Some Advice/Help (First Timer)

Morning everyone!

First off let me say that I don't smoke I know blasphemy!!

But I decided to make a plant as a side project just to see how easy/difficult it could be to get a plant going. So I was wondering if I could get some starter advice. So here it goes!

My brother gave me some seeds and I decided to start a small pot. I got one of my wifes small little 3' diameter pots and added some top soil. Put the seeds in about 1/4 inch deep and they are growing really fast. It almost excites me to wake up every morning and see its progress. I wish I had a time lapse camera!

Well I had to transplant them. All I had at the moment was a 4 gallon mop bucket thats never been used. So I went to the store and bought some more soil and transplanted the 3 small plants.

I am beginning to notice a bit of some curl on the tips of the plants. I have been watering it every 3 days. I have just a small under-cabinet fluorescent light but it gives off just a small amount of heat, but the light brightness seems really good.

The plant is about 1 week old. Looking at the pictures, does anyone have any extra pointers to continue its growth? I thought about going outside and grabbing some worms, would this help? Watering cycle? I'm not pouring water into the bucket, but instead I'm using a spray bottle and adding water to dampen the soil.

1. Am I hurting the plants by spraying water on the plants to water them?
2. Adding a few earthworms will help?\
3. I hear that adding some nails will help give the plants their iron intake.
4. When do I start adding nutrients?
5. And when do I start lowering the lighting and give it a lighting cycle?

Enclosed are a couple of pictures. I appreciate everyones help!

Corey


EDIT: I forgot to mention that its getting light 24/7, hence why I asked question 5!

well you are going to need more lights. grow under 18/6 instead of 24/7 helps with roots. then do that for a month. once they reach at least 12 inches tall you can flower. i waited till the plant showed preflowers it was much more yeild. once you get some good fan leaves on the plants then add nutes 1/4 strength to start and do some research for which kind of lights work best for what you want. when you flower get some big bloom nutes too learn about molasses and light spectrum it will be all ya need

No problem, I'll get a timer and a bigger bulb. You said 18/6? If so can I just substitute artificial with natural lighting?

Any answers on the 5 questions?

Thanks!

1. Nope, this is perfectly acceptable. It only becomes a problem if you are using extremely high wattage lights at which point the refraction of the light through the water drops could possibly burn the plant.
2. Probably not, idea is sound but it would take a miniature ecosystem to get noticeable differences... and it's still much easier to buy worm castings at the local greenhouse.
3. Urban myth, the plants don't need much iron and what they do need they get from the soil/nutes. Another one is putting the nail through the stem which causes the plant to heal the stem even stronger but there's much more "friendly" ways of accomplishing this, check out supercropping when the time comes.
4.After a month or so, once the plant doesn't look like a seedling. Start at 1/4 strength and do alternate feedings (once with ferts the next watering without)
5.You can start flowering whenever you want, most people start between 12-24 inches indoors...

As for natural light, do you mean outside in the sun? it's a bit late in the season to do a full grow outside but you can definately start them out in the sun... it'll work much better then anything you could plug into your wall.
The leaf curl could be a response to many things, the PH of the water you are using (should be around 6.5), NPK values of your soil (is it from your yard or straight from the store, premix or just black earth?)

The soil is you're typical potting soil from wal-mart. When I was moving my pot I dropped by fluorescent fixture and it exploded ;( So I replaced it with a temporary 150W bulb I have hanging from my box. Its about 2 inches from the the top of the plant and its not very hot feeling the plant.

Well I do have a rogue worm in there right now I don't know how long it will survive as I don't think I have much bacteria. I would love for it to bloom out a bit more. Perhaps some lighting on the side would help or maybe some reflective foil around the side?

lol, please tell me you you don't mean a 150W incandescent... Been there, Done that, Took pictures, Had laughs...

From the size of your plants, there's no need for side lighting quite yet. Focus on getting the right lighting up top. 1 23w CFL will work for now, expect at least 6 during veg. and as many as you can get for flower (I used 12, supplemented with 2x 75watt HPS lights)

while I have used foil without incident, it is generally advisable to avoid it (crimps in a spot while your handling it, causes uneven light distribution-> hot spots-> a hole burnt through your otherwise beautiful and bushy plant.

i would transplant these seedlings before the roots tangle up and it causes a problem down the road.

as for reflective surfaces go, i hear white printer paper is a cheaper more reflective material than aluminum foil

1. Am I hurting the plants by spraying water on the plants to water them?- no as long as you do it once a day or in between waterings, the plants like a misting
2. Adding a few earthworms will help?\ i wouldnt bother
3. I hear that adding some nails will help give the plants their iron intake.- i never heard of this, it sounds logical but its unnecessary
4. When do I start adding nutrients? around 2 weeks to a month, and start an 1/4 strength
5. And when do I start lowering the lighting and give it a lighting cycle? around a month is a good time to switch to 12/12 for flowering

dude what you want to do first is put one plant per pot.....other wise they are gonna choke each other......worms are good if you put a few in your dirt you plants will thank you....nails????never herd of that i wouldnt bother with that..... you want your plant to have aleast 8 nodes before you put into flower....if anything i said here helped you dont forget to +rep

stink hole said:

dude what you want to do first is put one plant per pot.....other wise they are gonna choke each other......worms are good if you put a few in your dirt you plants will thank you....nails????never herd of that i wouldnt bother with that..... you want your plant to have aleast 8 nodes before you put into flower....if anything i said here helped you dont forget to +rep

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Well I am getting the hint that I am going to need to separate the plants.. I can do that. Unfortunatly I just threw some seeds in the pot at they happend to just grow that close together (Duh I know )

How am I supposed to transplant them separately without putting them into shock? When I x-planted the first time they did seem pretty well rooted. I have the pots and the lighting, but I am more concerned about splitting them up w/o killing them.


Everyone got +rep from me, Thanks for all the help! I am giving credit where it is due.

They will almost certainly have some level of shock from transplanting, this really can't be avoided. Just be really, really careful when you separate them and for a few days after. They should be fine as long as you do it now while they're little, before the roots really start spreading out and tangling up.

doobnVA said:

They will almost certainly have some level of shock from transplanting, this really can't be avoided. Just be really, really careful when you separate them and for a few days after. They should be fine as long as you do it now while they're little, before the roots really start spreading out and tangling up.

Click to expand...

Well Im getting ready to transplant them, I added some pictures as a before/after thing. Ugh I sure hope they make it and that the roots are not that networked! Wish me luck.

+Rep DoobnVA

Well an update! The plants have been separated. The plant is blooming nicely!

Couple of questions!

I'm noticing a few brown blotches on one of the leaves near towards the stem. Any ideas?

Also I'm concerned about some of the leaves on the bottom (The more mature leaves) are getting a bit dry to the touch and kinda losing its color a bit. Ive been adding nutrients and I'm still on a 24/0 cycle.

Thanks for the input!

Bump Anyone have any ideas?

not much to worri bout get good light after month good ferts good ph level temp and humidity and its almost that easy

Well it could be a nitrogen burn. So I flushed the pot out and put some water in for a few days and see if that clears it up.

This is after a month of the first germination. Does this look healthy? I'm getting ready for the 5 gallon bucket transfer.

I noticed its getting kind of skinny. I'm not sure which species I am using since its just bagweed.

Im giving its proper amount of nutes and its still on a 24/0 cycle. Any ideas or just let it be and patience?

it apers to be stretching slightly more light is always better