Growing supplies and whatnot. need help please.

ok. so how about I tell you my situation. I bought some (edit) STERILIZED basic soil at a local mart, germinated random seeds I had in some paper towels (I didn't buy a specific strain or anything as this is my first time growing and just wanted it this way) and I made ghetto containers for them (made of the bottom of 2 liter soda bottles with holes poked in the bottom. lol) so anyways. getting to the point.

I currently have one small CFL pointing on 11 plants and at least 4 of them are around 1 or more inches in height right now. I am going to Walmart TODAY. I need to get what I need today because as of now obviously they don't have enough light and they need good soil. I have done my research and know that I want to use CFL's and other fluorescents cuz I'm on a tight budget. since I'm a newb grower I probably expect only like 4 to survive. lol. but I'll try. I am having a problem though with what i should be getting for lighting fixtures for these lights and how to mount them above the plants. also, I need to know what sort of soil they need. should I be getting the 30-10-10 organic mix since they are in their vegetative state? thats what I keep reading everywhere, but I am the type of person that just needs confirmation. lol. Also should I pick up a ph soil tester and a tester that tests for npk? or just the ph soil tester?

I also NEED to transplant them since the containers are small and ghetto. lol. so should I buy 1 gallon containers? or what should I upgrade to at this point?

I know I know so many noob questions. but I need help!!!

thank you in advance.

-Alicia <3


EDIT: I just checked them and all ELEVEN are sprouted or just beginning to sprout. I totally forgot to mention that they have been in soil for 2-3 days. the soil is nice and moist and the soda bottles were disinfected. The CFL that is over them is 13 watts (900 lumens) as advertised on the box. I know I need more than one light but like I said, I have a fixture problem and am not sure what to do with that.

oh and don't mind all the lol's and casual talk. I'm a little high. heh

I usaly have plants in 4'' pots till they are a foot tall before trans planting to half galon pots and once they reach to 2 feet tall, I take her for clons and wait a month to see if any clones rooted and if enough rooted to my standerds I flower her

1 - 4'' pots for plants under 1 foot I use
2 - half galon pots for plants under 2 feet
3 - 1 galon pots for plants over 2 feet
4 - i'd stay with CFL because then you don't have to buy the light fixture , balist and bulb just for 1 light
5 - if you have old DVD player or stuff that doesn't work cut the power coard and if you buy light sockets for the CFL then you can wire your self a hanging CFL light


what's your grow space hight? and are you using the plant as a mom or dad?

I do plan on staying with CFL's. Also I had no idea that I could just buy a ballast (btw, I kind of got a vague description of what a ballast is so if you could explain it a bit more I might understand) for a CFL and didn't even have to worry about a light fixture.

I am not electric savvy and that is a little too techie for me. lol. I'm geek smart not electricity smart. lol

my grow height is around 10 feet and the room is about 10' 9" x 10' 9". the walls are painted bright white (nice and reflecty, yay) and the windows are recessed into the wall therefore very easy to cover up to block sunlight.

so, what should I use for soil then? and what about ph testers and npk testers and whatnot?

immacomputa said:

I do plan on staying with CFL's. Also I had no idea that I could just buy a ballast (btw, I kind of got a vague description of what a ballast is so if you could explain it a bit more I might understand) for a CFL and didn't even have to worry about a light fixture.

I am not electric savvy and that is a little too techie for me. lol. I'm geek smart not electricity smart. lol

my grow height is around 10 feet and the room is about 10' 9" x 10' 9". the walls are painted bright white (nice and reflecty, yay) and the windows are recessed into the wall therefore very easy to cover up to block sunlight.

so, what should I use for soil then? and what about ph testers and npk testers and whatnot?

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I wired my first light and I didn't know how to wire it, no if you plan on using Tube flo lights your gonna have to buy the Flo tube light, balist and light fixture for it with CFL you just need the light and light fixture, if you can wire the light fixture your self you can most likely build 1 hanging lights for the price of 1 fixed light

I use Warm White for veg and flowering because that seems to be the only kind of light I keep getting so i use it and it doesn't realy make a diffrince to me

wite = positive
black with white stripe = positive
black = negitive

soild I use MG and for seedlings and clones I perfer to start them off with Jiffy pucks because it has 0 nutes in to, and with MG I usaly don't feed for a week or 2

PH testing kit you can get away with Fish water kit

Are you wanting to use the max amount of space you can in your grow area?

