First time poor woman's grow in box. need help.

[Linklove93]

OK, so I am trying to grow a few personal plants because I'm tired of shady unreliable dealers. just a female plant or two for myself. I have tried 2 or 3 other times with bagseed (I'm a NEWB who has done some online research but help would be awesome.) and my seeds never even germed. (tried the paper towl method, AND the cup of water method, using water that stood for at least 24 hours to evaporate the harmful crap.) I got some different bagseed about a week and a half ago and tried one more time just for the hell of it to germ them. (paper towel method) All 4 of the seeds I got from my bag of bud (unknown strain) sprouted a taproot. And now 3 out of 4 have started to sprout above the soil(its miracle gro soil), One is just barely coming up and the other two already have at least their first beginning set of leaves and are starting the 2nd set. I have them in a 18 gal (I THINK. not sure on the gal size though. it may be bigger) Rubbermaid snap container with a hole cut in the top for a fan and another fan inside. I have 2 lamps with cfl lights a few inches from the plants and to start I have them in Styrofoam cups. (I am pretty poor, so I'm working with what I can manage. So please don't tell me to buy better equipment, I can't afford it.) I have to keep the plants short as well and plan to FiM them (mow the top so 4 colas form) when they get a little bigger. I need to try to make a fert that is organic and home made (with things I can actually get) that will keep the plant healthy. I ordered a 'teabag' of worm castings and am wondering what else I could add with it to make a decent fert that will cover necessary needs of the plant. So if anyone has suggestions please let me know. Any advice would be really helpful right now. Different websites and different people say different things, so I'm confused as to what things specifically to listen to unless multiple people say the same thing. (Yes, I know my gro box looks cheap and shitty, I'm doing what I can. I also have to hide it,and with the people I'm hiding it from being home 24/7, it's hard to get better materials in the grow box.) Should I get one more light, or do you people think I am ok with the ones I have? (Not much more room for more lights.) Thanks for any positive and constructive criticism given. I will take all seriously. I need advise I can use, not assy comments. So please don't bother with them.

 

[sunni]

people are going to tell you you need better equipment and sadly thats just how it is,
youll need more lights
you also need to change from the Styrofoam cups,plants roots like dark, and need to have good drainage, you might also wanna stay away from miracle grow
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/1326-101-already-asked-questions.html & https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html is a good place to start reading

 

[grorite]

sorry if I missed it but did you mention what size cfls they were

 

[joe blow greenthumb]

So basically he's saying everything is wrong. Try again. Lol. Seriously though, there's no way you'll keep it hidden from them.

people are going to tell you you need better equipment and sadly thats just how it is,
youll need more lights
you also need to change from the Styrofoam cups,plants roots like dark, and need to have good drainage, you might also wanna stay away from miracle grow
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/1326-101-already-asked-questions.html & https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html is a good place to start reading

 

[sunni]

So basically he's saying everything is wrong. Try again. Lol. Seriously though, there's no way you'll keep it hidden from them.

im wrong for what? giving links on the website for better reading? , telling her that people will be sassy and tell her to buy better equipment, happens all the time just gotta brush it off

 

[Flaming Pie]

Gonna need more cfls when those seedlings get a few nodes in. No avoiding that. As far as an organic fert.. doesn't miracle grow come with ferts in it? Check the bag and be sure.

Prob not going to want to veg more than 2 weeks with an area that small to work with.

 

[Linklove93]

Ok so more light (if I can fit more) and I have good drainage on the cups, so that's not an issue, though i'll try to get better pots. And I know its possible to do it without MUCH better equipment, I've seen it done by other people. As I said, I'm super poor and still living at home. I'm also not letting the plants get terribly big before I throw them into flowering, so I'm not terribly worried about pot size at the moment. I'm flowering them as soon as possible. And my cfl size is kinda small atm but it's what I can get. 13w At the moment. I will try to pick up more lamps or bigger watt bulbs when possible soon. hopefully. And it's between the miracle grow or crappy cheap outside soil at the moment that's got a bunch of random crap in it. Figured the miracle grow was the better of the two.

 

[Flaming Pie]

Just be careful how often you water. If you water too much you can burn the seedling (because miracle grow releases nutes during watering)

I grow with cfls. It can be done. A few Y splitters and some 23-26w bulbs will be a cheap way to add light. Y splitters are like 2 bucks a piece and turns one outlet into two.

 

[sunni]

Ok so more light (if I can fit more) and I have good drainage on the cups, so that's not an issue, though i'll try to get better pots. And I know its possible to do it without MUCH better equipment, I've seen it done by other people. As I said, I'm super poor and still living at home. I'm also not letting the plants get terribly big before I throw them into flowering, so I'm not terribly worried about pot size at the moment. I'm flowering them as soon as possible. And my cfl size is kinda small atm but it's what I can get. 13w At the moment. I will try to pick up more lamps or bigger watt bulbs when possible soon. hopefully. And it's between the miracle grow or crappy cheap outside soil at the moment that's got a bunch of random crap in it. Figured the miracle grow was the better of the two.

i think i picked up my pots for 80cents at canadian tired, youre american so whatever hardware store you have . so its cheap. im sure you can afford that again i really suggest reading these two threads https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-fluorescent-lighting/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/1326-101-already-asked-questions.html the cfl thread especially gives you good knowledge you can understand and also as a back up resource tool.

