[WolfMan]

Beautyful, beautyful thread!!
gotta ditch that ugly male i ended up with and start all over again... now with proper info and less guess work... ah, well... what happens happens
Thanx Captain!

[I.M. Boggled]

Thanks for the step by step easy growing 101 tutorial Captain, well done.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Capt. Crip again.

For "Easy Growing 101" emphasis purposes...
soil aeration comments from the Capt.

This is the most important thing you will see me write.
Once small plants get established you MUST let the soil dry between waterings.
Plants must have oxygen to the root system for rapid growth.
This is why I like to use extra perlite in my soil mixes because it allows the soil to dry faster which leads to faster growth!
Once plants are placed in 1 gallon pots you should be able to scratch down an inch or two before finding any signs of moisture before it is time to water again.
The pots will feel noticeably lighter when you pick them up.
If you pay close attention you will notice the bottom 2 leaves start to droop when a plant is desparate for water.
Once you figure out how dry they can get before drooping you will have figured out one of the hardest parts of growing for new growers.
The more time you spend with your plants the more you will begin to understand about the life cycles.
When you do water you want to make sure to let some drain out of the bottom.
This will keep nutrients from building up and keep your plants growing strong!
Continue feeding lightly until you transplant into the 1 gallon pots at which time you can go to full strength.

NUTRIENT MIX
Only 3 nutrients to purchase,consisting of General Hydroponics new nutrient called the Flora Nova Series.
(These are one part mixes and require NO mixing!!!)
There is one bottle for Grow and one bottle for Bloom.
To add an ORGANIC kick I use Original Pure Blend.

I agree Capt., the G.H. Flora Nova product is truly a top quality, easy to use "no brainer" nutrient source, did I say it was extremely easy to use with many positive, good to usually excellent results continuously and very commonly being reported with these products.
I've noticed that one could check ones Ph everytime when mixing up/messing with the nutrient solution, but after awhile it actually became somewhat redundant as it was "always in range" when checked using FloraNova and tap water, the schtuff is so incredibly easy to use, oh I've said that...I mean outside of the required serious shaking/mixing of the bottle contents before each and every use...
one of those paint mixing contraptions they have at the paint store sure would be handy at full 4 liter bottle shakin' 'er up time.
Now if the Flora Nova just cost about half as much...still, one can get a lot of tasty herb production mileage out of a Jug. The Name "FloraMagic" must have been taken.
The "Pure Blend Original" is also an excellent quality product that definitely helps to "produce the tasty produce."

Happy gardening ya'll

IMB

[HvyTokes]

yeh dog

[ItsGrowTime]

I know Im sure loving the Floranova myself! I took a chance and started seeds off with the Bloom and they are growing well. I still might switch to Grow formula for last week or two of veg as the growth isnt quite as good as Id like (Ive been warned that FNB will veg slower than FNG so no surprise). But its still a breeze to use, good growth, pH is a total non-issue (even with supplements), and the price isnt *that* bad considering how concentrated it is! Lovin this stuff somethin fierce.

[Capt. Crip]

Yes sir!!!Flora Nova is the most full proof nutrient availible....The PH stabilization is the key for new growers and as you said it's a non-issue....

You should seriously think about trying the pure blend(original)...This stuff leaves a killer organic flavor to your produce!



ItsGrowTime,
Definitely get yourself some grow......It will grow your plants much faster with the nutes tailored to the proper growth phase....

Take care.......................... ........CC

[mark6699331]

Excellent threat captin- this is much needed infor for newbies and pros alike. Sproutco- I am a Ph person too, like 5.0-5.8 as nutes are very available and pests etc don't like too low a ph. I'm talking hydro of course though.

Oh and for another ph-buffered solution for hydro that works great is "Plant Specific"Brand nutrients buffered at 5.5 with no up or down needed-holds steady. you can search for plant specific on ebay. Its great for any hydro and for first time growers. It WILL put a smile on your face.
M-out

As for the PH question. If I set it, I set the ph to 5.5. Runoff is generally 6.0 - 6.2. I came across a good book on advanced gardening a few years ago that states NPK is most available at 5.5 and that a slight upward swing in the soil is good for the plants as it allows them to absorb what they need as it changes.

I have great results using this method. Also PBP Soil ph's my water (7.1 usually) right down to 5.7 perfectly every time. I dont mess with it after that.

Others have different opinions, these are just my experience. I didn't start breaking a lb per 1kw until I started phing the water.

[Pinner]

I have been reading all I can on lights and it seems the more I read the more confused I become. Hopefully someone here can help me with the math.

First, I would like to talk about the vegging stage:

I want to veg 16 plants:
5 x White Rhino
5 x Aurora Indica and
6 x AK48

My room is large so any dimensions you give me will not be a problem.

From what I read 1 plant needs 2 sq. feet to grow comfortably out. So this means I need 32 sq. feet of space for 16 plants. Fair enough. I was thinking of breaking it down into 2 sections under 2 lights (maybe 4 depending on your advice). Each section would hold 8 plants for vegging. That means each section is 4’ x 4’ = 16 sq feet.

So here is the math. Apparently you want to achieve 50Watts per sq. ft. for optimal results therefore, 16 sq.ft. x 50W = 800W.

I think I have it correct so far. The thing is MH lights which are the best to use for vegging only come in 250W, 400W and 1000W. So what would be better (if my math is correct of course) 2 x 400w or 1 x 1000W?

I know more light is better that basically you cannot have too much as heat would be the first problem. So the thing is in a 4’ x 4’ section with 8 plants is 1 light better than 2 lights in terms of (shit I forgot the term) light spread?

Also I will have 2 of these sections so does that mean 4 x 400W MH bulbs is necessary? That will be a fair amount of money I think compared to 2 x 1000W but if it is optimal than it is better. The thing I am wondering along with light spread is will the plants on the outer edges bend inwards towards the light seeing as the bulbs in the reflectors are rectangular as opossed to square?

Another question is the room is wired to 220V. I am not an electrician and have zero knowledge about what would be needed for 400W MH and 1000W MH. Can somebody give a little tutorial on this as well.

The next question about the vegging room/cycle is what about adding some extra CFL’s along the base of the plants on the horizontal. Say a 48” x 2 tube about 36” off the ground on all 4 sides.
This would serve 2 purposes:
First, to give extra light below the foliage where the MH may not reach and Second, to add more of the blues and whites to the mix to help the growing. Sorry don’t know the exact terms and exact colour mixes but read somewhere that adding these in the blue range, I think it was, was very helpul…….but maybe not necessary.

Of the 16 plants, I plan to veg. half of them for half the amount of time than the other to get them flowering sooner. I am hoping at least 7-8 will be females.

Once this gets answered I will go on about the flowering cycle.

Thanks for this thread. I hope you are ready for an anal, OCD'ed dude who can ask a ton of questions.

Pinner

[Alex-F]

Originally Posted by Capt. Crip

Yes sir!!!Flora Nova is the most full proof nutrient availible....The PH stabilization is the key for new growers and as you said it's a non-issue....

You should seriously think about trying the pure blend(original)...This stuff leaves a killer organic flavor to your produce!



ItsGrowTime,
Definitely get yourself some grow......It will grow your plants much faster with the nutes tailored to the proper growth phase....

Take care.......................... ........CC

Sounds good. I'm happy with Plagron so far, have you tried any of their gear?

[Capt. Crip]

Alex,
I'm sorry I never noticed you question....
I have not used the product....How does it work for ya?

Pinner,obviously we missed your questions also...If you are around it can be discussed.....You will get a lot of answers in the growers forum...