Calling All Noob Growers

[jumboSWISHER]

yea, the only problem with that is a tiny backyard. and being in the middle of a big city, it looks sketchy to all the city folk when im out there mixing soil and prepairing pots for transplant. been trying to either do it inside, or plant a few shrubs or rose bushes to make it look like its all going somewhere except my basement. im 100% legal, but theres alot of young punks around here tht dont understand the concept of the state law, no yeild to fire upon trespassers.
i have REALLY been wanting to get away from the packaged, pre-mixed mediums though.

 

[cowboylogic]

I hear ya. Get a 32 gallon trash can so you can mix smaller batches at a time inside. A plus to this method is you can tweak each batch a bit. Do some comparisons and see what works best for your grow style and enviroment.

 

[cowboylogic]

Dude you will love mixing your own mediums. This recipe for this strain. This mix for this type of grow. The possibilities are endless. Just get your basic mix down. Then you can add this or that depending on, well what I opened with. LOL And the longer you mix, the less bottled nutes you will be buying. Before you know it all you will be doing is watering. edit: with a supplement here and there of course.

 

[jumboSWISHER]

hell yea, now thts what i want to acheive =]
but to start off the mix, should i start with bagged soil and add pearlite/peatmoss n stuff to that. ( i WILL be reading ALOT more befor continueing to buy and stuff, so you know lol)

or should i have the mix totaly comprised of addatives i will buy, with no plain dirt/soil?
srry for the 2 pages of basic Q's about soil lol

 

[cowboylogic]

I dont mind if Riddle dosent. If you are going to get serious about it I would suggest playing with two options. #1 Peat based and #2 Coco Coir based. You can start with Promix, Sunshine ect... if you like. IMO though if you start with a premix base there is always that unknown factor. Starting with plain peat or coir, even a mix of the 2, reduces that factor quite a bit. Then like I said, just a basic mix. Google soil recipes and the like. Study a bunch of different ones from different sites. You will begin to see some common ingredients in them all. Decide on your first mix. Get all of your ingredients around, start mixing and happy growing with the added bonus. I made my own dirt! And city or not. There is always room for a small compost pile.

 

[jumboSWISHER]

lol i love me sum high-quality bud porn,
but a thread of real info and great help being shared is much more usefull and appreciated i think.

but just a few mins of reading and things are falling into place =]
im thinking i might want to do a sand/clay mix, so it stays light and airated. and add blood/bone meal, composted sea weed, dolmite lime (strain seems to LOVE calcium)
and either EWC or horse/chicken manure. still pretty basic, and still reading. but with the right measurements, yall think something like this would suffice?

 

[WWShadow]

Riddle I'm liking this CMH bulb idea. I was planning on an all cfl setup but a dozen of them do put out some heat. how would it compare to a 400w cmh? also could you use the 400 in a vertical position like for a heath robininson style vertical grow? https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/149998-heaths-flooded-tube-vertical.html
You're doing 4 plants so would 1 400w cmh would cover a mother & 4 to 6 clones or could you use a smaller bulb for that?
I can see using the cmh on the top & adding cfl's for additional side lighting on say a single plant or two.
think i'm suffering from information overload, lol. trying to get as much knowledge as I can for my first attempt. simple & as inexpensive as possible.

 

[bigman4270]

Hey WW, hope ya don't mind if I jump in. The 400 will def veg 4 to 6 clones but one ya flip to flower I think 4 would be max. Thats 100w ca plant, right were ya want to be and definately big enough for a mother. If you are just rooting clones or keeping a mother, it might be a touch big.

They do make a vertical bulb here : http://advancedtechlighting.com/cdmed18.htm

IMO You probably wont need side lighting for 1 or 2 plants. Just more heat to deal with. I am running 550w of cfl's in an open front cab and my temp stays at 76 degrees. I opened it up because the temps wouyld get out of control and I wasn't about to kick out cash for serious ventilation, so I am sure the 400 in a cab would be pretty tough to keep those temps under control. I am switching to the 400w CMH this week and will get a better idea of the heat. Riddle says his temps in the basemant only went up a couple degrees I think when he fired his up.

