im growing 2 GDP and 2 Blue dreams. i want them no larger than 4'. my grow room is a pretty constant 84 degrees during day and about 73 in the evening w a constant 35-38% humidity and my grow space is 3 x 6 x 8. im using organic soil and distillled water so pH shuldnt be an issue but i have a tester and will check just in case. my room has plenty of ventilation and a very good supply of fresh air. i have a few questions before i go pick up my clones from the grower...
1. is it a good i dea for me to veg my plants under my 1000 watt HPS set up?? and if so how high should i keep my light from the top of my plants to keep from burning them? they should stay under 24 hour light right? and for how long usually??
2. when shoud i start giving nutrients? and should i give them everytime i water, or every other time i water??
3. i wanna supply some kind of Co2.. ive seen many of those homeade devices with the sugar and yeast..are those a good idea? and can i put 3-4 of them in my room or is there "too much" i can give??
please help any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Hi: You can veg your plants under a lot of different lights . A HPS has the spectrum that's condusive to flowering in particular but regardless if you leave the light on for 18 hours and off 6 you will veg your plants just fine. 1000watter's are hot and so start the light far enough away that the young plants don't get fried. How far depends on if your lights are cooled or not. If it's feels hot to the back of your hand it feels hot to the leaves.
Some folks subscribe to the 24 hour on theory and while it does work you ought to know that the plant needs it's sleep just as much as it needs the light. Read up on the Krebs cycle. I think lights on 24 hours is stressful and drains the plant of energy by not allowing one half of it's normal diurnal cycle to happen as it should. Stick to basic gardening theory and grow good plants that way 1st before you go all rocket scientist.
As to how long you want to veg...up to you and how tall they can finish at. I veg mine for 2 weeks and flower them at 6 inches, they reach about 16 to 18 inches when done. Veg them longer if want taller. I grow in a closet so space is limited.
Feedings in soil ought to be not too frequent to avoid nutrient salt build up. So that means NO not every time you water. Every other watering is kind of pushing it too. The soil will hold a certain amount of nutrient and the plant is NOT likely to take it all up in two or 3 waterings. So
go easy. Especially at first when they're young. The soils have enough nutrient alone for a month or better with NO extra feeding.
I would not start using co2 until you can grow plants to fat buds without it. IF at some point you want to do it I'd save up and buy a small co2 tank and system for syncronizing it with your lights and vent fan. You don't want your co2 all sucked out while the vent fan is running and you do want the co2 available at thee most useful time for the plants. Read Jorge Cervantes chapters on co2 and then you'll have a better idea what's up with that. I grow killer big buds no sweat without it though so....I'm just say'in...
Lastly and I know you didn't ask about this but based on your other interests it's bound to come up....I imagine you've heard molasses can help during flowering. Hot tip is to use it very diluted in the last month of flowering if at all in SOILS ONLY. AGAIN don't over do it or you'll encourage molds that'll eat your roots. The sugars in the molasses act as a food source for the beneficial microbes in your soil that release locked up nutrients from your organic materials. The sugar causes a population explosion of the microbes which in turn causes the release of nutrients tied up in the soils to give a nutrient rush at the end of flowering. I wouldn't use it earlier than this and AGAIN I get huge tight sweet buds without it when I grow in soils...just say'in again.
Good Luck! Happy Gardening GrowIT!
