Seedling care

So after germinating my seeds they go straight into soil in small pots and under 400watt MH lights. How does people care for their seedlings and what lights do they go under once potted??

mrgreen

I have 2 seedlings and cuttings in a heated propagator under a 125 watt cfl light soon as they grow a little gunna switch it out for a 400 till bigger then a 600 my friend said if i do things in stages its easier to keep track on what im doing

You are already ahead of the game IMO. Using a 400mh is going to work wonders for your seedlings. Sounds like you are a new grower, make sure you let them dry out and the pots get light when you pick them up before you water again. Don't give them nutes until at least week 3. At first your light shouldn't get closer than 14-18" or so. Make sure the temps don't get too high (over 82ish) and make sure they have a fan on them. Less is more when they are young...

I would just set the MH as high up as you can for a seedling, once it gets a nice node or two you can lower it but I wouldn't want to burn it out so soon.

DroidBoy said:

I have 2 seedlings and cuttings in a heated propagator under a 125 watt cfl light soon as they grow a little gunna switch it out for a 400 till bigger then a 600 my friend said if i do things in stages its easier to keep track on what im doing

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Cuttings is one thing i have not tried before and not sure if i will as you can not guarantee what strain they will be unless you trust who you get them off. a friend of mine had a few and they looked rather tall and skinny and didnt produce much yield, not sure if that was down to the cuttings or his way of growing.

Cascadian said:

You are already ahead of the game IMO. Using a 400mh is going to work wonders for your seedlings. Sounds like you are a new grower, make sure you let them dry out and the pots get light when you pick them up before you water again. Don't give them nutes until at least week 3. At first your light shouldn't get closer than 14-18" or so. Make sure the temps don't get too high (over 82ish) and make sure they have a fan on them. Less is more when they are young...

Click to expand...

I have been growing now for around 5 years and have always put the seedlings under the 400watt mh and once big enough they go under the 600watt hps. I have have made the mistake of giving to much nutes in veg and having the lights to close. I do have the light alittle closer than 14" ad say about 10" as i use a air cooled hood which alolows me to do. I used to use one of them crappy tin foil reflectors lol and could i hell get them temps of humidity correct lol.

An air cooled hood is a whole different variable in the equation.
I have only used an open hood (cold climate).

I would imagine that 10" is good with an air cooled hood....

If heat becomes an issue you may want to trade in your MH bulb for a HPS one. HPS does run quite a bit cooler than the MH set-up. Until your seedlings leaves are as wide as the small pot I would keep them away from direct light for that week or 2. Good luck, BigSteve.