Lot of questions...

I recently came across 4 clones and I'm trying to get a decent set up going. I'm leaning towards a box setup but I need to know a few things before I get started. Right now the plants are in 4"x4" pots under a incandescent grow light. One of the plants is about 10" tall...it appears to have been trimmed pretty hard. One set of leaves is turning yellow and has black tips (I haven't used anything other than filtered water). But the rest of the leaves are nice and green. Another is a smaller one (about 5 inches) thats nice and full. And the last two....well I'm not sure if they're gonna make it. I have searched the internet high and low and cannot seem to get definitive answers....everyone has their own opinion. Maybe you guys can steer me in the right direction. Here are my questions:

How much space will each plant need? Both width and height. (I know a lot depends on the strand.....unfortunately I have no idea what it is)

What type of lighting should I use? I don't feel like going out and spending 300$ on a HPS. Are CFLs good for boxes? What should I be looking for as far as wattage, etc.? How many will I need for 4 plants?

Where should I get my soil? The ground? The store? Should I add anything to the soil before transplanting?

How big should the pots be?

What should I use for nutrients and when should I start using them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I want my first grow to be a good one.

Thanks!

cr9,take a look at the grow faQs in top left of page,alot of good stuff in there!from A to Z,and if u still aint got your answer,then post a thread,im not being a dick,just thought id let u in on it if you didnt already know!good luck growing!!!rascalone

Damn...sorry I missed that. Google has been failing me for the past couple hours so I decided a forum was my best bet. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to post any questions I have after going through the FAQ.

no problem!i did the same thing when i first came on to this badass site,theres alot of cool dudes here,dont trip for the most part mostly everyone is down 2 help if they can,me aswell!!!!!

cr9 said:

I recently came across 4 clones and I'm trying to get a decent set up going. I'm leaning towards a box setup but I need to know a few things before I get started. Right now the plants are in 4"x4" pots under a incandescent grow light. One of the plants is about 10" tall...it appears to have been trimmed pretty hard. One set of leaves is turning yellow and has black tips (I haven't used anything other than filtered water). But the rest of the leaves are nice and green. Another is a smaller one (about 5 inches) thats nice and full. And the last two....well I'm not sure if they're gonna make it. I have searched the internet high and low and cannot seem to get definitive answers....everyone has their own opinion. Maybe you guys can steer me in the right direction. Here are my questions:

How much space will each plant need? Both width and height. (I know a lot depends on the strand.....unfortunately I have no idea what it is)

What type of lighting should I use? I don't feel like going out and spending 300$ on a HPS. Are CFLs good for boxes? What should I be looking for as far as wattage, etc.? How many will I need for 4 plants?

Where should I get my soil? The ground? The store? Should I add anything to the soil before transplanting?

How big should the pots be?

What should I use for nutrients and when should I start using them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I want my first grow to be a good one.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

First things first. Get them away from that incandescent light!

If you don't have much money to play with, I suggest you use CFL lights. Now, I'm no CFL guru as I haven't used them before. But from what I understand you will want nothing less then the 42W bulbs.

Cool White CFL bulbs = Vegetative Growth Stage
Warm White CFL = Flowering Stage

I'm not sure as to how many you will need for 4 plants, but just remember, when it comes to CFL lighting, the more the better.

Get you soil from the store, make sure it isn't one that contains "Time Released fertilizers", I usually tend to mix in some perlite as well to help with the drainage and airflow to the roots.

As far as space, the more the better (obviously) but there are ways to grow plants in small spaces using advanced techniques (LST, topping..etc)

I went with 4 CFLs...1200 lumens each, 5500k. They look pretty diesel, I hope they do the trick.

