Soil, Lights And All That

[SRV]

Well hello Roll it up, My first post here. I have a little indoor garden right now,its inside a box a designed myself, nothing crazy. Its set on top of a tabe with some insulation on sides and black tarp across top and front to enclose. I will Post some pictures here in next hour.

Anyway....I started my girls in Miracle gro soil moisture control :/ after doing some research i see that was not the best option, So i have found a local store that sells fox farm and im considering switching to that. Do you think it would be ok at this point, both my girls are 2 weeks and 2 days old, they have about 10 leaves each now, im just wondering if a transplant at this point would be beneficial or if i shuld just stick with the mirace gro?
Im also using a 300 Watt Growtimetunnel light. i have it suspended 16 inches above them. Is this ok for seedlings? i Started these both from actual feminized seed. they dont seem stringy but upon comparioson i feel like the plants could be bigger for there age. Anyway, just looking for some tips on my lights, should i switch soil? and lasty, i have noticed some very very small white bugs in my soil, they dont seem to be hurting the plants at all, but they became an issue, so i sprinkled some diatamaceous earth over my soil and that has worked wonders, but after a few waterings it has now just moxed into my soil and im hoping thats ok for PH and anything else the girls could be sensitive to?


Sorry for such a rant, im looking forward to sharing my expirience with ya'll. I will post some pictures of my setup and my girls in next hour. just gotta drive to worl here now lol

Thanks anyone and everyone!!

Keep It Green!

 

[SRV]

Ok here's a few shots of my setup and my girls. I have an oscillating tower fan and a Humidifier inside as well, running on a timer with an average RH of 55-60

 

[innerG]

You could probably safely dig up plants that small and replant them. They aren't autos are they?

If you do all that, you could also cheaply re-pot into different containers. Since you have limited space, containers with straight sides, or squares, will let you have a lot more volume of soil in the same area than those with tapered sides like you have.

If you do transplant, consider adding in some dolomite lime to stabilize the soil pH

 

[SRV]

You could probably safely dig up plants that small and replant them. They aren't autos are they?

If you do all that, you could also cheaply re-pot into different containers. Since you have limited space, containers with straight sides, or squares, will let you have a lot more volume of soil in the same area than those with tapered sides like you have.

If you do transplant, consider adding in some dolomite lime to stabilize the soil pH

Thanks for the reply, ok sounds like a plan, think I will go with Fox farm ocean whatev it's called lol, and what amount of dolamite should I add?

Since I'm transplanting I can get different containers like you mentioned, I have a few other veggies in that box as you see, they are there simply as tests before I planted my girls and also for cover Incase I ever have company. Can always remove my girls briefly. (Hopefully that doesn't happen)

Ok so, they are 15" pots. What square size would you suggest? box is about two and a half by two foot. I can also remove a few of the other veggies if needed.
They are not auto flower and running in 18-6 right now.

So you think I will be able to have a decent grow in my box of done properly? I can also top the plants or whatev it's called to make them grow outward more than upward.

 

[innerG]

FFOF is good dirt, but I was talking about their big bloom/grow big/tiger bloom trio of liquid fertilizers

You could do just as well with any good soil like Roots, ProMix, Sunshine Mix, Black Gold, etc. as long as it's properly mixed and amended. You want to add perlite and dolomite lime to the soil. Optionally, you can also amend it with extra earthworm castings, blood and bone meal to give it organic nutrients. (Don't put a lot in the dirt right around the seedling)

No specific pots, but something like these will let you fit a lot more soil volumetric ally than the really tapered round planters:


I can't give you any tips on the lighting though - I'm a HID guy!

 

[SRV]

Right on! Wish I could go HID just limited with space and privacy right now.

I really appreciate your advice though, I do think it would be worth it to switch soils at this point… Hopefully it does not stop the growth too much with the transplant… Would you suggest actually Saufley getting all of the soil away from the roots? Or should I leave a clump of soil around the roots and then just transplant that into my new pots with the new soil? I will amend the soil with perlite and Dolomite and then worry about nutes once they really get into veg state.

 

[innerG]

I'd leave it on the roots, you want the soil to be moist. I'd lay the container in its side or something, take out the dirt and whatever clings to the roots, leave. You don't want to damage them too much.

 

[SRV]

Sounds like a plan, I will keep you updated with my progress.
Gonna try to hit a store today or at the latest Thursday (when I get paid )

 

[SRV]

The deed is done, Foxfarm soil mixed up with dolomite and perlite … Transplanted into square pots… There was a little bit of slight route drama when transplanting the bigger one I heard a very very faint to snap when I was gently removing the clump of dirt from the pot… All seems well this morning though, keeping my fingers crossed… Thank you for the advice again

 

[innerG]

Looks good yo

(I have the same thermometer)

 

[tntgreen13]

Think you made a good choice with switching the soil. One thing I may recommend though for future reference. When taking photos to post on the forum I would recommend shutting off the led and using a natural light. This gives those view the post an opportunity to actually see your garden, and who knows someone might even notice a slight deficiency or cute burn, etc. All in all though, its looking good.

I'm also a little late to the party, but welcome to RIU. This place is full of great information and making use of the search tool can often help you find answers to your questions, but if not don't hesitate to ask! Best of luck with the grow!