Hope it helped?

Big

 

[rzza]

i give ya a good example. i had done four autos under a 400 hps a couple times and always got 1/4 pound. one time i threw 6 normal plants under there and got 1/4 pound.

 

[cowboylogic]

How long and big you are going to veg is a pretty big factor when determining how many plants you can finish under a certain wattage light.

 

[WWShadow]

yeah Big, that helps a lot! like I said suffering from information overload. So many options & variables. I'm trying to start out simple with a DWC bubbler system (diy) testing it with veggies already, killed over 30 plants, lol. white slime, hydrogen peroxide fixed that. Just gotta get things dialed in so I can stop killin everything, lol

 

[stvitusdance]

i've done a few grows and read a few books and spent alot of money and spent a lot of time on the forums and it sure does get confusing and hostile at times! i'm always open to new ways of looking at things.

every one is worthy and reading my ramblings means your not buying the hype, IMO that makes you one of us

 

[jumboSWISHER]

yeah Big, that helps a lot! like I said suffering from information overload. So many options & variables. I'm trying to start out simple with a DWC bubbler system (diy) testing it with veggies already, killed over 30 plants, lol. white slime, hydrogen peroxide fixed that. Just gotta get things dialed in so I can stop killin everything, lol

i had white slime killing my hydro plants, the slime will turn brown soon. its a type of pythium. a combo of concentrated h2o2 and bleach did the trick. but ur in the same boat i was, the problem isnt simply solved by the h2o2, it just keeps it at bay for time being. you deffinatly should try and get it taken care of befor you put any money out on seeds,etc..
your temps should NEVER be above 70, and NO light can reach any water, and you MUST sterilze your system befor getting it going (i.e. bleach)
just thought id help u avoid all the trouble i had =]
i can drop a link to the thread i posted about it if your interested, bunch of "vet" hydro guys helped and posted alot of helpful info.

 

[bigman4270]

Alright fellas, need some help on my water situation. Since I live in the Mountain West and our water is harder than the back of Lincolns head, I have been using R/O water from the grocery store. I am running 4 plants under my cfl set-up and we are about 30 days into flowering and They are drinking water like their is no tomorrow. I make it rain, so I go through about 8 gal's every 2-3 days.

I am switching to the 400w CMH this weekend and I am sure they are going to start needing even more water. I am adding Cal/Mag to their water to compensate for the R/O and was wondering if I would be able to mix 1/2 gal R/O with 1/2 tap water? Like I said, my water is extremely hard. I think it runs about 350ppm and the PH is pretty high, 7.0+ (using aquarium drops to test so not sure exactly). The R/O runs about 6.5.

By combining the 2, would it in theory cut my ppm's and the Ph? I would think the ppm's would be cut in half but what would the Ph do? would it decrease also. I have ordered a PH pen so I can get a more accurate reading to help with feeding them and so I no were everything is at.

I know I can get a R/O filter for around $100 but after the investment in the CMH set-up, that's not an option at this point. I also thought about a Britta pitcher but it just seems like it would not be able to keep up with the demand?

Any input would be appreciated.

Peace

Big

 

[riddleme]

would def expect a dilution if you mix em but not sure that it would actually cut ppm's by the dilute %

if I was you I would look into a in line carbon filter setup they do not cost that much and I have seen em at walmart, basically install it under your kitchen sink kinda thing have to change the filter every 3 months

 

[cowboylogic]

would def expect a dilution if you mix em but not sure that it would actually cut ppm's by the dilute %

if I was you I would look into a in line carbon filter setup they do not cost that much and I have seen em at walmart, basically install it under your kitchen sink kinda thing have to change the filter every 3 months

It will cut the ppms, and pretty close to a mix % or ratio. My well water is abut 250 ppms and 7.5 ph. The rain water I collect is about 12 ppm and 6.2 ph.I mix them 50/50 and end with great water at around 125 ppm and 6.8-7 ph. I give it 24 hrs to buffer together before using it. Plants just love it. With water that hard I would suggest a full test on it. See what the mineral content are. Especially what the iron and calcium contents are. You can find these test at most Lowes, Homedepot, Pool suppliers ect... It will really help tune your nute program in.

