Several Newbie Questions

[Bacchusbud]

Hi all! I am starting my first grow with an LA Woman fem freebie as i get my flowering cabinet equipment together. I had a Lemon Skunk freebie as well but managed to kill it somehow between germination and rooting. Damn it! I germed a week ago and the LAWoman is in soil, about 1.5" tall and has 1 small pair of real leaves. Seems like very little real progress in the last couple of days....I imagine thats my own lack of patience, tho'.

To the Questions...

I bought an indoor soil mix from a local organic shop and was told its compositon is 3parts peat humus, 3parts perlite and 1 part worm castings. Is this fine for the seedling? What about clones? At what point can/should i add nutes? I have seen the threads about LC's mix of nutrients into the base soil, will mine do for a base? I don't have a pH meter, and if i can go with a nutrient mix like that, will my soil need adjustment? The soil seems to dry pretty quickly, should i be watering everyday at this stage?

Assorted other questions..

I am using about 100w of CFLs in the mother/clone cab right now with my little seeding about 2 inches from the light. I can put in another 60. Should i?

My temps are 70/78 and RH is 54%. Thats alright, huh?

Now its your turn to play..."UnStump the Chump"!

 

[Cargo]

Hey bro more light is always better as long as you can maintain the temps. I highly doubt 60 more watts will cause any heat issues

 

[maryjohn]

If I had to bet I would say it will get hotter than you want. Are your mothers and clines too slow for you?

 

[Bacchusbud]

Thanks for the responses, guys. When i had the other 2 lights screwed in, the temps crept up to about 85. I originally started with all 6 bulbs burning, but when i weather stripped and added locks to the cab, the temps climbed up a bit. I added a 78CFM case fan, and decided to only use 4 bulbs until i add another fan. With only 1 seedling in there, i figured 100w was enough to get started, no? MJ, i don't know if it is going to slow, this being my first grow and all.

Anyone wanna take a stab at my base soil and nute questions?

 

[Bacchusbud]

No more responses, huh? How about i add in a bit more confusing local advice....

So, yesterday i stopped by the organic soil shop and asked about ferts for the soil mix with bone and blood meal, kelp etc. The guy was out of bone meal but had a premixed bag of general ferts he had mixed using equal parts blood meal, bone meal and green sand.

When i asked how much to mix in with the soil, the owner said 1 tbs per plant per week. He said to just sprinkle it around the plant before watering. But in the Organic soil basics thread, didnt it say to mix everything up a couple of weeks ahead of time, water it and let the good microbes go to work breaking everything down for the plants to use?

I am confused and could really use some encouraging (or not) advice. Come on you soil gurus, help a newbie out. Or i shall be forced to begin the taunting!

 

[maryjohn]

top dressing is a viable way to feed in the long run but starting out just follow the directions for LC mix.

oh shit I just stole Burn1's line. sorry Burn!

 

[VerdantGreen]

that general mix may be ok for vegging plants in - so ok for now - but for flowering i would think you will need less N (blood meal)

i suggest you look on the internet, ebay or online garden centres. thats where i get most of my supplies.

i would definitely mix it with the soil before planting. bone meal and greensand will not break down that quickly.

if there is a recipe in the ofb thread that uses similar ferts then just add the doses together. not ideal but if it's all you have then so be it.
and if in doubt, err on the side of caution and add less rather than more. you can always give them a boost with some liquid seaweed but you cant take the ferts away once they are in there.

also i would perhaps use a half dose of this fert for the first repotting - dont go straight into a huge pot but into one a few sizes bigger. easier to water it properly when you dont have a tiny plant in a huge pot. this will also give you some time to find your ingredients.

good luck,

V.

 

[VerdantGreen]

if that fert is all you have i would say about 3 tablespoons per gallon would be about right to be going on with.

V.

 

[Bacchusbud]

Awesome, folks! Exactly the type of advice i was looking for! You have saved your self from some serious Monty Python-type taunting! Now for something completely different!

After the trip to the soil shop, i stopped by the only hydro store in the area. They recommended Roots Organic Buddha Grow fert/nute liquid. I mixed a half gallon at half the recommended dosage for small plants/seedlings. Should i use this abit until i replant in a slightly larger pot with soil/fert mixture? I also was sold a Rapitest pH,N,P,K test kit..Anyone have any experience with these? Are they accurate/worth a damn?

Sorry i didn't add this to the last post, i had a wake and bake, stir and fry, or what ever you want to call rolling outta bed and sparking a bowl!

 

[Bacchusbud]

I am bumping this to add pics...and to see if anyone wants to hazard a guess regarding my last post..

The pic is my LA Woman today, at day 14. It germed in 2 days and i moved it to the soil mixture. It is under 4 26w CFLs, just a few inches from the bulb. Temps have been between 70 and 80 with the RH between 40-60%. Once i moved it to soil, i was watering everyday or so. On saturday, I was asking about the nutes and ferts because it seemed as it the growth stopped and was droopy. I read something somewhere that had me thinking i was over watering so i was gonna hold off for a few days. By monday, it looked like it had drooped more, so i watered. The soil was pretty dry. No change through today, the soil was dry again so i watered. This pic was taken a few minutes after.

Is this a healthy plant? Also, on the first set of leaves on was bent, and it looks like one is bent on the second set as well. Anything strange with that?

 

[jaykush]

no that is not a healthy plant sorry, that plant is a baby still, it doesn't need anything but water, light and warmth. what is the soil mix? looks a bit rich.

 

[Bacchusbud]

The soil mix is in post #1...Its what i originally started the thread about. Also, as i wrote, that pic is freshly watered. So if its not healthy, what is the diagnosis? The ph is right, so i figure its either over/underwatered....

 

[maryjohn]

isn't it doing the overwatered thing?

I don't see any burn, but it doesn't look right.

 

[vonforne]

Ok your soil mix from post one is good for seedlings. Might ant to get some DOLOMITE lime and add it the next mix @ 2 TBS per gallon of soil.....without measuring the perlite as a part just the organic components (peat and worm castings).

Your plant looks a little wet so do not water for a while but do not let it dry out. The weight of the containers is a great indicator if it needs water or not.

Ask the local organic dealer if there is any lime in the mix. You are doing good and te seedlings do not need any thing for a couple of weeks s you have time to mix some new soil and be ready for transplant in a few weeks.

V

 

[Chief Rbud]

Ok your soil mix from post one is good for seedlings. Might ant to get some DOLOMITE lime and add it the next mix @ 2 TBS per gallon of soil.....without measuring the perlite as a part just the organic components (peat and worm castings).

Your plant looks a little wet so do not water for a while but do not let it dry out. The weight of the containers is a great indicator if it needs water or not.

Ask the local organic dealer if there is any lime in the mix. You are doing good and te seedlings do not need any thing for a couple of weeks s you have time to mix some new soil and be ready for transplant in a few weeks.

V

i agree, and if mixing large amounts of soil, add 1 cup/cubic foot. it wont hurt if you add a little too much. seedlings dont need ferts at all, they shouldnt go into soil thats been innoculated with your ferts. only in the base mix.