heat problem in the grow area has not been completely solved by my A/C purchase. I think I know what to do. That is somehow 'seal' the grow box area and have a hood over my lights running to a tube which then is connected to an extractor fan. It is a little daunting due to my own individual set up. The temp is between 29-32 degrees C under the lights. The RH is 60-70% under the lights which again is toward to top end of tolerance so right now I'm managing the situation barely rather than dealing with it.

Too much to think about tonight. Will hope they pull through and sleep on the problem.

So last night I tried an experiment. I closed the window to my grow room and put my water cooled heater onto max while I slept.
Weel when I woke up and checked it the RH was 80% and the plants looked a little sick.

All change today. My soil was not looking good and my plants were not growing so I have re potted them out of the party cups and into a proper 1 gallon plant pots.
Have changed the soil to another local brand with more of a brown colour. In fact it looks more like what I'd say was healthy soil. We will see how the seedlings tak to it.
Now have them upstairs in a semi secluded place where they can stay until they get stinky. They get good light and heat during the day with excellent air circulation. The RH is around 50% and temp in the high 20's C.
Now going out to buy a PH checker which could have been the problem all along. With different soil I'm hoping for better results. We will see what tomorrow brings. New pics in the new pots tomorrow.

imho one meter tall is way too tall for cfl. youll end up with a foot between nodes and nothing but bare branches for 2/3 of the plant. Keep the whole plant about a foot tall at finish.



That's my most recent harvest from my microcab. none of those plants is more than 12" from soil to tip. each is about as thick as a 12 oz beer can. kept me constantly smoking and sharing for more than 2 months with only 8 small plants.

Heh those are some lovely looking plants. Right now I'm just trying to keep my seedlings alive and keep the heat and RH under control so they can grow. Down the line I plan to LST them to keep them lower to the ground. My enclosed indoor grow 'cab' really suits multiple CFL placements around a plant no more than 3-4 feet tall.
I have 20k lumens already for 3 plants which in an enclosed space I'm told will be enough. Also I have the means to clip lamps all the way up, behind, under and above a plant up to 4 feet in height but quite frankly all I want is a plant that gets to 4 inches right now!

No pics today because I'm too downhearted with the whole thing to take them at the moment. Maybe tomorrow I'll post an update or a submission to the 'sick plants' section.

Todays pic - not a lot has changed. Neither plant has done much of anything. Just hope they get going again soon. The RH and temp situation indoors is managable at 29-30 degrees and 65-70%.
Today I dug up my Afghan KR auto and put it back in a paper towel. There was no cracking or root visible but below the surface something looked like it might happen. Am still hopeful but if this does not work after 48 hours I'll try the scuff technique!

So far I have learnt that I should have PH checked my soil before planting. Tomorrow I'm off out to buy a PH checker of some kind. Yet more expense on an already mounting tab. I'd have been able to buy 1oz of prime mail order with what I've already spent and that is not including more bulbs I'll have to buy for flowering and electric costs.
I'm a little down about the whole thing and think I made a mistake even trying in this situation and now it is a little late to turn back.
This whole thing is a blow to my ego - I mean I can't even grow a weed!

those 8 little plants of mine yielded about 4 oz. where I live those 4 oz would sell for 350 to 480 a piece. so I saved 1400 to 1900 just from that one harvest. read my microcab thread if you have time. lots of good info and pics and details. you can watch my first couple harvests from start to finish. learning curve is steep at the beginning but it gets easier. good luck!

So I have bought a PH kit and tested my soil runoff. Oh dear is the result. Above 7.6.
I tested my water first of course - 7.0
I tested various other soils I've bought as well as mixes I tried. I have a soil with 6.4-6.8 ph which should be perfect.
I Know I know...
I should have done all this BEFORE planting the seeds.
What a rookies mistake! Now my plants problems are becoming clearer although after a recent repotting they look a lot better than before and actually might be growing a little again. Now I don't want to repot them AGAIN so soon so am looking for a way to reduce the ph in my medium without having to change the medium AGAIN!
The good news is that my TD is looking a little better. My NL auto is not doing much. Touch and go whether it will live.
My AKR seed not germinated after 24 hours. Going to leave it 48 more then check and if no joy it is scuff then plant time. Last resort!

I've had good results in soil but I added dolomite lime as a ph buffer and perlite to help keep soil loose. I have better results with soiless mediums. peat moss/sphagnum moss/perlite is a good combo that I used for a year or so and coco coir is what I use now.

you should be watering with plain ph'd water until you get your first sets of real leaves and they start to yellow a bit. if they're in hot soil you're going to need to lower the ph in your water to compensate. those plants look like they're 2 days old, not 8.

Reg your plants look just fine...but give them a drink mate,that soil looks bone dry....

lookin sweet baby bro, interesting thread.. if you dont mind i grab a chair!!!
keep it up-date!!

