bunch of questions!

ok. so i planted a few seeds in a pot a while ago outside in my backyard. i wasnt really expecting nethin to grow, but it DID! i got one plant now thats prolly bout 4in? its stem looks pretty strong and its leaves are a little purple at top. I'm only going to grow the one right now to get the hang of things, and if this works, il step it up a bit. but right now, i NEED HELP!
i may have left it outside a little too long because the weather is now in the 50s, but we havent had a freeze yet so thats good. i think it will be ok as long as i get it under some lights an start tending to it regularly?
ive been reading alot about what i have to do, and some of its a bit confusing.

p.s. im trying to go as cheep as possible

Lighting:
i dont have the money for a metal halide or high pressure sodium light, so im gunna go with the florescent lights and thats where it gets complicated. i need to know how many watts are appropriate for jus one plant. and if the wattage needs to be changed throughout the growth stages. How long should it be on, and how long it should stay off.

Fertilizer:
ok so i know that the plants need more nitrogen in their soil in their growing stage and ive heard that 20-5-5 N-P-K, an less during the flowering stage i think it was 5-5-15.
but how much should i give? will it say it on the bottle/package? an is there a way that i can test/know/guess the ph without a ph meter. if i just flush out the pot every now n then will that keep me safe?

Hight:
exactly how high does the plant usually grow? using the florescent lights, ive heard to keep them close to the top of the plant about 1-3 inches. should it always be that way? or should i move it regularly (remember its jus one plant)

im sure i can think of more questions later haha, but please answer as much as you can. if you only answer one question thats ok lol i said ALOT

willowtree said:

p.s. im trying to go as cheep as possible

Lighting:
i dont have the money for a metal halide or high pressure sodium light, so im gunna go with the florescent lights and thats where it gets complicated. i need to know how many watts are appropriate for jus one plant. and if the wattage needs to be changed throughout the growth stages. How long should it be on, and how long it should stay off.

Fertilizer:
ok so i know that the plants need more nitrogen in their soil in their growing stage and ive heard that 20-5-5 N-P-K, an less during the flowering stage i think it was 5-5-15.
but how much should i give? will it say it on the bottle/package? an is there a way that i can test/know/guess the ph without a ph meter. if i just flush out the pot every now n then will that keep me safe?

Hight:
exactly how high does the plant usually grow? using the florescent lights, ive heard to keep them close to the top of the plant about 1-3 inches. should it always be that way? or should i move it regularly (remember its jus one plant)

im sure i can think of more questions later haha, but please answer as much as you can. if you only answer one question thats ok lol i said ALOT

Click to expand...

OK, so lighting.. sounds like youi got just a baby.. get some decent soil, stay away from Miracle-Gro as it will fuck you down the road.. You can start that baby out with 1 26W= 100watt equivelant Bright white for vege.. Don't quote me on bright white look it up on here, i always get confused between the 2, i know it's soft white for Flowering though... I have my bulbs labeled you can buy clamp lamps and undo the shade dome that comes with it so you have a light dangling from a cord. Add CFL's ass needed.

Fertilizer : Don't worrya bouit fertilizer till at least 3 weeks, give it rainwater for N because rainwater naturally contains N. Check into Fox Farm products till 2 1/2 3 weeks.

Height: Height really depends on how much you vege for, if you let your plants stretch ETC.. Also depends if the plant is Sativa or Indica..

Lighting: check out my journal and you can follow my soil plants. you should be able to get a pretty good idea of how many cfl's you need from looking at the pictures, and other peoples' grows. i have never really had a concrete number of lumens or bulbs for a plant, when i feel i need more i just put another one in there.

-start with 1 or 2 26 watt lights (100 equivalent)
-those two should do ya pretty well until it gets bushier, then you should add some to the sides maybe two on the sides and rotate the plants every day.
-it will get taller and so the two on the sides might turn into two on each side, one higher than the other and rotate plants daily
-when you get into budding, you want as many lights as you can afford on her, the last one i finished had 8 on her, but some were higher wattage

Color Temperature
when you go to buy your lights (walmart Home Depot any of those places) you'll see there are a couple different spectrums. at first while your in veg state, you want more 6500K than 2700K (Daylight than soft white) i was budgeted so i only bought the daylight 6500K until i flowered, then i bought soft white 2700K. you should be able to find the color temp on the box somewhere, you'll have to look for it.

Duration:
I usually go 24/7 for the first few weeks, at least until i have her in her final container (for you give it 2 weeks maybe, until she shows good signs of growth and has made the transition). then i'll switch to 18/6, mostly because i feel a resting period is good for the plant (its my one philosophy dont quote me on that). then when you switch to flowering its 12/12. that should cover lighting in a nutshell i guess, lemme know if ya have more questions on it.

use 1 26 watt cfl 6500 k to start. 20/4
then up it to 2 lights @ same. 20/4
then to 4 lights @ same. 20/4
at this point you will be at flowering. use 4 26 watt cfl 2700k with 2 26 watt cfl 6500 k. 12/12
This will do the trick for lighting. Be sure that your lights are spread out well, and are within 1-3 inches of your plant at all times to avoid stretching.
Nutes- check your levels of the 3 main nutes listed on your soil package. This will play a role in how much other nutes you need.
For a first time grow, try a two part (one for veg, one for flower). start all nutes off on 1/4 dosage.
Use the veg nutes asap.
Once you switch to 12/12 you can slowly take away veg nutes and start to add flower nutes.
Wait untill you see budsites before you go full strength on the Flower nutes.
Flush your plant with 10 days to go.
This is pretty much as vague and basic and simple as i can put it. Try this out. Should get you through a practice grow.

thank you all so much! these are exactly the answers i was lookin for

oh one more question. water.
so tap water is no good? too many impurities? what about filtered water? idt distilled would be good cuz it doesnt have ne nutrients in it. so...what should i do lol
i heard jus lettin tap water sit for a while will make it better?