Dirt/soil

I am a novice grower im growing my plants in dirt from the earth i know i should get fertilized soil but im growing discrettly in my attic and i am broke now is growing in dirt a good or bad thing like will my plant survive or should i just give up any help is greatly appreciated also im using natural sunlight/ regular lightbulbs/and a heavy duty lamp thats on one of rge tripod has double lamp on it im not sure if thats a flouresent light or not again any help or positive comments are greatly appreciated
 

mrblu

Well-Known Member
if you cant afford soil. what does your set up look like.

is it like 1 lightbulb and a styrofoam cup and no ventilation?
 

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
Apparently you have done no research on growing indoors, google all your questions and you will get answers, that's how I found RIU and learned to grow....I read first and when I didn't understand something, that's when I asked questions....if you put your beans in just "dirt", and you have a regular incandecent bulb on it, yes you need to give up and do some reading...good luck man
 
I have done weeks worth of reseaech im just too poor to afford anything for a superior grow and no i dont have it in a styrofam cup its currently in tupperware and have sprouted a 5/12 of an inch within 2 days just one of my plants and my set up is in my attic with windows fans and lights its the right temp and humidity. I have a dark room setup for the night where it ges pitch black for the vegatative state and my light sources at the moment are natural sunlight in a windowsill greenhouse and work lamps with thw tube bulb(not sure if those are flouresent or not) i do plan to buy some nutrients to spray on my leaves when it geta big wnough and to buy some actual plant soil soon. I have fans not directly on my plants but close enough to where it will thicken the stem and braches so they wont be brittle or break. I know what to do and how to do it just dont have the right or preferred things to do it with at the momwnt also have a humidifer to keep the humidity at a constant level and such
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
i think you have a halogen light youll know if it throws off a lot of heat just get those spiral CFL bulbs and youll do good
 

budfever

Active Member
I have done weeks worth of reseaech
LOL

my set up is in my attic with windows fans and lights its the right temp and humidity.
I find that very hard to believe.

work lamps with thw tube bulb(not sure if those are flouresent or not)
Nope not the right lights.
Get it out of there its a HUGE fire hazard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its not good for growing and they are super inefficient.
Its called like Nizza said a halogen light.
Get CFL's!

i do plan to buy some nutrients to spray on my leaves when it geta big
Not a good idea to spray your plants in bud. You do know that? Right?
It will cause mold especially if you don't have enough air movement..

I have fans not directly on my plants but close enough to where it will thicken the stem and branches so they wont be brittle or break
Um.... your fan should be blowing on the plant.
It should be blowing on the plants enough to make them move almost constantly.
Like it was outside in a nice summer breeze not a wind storm tho.


I know what to do and how to do it just dont have the right or preferred things to do it with at the momwnt also have a humidifer to keep the humidity at a constant level and such
It sounds like you have some of the basics, but you need to nail down the details.
Please get that light out of your attic!
Get some CFL's.
They wont be anywhere near as bright but they wont burn your house down like halogen will.
They are pretty cheap and the plants will like them better too.

I would also be very careful using a humidifier in your attic.
Its one thing to get mold on a plant, but its allot worse to get mold in your house.
 
I think your right aboit the halogen light i havnt used it yet so thanks for the early warning i have aome cfls the curly spiraly ones ill definetly use those know and with spraying the leaves i ment qhwn it was bigger i read in aome forums that spraying the leaves slighty help gice it nutrients since the stomatas in the leaves absorb water and nutrients also with the fan thanka for the info im definetly putting my fan closer to where itll move but its only a sprout atm and with the humidifer i only used it cause i read in a couple forums that the humidifer helps but your probably right i dont use it all the time just for a couple hours a day it does get stuffy in the attic so i thought that would help make the are a little bit more moist for the plant but im probably wrong. Also to everyone that had positive comments thanks for all the help so far and more help is greatly appreciated.
 

budfever

Active Member
The CFL's are a much better choice.

I do not spray my plants at all in flower.
Its fine to foliar2 feed in veg but I would never do it in flower.
Some people may do it, but its not worth the risk of mold or bud rot to me.

I have never had the need for a humidifier most people in my area need dehumidifiers not humidifiers.
Look in your local garden center for a thermometer that also reads humidity.
They are cheap and will help you get both dialed in.

If I was broke I would first save up for good soil.
A bag of ROOTS organic should run around $15 and has quite a bit of nutrients in it.
You would probably need some fertilizer for flower but it would be fine threw veg in my experience.

