Hows my seedling? (First plant)
- Thread starter Blazer foo
- Start date
JellyJaguar
Well-Known Member
I think you first need to figure out how much you want to grow, then select your medium of growing like coco hydro etc and make yourself out a budget for whats realistic. Get yourself some high quality clones or seeds and try to get feminized to save yourself some time while you are learning. Like people have been sayng PH is extreme priority and without it your plants are just going to be sickly or die. A grow tent is good if you want to keep in smells and keep light in since most are lined with mylar or you can use a computer case closet etc. Carbon scrubbers are great for keeping the smell under control but for the most part you got the right idea. Stay away from miracle grow and add a layer of perlite to the bottom of your pots for better drainage. When you water your plants if you are using coco make sure to add water until you get about 20-30% drain off from the bottom to clean out any excessive salts. The main thing is to just do it you will learn so much more from your first grow than I can possibly type.
Blazer foo
New Member
Ok, yea just making sure. Thanks for all the help definitely gonna use all this advice.
sno capz
Well-Known Member
This would be my checklist...
1. T5 High Output light fixture 2 foot or 4 foot by either 6 or 8 bulbs...
(the length and number of bulbs will be dependent on how many plants you plan on growing at one) If you are planning on just 1 or 2 then you'd get away with a 2 foot x 6 bulb with 6500k bulbs... If you plan on growing 3 or 4 get a 4 foot x 6 or 8 bulb with 6500k bulbs...
(the reason I say only 1 or 2... Or 3 or 4 is because you can get through your entire veg cycle with this fixture)(if just using for seedling strictly then you can get away with whatever size that will cover the width and depth of your grow space)
2. Get yourself 2 or 3 - 65watt cfl spiral bulbs. Also get the same number of plain sockets that are pre-wired with a wall plug. Just make sure the socket can handle whatever wattage you plan on using for a bulb so you don't melt the socket and burn your place down!
3. GET A ROLL OF MYLAR!!! I cannot stress this enough! Without some sort of reflective material on your wall you will be wasting a lot of light. This stuff is cheap and easy to work with. A 54" x 4' roll costs me around $23.00. Worth every penny especially when using T5's because florescent lighting doesn't penetrate with light to the bottom or lower portion of your plant. Also why I said get a few cfl's and sockets to hang... All of this will make a notable difference during veg which overall affects flowering. Once you get yourself a metal halide you won't need extra bulbs unless you plan on topping out at a pound per plant.
4. Oscillating fans are also a necessity! They promote stem strength and also help to keep hot air moving from the bottom of the group space, and as long as an out take or a way for trapped hot air to escape is available, then it will also help to cool the area.
5. Pick up a small fan that you can face upward or across pointing toward your light fixture. It will also help to keep your lights cooler.
6. A few disposable grow tray liners. These are only like $3.00 for a 8" x 24" tray and are the best to use while in the seedling stage. You can pour water directly into the bottom of the tray and your seedling will suck up the water as needed. Then you simply pour the runoff or leftover water into a drain wipe out and place the seedlings back into it and under your lights.
7. A table, single step step stool... Anything you can use to keep your plants raised off of the floor. You don't need crawlers(bugs that crawl) having easy access to your garden.
8. Grab a timer or two... One to run your lights and one to run your fans. This will give you ease of maximum control with having to do very little other than feeding and checking in.
9. Power strips are great IMO... If your power goes out you will not have to worry about any harm to your electrical equipment. Plus it's awesome when you have multiple things to plug in at once. If the electrical outlet is far from the grow space... Buy a heavy duty extension cord. Don't buy a cheap flimsy extension cord and I cannot stress this enough either. A better quality, heavy duty extension cord is made to take larger loads of electricity without burning the wires in the cord out and potentially causing a fire.
10. Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer combo unit. They sell at stores such as Walmart for around $10-$15. Completely necessary to be completely aware of your grow spaces environment. Heat should stay between 70f - 80f.
11. Spray bottle. This will be for misting your seedlings to provide the moisture it needs to survive. Not necessary but I would still recommend one.
12. Distilled Water. Only for the seedling stage. First week or two is fine.
13. pH Meter. Essential in making sure your plant is able to take up nutrients and/or water. Check your waters pH before every feeding.
14. pH Up & pH Down. Also essential in adjusting the waters pH.
15. Rockwool cubes or jiffy pellets. I personally like rockwool cubes because they don't retain as much water as jiffy pellets do. Over watering could easily be the destruction of a plant... Especially a seedling!