 

[CHIEF PUFF PUFF]

What's up Riddleme? I was wondering would you transplant your plant 3 weeks into flowering (pc grow box 8in wide)? My plant needed some nitrogen so I gave it MG plant food 20-8-16 should I feed my plant these nutes again or start flowering nutes? Trying to sex my plant was wondering what you think? Here are some pics



Pics 1 & 2: Sassy almost 3 weeks into flowering ( planted in a gallon milk container cut off and covered with black tape), gave nutes 6 days ago, pH watered yesterday.

Pics 4-6: Trying to determine Sassy's sex?

Thanks in advance

 

[riddleme]

What's up Riddleme? I was wondering would you transplant your plant 3 weeks into flowering (pc grow box 8in wide)? My plant needed some nitrogen so I gave it MG plant food 20-8-16 should I feed my plant these nutes again or start flowering nutes? Trying to sex my plant was wondering what you think? Here are some pics

View attachment 1044485 View attachment 1044486 View attachment 1044490View attachment 1044491View attachment 1044492View attachment 1044493

Pics 1 & 2: Sassy almost 3 weeks into flowering ( planted in a gallon milk container cut off and covered with black tape), gave nutes 6 days ago, pH watered yesterday.

Pics 4-6: Trying to determine Sassy's sex?

Thanks in advance

I would not transplant once in flower, it is a waste of time IMO as the plant is not focused on roots, stress for no reason or gain

as to the nutes if you are 3 weeks in it is ok to start your bloom nutes but I add veg nutes every 3rd feeding to keep em green

from your pics I see no signs of sex yet

 

[jumboSWISHER]

heyy,
kinda ina situation and needa a dumb answer hahaha
car broke down this morning and i need to go get buckets for the 15 clones.
im wondering if any body knows how much the homer buckets cost? HD is 20 blocks away, but the other stores are the complete opposite dirrection..... and im walking.
jus trying ta figure if im goona walk and get 15 garbage palls or the homer buckets.
any one know costs?
thanks a TON for any input!! you could be saving me a few miles lol

[EDIT] oh and No phone in the house...

 

[Rocky Mountain High]

Alright fellas, need some help on my water situation. Since I live in the Mountain West and our water is harder than the back of Lincolns head, I have been using R/O water from the grocery store. I am running 4 plants under my cfl set-up and we are about 30 days into flowering and They are drinking water like their is no tomorrow. I make it rain, so I go through about 8 gal's every 2-3 days.

I am switching to the 400w CMH this weekend and I am sure they are going to start needing even more water. I am adding Cal/Mag to their water to compensate for the R/O and was wondering if I would be able to mix 1/2 gal R/O with 1/2 tap water? Like I said, my water is extremely hard. I think it runs about 350ppm and the PH is pretty high, 7.0+ (using aquarium drops to test so not sure exactly). The R/O runs about 6.5.

By combining the 2, would it in theory cut my ppm's and the Ph? I would think the ppm's would be cut in half but what would the Ph do? would it decrease also. I have ordered a PH pen so I can get a more accurate reading to help with feeding them and so I no were everything is at.

I know I can get a R/O filter for around $100 but after the investment in the CMH set-up, that's not an option at this point. I also thought about a Britta pitcher but it just seems like it would not be able to keep up with the demand?

Any input would be appreciated.

Peace

Big

I'd be very interested to see what you find once you get the pH pen. Is it a combo meter by chance?

Here's the little cheapo set up I have in my garden. Takes the PPM from about 220 to about 90.

I think it was maybe $30 or so, including the filter (which probably needs to be changed, thanks guys)

Maybe run the hard water through the cheap filter and then 1/2 and 1/2 with the RO???