new grower needs help asap!

okay, so im a rookie at growing and just started growing 3 days ago.

i germinated 6 seeds for 24 hours, then i planted them in organic choice miracle grow potting mix soil. i threw in 2 seeds in each pot and covered the surroundings with aluminum foil. The light i use is a 71W soft white. i turn on the lights around 10am and turn them off around 11pm. Any suggestions?

also, how many times do i need to be watering per day and how much h2o if its the 3rd day. Do seeds need plant food in order to grow faster? if so what type? how much percent of Nitrogen, phosphurus, and potassium.


anything would help.

thanks

Lights are off from 10pm-7Am Thats 9 hours, no? Standard hours are either 18 on 6 off or 24 on 0 off (there are debates, but you should be OK with in those) So you might want to increase the 'ON' lighting schedule.

Watering is the typical downfall of us noobs (I'll say what norm, not what I do) Kinda depends on the size of the pot and room temps/humidity. Small pots in dry room need more water. In cups or peat pot? Put in real pots quickly. (nothing wrong with the cups/peat pots to sprout a)nd prove a seed

2 seeds per pot? Not usually done, but not the kiss of death that you might hear. If both sprout separate fairly quickly. Once the first or second set of leaves start (the 'seed leaves' don't count) mainly once the plant is a plant, but before the roots get tangled.

JUST water (if city tap water, let sit in a pot or such to let chorline evaporate) the pH it to 6.3-7.0 (6.5-6.7 I found to be idea for the MG soil) Save the nutes (fertilizer for a month at least) To few nutes is better then too much.

If you only just started 3 days ago, they should be getting more hours of light than that. Some people do 18 hrs on and 6 hrs off, others do 24 hours on until they are ready to flower the plants.

You should really read the Grow FAQ, it's really helpful. That's what I did, which gave me a much better understanding of what I was trying to do and then I got clarification on different things from the threads.

Either way, that Grow FAQ should be your first stop.

Good Luck and Happy Growin'!

what is a nute?

and i have no idea if the soil im using even works.

i use regular arrowhead spring water, is that ok?

and i give the plants about 12 hours of light and 12 hours of night. ( regular spring day)


i use small pots made of some type of carton i got at walmart... the roots break through the carton ( supposibly )

question: if i started the 12/12 routine, is it possible for me to change the light time by 16/8 by tomorrow?

also is the amount of light im using any good?

i will read the FAQ thanks.

bump, i need help..... ill get the hang of it eventually

Its actually possible to just go 12/12 from the begining and it works quite nicely, there are debates among growers but experience is experience

i also have been told you can go 12/12 from start not tried it though dont feel right but i do agree need veg stage and i go by 24/0 for 21 days then 12/12 till harvest hope it helps

read. read. read.

the forums on RIU (rollitup) will have all the answers to your basic questions. It'll be hard to get really solid answers on basics in the forums b/c there are so many cool tricks and personal techniques.

read. read. read.

emjoi said:

okay, so im a rookie at growing and just started growing 3 days ago.

i germinated 6 seeds for 24 hours, then i planted them in organic choice miracle grow potting mix soil. i threw in 2 seeds in each pot and covered the surroundings with aluminum foil. The light i use is a 71W soft white. i turn on the lights around 10am and turn them off around 11pm. Any suggestions?

also, how many times do i need to be watering per day and how much h2o if its the 3rd day. Do seeds need plant food in order to grow faster? if so what type? how much percent of Nitrogen, phosphurus, and potassium.


anything would help.

thanks

Click to expand...

Firstly, don't use Miracle grow soil... EVER!!! start over with some new seeds in better soil, something that does not contain time release nutrients and maybe more solid(Bark-ish) so that the water drains well...

Secondly, you need to ditch the aluminum foil, I know you think its helping, but its not. Instead try an emergency blanket, or pick up some Mylar from Lowes or Home Depot, I don't fucking care, just get it.

Thirdly, your light is an soft white incandescent bulb... which means, Its not doing anything... AT ALL., except maybe burning your plants.

And lastly, at this point in time, you'd be best off leaving your light on 24/7, not only is it best for the young seedling, is saves you the hassle of having to turn it on/off. (This is all of course AFTER you go to Wal-Mart and pick up a decent Florescent bulb, look for something is around 50+ watts 6500K(You'll see this on the package somewhere) and puts out around 3200+ Lumens, in fact get 2 of these, maybe 3, probably 5. Remember to keep them 1-3 inches away from your seedlings.

Do this, and I promise you that you will do much better than if you do nothing at all.

Good luck kid, and keep it simple.. for now.

ok yesterday my the sprout popped out... im not sure if its a 71 W soft or cool white... is there a diffrence? i will be putting up pics of my plant soon, as soon as they get a little bigger in inches. I changed the cycle to 16/8 and water the plants about 2-3 times a day. What i do is get a water bottle, poke holes through the cap and water the plants.... the little sprout seems to enjoy the light cause its standing straight and strong... i will keep this thread updated.

that might be a little too much water bra, those little guys only need a tiny bit... and what the dude above you meant about the light, is that you cant grow with a reg light, you need to get some cfls or a MH bulb or HPS bulb...

Soft white, cool white= Incandescent= wont work, check out the fluorescent bulbs at your local hardware store, even Wal-mart. Lighting is the MOST important aspect of growing Marijuana. Don't make another move until you get some that works. Good luck.

Dont Water Every Day... Your Plants Roots Wont Work. They Need To Look For Water Solid Things Are Made From Solid Foundations. What Pots You Got Them Planted In.???

i water that much because the soil goes bone dry... thanks for the advice, i shall stop watering as much.


40W FL's any good? for 2 plants


also one more question: my friend budded a MJ plant just using the type of light im using.... if you guys say it wont work, then why did it work with him? i saw it as well

emjoi said:

also one more question: my friend budded a marijuana plant just using the type of light im using.... if you guys say it wont work, then why did it work with him? i saw it as well

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Oh, how amazingly stupid I am! I just realized that you are absolutely right and know EXACTLY what your talking about. My sincerest apologies. Oh, while your basking in the glory of your amazing plants, pick up a couple more of those awsome lights that realy do work! Keep us posted!!! AWSOME!!!

nutes = Nutrents or knowen as plant food

thanks frostick, yea i was reading over the FAQ'S sure helped alot.

and nezzar can you be any more of a douche?

emjoi said:

thanks frostick, yea i was reading over the FAQ'S sure helped alot.

and nezzar can you be any more of a douche?

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I have to deal with a person that bashes every thing I say about CFL when people ask about it and such

Yeah.. sorry about that. Were all capable of bad moods my friend. That being said, I'll spare you any excuses. My apologies.

Now, as for your lighting, Is it possible that your friend was using multiple lighting fixtures? Because I'm trying to help you out here man, and I'm telling you, a plant will not benefit AT ALL from an incandescent bulb. Even if it could, it would still benefit more-so from fluorescent lighting. It is very cheap $10- and very easy to acquire, so there is no reason why you should not take this advise. good luck to you man. I'll be watching your growskie.

Dude, sounds like you're trying to drown it. Back off the water some, you are too anxious. Let the soil dry out a little before you give it another drink. slabhead