Just be careful how often you water. If you water too much you can burn the seedling (because miracle grow releases nutes during watering)

I grow with cfls. It can be done. A few Y splitters and some 23-26w bulbs will be a cheap way to add light. Y splitters are like 2 bucks a piece and turns one outlet into two.

yeah i built mine for a whopping 5$ or something lol

 

[Flaming Pie]

ONce your plants get big enough, you can use 3 Y splitters on one outlet so you will have 4 bulbs in one lamp. 8 bulbs should be enough to grow your plants to completion as long as you don't outgrow your box.

=)

 

[Linklove93]

Gonna need more cfls when those seedlings get a few nodes in. No avoiding that. As far as an organic fert.. doesn't miracle grow come with ferts in it? Check the bag and be sure.

Prob not going to want to veg more than 2 weeks with an area that small to work with.

I'm gonna try to pick up another lamp soon. Can't fit more than maybe one more in there at the moment. Don't know how to rig one with multiple bulbs on it. And Ya, it has some nutes in it. Wasn't sure how long those would last though. And I plan to veg only as long as I HAVE to. Gonna put them in flower as soon as possible. But I want to fim it and get 4 buds instead of one when it has like 3 nodes. (thats when I read it's ok to fim them.)

 

[sunni]

may i also suggest this area for reading https://www.rollitup.org/stealth-micro-cab-growing/ , the best thing you can do is research a lot do your best to constantly read new material as well as asking questions and you should do just dandy

 

[Linklove93]

So basically he's saying everything is wrong. Try again. Lol. Seriously though, there's no way you'll keep it hidden from them.

Um, the only person I'm hiding it from is in a wheelchair and can't even get in my room, which is where my grow box is. I'm just talking about bringing stuff in, I have to do that as unnoticeably as possible. If all you have is negative crap to say with no advice, then please don't respond, dude.

 

[Flaming Pie]

Look in the hardware section of walmart or electrical section of homedepot/lowes.

 

[Linklove93]

may i also suggest this area for reading https://www.rollitup.org/stealth-micro-cab-growing/ , the best thing you can do is research a lot do your best to constantly read new material as well as asking questions and you should do just dandy

Thanks.=] I've been trying to look up as much as possible, its just theres so much conflicting info out there it's hard to know what to trust or not. I did check out the cfl forum and I know I need more lights, just completely unsure of how to rig up more in such a small space, they make it seem so complicated to do. XD

 

[joe macclennan]

As I said, I'm super poor and still living at home..

Trying to grow while still at home Riiiiiiisky. Likely to get thrown out when (not if) you are caught. I remember my mom always found my pipes and porn. Until I built a secret box under the floor in my closet while they were away for the weekend.

For some reason though they never noticed my plants in the field next door though. They were clearly visible from the kitchen window. They grew to over 6 ft.

My advice is try and find someplace to plant them outside. Even if it is a fairly public place. You would be surprised what ppl don't notice in public. Esp. nowadays w/their noses planted on their cell phone texting.

 

[sunni]

Thanks.=] I've been trying to look up as much as possible, its just theres so much conflicting info out there it's hard to know what to trust or not. I did check out the cfl forum and I know I need more lights, just completely unsure of how to rig up more in such a small space, they make it seem so complicated to do. XD

its not too complication flaming pies posts are helpful on the lighting as for the conflicting info everyone has a method to their madness, so it will never black n white

 

[Flaming Pie]

Thanks.=] I've been trying to look up as much as possible, its just theres so much conflicting info out there it's hard to know what to trust or not. I did check out the cfl forum and I know I need more lights, just completely unsure of how to rig up more in such a small space, they make it seem so complicated to do. XD

Everything seems hella complicated at first. You'll always be overthinking things. When the answer finally hits you, it will make you feel like a dumbass lol.

You will be learning new things and making mistakes on your first grow...and the second grow... and the third...

Oh and wait till you get to CURING. Jeebus RICE! I thought I had it down and managed to fuck it up on my third grow because the temperature was alot cooler this time around during drying. (which affects the speed of drying)

Make friends on here and ask for help when you need it. =)

 

[Linklove93]

Just be careful how often you water. If you water too much you can burn the seedling (because miracle grow releases nutes during watering)

I grow with cfls. It can be done. A few Y splitters and some 23-26w bulbs will be a cheap way to add light. Y splitters are like 2 bucks a piece and turns one outlet into two.

From my pics at the top, do you think y splitters will fit in the lamps I have? just wondering.

 

[Belle of Buds]

Flower NOW. Seedlings won't start to flower until they are mature enough anyway and you'll cut down on your height right away. You can grow seeds 12/12 from the get go. Rather than FiM, which sometimes doesn't work, you should put a small screen in there and do a mini-scrog. You can make a small scrog screen out of a picture frame and some string. Do a little search on mini-scrog and you'll see what I mean. You can turn one top into 5 or 6.