First Grow, learning the ropes.

LEDs. Rule. Check the link in my signature. (The green one).

$250. Low heat, no fire risk, cheap to run.

If I may....

You'll need to get those babies out of those giant pots and into something a lot smaller.
The thing is you need to let the soil really dry out between waterings and a giant pot with a tiny plant could take weeks to dry out which could lead to poor root structure and ultimately poor plants.
You can start off in something as small as a coffee cup and pot up 3 or 4 times during the grow. You want the roots to fill the container before potting up.
I know you're specifically asking about lighting here, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Happy growing.

sk8ntoke said:

Will do this then! Thanks for the guidance. It really helps A newbie like me out.

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One thing to keep in mind is this: when a question comes to your mind, google it first. For independency will quicken your capabilty to apprehend knowledge in an independent way. It shows your vigor to become better possibly greater at being a grower. We also learn from eachother. Two things ive learned: #1.To have good strong soil. #2. To have good strong lighting. Take your time keep it simple ask questions maturally you'll do good. One thing i meant to mention, you have to control your temps do not let your temps go past 79° or below 75°. 81° is ok. And keep your humidity relatively (somewhat) between 32% and 60%. This is a safe balance. I like to read up on a thing and when i cant come to terms of being convicted by what knowledge i read, than i come to the community for guidence. Or vice versa. If i dont agree with something from the community i google it. Just some fruit of wisdom. Im too still learning. Grow good and grow better.

Growan said:

If I may....

You'll need to get those babies out of those giant pots and into something a lot smaller.
The thing is you need to let the soil really dry out between waterings and a giant pot with a tiny plant could take weeks to dry out which could lead to poor root structure and ultimately poor plants.
You can start off in something as small as a coffee cup and pot up 3 or 4 times during the grow. You want the roots to fill the container before potting up.
I know you're specifically asking about lighting here, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Happy growing.

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EXCELLENT EYE! Itotally agree with you. Thats like cruzing by in your nice ride slowly rolling your tented window down and saying , do you know your front tire is going flat. That was good rule of thumb.

gardengardian7 said:

EXCELLENT EYE! Itotally agree with you. Thats like cruzing by in your nice ride slowly rolling your tented window down and saying , do you know your front tire is going flat. That was good rule of thumb.

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Yeah....that's how I roll...!

sk8ntoke said:

That set up you got with your cfl's is exactly what I need. However I do have A 32" fluorescent Bulb im going to get another bulb by friday it puts off A good extra 100w I think with that and the other 32w's ill be ok for flowering. Also I got A timer from A friend so now my plants are set on A consistent time frame of 18/6.

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Also this set i have is still under construction. #I still need a inline carbon filter and ducting. #Also a inline exaust fan and ducting that i will both be connecting to the apollo mh/hps cooltube with ballast set when im ready to flower. This is still my first grow and i intend to do quite well to prove myself and to graduate my first, stage of being a new grower. Everyone has different strategies though. I myself intend to flourish in this community like a forrest tree. Ive been building with patience. Key factors to the expression of experiencing for me according to my situation is: im in a small apartment on a $1000 monthly income with disciplined management and budgetting. And it has been more fun than stress. There is no stress just peace of mind.

I dissagree with the smaller pot thing. at this point ripping them up and re potting them is going to cause more harm than good. I do agree that they like to dry out, you shouldnt need to water them for 2-3 weeks in containers of that size (unless your having serious heat issues)

root structure should not be hindered by using a larger container to start, i personally do like to step up myself but dont think the risk of pulling them up and repotting out weighs the gain, which is minimal. You will notice they will take a good week or so to start growing. the plants will develop roots first, kinda like seeing how much space they have..then they will blow up...

you will most likely have space issues, the plants will want to grow to a size that is dependant on the container size, so even fliping to flower they will go through a large stretch because theey have the root room to do so.

i grew with CFL when i first started..theres not much anyone can say that will change my opinion on purchasing a good quality light, maybe for veg phase some CFL will work just fine but never ever ever ever would i reccomend CFL no matter how many to flower a plant..

also if money is not a huge issue i would recomend a small 2ft 4 bulb T5 HO lamp over a shit load of CFL....less power consumption, less heat and more light..

RetiredMatthebrute said:

I dissagree with the smaller pot thing. at this point ripping them up and re potting them is going to cause more harm than good. I do agree that they like to dry out, you shouldnt need to water them for 2-3 weeks in containers of that size (unless your having serious heat issues)

root structure should not be hindered by using a larger container to start, i personally do like to step up myself but dont think the risk of pulling them up and repotting out weighs the gain, which is minimal. You will notice they will take a good week or so to start growing. the plants will develop roots first, kinda like seeing how much space they have..then they will blow up...

you will most likely have space issues, the plants will want to grow to a size that is dependant on the container size, so even fliping to flower they will go through a large stretch because theey have the root room to do so.

i grew with CFL when i first started..theres not much anyone can say that will change my opinion on purchasing a good quality light, maybe for veg phase some CFL will work just fine but never ever ever ever would i reccomend CFL no matter how many to flower a plant..

also if money is not a huge issue i would recomend a small 2ft 4 bulb T5 HO lamp over a shit load of CFL....less power consumption, less heat and more light..

