Grow Box Cfl's-First try!!!

Hi there so this is my first real try and growing and have a pretty good setup going i think. This is just some random bagseed i got going now but have, Purps from BcSeedking.com coming in a few days.
-For soil i am just using MiracleGro Potting soil.
-My ph in the soil is around 6.5
-The two cfls in the y-splitter are bright white and the the others are soft white
-I believe im about 3 and a half weeks into it with this grow.
-I usually just use bottle water that i have left the cap off for a day or so
-Also in the pictue i have a tube, duct pipeing stuff coming out at an angle and this is were a fan is sucking air out from the top
-Have a small hole in the bottom corner for air to be sucked threw and into the box

Any suggestions or comments or anything would be really helpfull!! Thanks

For soil i am just using MiracleGro Potting soil.

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When I first started this shit (not saying I'm a pro by any means) I used Scott's and some MG peat moss, yea that shit sucks. It will work, but if you get some Fox Farm Ocean Forrest, your plants will fucking love you. That soil holds moisture better and is just all around better. Get this when your plants are little more stable/older.

I usually just use bottle water that i have left the cap off for a day or so

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Yea, you will still need to ph your water. Ph is crucial here. You can do a lot of bad things to your plant, but get the ph wrong and your fucked.

I can't tell, but how many plants you going to be growing in the op?

I would love to use Fox Farm but no were around here were i live carrys it. Any other good soils that local hardware shops might have?

Also i went a day or so ago to look for something to test my PH in my water and i found ph up and ph down and all that. But how do i test my water? Is it with those little strips?

Oh ya sorry also not sure how many plants i will be growing...
Maybe around six at first, but i do have a smaller vedge box that is about a foot and a half tall that i start my really tiny plants out in.

This box will eveuntually be two rubbermaids like this one and be used for flowering with many more bulbs and hopefully two giant 65w cfls that are like 7 or 8 inchs long and like 3 inches wide.!

Any other good soils that local hardware shops might have?

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Not sure on that man. Like I said, I used a mixture of Scott's potting mix along with some MG Perlite and MG Sphagnum Peat Moss.That should be ok if that's all you can use.

Also i went a day or so ago to look for something to test my PH in my water and i found ph up and ph down and all that. But how do i test my water? Is it with those little strips?

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Ph up and ph down is what it is. It will just adjust the ph levels of your water. Got a Home Depot or Lowes in your town? If so, look in the section where they keep the pool supplies. Same goes for any other store you might try, look in the section where they keep the pool supplies.

You will probably see something that tests the chlorine levels and the ph, the ph solution will be red. Take your water and put it in the vial that comes with the kit. Add about 4 or 5 drops of the red solution to the water. Shake it up and compare the color to the strips that come with the test.

I'm sure there's some videos on the net showing how to do this.

Oh ya sorry also not sure how many plants i will be growing...
Maybe around six at first, but i do have a smaller vedge box that is about a foot and a half tall that i start my really tiny plants out in.

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Reason I ask is because you will need more lights then you currently have if you plan on doing more then one plant.

check your local phone book under hydrponics,nursuries,or plants.ph up n down adjusts the water after you test it.i try to stay away from alot of the pool test strips cause for under $10 you can get a bottle of both (ph up n down)and the testing supplies.you just fill test vial 1/2 way add 3 drops of test solution n shake.compare colors to side of bottle n adjust accordingly.try to get a book on growing as they tell you other household items like epson salt and garden lime can be used if no ph up or down is around.ph is one of the very important factors in a grow.if it is not right your plants get no food.mg soil sucks and avoid it at all costs.they use to much wetting agent and nutes.get an organic soil mix and some perilite n peat moss mix 33%each if you cant find good soil.

I've been researching cfl's recently because i'm using some now.

You really need about 3k-10k lumens per plant when they get bigger, your box would be fine for seedlings but if you want to grow anything to a decent size you will need more

Okay thank you all so much.

I do have a home depot in town and am going to go down there later and get a ph meter like the one you have. Thanks a lot for the Picture-helps a ton.

I have herd so many mixed things about the MiracleGrow Potting soil and since it was cheap (under 10$) i will most likely go get another small bag of something new and organic.

Would it be bad to transplant my plant now into new and different soil? Would that cause it into shock or anything?

Also yes for my grow box/ Closet thing im working on i will hopefully have around 7000k in there and the same small box i have now for my small plants until there about 5in tall then move them to the big box.

nice plants. Im trying to do the same thing, a budget grow under all CFLs. How old are your plants right now, cause theyre looking pretty good?

I have herd so many mixed things about the MiracleGrow Potting soil and since it was cheap (under 10$) i will most likely go get another small bag of something new and organic.