For filtering I've read people make one them self

I can't do that. I need a fixture that plugs into a standard 110 volt outlet. I need to know what I can get for that for a CFL. not a tube light.

cfl's have a ballast built in. at walmart look for Y adapters (under $2). this allows you to put 2 bulbs in 1 socket. you can get 42w cfl's for $8.50 (150w equal). theres a few methods ive seen used for mounting the cfl's and Y adapters.

1- lamp cord with a socket on one end. basically like a short extension cord but with a light socket on one end and plug on the other. screw in the Y and 2 bulbs

2- bathroom vanity fixture - ~$9 this is a chrome looking light bar that has room for 3 or 4 bulbs - with Y adapters you can use 6 -8 bulbs

3- they also make an adapter that plugs into a wall on one side and has lightbulb socket on the other side (~$1). using a power strip you can plug in a couple of these.. screw in some Y adapters and then multiple bulbs

5000 lumens per square foot is nice. more is nice. cfl can be much closer than 8" from the plants

use a fast draining soil without nutrients already added

immacomputa said:

I can't do that. I need a fixture that plugs into a standard 110 volt outlet. I need to know what I can get for that for a CFL. not a tube light.

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CFL you just need a regular light fixture ( the ones that you use the 60w light bulbs in) and what I meen by using the power coards from things that don't work you can use to wire a light up and you can plug it into your wall, that's how my hole grow setup is for lighting

aaa now your about ready to make to to take pics and show you what I'm talking about

kingpapawawa said:

cfl's have a ballast built in. at walmart look for Y adapters (under $2). this allows you to put 2 bulbs in 1 socket. you can get 42w cfl's for $8.50 (150w equal). theres a few methods ive seen used for mounting the cfl's and Y adapters.

1- lamp cord with a socket on one end. basically like a short extension cord but with a light socket on one end and plug on the other. screw in the Y and 2 bulbs

2- bathroom vanity fixture - ~$9 this is a chrome looking light bar that has room for 3 or 4 bulbs - with Y adapters you can use 6 -8 bulbs

3- they also make an adapter that plugs into a wall on one side and has lightbulb socket on the other side (~$1). using a power strip you can plug in a couple of these.. screw in some Y adapters and then multiple bulbs

5000 lumens per square foot is nice. more is nice. cfl can be much closer than 8" from the plants

use a fast draining soil without nutrients already added

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perfect answer thank you very much. but why do you say not to use soil with nutrients already added?

immacomputa said:

perfect answer thank you very much. but why do you say not to use soil with nutrients already added?

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because alot of people perfer to feed thie plants when they trans plant it but I perfer to use MG soil with nutes in it because that saves me alot of 1/4 strength feedings in 2 weeks

ok. cool. I plan to use soil with nutrients anyways. so should I use a 30-10-10 mix or a 20-20-20 mix?

immacomputa said:

ok. cool. I plan to use soil with nutrients anyways. so should I use a 30-10-10 mix or a 20-20-20 mix?

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I haven't seen any soil mix with 30-10-10 or 20-20-20, your proibly talking about the nutes that you buy from the store to feed your plants most soils that have nutes in them have less then 0.20-0.20-0.20

and for buying plant food I find that 20-20-20 works awsome, speeking of nutes I don't remember the last time I fed my tomatos :S

thanks for all the info. so yeah. now that I've got this all settled for the most part I need to do some more research about mothers and clones, cuz I know like nothing about that so far. when should I start worrying about that?

immacomputa said:

thanks for all the info. so yeah. now that I've got this all settled for the most part I need to do some more research about mothers and clones, cuz I know like nothing about that so far. when should I start worrying about that?

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what kind of thins do you want to know about mother plants and clones?

