Newbie Grower.

Allo. I'm someone who has never tried growing until recently.

I've already made a few mistakes :[

But my question is I know eventually down the road ill have to upgrade to a bigger spot but as of now im only trying out 3 plants.

2 of the plants have sprouted 3rds on its way.. One thing ive noticed is my healthiest looking one is kinda growing sideways so to say but its still mean green no brownish or dead looking colors. But im just wondering will she start reaching for the light? and straighten out or is there something I need to do?

Also my set up is probably horrible but for right now its just to go through the germ/vegatation phase if these babies get at least 4 to 5 inches tall with leaves around them ill be happy and continue to try.

My set up goes as follows a:
Tubberware Container,
2 40 WATT Clear bulbs 18 hours a day 6 hours off.
A small fan set on low to keep them from heating up.
Carved a hole in the bottom cut out a 2 liter bottle for a makeshift 'out' hole.
Tubberware Container is completely covered except for when I water it.

Soil is just plain miracle grow the stuff that feeds up to 3 months.. (all i had around the house) :[

I don't really expect them to grow big and tall just trying to learn so anything that is helpful is nice and much appreciated. Im also ona budget just sick and tired of wasting money on shitty weed so im trying to grow my own :]
 

majek

Well-Known Member
How far away are your lights from the top of your plants? CFL's produce almost no heat so they can stay very close to your plants, almost touching. Another issue might be too much light, although I dont think this is your problem with only 80 watts. If there is too much light a plant will try to "hide" from it by leaning.

EDIT: if your seedling is only a day or two old, the leaning is normal. It will begin to straighten out on its own.
 
Yeah my worse looking plant finally poped its shell off during last night all of them look healthy (thus far) the light is 4 inches away from them well4 to 5. with a fan blowing on low to kinda help with the heating up issue.. which has been working but the one that was leaning has straightened out and looks beautiful.
 

AmnesiaRLD

Active Member
Hi!

Well first off I'm a newb on my first grow, but I have picked up a few words of wisdom around these parts and touch wood my plants are doing well!

Anyway, first of all I hope the tupperware is not clear and that it's opaque. It's bad news if roots reach the edge and get light.

Secondly, 2 x 40w bulbs really aren't enough for your leaves. Get some high ouput CFL's. They will be cheap enough to buy, provide a better spectrum of light and also be more energy efficient. If you can't afford to go for something like a 150w or 200w large CFL with fixings (about 50 bucks I guess), then grab a couple of smaller ones with high ratings and use existing fixings.

I found that you only need to keep the pots/containers covered whilst just first sprouting to give it humidity, but to be honest I removed mine after 2-3 days and they have grown fine.

Lastly I've heard that Miracle Grow soil is not a good soil to use. However, that still shouldn't stop your plants from growing. From what I've read it affects yields and can cause nute burn, but shouldn't stop you from growing.

So to sum it up:

- Get better, more powerful bulbs with a better spectrum for vegetation (6400k CFL's)
- Make your tupperware opaque if you haven't already
- When you re-pot use a different soil other than miracle grow. A regular unnamed indoor compost soil will be fine

All the best with the grow.
 

Cheeese

Well-Known Member
CFL's produce almost no heat so they can stay very close to your plants, almost touching.
I wouldn't say touching, you will burn your seedlings that way. try maybe 2" away and they'll start growing toward the light.
 

taffo143

New Member
Allo. I'm someone who has never tried growing until recently.

I've already made a few mistakes :[

But my question is I know eventually down the road ill have to upgrade to a bigger spot but as of now im only trying out 3 plants.

2 of the plants have sprouted 3rds on its way.. One thing ive noticed is my healthiest looking one is kinda growing sideways so to say but its still mean green no brownish or dead looking colors. But im just wondering will she start reaching for the light? and straighten out or is there something I need to do?

Also my set up is probably horrible but for right now its just to go through the germ/vegatation phase if these babies get at least 4 to 5 inches tall with leaves around them ill be happy and continue to try.

