My First Grow

Hi, so this is actually my 2nd attempt at this. First group of plants died after a very slow two weeks. This is our second group, and we're 4 days in from when we started germinating. We're already having better progress with these girls then the first attempt.

So our set up is in my closet. At the moment we are using 2 x 32w fluorescent tubes. One is a grow bulb and one is natural light.

We planted them in small pots (first attempt was in rockwool). We have them on a 18h on and 6h off light schedule.

Here is our setup as of right now.

Here are my four plants.

To me, they look a little tall for four days old, so I moved them closer to the light (I'm not sure if this is normal or not, please give me feed back).

The light fixture is about 2''-3'' from the top of the plants (please tell me if that is too close).

they look fine man if the light isnt hot to the touch then u can almost drop the light right above the plants look into cfls check out my grow journal its at the bottem by my signature. good job!!

pitbudz87 said:

they look fine man if the light isnt hot to the touch then u can almost drop the light right above the plants look into cfls check out my grow journal its at the bottem by my signature. good job!!

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for your input. I really appreciate it. I checked the lights and they aren't hot, but they're warm, so I don't want them too close. I have a pair of 23w CFL's I had originally bought to start my grow. I had used them on my first group of plants, but then I got the fluorescent tubes, and decided to use those.

I took a look at your set up, and it looks awesome. I'm growing in my closet, and I wanted to make a setup similar to yours. But since it's my first grow I want to keep it as simple as possible. Once I become more experienced I want to try to change things up a bit. Keep up the good work!

Welcome to RIU MLP,
everything appears to look ok from your pics. I imagine you'll be transplanting them to their final pot soon. I would put them down deeper in their next pot about a half inch from the coytle leaves. This wont have any adverse effects on them, although new roots will begin to sprout where you covered the stem with soil. Your flouro tubes will be fine about an inch from your little ones. Is that new rockwool you are using? It souldn't stay sopping wet at the surface, it should feel damp. You could actually bump the light to 24 hours, without adverse effects, actually it will help. After about 2 weeks or so you can cut it back to 18 hours just to give them a chance to rest. Remember during the night period the plant will grow roots. This also the time you should start feeding nutes. 1/4 strength at first and increasing every 5+ days. What nutes are you using? Follow the directions on the container but start a 1/4 strength. After panning back thru your thread, I didn't see you mention anything about pH. Get a meter or some way to check this. GH - General Hydroponics makes a pH test kit with the test reagent, a test bottle, and pH up and down. Test your tap water after sitting for 24 hours, Adjust it if necessary to about 5.8 to 6.0 Use this water to give your little ones a drink when the soil is dried out. Most new growers will over water the youngsters. A moisture meter will help with the watering, but your finger will work just as well. If you poke your finger into the soil up to the second knuckle, remove it and place it on your cheek, if it feels cool, dont water. Or if soil is stuck to the end of your finger, dont water. If it's moist enough to stick, its moist enough for the little ones. Well this ran on quite a bit, check out the grow FAQ button at the top of the thread, and read, read, read. Otherwise, it's all lookin good. Hang in there and be patient.
Nim

sounds good watch your ph

well thew end of the second week will be this tuesday, so i thought i would update my journal on my babies.

so here are the pics, they are in the same order as the last set. so first picture of the last update, is the same plant as the first picture n this update.

P.S. should we transplant them now? or wait a little more. And should we start with the nutes now or when we transplant them?

no nutes yet u will kill them bro and yea u can transplant them now start gettin ore lights and like nimbz said when u transplant them bury the stem to about a half inch from the first set of leaves

About the lighting, I have already bought an high power sodium light with all the necessary accessories (ballast and reflector). It's alright that I start using that when I transplant? And when should we start using nutes?

HPS work best for flowering, see if you can find a Metal Halide(MH) that fits the ballast of your hps (only if you wana veg them a little bigger that is). looking good.

yeah you can also get some cfls for veg but mh works better but if you are on a buget cfls r the way to go. i think i have heard of some people using hps for veg to but i think i remember them saying it gets hot so you need to make sure you have adequate ventilation and fans blowing to strengthern up your stems but im not sure like i said i read it i have never used a hps only cfls. hope this helped

I was just looking at my plants, and I saw a tiny red bug on it. It looked like a baby beetle. I'm thinking spider mite.. What should I do to prevent anymore from showing up?!

We asked at a hydroponics store about getting a MH bulb that would fit in our HPS ballast and they had some (although I have a budget and cannot afford one at the moment.) In the mean time, (once I transplant) will it be alright if I use my HPS light? Or should I continue to use the fluoro's.

Tomorrow, I will transplant my plants into bigger pots. When should I start giving nutes? And is that when I should start using the HPS light? (if its alright to use).

i have heard of people using it and u can just make sure u have it far enough away so you dont burn your plants and keep it vetilaited

any idea of what to do about the possible spider mite?

If you can find them lady bugs can irradicate spider mites for you. They will stick around this time of year to feed on the eggs too. I have 4 or 5 that came in the house for the winter, and taken up residence in my plants. Its fun to watch them work, but since i dont have anything for them to feed on, they sit on the plants just waiting for something to happen. They will hybernate till something comes along for them to feed on. I have a small jar lid with some clean water in it to keep them hydrated. Otherwise they will perish from dehydration. As one dies, another one moves in to take his place so I always have a few moving around on the plants. They are truely a grower's best friend.
Nim

alright i will keep a look out for some lady bugs

Well i haven't posted in a LOOOONG time. So here is just a quick update.
They are looking really good

any comments?