Today it looks as if my plants actually grew a little! After a few days of nothing happening I'm cautiously encouraged that I might have eventually done something right!
Tomorrow will water again with PH lowered water (if the plants seem to need to be watered). I'm unsure whether I should water every other day no matter what or as the plants seem to need it. One thing I do know now -
Everyone seems to say the same thing - DON'T OVERWATER!
However I really do understand this concept. The first thing I think when I see my plants or soil a little dry is more the opposite. I think. 'How long can I go before I water'. When I water I have decided to do a proper job. Water using a watering can until a good amount of water drips into the catch tray. I hope this is the correct technique.
My mind is beginning to move onto to upgrading my cab to lessen light leaks, thinking about how to test the mystery nutes I have purchased and ways to have a stable indoor light schedule 18/6 as it becomes time to take the plants inside full time. Obviously the auto will do what it does on any scedule but the TD needs to have a stable veg schedule soon so I have started giving both plants 6 hours of dark as a first step to get them used to it.
More pics in my album.....

Of course all comments are welcome..
Today my plants grew their second set of leaves. It was beautiful! The soil is getting drier but have resisted the temptation to water until the pots feel a bit lighter. Maybe tomorrow evening which will be 3 days since last watering.
Have upgraded my grow cubby/box today to include more white reflective surfaces on the walls,floor and ceiling. Have put in a 65w 2700k warm light in with all the other 6500k's too. Have 240w of CFL powa for 2 seedlings and a seed. Should be more than enough for now. Don't want to get carried away as temp is an issue in the room and the more lights the higher the temp.
Have a quick CO2 question. Quite soon my plants will be indoors in a loose cab inside inside a room with a reasonable sized window that stays open 24/7. Outside the window is overgrown jungle style garden (I'm in the tropics). Should there be enough CO2 getting into the room or should I be putting my plants outside during their 6 hours of darkness to assist their CO2 levels?
New pics in my album and will put some more up of the grow room upgrades when I can be bothered.

DAY 11 The growing continues! More pics are now available in my album. Had the plants outside again today and the NL looked pretty dry so I poked my little finger down 2 inches and it was still dry so I watered it with PH lowered water. The runoff was still too high (7.2) tommorow or the day after when I water my TD I'll need to use some seriously PH lowered water I think around 6.4. Hopefully that should bring down the ph on the TD to under 6.8.
I'm looking at ferts,topping,fimming,LSTing at the moment as I hopefully speculate that my plants might continue their progress. They are still on a 18/6 schedule which I'll probably stick with until it is time for TD to go 12/12 then they will both go 12/12.
My AKR auto still refuses to poke its head above the soil but I live in hope. I'm thinking of germinating another seed if it won't co operate soon. Maybe critical auto which will go straight into prewatered seed starter until it sprouts then repotted into a 1 gallon local soil mix.

So I seriously lowered the PH on my water down gave my TD a good water. The run was still over 7 and possibly as high as 7.5.
Now at a loss as to what to do apart from keeping on watering it with PH lowered water every 3-4 days as required.
The NL auto is not looking great after its' watering. Will keep it on the same schedule tonight and see what happens. My Afghan Kush Ryder seed has not sprouted yet. Either I screwed up the germination or it was a dud. I knew it was a bad sign when it would not sink in the shot glass full of water. Am looking at alternatives now. Critical + auto is looking like it could be a favorite as I have a spare one and can afford to mess it up!
New photos in my album later... maybe.

So I made a soil mix! Used some black looking 'seed up' potting soil mixed with 2 other types of rougher soils then pre watered it with PH lowered water. The result 6.4 ph runoff! A good result I think so I planted my critical + auto having heard that is the best way to treat an auto. It is now under lights and will remain so as much as possible.
My AKR looks like being a dud. I have tried to break up the soil a bit as it was looking a bit compacted and watered it a bit then I will just leave it, forget about it and see what happens. Probably nothing.
The NL is struggling along. Growing very slowly and quite frankly looking a bit sickly. I'm not optimistic about it's chances but will try to coax it into doing something.
The TD is growing nicely. The leaves appear to be folding inwards a little which might well be the sign of something not quite right. Might post a picture in the sick plants section if it continues. My light and A/C set up is barely holding. Temp a shade under 30 degrees and humidity a shade under 70%. Too high but there is good airflow in the room so I'm not too worried for now. I'd like the humidity a bit lower so may buy a few more disposable de humidifiers to manage the problem.
New pics later in my album. I'm trying to wait a bit before taking the next set as I want to see a big difference in the plants development.
Finally have decided it is time to keep the TD inside under lights on a proper schedule fulltime. The NL may well join it on an 18/6 or possibly 16/8. I'd like to leave the plants outside at night so they can absorb some good CO2 but I sleep more than 6 hours a night so it might end up being 17/7!