Help! Dilemma!

Ok let first start off by pointing out the obvious, as I'm sure you will see as I move on, this is my first grow.
First pic is a pic of my grow room. It's in my closet. I have a digital thermometer, the high has been @ 80 and the low @ 67. It stays on average @ 76-80. The humidity had a high 57% and a low of 31%, but stays around 42-46% most of the time. I am using a shop light that has 2 40 watt bulbs, each with a light output of 3050 lumens, a color temp of 6500k each. I keep a fan on low pointed towards them at all times.
The second pic is of my first 4. They have been growing for almost 2 weeks now. It seems they haven't been growing at a rate as fast as some of the newbies I see posted on this site, but nonetheless were getting taller and looking healthy to me. I first planted them in a pot that was a turn key pot for strawberries that i got at Wal-Mart. It came with a pot, pre-mixed soil and strawberry seeds.( u can see the green pot in the 3rd pic, which i have5 more growing already). (which all by the way have all seemed to love that soil, beacuse they sprout up and are anh inch tall after only 2 days. Unless thats the way everyone's seeds do.) After 2 days geminating, and of course exhanging them for the strawberries, I started my grow.
After about 2 days( they had sprouted in the soil and were an inch tall). day 3 transplanted them into the rectangular pot u see in the pic. I took about a inch in diameter of the soil they were already growing in and transplanted them into the rectangle pot using Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix. I chose this because for some reason this and a Scotts' brand is all they seem to carry at my Wal-Mart, except for big bags of fertilizer, or turfbuilder, etc.. The Miracle-Gro says it absorbs about 33% more water and regulating over watering and underwatering. The rectangle pot is "designed" for u to put water in the bottom tray and it waters itself.
For the first week I had them on just a 40 watt bulb in the cealing, then switched to a flood light that my socket would take. I hung the pot, about 2"'s from the light, from hooks from the cealing, and u probably guessed, had singed leaves by morning. ( the next day is when I did the re-plant).
Day 7 They have been transplanted into the "self watering pot", with the soil core from the "strawberry" soil and mixed around with the Miracle-Gro Moisture control potting soil. I filled the tray with water and put a two tablespoon dropper of water at the base of each 1. I added the flor's and put them on a 24 hr cycle.
Day 9. They are growing, straight and look good to me, with the singed leaves getting green again. I gave them each another 2 tablespoons of water and put them on a 18/6 cycle.
Day 10 I have to go out of town. I ask my friend to water then on day 11 with 2 tablespoons of water in the dropper at the base of each stalk. Now let me remind you that this is my first time, I am supposed to have this "self wattering tray", and this special Moisture control soil.
Ok so on with the point to all this. i am back and it's day 13. Walked in to check on my girls. 2 are dropping bad. One is touching the ground, which is my best looking one with 6 little leaves. And One is touching the ground shrivled up.
What the hec do I do? I don't want to lose them of course. Can They be saved? I got 5 more in the "strawberry" pot already 1 1/2" tall? Should I just start over with these? Is the lighting Ok? When and how often do I water from week to week as they get older and so forth? All the answeres to watering confuse me? Some say every 3 days, or daily or, so forth. But waht about age I bought 5 8' inch pots today, should I transplant the first 4 into their own pots, transfer the new ones into them? When should they go into bigger pots? Is the 8"'s enough? How much soil do i use? Should i give them the core soil around them? Please help me with these answers.
You may have other questions. No there is no intake fan. Large gaps at the frame and i open the door for about 4 hrs a day. The fan is on them on low all the time. The floro's are abot 3 inches away. I watered them all today and gave them each about 1/3 cup. I have about $50 more to get what i need, what does everyone reccommened?
P.S. - The Miracle-Gro says when transplanting into the 8' pots to fill them 1/3 with soil and water them, but how MUCH water do I use??????
P.S.S. Well for som unknow dam reason the pics won't upload, so I'm working on it. Untill then see what advice u can offer.

i think you may be overwatering if the leaves are drooping really bad.

The leaves are'nt the whole satlks and all on two of them. Do you know how small or big they have to be for their own pots?

i dont see any pics

I don't see any pics either.

maverick_25thhr said:

What the hec do I do? I don't want to lose them of course. Can They be saved? I got 5 more in the "strawberry" pot already 1 1/2" tall? Should I just start over with these? Is the lighting Ok? When and how often do I water from week to week as they get older and so forth? All the answeres to watering confuse me? Some say every 3 days, or daily or, so forth. But waht about age I bought 5 8' inch pots today, should I transplant the first 4 into their own pots, transfer the new ones into them? When should they go into bigger pots? Is the 8"'s enough? How much soil do i use? Should i give them the core soil around them? Please help me with these answers.

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It's hard to know whether you've under or over-watered them, because the symptoms are pretty similar. Is the soil dryish? Underwatered, is the soil damp, moist, wettish? Over-watered.

Firstly - lose the auto-watering system and tray. marijuana does NOT like soggy soil, it comes predominantly from places where it's hot, the soil is dry and there's very little rainfall - it prefers dryish soil. Secondly, you need to get good drainage in your pot and soil, so excess water drains out and is not retained within the pot which can make the soil soggy and the roots will not get enough oxygen - that's the symptoms of over-watering. So get some pots with drainage holes in the bottom, for your age plants they should be 4" pots, don't use bigger pots than this at this stage. You should dry mix your soil with about 30% perlite and 10% Vermiculite and gently wet the soil so it's damp and moist - but not waterlogged with tepid water. Perlite and Vermiculite help water drainage and water retention and they help to aerate the soil. If you can't get those, make sure you have some small pebbles at the bottom of the pot to help drainage, make sure you sterlise the pebbles before you put them in so you don't introduce pests or disease into your plants.

Knowing when to water is something gained by experience because it depends on a number of factors - whether soil is mixed with perlite and vermiculite, whether it has plenty of drainage holes and pebbles to help the drainage, how old the plants are, how much light and humidity is in with the plants etc etc. A rule of thumb is this - When you've repotted your plants into moist soil and given them a watering with about 20% run off out of the bottom - weigh them, when the top inch of so of surface has become dry (test it with your finger) weigh them again, then aim for a weight somewhere in the middle for when to water.

When watering, water with tepid water (just barely warm when you put your finger in it) this helps to penetrate the soil and doesn't shock the plants and roots. Cultivate the surface of the soil with your finger (rought it up a little for 1/4-1/2 " of soil surface) this helps the water pentrate the soil. Water all around the pot and in the middle so it penetrates all of the soil and doesn't allow air pockets. Allow about 10% - 20% run off or drainage out of the pot.