First time attempting autos in soil with LED's. ANY pointers appreciated

[testtime]

So I'd probably be better off with the Mars light then right?

Absolutely. Not sure what that pulls from the wall or what it's efficiency is but it's going to be far better than the other one.

You should still look at the one I posted, I feel like I'm shilling for them but I'm just seeing such results compared to my previous 1800 watts of HID grow that I definitely feel like can support LEDs now, just I won't pay more than $0.50 a watt and I expect a 2.6 or better efficiency rating out of them.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Absolutely. Not sure what that pulls from the wall or what it's efficiency is but it's going to be far better than the other one.

You should still look at the one I posted, I feel like I'm shilling for them but I'm just seeing such results compared to my previous 1800 watts of HID grow that I definitely feel like can support LEDs now, just I won't pay more than $0.50 a watt and I expect a 2.6 or better efficiency rating out of them.

Thx man will definitely check it out. Really thx for the advice man. As u can probably tell im way lost since im trying both soil and autos for the very 1st time. So honestly I really appreciate and value any help i can get.

Now as for the bags and soil that u recommended... Can I get those at... Let say Lowes or Depot or is that something id have to order. And as far as the nutes I already have... U dont recommend I use those with soil?

 

[testtime]

And do the entire grow from that bag start to finish? Remember I have autos so what size bag will get me to thw end to avoid any transplant?

Also I know I have to check the ph of the water before u water the plants... But someone told me u also have to test the run off. Is that true? And if so and the runoff ph is out of whack... How can u fix that?

Honestly and obviously I domt know squat about soil so i REALLY appreciate all I guys comments and tips. Thx a mil.

If you get Fox farm Ocean Forest dirt you don't have to worry about thinking about the initial pH or nutrient level of the dirt. If you allowed your various nutrients to accumulate then you would, but I don't think an auto flower gives enough time to worry about that.

When you prepare the water after you've added whatever nutrients and additives, you then want a pH adjust it to 5.8. As long as you have the total dip and dunk that I described you don't have to worry about run off.

If you're worried about pH level of the soil there's cheap meters you can use to check it.

3 gal bag is just enough for decent bud (root size determines plant size) , 5 gal is what I would consider a perfect size. You can dunk that in a home Depot bucket. I foolishly am currently using 7 gallon so I can't do that right now. I'll be moving back to 5 gallon.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

If you get Fox farm Ocean Forest dirt you don't have to worry about thinking about the initial pH or nutrient level of the dirt. If you allowed your various nutrients to accumulate then you would, but I don't think an auto flower gives enough time to worry about that.

When you prepare the water after you've added whatever nutrients and additives, you then want a pH adjust it to 5.8. As long as you have the total dip and dunk that I described you don't have to worry about run off.

If you're worried about pH level of the soil there's cheap meters you can use to check it.

3 gal bag is just enough for decent bud (root size determines plant size) , 5 gal is what I would consider a perfect size. You can dunk that in a home Depot bucket. I foolishly am currently using 7 gallon so I can't do that right now. I'll be moving back to 5 gallon.

Ok awesome then man. Thats exactly what im gonna do. Use 5g bags n Foxfarm Ocean Forest and go with the Mars light that pulls 150 for now.

Not trying to sound like a weirdo or nothing, but if I have any questions along the way once ive started is it cool if I holler at u for some knowledge?

 

[testtime]

Thx man will definitely check it out. Really thx for the advice man. As u can probably tell im way lost since im trying both soil and autos for the very 1st time. So honestly I really appreciate and value any help i can get.

Now as for the bags and soil that u recommended... Can I get those at... Let say Lowes or Depot or is that something id have to order. And as far as the nutes I already have... U dont recommend I use those with soil?

If you don't have a real hydroponic store local then you're going to have to order it, the home stores don't carry.

I can't comment on your specific nutes, But to start off with you need the fungus that attaches to the roots that aids in the nutrient uptake. There is nothing more important than that in a seedling. There's many out there, I can only tell you what I'm using at the moment it seems fine. Actually I can't, I can't find it, hey anyone else have any specific microryzial fungus to recommend?

You've got another month or so to figure out your flowering nutrient s so you could plant and have no problem now and not decide.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

If you get Fox farm Ocean Forest dirt you don't have to worry about thinking about the initial pH or nutrient level of the dirt. If you allowed your various nutrients to accumulate then you would, but I don't think an auto flower gives enough time to worry about that.