Does your name refer to the G.I. Joe PSA's? YouTube - GI Joe PSA - Computer


This is what I did. I took and extension cord and cut off the female end. Then I bought some sockets (under $2 I think) that already had a bit of wire coming out of them. Once I stripped off the insulation, I just twisted the ends together. Polarity doesn't matter if you do it like this.




If you have a few bucks to spare, get some heat shrink tubing. You put it over where you twisted the ends together and then use a lighter to heat it slightly (not burn it.) The tubing shrinks up around your connection, preventing contact between the two sets of wires (very important of course.) You can see the package of it in this photo.




If you don't want to spring for this stuff, get some electrical tape to insulate the two wires from each other.

Hope this helps.

GrowBigOrGrowHome said:

Does your name refer to the G.I. Joe PSA's? YouTube - GI Joe PSA - Computer


This is what I did. I took and extension cord and cut off the female end. Then I bought some sockets (under $2 I think) that already had a bit of wire coming out of them. Once I stripped off the insulation, I just twisted the ends together. Polarity doesn't matter if you do it like this.

If you have a few bucks to spare, get some heat shrink tubing. You put it over where you twisted the ends together and then use a lighter to heat it slightly (not burn it.) The tubing shrinks up around your connection, preventing contact between the two sets of wires (very important of course.) You can see the package of it in this photo.

If you don't want to spring for this stuff, get some electrical tape to insulate the two wires from each other.

Hope this helps.

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thanks that's what I was trying to tell him but you could proibly go for beretts to if you wanted

Hi,

This is a bit of a copy and paste of some other posts I've written. Hope you don't mind, but I have a few suggestions on what to buy and how to get started. Some of this may apply to you, some of it wont. When I was looking to get started, all I focused on was my lights and my seeds. I soon found out that there are some tools that I needed as well.

Just for the record, I don't know shit about growing. I'm only half way through my very first grow. But I've bumped my head a couple of times and think that I've learned a little to help someone who is just starting. Any of the links in this post are not recommendations of online sellers or anything. They are just examples. You can probably find stuff even cheaper.

Lessons learned.

Invest in enough equipment so you know what is going on with your plants and keep records of what you do and when. It's incredibly hard (for me anyways) to remember everything I've done and when. And it becomes near impossible for people to offer you the proper help online when you don't know what your PH is, temps are, humidity is, nutrient ppm is. Also, when did you water? How much did you water? Keep track of this stuff. Write it downin your grow journal. Put a link to it in your signature. Then people can find out about the history of your grow and give you better advice.

1. Be patient! - This is at least a 4-6 month journey you are embarking on. You may get some great bud out of it. You may get nothing. Its the only way to learn though. All of your mistakes and failures are leading you to knowledge. Don't get discouraged and keep growing.

2. Mylar - $13 online Don't use tinfoil because it can create hot spots and burn your plants. Mylar was one of the first things I purchased when it was probably the least important to the plants thriving. It's not nearly as important as everything else in this list. So get this last, or just stick with white walls. They work just fine.

3. Temps/Humidity - $10 at Target This thing will record the min/max temp and the min/max humidity of your grow area. Too high/low temps will kill your plants. If the outside air changes with the seasons, then chances are your inside air will too. Too humid and you run the risk of moulds. You should know what your grow environment is doing.

4. PH - $15-25 online I started off with nothing to test my pH. I got this but it was a joke for testing PH, good for moisture, but can't really do PH properly. Actually, it can't do pH at all. Then I got something else to test my dirt. The dirt test would have been helpful before I started to grow or transplant. Once you have your plants settled into their pots for the long haul, it doesn't do you much good. I've read that your soil will adjust to the pH of your water/nutes over time. A digital meter is really the best and only way to go to see what pH you're feeding your plants. You should test and adjust the pH of your water, EVERY TIME YOU WATER, or after you put your nutrients in. That means that you should get some pH up and pH down. Some people don't like the organics for this (slime problems.) When the nutrients are in, depending what nutrients you use, the color of the water changes, so you can't use most pH tests that use color matching. Get a digital meter, get some calibration liquid. If your PH is wrong/off, then your plant may not be able to use the nutrients you are giving it. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing that I've learned so it should be the very first step/purchase.