I AM a fan of CFL's and the reason is because of the heat given off. It is far less than that of HID lighting. HID is definitely more efficient, but the trade-off is heat. If your contemplating a box grow, I'll try to get you off on the right track:

1. What bulbs to buy: For vegetative growth you will want a bulb that says "Daylight" or "Cool White". For some reason, it seems difficult to locate anything of more than 26 Watts in most common stores like wal-mart. So, the 26Watters will do ya fine, just buy as many as ya can. I use no less than 4 per plant.
As far as flowering goes, just wait till ya get to the point where ya wanna induce flowering, then buy your bulbs. If you are like I was when starting out (broke), then after ya get your veg. bulbs, then buy a couple flowering bulbs per week till you have all ya need--again at least 4 per plant. These bulbs will be labeled as "Soft White". If wal-mart is your store, then these bulbs will be in a package that is mostly green in color and the bulbs will be 42 watts each. That rating is the true watts of the bulb. Don't be confused with the "incandescent equivalent" rating. Make sure the bulb is definitely 42 watts----at least. In flowering is where your lumen output matters most. Shitty light set-up equals a shitty yield!
2. Soil: Be very conscious of the soil you buy. DO NOT buy Hyponex soil. You'll have a lot of trouble with the soil turning to mud and not draining at all. You could put sand in it, but after all the trouble, you would have been better off just buying good soil to begin with. Also, as stated by Home Grown, don't give a second thought to buying pre-fertilized soil. Especially "Miracle Grow" cuz it has burned many people plants. My suggestion would be Fox Farm Happy Frog. It has very few nutes in it, but does have beneficial bacteria, microbes, and fungi. It'll provide a great media for your young plants. Your soil choice is not to be taken lightly. If you start wrong, you'll be stacking the cards against yourself for later. Example.....if your ph gets out of whack in the future, you'll need to do a soil run-off test to see what your soil ph really is. If your soil doesn't drain well, you end up with a pot full of mud, and your plants will have a major over-watered problem that is all but impossible to solve without a complete transplant----I know----I did just that. And I already had approx. 40% perlite in the mix to try and help drainage.
3. Space: I myself prefer at least 1 cubic foot of floor space. Then a ceiling no less than 4 feet. Some sativa varieties can grow to 12 ft. Most indicas will only need about 3 ft. Remember though, you can train them to grow in a spiral upward if ya want to, so you really have a lot of freedom in how you USE your available space.
4. Pot size determines your "pots size". LOL Seriously though, there is some truth to that. I'd get them in 5gal. buckets as soon as it is convenient to do so. The buckets that are at least 5gal.'s will grow them to maturity without them getting root-bound as long as you don't veg for more than 1-2 months.
5. Nutrients: Everybody has different opinions on this one. If I may make a suggestion, Alaska brand fish emulsion will do you well. Since it is composed of decomposing matter, it releases it's Nitrogen slower (I believe). Whatever the reason, it's harder to reach the point of burning your plants with it. I really like it. Now, if they'd just be able to deodorize the stuff---lol.

There ya go...a custom growing itinerary!
Good luck!

Wow...thats exactly what I needed to know. Thanks.

So two of my clones have pretty much gone to clone heaven. I lost a full set of leaves on my tallest plant but other than that its looking nice and green. My small bushy girl looks amazing as well. These lights look a HELL of a lot brighter than the incandescent. I can't wait to see how these ladies turn out.

I think I'm pretty much good to go. I'm still not sure about the soil though. My closest fox farm dealer is further than I want to drive. Any other suggestion on brands I should go with? At first look Hyponex would probably have been on my list so I don't really trust my judgment when it comes to picking this stuff out.

I'll make sure to post pics once everything is up and running.

Thanks for the help.

Look for Sunshine Growing mix. If ya can't find that, look for Black Gold potting soil. Beyond that.....just something with no ferts. No problem cr9.

Here's some eye candy for ya:

cr9,
Good luck with your first grow my friend. I'll be interested in hearing how everything works out for you- Specifically, I would like to see how your babies do under cfls during the flowering stage. I use cfls for veg and I am always amazed at how effective they are. Keep us posted on your progress...

PGW said:

Look for Sunshine Growing mix. If ya can't find that, look for Black Gold potting soil. Beyond that.....just something with no ferts. No problem cr9.

Here's some eye candy for ya:

Click to expand...

dude i just looked at this thread only b/c i'd see pics of his problem. now i just have unmet expectations. is that ok with you?