New Growers: The One's Who Don't Need a Scienctific Explanation

sarye

sarye

Member
Before I officially start this thread I would like to say the following:
I am not an expert by any means. Some veteran growers would have a problem with the information I'm giving here. I am not starting this thread to dispute what they are saying. A lot of them have some really great information and a few are willing to help you. This thread is for people like me who don't have a lot of time or money and just want to grow a few plants for personal use. This forum is an excellent resource and you should use everything it has to offer. My problem is sorting through it all with all of my other life obligations. Growing is a side hobby for me. It is not my life's work and I am not looking for the science behind it. If that's what you're seeking, that's great, but read another thread. I am doing this for the small number of people who need some guidance, are not phd's or otherwise concerned with extensive terminology, etc. My grammer won't always be right and I'll be very straight to the point.
 
BOOGS

BOOGS

Active Member
im not gonna diss this because we ALL were once beginners and everyone needs a basic brown paper bag method of growing cannabis
 
sarye

sarye

Member
Now to the advice, what we're all really looking for in one form or another.
First and perhaps most importantly, if you are already growing and you're crops are doing well, DON"T change what you are doing! What works for some, does not work for others! Find your own routine and DON"T freak out if someone tells you it's wrong! This is what I did and almost killed all my palnts. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on this but an example would be if you are using a specific soil, and your plants are growing, everything seems fine, don't up and change the soil at someone's insistance. My plants were growing fine until the paranoia of everyone's advice set in. It sent me on a spiral of doubt. Don't let this happen to you. This is a hardy plant. It grows great on it's own. I'm starting to find, the less I mess with it, the better it grows.
THE SET UP
Here's what I've got set up for indoor growing. I can't stress enough, that this is what works for me, and may not be what works for you. I have a t12 light fixture, some jiffy pots, a tray to catch water, a fan, and a heater. Thats it. Seriously.
I don't check my humidity often, I trust nature. I have fresh air coming into the space from outside and a heater to keep that air warmer as I am in a cold climate. I keep my room at about 70 degrees and my lights on a timer to be on for 18 hours and off for 6. I water them once a day.
My original set up was 4 plants in empty milk cartons with holes drilled in the bottom. I used premium Miracle grow potting soil with drainage. It works for me. Some advise against it. MY advice is to use the best available to you in your area. Don't go out of your way to purchase premium recommended soils. Dirt is dirt and you can always add nutrients to it later if you find there is not enough. You can't take out too many nutrients once they are in the soil. Use common sense. A soil that grows vegetables well will problably grow your plants...For the record, heres what's in my soil.
Miracle Grow Potting Mix Moisture Control
nitrogen .21%
phosphate .07%
iron .10%
spagnum moss and perlite 25 - 60% Yeah it is that broad of a percent.
Like I have stated, I made the mistake of going crazy over every detail and piece of advice given and changed things. However, my plants did not do well and almost died. I fixed everything to the way it was, and like magic, they are back to green healthy plants. I am not saying that this will give you the biggest buds or the most bountiful plants but it will give you plants that produce, period.
MAINTANENCE
What do I do to keep them healthy in an unnatural environment? Well, I used to be concerned with the right nutrients, the right humidity, the right light, etc. but now I'm just listening to my plants. Really. I know it sounds stupid but they do tell you what they need if you learn how to listen. However, that takes time and practice and we're here to speed things along so....
Water everyday. Its better to have to water more than overwatering and drowning them or worse getting root rot. If you have great drainage then overwatering is not so much an issue. Sphagnum moss and perlite give excellent drainage. Both are available for about 5 bucks at home depot and lowes. You can add this to any soil.
Second, after about 5 weeks of age, feed them. I could not find the recommended nutrients so I am doing to following and it seems to be working. I use a liquid 10 10 10 ferilizer. I use 1/10 of the recommended dosage. I mix it with regular water (cold tap water by the way) and feed them every 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. If they start to yellow or "burn", it means you're feeding too much. Increase the time between feedings or decrease the amount of food. Thats it.
Heres what Ive put together for now. More to follow soon as my other obligations stop screaming my name and demanding my attention...happy growing!
 
sarye

sarye

Member
hornedfrog2000 said:
How are you going to teach when you don't know what you're doing, and don't want to learn?
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I clearly stated that I'm not an expert, that does not mean I don't know anything. Second, I never, ever stated that I didnt want to learn. I said I didnt want to obtain a PHD in marijuana specifics to grow a few plants. Anyway, don't read anymore if you disagree with or want to hate on what other people are doing. If you are more advanced or need more advanced information, GO TO ANOTHER THREAD, plain and simple.
 
sarye

sarye

Member
DJSOUNZ said:
OMG This is how ive been feelin.. everyone thinks growing needs to be some 3000$ project ...Finally a thread I can Relate 2!!!
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Awesome. Thats my only goal and thanks for the support. Just want others to learn from my mistakes and know it doesnt take thousands of dollars to grow.
 
Oldreefer

Oldreefer

Well-Known Member
Simply put....Put a few seeds in some soil, water it, add light, ventilation.....further adjustments can be made as needed.....
 
sarye

sarye

Member
BOOGS said:
im not gonna diss this because we ALL were once beginners and everyone needs a basic brown paper bag method of growing cannabis
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Thanks boogs..If you anything lamen to contribute, I'm sure we'd all appreciate just straight up basic advice. That's why we are here.
 
