jjthejetplane
Active Member
this is my first attempt at growing and i would appreciate any criticism on my setup. what are your thoughts on this?
growing in a closet
- Thread starter jjthejetplane
- Start date
jjthejetplane
Active Member
its a 400 watt t5 light. 2 durban poison 2 tangerine dreams clones at 3 weeks. just planted in pots with miracle grow organic potting soil. running lights 18/6
AltarNation
Well-Known Member
Looks good. I'd ditch the tin foil on the surface, that can refract the light and cause burns. Alternatively you could use some flat white paper or some white stone.
gotigers0420
Active Member
definitely ditch the foil, and you dont want reflective under the plant anyways. they want and expect their light to come from above. some believe differently but i am a believer in potting up. it is hard for the plant to use all the water in that large pot. at the size of your plants I would still be in beer cups, then up to 1 gal, then finally to its final pot. either 5 or 7 gal smartpots. it helps those roots get the O2 they need. good luck
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
Good morning,
Quick question 4/you if you would be so kind to answer. Why do you believe in potting up?. I've been doing it for years based upon an assumption that fresh soil is a good thing. Yet, I'm about to go into the whole re-using soil organic grows which is contrary to my old train of thought that says never re-use soil.
JCashman
Well-Known Member
ok, first things first, dump that foil. it has a better chance of doing harm than good. next, you better make sure u have room for those 4 plants as they grow. dump the miracle grow soil if u can. get some nutes, get a PH reader, and splurge a hundred or two hundred dollars on a small 150w-300w HPS lamp. the results compared to your t5's will be more than noticeable.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
JCashman
Well-Known Member
you pot up because the smaller containers allow for smaller amounts of water/nutes as well as ensuring that all if not most of the medium is being used. i've done it both ways, beer cups, 1gal, 3gal, 5gal. and i've also started at 5gal straight from seedling.
if anything i'd say the plants in the larger container will grow bigger faster for sure, but you will be wasting a lot of water and nutes with a baby in a 5gal. and i wouldn't reuse the soil, but i know some people do. if you get the results you desire, then rock it out my friend
good luck!
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
I'd advise the opposite, stick to cheap potting soil until you know how to grow in the medium...lol. Half the problems here are caused by new growers doing too much with "nutes".
To the OP,
Looks good thus far, the shiny side of foil causes hot spots...dull side is OK. If you must use it, place it underneath the pot.
Good Luck!
JCashman
Well-Known Member
well then make sure you also tell him that Miracle Grow has time released ferts and nutes already inside the soil, and so you have absolutely no control of what is being released and at what time its being released. any time he adds nutes he could potentially be motherfucking his plants because the MG soil already just released a shot of ______(fill in the blank).
instead of telling him to use crap like MG because you're worried about his learning process with nutes, why dont you explain to him why most noobs screw up with nutes, as opposed to sending him further down the nooby rabbit hole. offer him a hand out of noob land by way of educating him through your own knowledge.
but dont just recommend MG crap soil because you think he's a noob. theres only one way to learn, and its not with MG.
blimey
Active Member
Reflective material of any kind is not needed on top of the soil. It probably just promotes fungus, pests, overwatering and stem rot because there is no air circulation over the soil.
Fox Farms Ocean Forest is much better than MG and sold at most hydro stores.
Do you have any fans in there. You need an oscillating fan in there to simulate wind and build stronger stems.
You also will need some kind of ventilation system to exhaust the hot air and control temperatures.
Is smell a problem? Because those four plants will stink in a couple weeks.
If so and you don't have one, you need a carbon filter.
Fox Farms Ocean Forest is much better than MG and sold at most hydro stores.
Do you have any fans in there. You need an oscillating fan in there to simulate wind and build stronger stems.
You also will need some kind of ventilation system to exhaust the hot air and control temperatures.
Is smell a problem? Because those four plants will stink in a couple weeks.
If so and you don't have one, you need a carbon filter.
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
I understand all of this. But MG soil for new growers is a good means to gain experience. It's how I started prior to going fully organic. MG soil is good for about 60 days, then it turns to shit...which is why the OP needs to transplant. You also need to flush MG or your final product will taste like MG. No additional nutes are needed for MG grows as well, which further simplifies it. What else am I supposed to recommend?, I use outdoor garden soil indoors that I have amended for 5 years with compost. The only additional nute I use is molasses. I'd love to see every new grower going organic, there's plently of info here on that. But for me to recommend this to a first time grower would more than likely cause even more confusion imho.
JCashman
Well-Known Member
welp, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. to me, suggesting MG to a noob is like me suggesting a hammer for a job that requires a screwdriver. i mean, anything he learns while using the MG is wasted because it wont apply when he moves on to an actual real, better, soil. i mean, your telling him he doesn't have to add any nutes except molasses, when in actuality you have no way of knowing which nutes are being released at which times by the MG soil, as opposed to adding your own nutes and knowing exactly how much of what is in your soil. plus, he's going to have to eventually learn about nutes, just sayin
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
Molasses I use occasionally in my own soil blend, never used it with MG. And if FF products are so great(at 18 bucks a bag), why do they sell flush when we all know flushing is a medium correction?. LOL, the hell with the MG then as well.welp, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. to me, suggesting MG to a noob is like me suggesting a hammer for a job that requires a screwdriver. i mean, anything he learns while using the MG is wasted because it wont apply when he moves on to an actual real, better, soil. i mean, your telling him he doesn't have to add any nutes except molasses, when in actuality you have no way of knowing which nutes are being released at which times by the MG soil, as opposed to adding your own nutes and knowing exactly how much of what is in your soil. plus, he's going to have to eventually learn about nutes, just sayin
gotigers0420
Active Member
I believe in potting up for a couple of reasons. 1) it makes watering easier to control avoiding root rot and over or under watering ,2) i believe it helps promote root growth in large spurts as all of sudden they have nice fresh, rich soil to expand into. The last re-pot is at least two weeks before flowering. And no, I do not reuse soil. Not really a belief of any sort just a habit i guess. I must be rich and not know it. Good luck
jjthejetplane
Active Member
so it matters if im using mg even if its an organic brand?
blimey
Active Member
In a word, yes.
Something will grow, probably even to harvest, however it will definitely be better if you use better soil.
gotigers0420
Active Member
with miracle grow youre paying way more for packaging and marketing than anything. on that note there are a couple of soils on "our side" of growing that are also overpriced, but way more predictable and as a recent first timer, I have had great luck with. Look into either Fox farm or I use Roots Organic with huge success. I also recently started using their entire organic line of nutes above and beyond their organic soil and WOW!! Super impressed.
jjthejetplane
Active Member
update time. im having a few issues with the leaves on a few of my plants.
gotigers0420
Active Member
thats the beggining of nute burn, thats the problem with MG. No control of nutes.
jjthejetplane
Active Member
alright. im gonna switch to fox farms this weekend. i found some good nutes in the how to grow thread too. should i prune the leaves with burn? its pretty minor on the few that have it