Light during germination

[greenfarmer2high]

so im going the old fashion way of putting the seeds in the soil and letting them germinate naturally rather than the paper towel method, and i was wondering if i should put light on them before i see the seeds germinating or if i should wait until i see green leaves. I was also wondering what light cycle i should use for the vegitation stage and what light is best for vegitation

 

[wannaquickee]

18/6 or 24/0 w/e you want..you can leave the light on if you want to keep the soil warmer but you dont need to

 

[cowasaki]

i would give them some light so they will sprout and pop out quicker, and put ur lights on 24 hours or 18/6 either one will work for veg. r u gunna use MH,HPS,or CFLS?

 

[greenfarmer2high]

i havent decided what setup to use yet? im stuck between MH or HPS is it good to have both and can i keep the same light for flowering and just reduce the time or do i need a diffferent light?

 

[cowasaki]

if u use HPS u can use the same light through the whole process. with MH u will have to switch to another bulb for flowering

 

[greenfarmer2high]

thanks for your help, another question i had thou was im growing in a closet about 8 ft high and 3 or 4 feet wide what wattage would i need for such a space and soil is my other problem i heard some good things about Mg and sunset or something like that, but what is the best soil i can use so i dont have to worry so much about nutes

 

[woodsmaneh!]

Put the light close to them, that avoids stretching and the seeds know which way to go. 400w 14" a 600w 22" you can have a look at Sannies site here scroll down to Light.

https://growguide.opengrow.com/Seeds

 

[cowasaki]

a 400 watt will work but 600 watt would be better. MG soil sucks ass use anything but that.. it killed my plants about 4 weeks in and ive read of several people with this problem

 

[greenfarmer2high]

glad i found u lol im going out tmrw to buy the shit and i was gonna get MG! what soil do you use for your plants? and im trying not to buy like a light setup so is there any way i can use those HPS bulbs in a regular lamp i found a way to rig it up im just not sure if it will work because of the bulbs

 

[cowasaki]

u will probably need a different ballast, i would get any soil at ur local store that has some nutes in it but not MG

 

[cowasaki]

++rep for the info bro

 

[greenfarmer2high]

okay and ive been reading that i want a soil that has i high nitrate level but i was wondering if that would hurt the seedlings....i want to try to avoid flipping and moving the plants from pot to pot to avoid damage so is it possible to start out my grow in large pots?

 

[TokeSmoker420]

light isnt required at all during germination. the only benefit of having your light on is right when your seedling pops its exposed to light.

 

[greenfarmer2high]

thanks for the help, tokesmoker what soil would u reccommend for growing

 

[TokeSmoker420]

thanks for the help, tokesmoker what soil would u reccommend for growing

if you have access to FFLW and FFOF id suggest those.

what I grow in is labeled as a "tropical soil mix". its composed of 2-3 different kinds of peat moss horticulture grade, has perlite and vermiculite in it, compost, etc. i cut it down with perlite around to 70%soil / 30%perlite. I also add dolomite lime as a buffer, it also provides alot of calcium

edit: if it doesnt say its "sterilized" then you have to do it yourself or you run the risk of pests. what i do to prep my soil is use a pyrethrin pest killer, its organic its made from cronstheneum flowers or something ahaha.

while your seeds are germinating spray the soil in the pots youve prepared. try to kind of soak the top layer. then water it down. that should kill any pests/eggs in the soil

 

[captbooyah]

these are seeds planted right into Fox Farm Ocean Forest... They are 4 days old
I am using $.92 6500k CFLs from Wal-mart, switching to 2700k CFLs for flower (same price)

Here are the same plants on day 19...
View attachment 1392084

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck!!!
*captbooyah

p.s. It will help IMO to cover the container with plastic wrap and a rubber band to lock in moisture... remove once you see the green popping through, but be patient.

 

[greenfarmer2high]

Thanks for thed help! u guys are gonna make my smoking habits much cheaper than they are now hahaha ill post pics and stuff when i get everything growing

 

[woodsmaneh!]

a 400 watt will work but 600 watt would be better. MG soil sucks ass use anything but that.. it killed my plants about 4 weeks in and ive read of several people with this problem

I started using MG seed starter mix about 8 months ago and love it and my seeds love also. I am the last guy that would use something like that but wanted to see what happened. Got tired of the paper towels shit. So it may not be the best for some but I put 300$ and 100$ seeds in the same shit and I'm organic rabid.

 

[woodsmaneh!]

light isnt required at all during germination. the only benefit of having your light on is right when your seedling pops its exposed to light.

Not so, wrong check out the first post from me.

 

[captbooyah]

If your are trying to start simple and easy... get the Fox Farm Ocean Forest... It has enough nutes to feed your babies for up to four weeks. Then you can slowly start to acquire things you will need to continue: i.e. Nutes, bigger pots, more lighting and so on. Light can't hurt your seeds... in fact, I think it helps greatly. Great thing about CFLs is that they can be kept about 2 inches away from your plants. This helps reduce stretching and promotes tighter growth.
Keep in mind, there are thousands of ways to do this, and thousands of products to choose from. Find things that work for you within your budget. You don't have to over do it. Keep it simple.