Jeffdt1966

Jeffdt1966

Active Member
I think a lot can be said for ghetto grows... I have a plastic tote with miracle grow potting mix...a pizza pan homade reflector and seven cfl lights diredted at the girls by cheap round reflctors . It works for well for me . as for ph .. i get ph nutralizing tablets in the walmart fish dept. and dizzolve a couple in my tap water once a month or so . one walmart cheap limer and this has saved me a ton of money keeping me supplied in stash : ) kudos on the post... you dont need a phd or thousands of dollars tied up in your grow just make your own stash ! rep +
 
sarye

sarye

Member
A quick note about starting seeds. You can either just put them in the dirt or the paper towel method. I like the paper towel method because you can see which seeds are going to grow a plant. With just putting them in the dirt, you can waste time watering and caring for a dead seed. Since my seeds were from the best of my bags over 1 year time span, I continue to use the paper towel method. This is also easy as everything I say will be...

Paper Towel Method

Get a plate, put down one sheet of paper towel, put your seeds on top, cover it with another paper towel. Then take an eye dropper and regular tap water and wet the paer towels until they are wet but not puddling water. No water should run off the plate and the paper towels should stick to eachother. Cover it with plastic wrap and then put them in a dark cabinet. Not too cold, room temp is good. Then, all you have to do is make sure the paper towels stay wet. I only had to water twice before they sprouted. Keep them wet...when they have roots and a bit of green stem, plant them.
 
sarye

sarye

Member
Jeffdt1966 said:
I think a lot can be said for ghetto grows... I have a plastic tote with miracle grow potting mix...a pizza pan homade reflector and seven cfl lights diredted at the girls by cheap round reflctors . It works for well for me . as for ph .. i get ph nutralizing tablets in the walmart fish dept. and dizzolve a couple in my tap water once a month or so . one walmart cheap limer and this has saved me a ton of money keeping me supplied in stash : ) kudos on the post... you dont need a phd or thousands of dollars tied up in your grow just make your own stash ! rep +
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Thanks. You've got the point. I;m just trying to save people time and money and still get some good stuff. I want to save them the hassle of finding a dealer and then getting unknown stuff at crazy prices. A note about water though....
I use tap water with nothing in it. It saves money. They do well with regular cold tap water if you have city water. Generally, whats safe for you to drink, is fine for the plants. However, if you have a well or a city that supplies water not fit for humans to drink, this is a great idea. A cheap alternative to making the water better. Great advice, thanks.
 
DJSOUNZ

DJSOUNZ

Member
Time for me to Officially start My Grow Journal.. And Im starting it Here!!!

Ok Guys
I am growing some bagseed from some killer buds. This will be my seocnd attempt at growing. The first time i had cut the bottom of a bottled water container and i filled it with the rough Indiana earth(Backyard Soil).. I didnt mean to germinate these seeds but after a wild party. I guess some got Placed inside of a cup of water and Ya and behold I had Germ'd Seeds. I didnt know what i was doing and tried to keep a 60 watt regular light bulb on them and they didnt grow much.. one night i left the light off it was 33 outside and i guess i froze the plants(2 of the 3 died ).. But after educating myself on here Ive sort of taken a new lease on growing and want to grow Seriously(with as much time as I have I work/College)... The other day I went to family dollar and bought some clay pots and some miracle grow liquid fert. I went and bough some ffof, 4 CFL 2700K and a small hand fan. ooo yeah and I pulled the last sprout kinda out the ground, it stretched and tore but to my amazement the past few days (after i transplanted what was left of her into the pots) she began to sprout again and now i am about in the same spot i was in the first time i set out growing but with better materials... I have the plants inside of the water heater closet on top and it keeps them at a beautiful 70 degrees and it allows me to warm the water in the spray bottles i also have 2 of the cfls on the sprout and every 8 hours ive lightly misted the sprout and and i also have 12 germinated seeds in soil thats also in the water heater room.. Id say another 3 days until a sprout Im kinda keepin my hands crossed.....I CANT WAIT!! O And idk what strain they are lol just random bagseed from 30$/60's to 5 a blunt weed....im really high and i will add pics as soon as i run across a clean camera
 
sarye

sarye

Member
Look forward to seeing what your plants do. Keep us updated and we'll learn from eachother's mistakes. Post pics when you're able. Im looking for a camera too and then I'll get mine up. i planted some bagseed but you don't need super expensive feminized seeds. Good weed can take up to 2 weeks to germinate. Thats how I told the difference between my good shit and the middle class. My middle class grows quick and tall. My best stuff took a full 4 weeks longer.

Happy growing dj.
 
sarye

sarye

Member
My whole set up cost me 100 but thats because I had to buy a heater. Now that I'm all set up, I haven't spent any money except on my light bill which costs me about 35 extra a month with the heater. I do recommend cfls. I have both cfl and t12's and the cfl's do just as well as long as you make the most of your light. Painting things flat white can make a difference. I painted my whole grow room white. It cost me 7 dollars for a bucket of paint. Mylar is a also a good option to make reflectors. This will allow you to use cfls and cheap outlets for almost no money. You can buy a whole sheet of mylar for about 14 dollars. This maximizes whatever light you have. I used some leftover reptile heat lamp fixtures that I had and put a cfls in it. With ghetto grows, only your creativity limits you.
 
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