When you prepare the water after you've added whatever nutrients and additives, you then want a pH adjust it to 5.8. As long as you have the total dip and dunk that I described you don't have to worry about run off.

If you're worried about pH level of the soil there's cheap meters you can use to check it.

3 gal bag is just enough for decent bud (root size determines plant size) , 5 gal is what I would consider a perfect size. You can dunk that in a home Depot bucket. I foolishly am currently using 7 gallon so I can't do that right now. I'll be moving back to 5 gallon.

As far as any nutes I should get to add on down the road if needed... Any recommendations?

 

[testtime]

Ok awesome then man. Thats exactly what im gonna do. Use 5g bags n Foxfarm Ocean Forest and go with the Mars light that pulls 150 for now.

Not trying to sound like a weirdo or nothing, but if I have any questions along the way once ive started is it cool if I holler at u for some knowledge?

Feel free. I'm in a legal state growing my exactly legal quantity and I can talk about it without worry.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

If you don't have a real hydroponic store local then you're going to have to order it, the home stores don't carry.

I can't comment on your specific nutes, But to start off with you need the fungus that attaches to the roots that aids in the nutrient uptake. There is nothing more important than that in a seedling. There's many out there, I can only tell you what I'm using at the moment it seems fine. Actually I can't, I can't find it, hey anyone else have any specific microryzial fungus to recommend?

You've got another month or so to figure out your flowering nutrient s so you could plant and have no problem now and not decide.

Feel free. I'm in a legal state growing my exactly legal quantity and I can talk about it without worry.

Theres a few hydro stores around here but they legit rape u on prices. Ill just order whatever I need off Amazon n return all the other stuff ive gotten. If its not too much of a bother to u... Whenever u get a chance, u think u can check your supply n shoot me the names of them so I can order exactly what im gonna need? No rush man just whenever u remember. I spent almost 180 buks on seeds so I wanna get this right n not waste the 180. I really appreciate bro thx.

 

[testtime]

As far as any nutes I should get to add on down the road if needed... Any recommendations?

Not my area of expertise. I was one of those guys who had dozens of bottles back in the day and I could never decide what was the right or wrong ones and I just haphazardly threw s*** together. Well, not fully haphazardly, I just never grew through enough cycles to prove one way was better than the other way. Either way it grew well for the most part.



Here's my current sampling:


Make sure you treat any tap water and get rid of chlorine and chloramine. And you can't bubble out chloramine, you have to treat it via some chemical that you get the fish store or some other filtration system. Don't kill all your beneficial microbes by accident.

I use the vinegar for pH down. It's the cheapest way I could find.

The nutrients were chosen simply because they were the cheapest listed on Amazon for the given category. I wanted calcium magnesium, I wanted PK for flowering, I wanted whatever. So I looked it up on Amazon and found the cheapest.

Make sure you have a decent pH meter, and rest it in distilled water between measurements. It matters.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Ive got almost over $400 worth of stuff ive ordered online I was gonna use for the dwc that I have to return too. So its looking like going the soil route might actually save me a couple bucks.

 

[testtime]

Theres a few hydro stores around here but they legit rape u on prices. Ill just order whatever I need off Amazon n return all the other stuff ive gotten. If its not too much of a bother to u... Whenever u get a chance, u think u can check your supply n shoot me the names of them so I can order exactly what im gonna need? No rush man just whenever u remember. I spent almost 180 buks on seeds so I wanna get this right n not waste the 180. I really appreciate bro thx.

Actually this is the one area the local hydro store beat Amazon on price and I bought it local. It's a matter of individual shipping versus bulk shipping and this s***'s heavy so you'll end up paying $35 per bag at Amazon versus $21 or your local hydro at least that's what happened with me. And I am a prime member.

Also, you may not know this, hydro stores negotiate. I s*** you not. It's the only store front in the world that I ever walk in and I expect to negotiate. Give it a shot.

Here's what I do. I print out a list of s*** that I want and the associated price list that I found on the web from a single location if possible. I walk in I hand it to the guy I say I don't expect you to beat this, I don't even expect you to meet this, you've got some overhead to pay for here and I want to support you. But I can't afford your current prices. You would be amazed what they will knock off at that moment.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Not my area of expertise. I was one of those guys who had dozens of bottles back in the day and I could never decide what was the right or wrong ones and I just haphazardly threw s*** together. Well, not fully haphazardly, I just never grew through enough cycles to prove one way was better than the other way. Either way it grew well for the most part.