I start blowing a 4" inline fan (so not a real big fan) on my seedlings as soon as they break soil.
I don't baby my plants because mother nature dose not baby them, and I get nice big strong plants.
I need to do very little to support my plants in flower because of it.
 

budfever

Active Member
And cfls are those spiral energy efficent bulbs right?
Sure are, you want bulbs that say cool white or better yet have 6500k on the box for veg.
And warm white or ones that say 3000-3700k on the box for flower.
It is also beneficial to go half and half threw veg and flower.
If I were using 4 bulbs I would get 2 of each so I had a nice mixed spectrum.
Try and get the highest wattage you can find.
 

Bigby

Well-Known Member
If you are committed to growing in that soil, and have no choice, what is the point of this thread?

No, they will not grow properly. You are completely wasting your time. Wait till you can at least afford some proper growing medium and a light. (that is honestly my opinion, but I very much doubt it is what you wanted to hear. you wanted to hear, you will be fine, go for it - didn't you? well wait, and see how wrong that is).
 
Yah when i ment spray i ment during veg state and on the humidifier your probably right imma stop using that probably gonna get a dehumidifier and get some good soil for when i move them into a 3-5 gallon bucket I also now currently have one cfl on my plant and probably gonna use a 1 warm white one but a good distant away from the soil you know budfever since its pretty much just yoy giving me advice why dont we just message cause you know what your doing and i have somewhat of an idea of what im doing you would definetly help me out in the long run what do you think partners in crime haha
 

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
LMFAO...ok ok you win...someone helped me so I'm gona help you the best I can..
First: get some CFLs (spirals) look on the box it will tell you the kelvin color of the light like this "6500k" or "2700k" those are the 2 you're looking for, 6500k for veg and 2700k for flower...then set 1 over each of your seedlings about 2 inches above it, as they grow you will have to add more CFLs...
Second: get a cheap bag of perlite from wally world or your local hardware store and mix with your soil/dirt, I use a 60% soil and 40% perlite for good drainage..
Third: get a small fan to blow on them...
Fourth: get some nutrients, a good starter for you is Miracle Gro houseplant food, it's about 3-4 bucks at wally world
Fifth: make sure that the area you are growing in can be controlled, temps, fresh air, humidity, no light leaks, ect...
Sixth: get flat white paint and paint walls, or hang mylar wrap...I paint cuz it's easier to sterilize before each crop...

Once you have all this you will be ready to start, initial cost could be around $200 (on the cheap side) so if you have to get a little at a time, do so, because you will NEED all of this, and more...

here are some pics of my newbie grow in a closet (do not use foil to line walls like I did..lol..it creates hot spots and can burn your plants)
001 (2).jpg002.jpg2021.jpg The hoods are T5 high output 6500k
 
Thanks man defiwntly gonna take your advice too got one cfl over my plant at the moment definetly gonna get some perlite some good soil but on the controlled enviroment thats a tuffy im growing in my attic it gets pretty hot and humid up here so im gonna need to buy a dehumidifier for this place and nice grow setup btw i like it i wont use foil i was thinking cut up sone white trashbag to pin to the walls or something for my lil space i got setup but on the coffe containers are they big enough for the whole life span of the plant or do you transplant them. I was wondering for my own personal use.
 
Amazing switched to cfl and 50 percent of moisture left the sides of the container and i can see another root all the way on the side sprouting another branch already in day 6
 

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
Thanks man defiwntly gonna take your advice too got one cfl over my plant at the moment definetly gonna get some perlite some good soil but on the controlled enviroment thats a tuffy im growing in my attic it gets pretty hot and humid up here so im gonna need to buy a dehumidifier for this place and nice grow setup btw i like it i wont use foil i was thinking cut up sone white trashbag to pin to the walls or something for my lil space i got setup but on the coffe containers are they big enough for the whole life span of the plant or do you transplant them. I was wondering for my own personal use.
Your welcome, like I said I got alot of help from these pages, and I did alot of reading along with trial and error, and I've killed and stunted a few plants along the way..but this right here is my grow room now, I've switched to HIDs and I use the whole room now instead of just the closet :bigjoint: as a matter of fact 2 out of the 6 bedrooms we have are for our ladies

My flower room.jpgMy veg room w-perpetual grow.jpg
 
Sounds like a nice setup you have going on but im a little worried atm checked my plant this morning and a small sprout appeared a good little distance away from my plant its thin small and has 2 leaves on it in a v shape good or bad??
 

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
Sounds like a nice setup you have going on but im a little worried atm checked my plant this morning and a small sprout appeared a good little distance away from my plant its thin small and has 2 leaves on it in a v shape good or bad??
I'ts probably just grass or a weed. You are using dirt from outside so hell it could be a small tree :shock: just pull it.
 
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