My set up goes as follows a:
Tubberware Container,
2 40 WATT Clear bulbs 18 hours a day 6 hours off.
A small fan set on low to keep them from heating up.
Carved a hole in the bottom cut out a 2 liter bottle for a makeshift 'out' hole.
Tubberware Container is completely covered except for when I water it.

Soil is just plain miracle grow the stuff that feeds up to 3 months.. (all i had around the house) :[

I don't really expect them to grow big and tall just trying to learn so anything that is helpful is nice and much appreciated. Im also ona budget just sick and tired of wasting money on shitty weed so im trying to grow my own :]
START WITH CFL, IF UR USING REGULAR BULBS UR WASTING UR TIME THEY DONT DO NOTHING FOR THE PLANT.

U CAN PRACTICE GROWING WITH CFLS, EITHER STRIP OR THE SPIRAL SHAPE BULBS, i started with 2 x 18w cfl wich cost next to nothing!!

when using cfl always keep the bulb 2-3 inches from the top of the plant to eliminate stretching, this is when the plant isnt getting enough ligh and beggins growing lancy to reach the light.

a fan is to thicken stems and to feed c02, if ur having problems with plants falling to the side, just use keebab sqewerz or something simular like a small thin stick to stake them up until their strong enuf to hold themselves.

anything u need help with just ask and il try and help or direct u!! TAFFO
 

Geozander

Well-Known Member
If those 40w clear bulbs are incandescents, you really need to ditch them. My first grow ever i used a 150w incandescent and yeah i got the plants to bud but my yield off 4 plants was less than an oz! Cfls are cheap to buy cheap to run and readily available. And they do get results. You are using miracle grow compost, your plants wont need any feeding until they are transplanted into a more suitable medium.
 
Alright my tallest plant has gotten quite a bit taller about 2 to 3 inches im fearing its getting stretched do I need to move it to a bigger pot? I have one available or is it to young that if I shock it, it will die? :cry:
 

taffo143

New Member
Im uploading a picture soon. need to find out if shes stretched or not :[
its not the pot at all, dont transplant it yet, just get some cfl's and put them 2inches away from the plant on 24hrs a day, its that simple m8.

they are stretching because of the light u are using at the moment, its useless, the light that comes from the bulb ur using is useless for a plant.
 
its not the pot at all, dont transplant it yet, just get some cfl's and put them 2inches away from the plant on 24hrs a day, its that simple m8.

they are stretching because of the light u are using at the moment, its useless, the light that comes from the bulb ur using is useless for a plant.
its sadly all i can work with atm :/
Too broke to get anything else.



 

sugaryDAVE

Well-Known Member
yeah bro they are streching alot , what i would do is replant them in bigger pots and leave about an inch of stem stickin out from the soil, get your lights way way closer bro.. and did you get your self some cfls, if not then u need to get them pronto ,
 

taffo143

New Member
its sadly all i can work with atm :/
Too broke to get anything else.



they are a bit stretched but look ok, they wont die so dont worry, try ur best to get some buckz, even 2 18w cfl'z will grow them thru veg, u can buy 2-4 cfl for under $20. until then try and keep them in the sun for ur daytime and at night keep them very close to ur light, 24hrs light ok, that will also stop stretchin, if they do start to fall over, support them with a small stake, do u understand all that? hope it helps, TAFFO
 
they are a bit stretched but look ok, they wont die so dont worry, try ur best to get some buckz, even 2 18w cfl'z will grow them thru veg, u can buy 2-4 cfl for under $20. until then try and keep them in the sun for ur daytime and at night keep them very close to ur light, 24hrs light ok, that will also stop stretchin, if they do start to fall over, support them with a small stake, do u understand all that? hope it helps, TAFFO
Yeah im just trying to make due with what I got how much do CFL's run?
I put a new light in there one of them old hanging extension cord light type things :p got a 120wtt plugd in about 3 inches from the plants.
 

taffo143

New Member
Yeah im just trying to make due with what I got how much do CFL's run?
I put a new light in there one of them old hanging extension cord light type things :p got a 120wtt plugd in about 3 inches from the plants.
120w means nothing dude unless its cfl, i cant realy help u if ur not listening!! good luck with ur grow, by the way cfl are actualy cheaper to run than what ur using at the moment.:peace:
 
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