5. Moisture meter - $5 at hardware Does what it says. You can see how moist/dry your soil is at the bottom of your container. Tells you when you need to water. Not good for testing PH, like I said.

6. Nutrients - $30-40 at ? I found mine at Longs Drugs for $30. Get these, follow the chart. It makes it easy for you and takes out a lot of the guess work. Chances are you won't over fertilize them either. I started off using "regular" off the shelf stuff (fish emmulsion for $10.) The instructions on most off the shelf stuff is ambiguous, and I probably cooked my plants. Bad bad bad. This is probably the scond most important thing that I've learned. (The first is to test your pH, because if that is off, they plant may not be able to use those nutes.) At first it sounded like a lot of money to spend when I didn't even know if I was going to enjoy growing or have any female plants. But now, regardless of what happens, I sure wish I had started out with this stuff. If you still aren't sure, just get a bottle of Grow Big for $10.

7. TDS/PPM - TDS/PPM meter $15 Maybe not absolutely necessary, but it helps you get a better picture of what is going on with your water and your nutrients. Let's you know how much stuff is in your water. Puts you more in the drivers seat. If you are seeing signs of burning, you can make more informed adjustments with one of these. Again, get some calibration solution.

8. Misc. - Get a oscillating fan or two to make the stems strong, cycle the air and help keep away moulds. Also, get big enough pots (3 to 5 gal), keep a close eye on them for pests (like spider mites) and be ready to react to pests immediately. Have your answer in hand or at least already know what you would use/where to get it. You may not be able to wait three days for something to come in the mail.

9. Read and Search First - Read the crap out of this website. There is a lot of good info in the GrowFAQ. Make sure to look there before you post. Do a search before you post. I can't tell you how many people post the same questions over and over and over when they could have done a 20 second search for the answer. People are going to be less inclined to spend the effort to help you if you demonstate that kind of laziness. And use your head. Don't trust or rely solely on everything everyone tells you (especially me.) People mean well (like me), but they often are just telling you something that they've read and not experienced themselves (sometimes like me.) It's just hard to know when you can't see, touch, live with the plants yourself.

I'm sure not everyone will agree, but that is what I've learned so far and believe to be true. I'm sure I'm wrong about some of it. However, I sure wish I had started with all of this info. It would have saved me a lot of headaches at this point.

Good luck.

GrowBigOrGrowHome do you know much about DWC growing? I just need to know if I need nutes on the water and if so can I use the nutes I use for soil gorwing

BCSKing said:

thanks that's what I was trying to tell him but you could proibly go for beretts to if you wanted

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I'm not a guy. I'm a girl. and sorry BCSKing, either me and my boyfriend were too high or who knows what, but we just did not get what you were saying. lol. sorry. but then once GrowBigOrGrowHome posted his thing I totally get what you're saying now and my b/f helped explain it to me because I personally don't know anything about electricity and light bulbs and crap. lol. I know the wattage and lumens stuff though. (internet ftw)

also yes, my name is a reference to the GI Joe PSA. and btw I've seen like every single one of them. my favorite one's...a lot of them. lol. porkchop sandwiches, all of the firefighter ones and the get off my effing ice one with the informal british accent, ahh...good times. lol.

immacomputa said:

I'm not a guy. I'm a girl. and sorry BCSKing, either me and my boyfriend were too high or who knows what, but we just did not get what you were saying. lol. sorry. but then once GrowBigOrGrowHome posted his thing I totally get what you're saying now and my b/f helped explain it to me because I personally don't know anything about electricity and light bulbs and crap. lol. I know the wattage and lumens stuff though. (internet ftw)

also yes, my name is a reference to the GI Joe PSA. and btw I've seen like every single one of them. my favorite one's...a lot of them. lol. porkchop sandwiches, all of the firefighter ones and the get off my effing ice one with the informal british accent, ahh...good times. lol.

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lol ok sorry bout that , its usaly the guys that ask the questions on here , not realy use to seeing a felow tomatto grower on here, will remember that