First Time Grow- Questions

Hey all!! Happy to be a part of the forum!!

I am a novice grower looking for some general suggestions because I am somewhat overwhelmed with all the information I’ve seen on the net, so I’m hoping someone here can help me out a little bit.

So here goes: I am doing my first time grow, all organic, using bio bizz light mix soil, and accompanying bio bizz nutes. I just received my seeds from Seedsman (awesome service by the way). All are fem autoflowering strains.
I went with bio bizz light mix because of the reports/feedback that autos were extremely nute sensitive. I have the feeding schedule and intend on following that as closely as I can (starting with a half dose and working my way up gradually)

My current set up is:
600w MH/HPS light & 200w LED.
Size-4ftx3ftx5ft.
Climate Controls-
1) 6” 230cfs exhaust with 6” carbon filter to manage smells. Passive intake with filtered intake vent.
2) 200w personal heater to take the chill off during lights out. Grow space is in a basement and I’m in a cold environment.


My questions right now are:
1) My tap water pH is awfully alkaline (8.2). I have not yet tested TDS yet so I’m unsure where those numbers lie. But I’m wondering,
If the tds ppm numbers fall in an acceptable range (100-300), should I just use my tap water, run it through a brita filter and then lower the pH with Apple Cider Vinegar/Lemon Juice (or another organic source- if anyone has suggestions please fire away) to reduce the pH to an acceptable range of 6.0-7.0, or should I consider an alternative source of water altogether (like distilled or spring water supplemented with cal mag)??? If so, how much cal mag should I supplement with? Would I use cal mag at every watering and feeding or just occasionally?

And

2) should I even be concerned about the pH of my water? I’ve seen some say pH doesn’t matter (that much) when growing organically because the soil acts as a buffer and the micro herd keep everything in check themselves.

I would like to start germinating this weekend if possible as I’m itching to get going but I don’t want it to be at the expense of a terrible yield/first time grow experience.

Any suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated!! I’ve also attached some pics of the setup I’m working with.

Thank you for any advice you can provide!!

Sincerely,
The Budding Horticulturist

I would recommend germing out somethi e you found first. That way you get a little experience before you put your expensive seeds at risk. Im anew Grower myself and have learned that seeds take longer than clones. Or else I'm doing something drasticaly wrong. And if you do germinate out in a jiffy pot, REMOVE the netting when you transplant it. No one told me and my girls are rather small.

Thanks for the advice. I have germed seeds before and grew one time before but the setup I had wasn’t nearly as complicated back then. It was a half assed grow and I had no problems then but now I think I’m paranoid because I’m doing it for real now.

I am planning to germinate in rapid rooters, under fluorescent lights once they sprout for a couple days and then put the sprout and rooter right in the final pot to reduce shock since autos are shock prone. I have a climate controlled room to keep them at 75-78 degrees and humidity dome.

I am pretty confident in the germination process (I’m an avid gardener and grow lots of plants from seed). I’m just more wondering about the water, cal mag, etc. because of weeds known picky tendencies.

Side note- I used the same tap water that I’m concerned about in my vegetable and flower garden with amazing results. I live in the northeast US and had 6 foot tall tomato plants by June.

BuddingHorticulturist said:

Thanks for the advice. I have germed seeds before and grew one time before but the setup I had wasn’t nearly as complicated back then. It was a half assed grow and I had no problems then but now I think I’m paranoid because I’m doing it for real now.

I am planning to germinate in rapid rooters, under fluorescent lights once they sprout for a couple days and then put the sprout and rooter right in the final pot to reduce shock since autos are shock prone. I have a climate controlled room to keep them at 75-78 degrees and humidity dome.

I am pretty confident in the germination process (I’m an avid gardener and grow lots of plants from seed). I’m just more wondering about the water, cal mag, etc. because of weeds known picky tendencies.

Side note- I used the same tap water that I’m concerned about in my vegetable and flower garden with amazing results. I live in the northeast US and had 6 foot tall tomato plants by June.

Click to expand...

You are sort of missing out on the benefit of organic if you are using bottles.
I am giving it a shot and am loving the water only routine.
I have no knowledge of biobizz... so take this for what its worth. Buffered soil will take care of ph. Dolomite lime should take care of that + the cal and mag.

Boatguy said:

You are sort of missing out on the benefit of organic if you are using bottles.
I am giving it a shot and am loving the water only routine.
I have no knowledge of biobizz... so take this for what its worth. Buffered soil will take care of ph. Dolomite lime should take care of that + the cal and mag.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. I did a lot of research regarding autoflowers and saw a lot of recommendations for bio bizz. Heres a link for some info on it. Seemed like it was Legit and worth a shot to try. Only time will tell.


I may just give it a go with my tap water run through a brita and then ph balanced as close to neutral as I can with ACV. Shouldnt harm them I don’t think.