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Indeedy, repotting could be risky at this stage, so maybe not worth the risk.
I had to repot seedlings of a similar size due to excessive bug life in the soil (not the good kind, had to be done) and lost a couple of babies
Perhaps leave them this time and consider different pot sizes with your next run?

RetiredMatthebrute said:

I dissagree with the smaller pot thing. at this point ripping them up and re potting them is going to cause more harm than good. I do agree that they like to dry out, you shouldnt need to water them for 2-3 weeks in containers of that size (unless your having serious heat issues)

root structure should not be hindered by using a larger container to start, i personally do like to step up myself but dont think the risk of pulling them up and repotting out weighs the gain, which is minimal. You will notice they will take a good week or so to start growing. the plants will develop roots first, kinda like seeing how much space they have..then they will blow up...

you will most likely have space issues, the plants will want to grow to a size that is dependant on the container size, so even fliping to flower they will go through a large stretch because theey have the root room to do so.

i grew with CFL when i first started..theres not much anyone can say that will change my opinion on purchasing a good quality light, maybe for veg phase some CFL will work just fine but never ever ever ever would i reccomend CFL no matter how many to flower a plant..

also if money is not a huge issue i would recomend a small 2ft 4 bulb T5 HO lamp over a shit load of CFL....less power consumption, less heat and more light..

Click to expand...

I don't really have A life so I check them many times A day to make sure they are watered. As for Humidity I live in the soup bowl of Kentucky humidity here on average is always about 60%-80% outside. The plants stay at about 50%-55%.

Also I found this guy in the garage and got A bulb for it its made A big difference.

Plants are looking great this morning too. One of them is really taking off.

Overwatering is a big issue is what i was getting at, you dont want to water them all the time, only when they need it. like someone else had mentioned, roots enjoy O2 which is provided when the soil dries out a bit. good drainage is key and learning to not water your plants is also good, most people think as soon as that top layer of soil they neeed to be watered and they dont.

RetiredMatthebrute said:

Overwatering is a big issue is what i was getting at, you dont want to water them all the time, only when they need it. like someone else had mentioned, roots enjoy O2 which is provided when the soil dries out a bit. good drainage is key and learning to not water your plants is also good, most people think as soon as that top layer of soil they neeed to be watered and they dont.

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I usually check for bone dry soil before I water them. I only water them about once every 2-3 days depending on how dry they get.

sk8ntoke said:

I usually check for bone dry soil before I water them. I only water them about once every 2-3 days depending on how dry they get.

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good good i wasnt implying that you are over watering just that small seedlings like you have in pots that big are easy to over water. tbh they prob dont even need to be watered that often.

RetiredMatthebrute said:

good good i wasnt implying that you are over watering just that small seedlings like you have in pots that big are easy to over water. tbh they prob dont even need to be watered that often.

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I kind of assumed that. When I water them I don't drown them in it either. I kind of just put it around the root and A little on the plant to give it A small puddle to sink into the soil. Then I leave them be for A few days with close observation.

On Another note i'm really fucking excited. I've been wanting to grow ever since I was in high school. This is something I take A lot of joy in doing as well.

sk8ntoke said:

On Another note i'm really fucking excited. I've been wanting to grow ever since I was in high school. This is something I take A lot of joy in doing as well.

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haha yeah same here its always been something i wanted to do especially when i was in school and was a bonified pothead. no i smoke a lil here and there but the excitement is growing it. though it is not as new as it used to be so some of that new excitement is gone i still enjoy watching them grow.

everyone says Mj is so hard but tbh i find it much easier than most other plants. i tried a indoor vegetable garden and it did not work out well at all.

anyways, if you look in my sig theres a link to my journal, would love to have ya following along, asking questions and such. if you go to the top of the thread should say "watch this thread" this will give you an alert anytime new content is posted. and please update this one with pics and stuff so we can watch each others grows progress and learn.

RetiredMatthebrute said:

haha yeah same here its always been something i wanted to do especially when i was in school and was a bonified pothead. no i smoke a lil here and there but the excitement is growing it. though it is not as new as it used to be so some of that new excitement is gone i still enjoy watching them grow.

everyone says Mj is so hard but tbh i find it much easier than most other plants. i tried a indoor vegetable garden and it did not work out well at all.

anyways, if you look in my sig theres a link to my journal, would love to have ya following along, asking questions and such. if you go to the top of the thread should say "watch this thread" this will give you an alert anytime new content is posted. and please update this one with pics and stuff so we can watch each others grows progress and learn.

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Hell yea dude thanks for all the help thus far as well.