First Time Growing. Advice Would be Greatly Appreciated

My room-mate and myself are attempting to grow some plants. Once again this is our first attempt at growing.

We have 3 pots with 3 fifty plants around 3-4 weeks old. Were not quite sure if we are doing it correctly.

Setup.
-Miracle Grow. (Moisture Control )
-3 flower pots with drainage holes on the bottom
-1 120V-60hz 20W 300mA S-N Self-Ballasted Lamp
-1 120VAC 60hz 390mA Helical 26W
( the two lights listed above , we currently have the Self-ballasted lamp in, were not sure what light would be better to use)

We have it in our close with the light on all the time, we water it about 2-3 times daily depending on the soil dampness. We are beginners with little to no idea on how to continue this project. Please help would we glady appreciated

that cfl bulb is just enough to get those plants through seedling stage but your gonna need more light during veg, if you have to use cfls i owuld get about 8 of the 20w 6500k bulbs... and thats just good enough to veg with
gonna have to figure something else out for flower

also i would fill those pots in a little more around the stem, it will help support alot better

and move the light as close as you can without burning to prevent further stretching

I was gonna give u advice, but I would be writing a grow guide. read like a few and stuff ya knowww

oh and F*ck mg

alright we filled the pots up to just about under the small yellow leaves at the bottom of the stems. we also moved the light closer to around 3-4inches away from the plant. i put the back of my hand under the light right by the plant and it wasn't too hot so i'm guessing thats alright.
Also, Im not quite sure about the nutrients and fertilizer. Is that mixed in with the miracle grow soil or do I have to buy that separate?

mg is packed full of crude nutes.. dont give them any for a few weeks

MG has enough nutes for 2 months, i would give any unless your plants show they need them, MG is way easy to burn your plants if your not smart. prob why hazeforlife says fuck em.
ive seen plenty of successful and problem free grows with MG and the moisture control is the best to use imo

tho i only use FoxFarm... MG isnt horrible

if you can grow good, then mg isnt bad at all.. but for begginers i suggest some organic stuff, or seed starting mix.. man even half black earth and half perlite works good

So are the plants small consider the fact that there 3-4weeks old?
& how should our lighting schedule be? should it be on all the time or in shifts (12 h, 14 h, 18 h)?

yes they are very small for 3-4 weeks.. with your lights 24/7 just leave it on all the time with a fan.. check mine there 3 weeks and a day or 2
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/430048-2-week-old-purple-indica-5.html

oh and about your watering. dont do it twice a day... water them really good till you see water coming out the bottom, then dont water again till the pot is really dry and light.. lots of new growers actually try to hard, it is a weed you know, provide light, soil, and air/co2 n just let them gooo

Those plants look super healthy. I would love for my plants to look like that but the experience you have far betters mine and my setup most likely could be a little better. But as for my setup if i continue on using the cfls will they eventually grow and as for the nutes in the miracle grow. mystifiedbongs said the MG is good for about 2 months but after the 2 months are up what nutrients should i buy for them?\
& how many cfls should i use. is one good or do i need to get 8?

do you have a local hydro store?? if not try and get the most expensive organic stuff they have at home depot or whatever.. make sure theres no chemical nutes in it that say's like .02 .01 .01.. get seed starting mix if you want and add you own nutes when they need it.. you are def goin to need more cfl's alot more if you want a real harvest.. try n aim for 6500 k for veg n 2700 k for bud.. try n get the 40 watt n above as those have more lumens per watts if u can

ohh ya sh*t lol.... veg is when they are just growing leaf.. bud is when you SWITCH the lights TO 12 hours ON and 12 hours OFF

Okay , as for the budding stage . when does that normally occur? or what should i look for in determining if its time to do the 12 h on 12 h off?

Dont use Miracle Gro! that stuff is terrible trust me...invest in FoxFarm OceanForest soil, its not too late to transplant your babies into fresh new soil...i did after 2 weeks growing, i transplanted into 3 gallon pots that i kept them in for the rest of the grow...For light just go with a switchable metal halide/high pressure sodium 6"cooltube, wattage depending on your space, im using 400w mh and hps in a 4'x2'x4' box and i got the cooltube with both bulbs included for around $165 w/shipping,. with a 435cfm centrifugal fan installed in the roof of the box with some 6" ducting connecting the fan to the tube, this helps pull the heat out of the box because the high intensity discharge (HID) these lights produce creates alot of heat and you want to keep your grow room at 66-78F....without a cooltube the temps can rise close to 100F=wayyy too fucking hot. then i have duct booster fan installed in a side of the box bringing in fresh which is idle for good growth...i also have a small 6" desk fan (hi/lo setting) in a corner on the top to help circulate the air movement and build strong stalks and stems....you use the metal halide bulb during the veg period because it produces a blue spectrum that makes the plant grow stems and leaves, i recommend vegging 18on/6off daily light schedule for 4 weeks then switching into flowering...when you switch to flower you need to change the schedule from 18/6 to 12/12...for the first day..let your MH light go out the same time you set on your timer for it to go off, then switch the bulb to the HPS (p.s. never touch the bulb with fingers,oils from skin cause bulb burns, use microfiber cloth) and switch your timer so it stays off for 12 hours instead of 6...let your plants flower for 9 weeks....theres all kinds of organic and nonorganic foods and nutrients for plants, i dont feel like typing all that right now lol, i just recommend using SuperThrive, 1ml per gallon of water, for every water....by the way, you need to set a water schedule, research on that more..but with my 3 gallon pots i water 1.5 liters per pot on sunday and wed...my girls like that schedule...theres so many things you still need to research...i tried to set a basis quickly for you...but dont be cheap seriously, being cheap will get you cheap results in the same amount of time you can be getting much better quality and harvest that will pay off in the end...being cheap will keep you cheap...im actually still on my first grow bro, but im 25 days into flowering now...ill post some pics for you, hope you take my advice man...feel free to ask me question..ill check up on this thread...

you can switch it to 12/12 whenever you want.. but i suggest you do it when they are not to big.. just remember yours are def gonna triple in height by the end of flowering

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