A-F Grow: Advice for a Virgin

So, first grow. Just best bag seeds and some from a friend who grows. At this stage (2 weeks in) I have six plants selected based on health and vigor. I've attached pics of my current setup and progress. Just looking to see if I'm on track and get any advice. Just bought some 10-5-8 Food and 8-6-6 fert, still unsure of when to start those....I know I need more/better light, but I've only put 40 bucks into this grow so far and want to keep it under 100 bucks. Also...aside from redoing my setup altogether (which I'll also hear advice on) should I make foil/reflective hoods on the tops of each of my three boxes?
Biggest problems so far:
Slight stretching, staked two, more dirt on 4, and fan for the last week. They were all at about 6/7 inches.
Insuff light, working on getting more/better

Soil:
1:3:2:1
Starter/Potting/Top/Manure
Also have two worms in each pot
Watering with reg water every other morning, Nitrate enriched every other other.
Room has been at at least 72, generally 74F
Was doing 16 hr light/day, now at 20 hr light/day

Welcome tips:
How to speed up grow (Don't need a huge yield, all for personal use)
General Improvement
Setup
When/How to Fert and Feed
Anything else you can think of.

Much Thanks,
Kite

Box 1:


Box 2:


Box 3:




Plants:


 

\|/Joker420\|/

Well-Known Member
ok im tired and high so im gonna make this quick bro...
1, ur goin to want to wait a couple of weeks before you start giving them nutes, start at 1/4 or 1/2 strength and work your way up,

2, you are going to want to get rid of that aluminum foil, its going to conduct heat raising the temps and will make hotspots not good

3, the only way u could "speed" up the grow is to veg for the minimum amount(3weeks..maybe) of time then switch to 12/12

4, dont get your hopes up, be realistic, its your first grow so you are probably going to fucc sumthin up(we all have) and with it being bag seed you have no idea wat kind of genetics your looking at.

5. learn learn learn watch learn and use everything you learn on this grow to make ur next one even better.

6, patience is the key, you cant "watch" them grow

good luck bro
 
Thanks for all the advice, man : ). That's why I used bag and stuff straight from my friends last crop. No use in buying premium seeds for what I know will be a subpar grow. Just figured, since I got this far and things look decent, I should get some more wisdom and try to make this as good as possible with my college budget and inexperience. Thanks for providing some. I am making the move to a mylar set up in a lighttight closet tomorrow night. Any further advice, and current dets, direct:

http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/708024-f-grow-advice-virgin.html
 
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