16. Also figure out a way to hang your lights.... Chain, hooks, or retractable hangers made specifically to hang lighting.
1. T5 High Output light fixture 2 foot or 4 foot by either 6 or 8 bulbs...
(the length and number of bulbs will be dependent on how many plants you plan on growing at one) If you are planning on just 1 or 2 then you'd get away with a 2 foot x 6 bulb with 6500k bulbs... If you plan on growing 3 or 4 get a 4 foot x 6 or 8 bulb with 6500k bulbs...
(the reason I say only 1 or 2... Or 3 or 4 is because you can get through your entire veg cycle with this fixture)(if just using for seedling strictly then you can get away with whatever size that will cover the width and depth of your grow space)
2. Get yourself 2 or 3 - 65watt cfl spiral bulbs. Also get the same number of plain sockets that are pre-wired with a wall plug. Just make sure the socket can handle whatever wattage you plan on using for a bulb so you don't melt the socket and burn your place down!
3. GET A ROLL OF MYLAR!!! I cannot stress this enough! Without some sort of reflective material on your wall you will be wasting a lot of light. This stuff is cheap and easy to work with. A 54" x 4' roll costs me around $23.00. Worth every penny especially when using T5's because florescent lighting doesn't penetrate with light to the bottom or lower portion of your plant. Also why I said get a few cfl's and sockets to hang... All of this will make a notable difference during veg which overall affects flowering. Once you get yourself a metal halide you won't need extra bulbs unless you plan on topping out at a pound per plant.
4. Oscillating fans are also a necessity! They promote stem strength and also help to keep hot air moving from the bottom of the group space, and as long as an out take or a way for trapped hot air to escape is available, then it will also help to cool the area.
5. Pick up a small fan that you can face upward or across pointing toward your light fixture. It will also help to keep your lights cooler.
6. A few disposable grow tray liners. These are only like $3.00 for a 8" x 24" tray and are the best to use while in the seedling stage. You can pour water directly into the bottom of the tray and your seedling will suck up the water as needed. Then you simply pour the runoff or leftover water into a drain wipe out and place the seedlings back into it and under your lights.
7. A table, single step step stool... Anything you can use to keep your plants raised off of the floor. You don't need crawlers(bugs that crawl) having easy access to your garden.
8. Grab a timer or two... One to run your lights and one to run your fans. This will give you ease of maximum control with having to do very little other than feeding and checking in.
9. Power strips are great IMO... If your power goes out you will not have to worry about any harm to your electrical equipment. Plus it's awesome when you have multiple things to plug in at once. If the electrical outlet is far from the grow space... Buy a heavy duty extension cord. Don't buy a cheap flimsy extension cord and I cannot stress this enough either. A better quality, heavy duty extension cord is made to take larger loads of electricity without burning the wires in the cord out and potentially causing a fire.
10. Digital Thermometer/Hygrometer combo unit. They sell at stores such as Walmart for around $10-$15. Completely necessary to be completely aware of your grow spaces environment. Heat should stay between 70f - 80f.
11. Spray bottle. This will be for misting your seedlings to provide the moisture it needs to survive. Not necessary but I would still recommend one.
12. Distilled Water. Only for the seedling stage. First week or two is fine.
13. pH Meter. Essential in making sure your plant is able to take up nutrients and/or water. Check your waters pH before every feeding.
14. pH Up & pH Down. Also essential in adjusting the waters pH.
15. Rockwool cubes or jiffy pellets. I personally like rockwool cubes because they don't retain as much water as jiffy pellets do. Over watering could easily be the destruction of a plant... Especially a seedling!
16. Also figure out a way to hang your lights.... Chain, hooks, or retractable hangers made specifically to hang lighting.
sno capz
Well-Known Member
It'll work just fine for now... But plan on picking up something better down the road
Blazer foo
New Member
Ok, im planning on picking up a bottle of fox farm nutrients are these fine? Which one is the one is the one I need for now?
Blazer foo
New Member
Got some big grow fox farm nutrients, gonna get the other two later. Are these fine?
sno capz
Well-Known Member
Ive never used fox farmpersonally although know people that have... Let me look
bbyb420
Well-Known Member
I used grow big when I first started growing and it seemed to work alright. I noticed improvement when I started using the general organics line though.. fox farms is good but its not 100% organic, but it definitely works. Just be sparing with nutrients this early..when I fed grow big to my seedlings I used 1/4 strength then worked my way up to 1/2 strength, I never had to use full strength.