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Yea it will work, but if you ever get some better soil, you will see what I mean.

Would it be bad to transplant my plant now into new and different soil? Would that cause it into shock or anything?

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You want to do this when they tell you. If they start curling up then you will need to transplant. They start to curl because the roots can't expand out anymore. What do you have them in now? 16 oz Dixie cups?

When you transplant into a different soil, make sure you keep the roots in the original soil you had them in. There shouldn't be any shock unless you do something bad like tear some roots.

Hey happy i believe my plant is about 1 month and 3 days old, but i started under two soft white cfls, very low watts and had a lot of stretching until i got it into my box. I need even more like in my box then i have now. just a suggestion for you. Have you started building your grow area?????


Grnman, thanks so much for the help. You have really been helping me. I went to homedepot and all they had for PH in water was strips so i was just like fuck it and bought them. according to the strips my PH is under 6.8- think this is good or needs to go a bit lower?

Also i will reply to this and post pics of the the plant that i took today. A lot bigger and im pretty sure its a GIRL!!!!!! Also let me know if ya think i should maybe transplant into a bigger pot.
No i am not in small red dixie cups, thats what i started in but then moved to a little bigger then to this which im not sure what it is but it says 5.5 on the side and isnt gallons....

pick up the seeemorebuds book - it uses Miracle Grow soil and CFLs (and the author is a mod on this site).

Welcome back bro.

Grnman, thanks so much for the help. You have really been helping me. I went to homedepot and all they had for PH in water was strips so i was just like fuck it and bought them. according to the strips my PH is under 6.8- think this is good or needs to go a bit lower?

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Your waters ph is 6.8? Yea, that will do because when you add nutes to that, it will drop the ph to a more desired level. Now if you ever go to just water your plants and not feed them, you might want to give them a lower ph'd water. Something like 6.2-6.5 You could pick up some ph down from a pet store like Petco or Petsmart. You got those in your town? If so, head to the aquarium section and get you some.

Oh yea, I got my grow journal going, so if you wanna see what I'm using check it out.

Here are updates pics of today!!!!!!!!
How do they look? Healthy>???
Any suggestions???????????

some of those leaves look like they need watched closer. keep an eye on new growth - watch for nute burn/watering issues.

Are those the new pots you put them in? If so, how big are they? Your plants are looking really good except for the fact that some of them are droopy looking. This could be because the pots they are in are to small, or you could be over watering.

I can't remember, you adding any nutes just yet? Those babies look like they are ready to explode!

NO, i have not added any nutes yet. Just water.

I have been watering on average every 2 or 3 days depending on how dry the soil is.

A couple of the bigger leaves look a little droopy but hopefully they will perk back up and strengthen up.

The pot says 5.5 on the side. i know this isnt gallons though so not really to sure. its proabablly like 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide all around.

Do you think its time for me to start adding nutes and what nutes should i add that i can find at like a home depot or local hardware gardening shop.?

Do you think i need to go bigger with my pot?

Thanks guys.

bigger pots are usually recommended. i wouldn't add any nutes yet mostly because they look a little nute burned. does your soil have any nutes in it?

I have been watering on average every 2 or 3 days depending on how dry the soil is.

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Yea, that's probably the reason for the droopy leaves. Try cutting back on the water to like once a week. We will see what happens then. You seen my journal and that's about how much I water.

The pot says 5.5 on the side. i know this isnt gallons though so not really to sure. its proabablly like 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide all around.

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Hmm, I'm not to sure either. Could be anything. I'd say it sounds like you have at least a gallon maybe gallon and a half of space, according to those dimensions. Maybe some else can chime in here on that.

Do you think i need to go bigger with my pot?

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Yea, you might need to, we need to see how big those pots you got them in now are. I think the rule of thumb is like one gallon or two for every foot you want them to grow. I'm not to sure on that, I will need to look that up again. To be safe, I would at least have them in 2 or 3 gallon pots on their final transplant.

Hey email, you think nute burn? Are you referring to some of the discoloration of the leaves near the tips?

o you think its time for me to start adding nutes and what nutes should i add that i can find at like a home depot or local hardware gardening shop.?

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Probably not just yet. They look nice and green, which means they are healthy. If you wanted to test it out, you could give one of them a very very small amount of low N-P-K food and see what happens. Experimenting is a great way to get a good feel for all of this.

Hey email, you think it's nute burn? Are you referring to the discolored leaves near the tips?

Ya i just got this pot about 5 days ago and so maybe in another 5 days i will go bigger and yes i am using Miracle Grow Potting Soil and well i believe it has nutes just becuase of the reviews i have been getting about it. So maybe a bit burned from the nutes in the soil.

Think thats it?