YOU Can Help Save My Babies :D!

First, off, I do NOT grow marijuana, and I never will. I am here simply for the advice of gifted growers for my legal vegetation growing.

So I have been growing my "tomato plants" for just a week now, and I'm obsessed! I love surfing these forums and learning more about..gardening, but I need some advice..

So right now they are in clay pots receiving sunlight from a skylight and being watered once a day. I have 4 of them and I don't think I'm going to grow any more until I see how these go!

When they are about a foot tall, I plan to move them to my closet to receive 18 hours of sunlight and 6 hours of nightlight.



1. How often/how much should I water them while they are babies? (before I move them to the closet)
2. How often/how much should I water them when I move them to the closet?
3. What type of light (wattage, tube/bulb, etc.) should I use?
4. What other types of equipment should I purchase?
5. Do I need a fan?
6. When should I start feeding them fertilizer, and how often?

Sorry for all the questions, you all are a great friendly community and I hope someone takes the time to help me !

P.S.

My budget would be nice to be under $100..

Davidsnow said:

First, off, I do NOT grow marijuana, and I never will. I am here simply for the advice of gifted growers for my legal vegetation growing.

So I have been growing my "tomato plants" for just a week now, and I'm obsessed! I love surfing these forums and learning more about..gardening, but I need some advice..

So right now they are in clay pots receiving sunlight from a skylight and being watered once a day. I have 4 of them and I don't think I'm going to grow any more until I see how these go!

When they are about a foot tall, I plan to move them to my closet to receive 18 hours of sunlight and 6 hours of nightlight.



1. How often/how much should I water them while they are babies? (before I move them to the closet)
2. How often/how much should I water them when I move them to the closet?
3. What type of light (wattage, tube/bulb, etc.) should I use?
4. What other types of equipment should I purchase?
5. Do I need a fan?
6. When should I start feeding them fertilizer, and how often?

Sorry for all the questions, you all are a great friendly community and I hope someone takes the time to help me !

P.S.

My budget would be nice to be under $100..

Click to expand...

First...when you "flip them" in the closet it needs to be 12 light 12 dark. Complete dark - no light leaks.
When you water them as babies - just water when the soil seems light. It's easy to over water which can cause root rot at this stage.
Once they are larger...you can water alot more. It all depends on pot size, soil...size of plants. I have mine in 3 gallon pots and by the time I put them in flower, they take almost a gallon a day.

The type of light depends on the size of the space and plants + budget. You really need to consider an HPS/MH convertible...but you might be able to manage with alot of warm CFLs - read the CFL subtopic under indoor growing for more on this.

Yes...you need a fan. If for no other reason than to mimic wind and make the plant stronger. If you go with HPS lighting you'll need significant cooling...CFL's you can just open the door during lights on - just don't forget and leave the door open at lights off.

Start them on 1/2 strength fertilizer (per directions) when the cotyeldon (seedling) leaves turn yellow - or now since they are 1 foot tall. You're looking for a high nitrogen fert now - then switch to a bloom fert at 12/12.

If the skylight is working, then I'd keep them there until you switch to 12/12.

Hope this helps
YO

I really appreciate it!

First off, I don't think I was very good at describing what I've done/plan to..After research/thinking, I have a plan.

My plants are actually only a few inches tall now. I'm keeping them with moderate sunlight until they are a foot tall. When they are, I'll be putting them in good fertilized soil and I'll transplant them into a fully dark room (my sister actually used it as her darkroom for photography!)..hopefully they will be old/big enough to handle CFL's and nutes?

I'm going to have them on a 18/6 until they are big enough that I want them to bud, so I won't start a 12/12 for a while ...

my biggest issue at the moment is what wattage bulb(s) should I use for 3-5 plants? I want to stick with CFL as that seems the most practical for my situation..

My only other big issue is food/watering! I'm really not tooooo sure how to water them properly and when/how much nute to add!

Thanks!

I'm new and had all these questions as well...still do,haha but it's pretty much trial and error and watching the reaction they have when you try things youve learned from reading.I am using cfl's and also wanted a small budget.I had 9 plants(2 males have appeared)I ended up buying 6 spiral 26w 6500k bulbs(among other lighting) thats like...30 bucks.Daylight they are called mostly,but I bought them over time when I could throw 10 bucks at a package.I went to a second hand store and bought cheap lamps that were suitable for hanging in my particular place(zip ties helped)and slowly got what I needed as they grew and I learned.since then tho I bought more lights...a few T5s and plan to get more but they are looking good.As for watering...I found it difficult as well...so what I did was got an empty pot,filled it with dirt,watered it once and let it get dry.Every time I check if they need water I just lift the plantless pot and it gives me a rough dry wieght contrasted against the water bound pot(I never let my plants get totally dry tho.they will be a bit heavier than the empty one)....eventually you can begin to tell with timing and observation when they need water... none of this is expert advice,it`s just what I did and my plants are kicking ass for my first grow...

youll have to change the lights for flower tho 2700k...I`m sure you knew that.....

Right...you guys REALLY need to read the CFL subtopic in Indoor Growing. You have to veg with "daylight" colored lamps and flower with "warm" lamps....but it's all described in detail at the CFL subtopic....

As for watering....dreadful1 is right in that it comes with experience. Typical advice is to water when the top 2 inches of soil are dry...or better yet...buy a moisture meter for $7 at home depot.

YO