Here's my current sampling:

View attachment 4922051
Make sure you treat any tap water and get rid of chlorine and chloramine. And you can't bubble out chloramine, you have to treat it via some chemical that you get the fish store or some other filtration system. Don't kill all your beneficial microbes by accident.

I use the vinegar for pH down. It's the cheapest way I could find.

The nutrients were chosen simply because they were the cheapest listed on Amazon for the given category. I wanted calcium magnesium, I wanted PK for flowering, I wanted whatever. So I looked it up on Amazon and found the cheapest.

Make sure you have a decent pH meter, and rest it in distilled water between measurements. It matters.

As far as what I got, here it is. Maybe theres something in there I can keep. IDK... u tell me. As far as water, ive always went n bought RO water from a fish store or whatever. Also yes I have an electric PH meter aside from the basic water testing method.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Actually this is the one area the local hydro store beat Amazon on price and I bought it local. It's a matter of individual shipping versus bulk shipping and this s***'s heavy so you'll end up paying $35 per bag at Amazon versus $21 or your local hydro at least that's what happened with me. And I am a prime member.

Also, you may not know this, hydro stores negotiate. I s*** you not. It's the only store front in the world that I ever walk in and I expect to negotiate. Give it a shot.

Here's what I do. I print out a list of s*** that I want and the associated price list that I found on the web from a single location if possible. I walk in I hand it to the guy I say I don't expect you to beat this, I don't even expect you to meet this, you've got some overhead to pay for here and I want to support you. But I can't afford your current prices. You would be amazed what they will knock off at that moment.

And that lineup of what you're using now gives u good results I would imagine right? So ill probably go with the same. If it ain't broke dont mess with it

 

[testtime]

And that lineup of what you're using now gives u good results I would imagine right? So ill probably go with the same. If it ain't broke dont mess with it

Add in a package of nitrogen fixing bacteria. And harpin protein.

Oh also you're going to need yellow sticky cards and diatomaceous earth. The yellow sticky cards are merely a warning system that you have bugs that you didn't notice yet so catch them early and then you'll deal with it. The diatomaceous earth is to put a coating as a top layer to initially slice up any bugs that will arrive.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Add in a package of nitrogen fixing bacteria. And harpin protein.

Oh also you're going to need yellow sticky cards and diatomaceous earth. The yellow sticky cards are merely a warning system that you have bugs that you didn't notice yet so catch them early and then you'll deal with it. The diatomaceous earth is to put a coating as a top layer to initially slice up any bugs that will arrive.

Gotcha! Will do! Once I get started ill do a journal from start to finish n ill be sure to include u in it just in case u catch me doing anything dumb so that way u can help me correct it. Dude I REALLY appreciate your help man. Not many people out there would take the time to help out someone they dont know especially on the web. So thank u and everyone else who chimmed in immensely.

 

[MedicinalMyA$$]

Diatomaceous Earth FTW

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Diatomaceous Earth FTW

What is that exactly? A soil you're recommending?

 

[testtime]

What is that exactly? A soil you're recommending?

Looks like white sand. Is made up of microscopic skeletons of ancient sea creatures.

Put a 1/4 inch layer on your dirt. Shreds bugs when they burrow through it or eat it.

Regular top watering washes it away. Bucket dunking leaves it intact.

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Looks like white sand. Is made up of microscopic skeletons of ancient sea creatures.

Put a 1/4 inch layer on your dirt. Shreds bugs when they burrow through it or eat it.

Regular top watering washes it away. Bucket dunking leaves it intact.

Ok thx... I wanna make sure to get everything im gonna need from start to finish. So anything else u guys think im gonna need that will help me out,... Please share your knowledge and let me know.

Thanks again all!!!

 

[Stickyicky1979]

Looks like white sand. Is made up of microscopic skeletons of ancient sea creatures.

Put a 1/4 inch layer on your dirt. Shreds bugs when they burrow through it or eat it.

Regular top watering washes it away. Bucket dunking leaves it intact.

Oh and yeah im sure im gonna go with top watering, cuz I have no clue what bucket dunking is.