Any suggestions to help a first time grower from info overload???

Hello community ...

This is my first attempt at growing. Like most, I've spent endless hours researching , reading and asking seasoned growers anything I could about dabbling into this project. I finally decided to make the jump not long ago and gathering all my equipment and what not. And like most, I've changed plans and made modifications the more I learn.
As of now, I've started a small grow in an indoor grow tent and feel as if I'm over my head trying to keep up with stuff.
I want to know what's the most simplest yet worthy way for a first timer to grow? Please keep in mind I'm new and I expect some criticism but any functional fed back would be nice.
My current set up is:
Tent: 4x4x6.5
Lighting: 1x300w (155w) LED Viparspectra (ONLY ADDED THIS BECAUSE I READ TOO MUCH), 12 CFL 23W Daylight and softwhite (DIY cfl fixture ), reflector was removed due to LED placement.
Cooling/Exhaust: DIY Swamp cooler with 6 inch inline fan (pulling in fresh outdoor air through duct and pushing cool mist into tent through cooler) , 6 inch exhaust fan located high tent port and blowing into garage. I use a swamp cooler to cut down on electrical cost and increase humidity since im in a very very dry area. Humidity is usually in the single digits any given day.
Soil: Small bag of FFOF used in 9 solo cups, large bag of Nature's Care Organic soil (had to sacrifice funds at last minute and will be used to fill up 5 gallon smart pots)
Nutes: due to funds I'm using natures care veg plant fruit
Water: tap for now left open for 48 hrs
Pots: solo cups during early veg, 5 gallon smart pots

As most see this is rookie status setup FOR NOW. In reading so much I've lost track of what to really do and am curious, if I could legitimately grow a full 3-5 plants with this setup I've described.

alright. your led is too high and isnt doing anything, you should just turn that off for now. even your cfls add up to 276 watts, which is probably more than is needed for those little guys. may want to go half power for a week or two. Nutes - dont use any nutes for 2 weeks, you will just burn them. you will want to go to the dollar store or somewhere cheap and get some pots between solo and 5g. going to save you money on soil, nutes etc. you can go hillbilly and recycle some plastic containers or whatever, just make sure there is lots of drainage. when you transplant into bigger containers, you can incorporate more lighting as things spread out. water by weight, feel the container make sure it is really light before watering. filter your intake to keep out pests - something that wont get clogged or diminish air flow too much

Growdict said:

alright. your led is too high and isnt doing anything, you should just turn that off for now. even your cfls add up to 276 watts, which is probably more than is needed for those little guys. may want to go half power for a week or two. Nutes - dont use any nutes for 2 weeks, you will just burn them. you will want to go to the dollar store or somewhere cheap and get some pots between solo and 5g. going to save you money on soil, nutes etc. you can go hillbilly and recycle some plastic containers or whatever, just make sure there is lots of drainage. when you transplant into bigger containers, you can incorporate more lighting as things spread out. water by weight, feel the container make sure it is really light before watering. filter your intake to keep out pests - something that wont get clogged or diminish air flow too much

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Thanks for he info and your suggestions. I like the idea of using an in between pot. As for my intake, it filters prior to going into my cooler and then it really filters when pushing air out through the cooler pads. According the the LED manual, it states to have the LED about 35-40 inches above the plants for the first week to 10 days. Right now its about 35 inches and when im in there working looking around, i can feel the LED lighting and heat beaming on the back of my head. The only reason i say this is because i have little to no experience as of now. Do you think the CFL's are to close?

PugBacon said:

Hello community ...

This is my first attempt at growing. Like most, I've spent endless hours researching , reading and asking seasoned growers anything I could about dabbling into this project. I finally decided to make the jump not long ago and gathering all my equipment and what not. And like most, I've changed plans and made modifications the more I learn.
As of now, I've started a small grow in an indoor grow tent and feel as if I'm over my head trying to keep up with stuff.
I want to know what's the most simplest yet worthy way for a first timer to grow? Please keep in mind I'm new and I expect some criticism but any functional fed back would be nice.
My current set up is:
Tent: 4x4x6.5
Lighting: 1x300w (155w) LED Viparspectra, 12 CFL 23W Daylight and softwhite (DIY cfl fixture ), reflector was removed due to LED placement.
Cooling/Exhaust: DIY Swamp cooler with 6 inch inline fan (pulling in fresh outdoor air through duct and pushing cool mist into tent through cooler) , 6 inch exhaust fan located high tent port and blowing into garage.
Soil: Small bag of FFOF used in 9 solo cups, large bag of Nature's Care Organic soil (had to sacrifice funds at last minute and will be used to fill up 5 gallon smart pots)
Nutes: due to funds I'm using natures care veg plant fruit
Water: tap for now left open for 48 hrs
Pots: solo cups during early veg, 5 gallon smart pots

As most see this is rookie status setup FOR NOW. In reading so much I've lost track of what to really do and am curious, if I could legitimately grow a full 3-5 plants with this setup I've described.

Click to expand...

When I got to 9 plants I went OH NO. If this is your first grow. 1 or 2 plants is enough to keep up with. INFO overload is easy. If you read to much you could panic yourself to well you know. Go slow. Best advice I ever got. I even wrote it on the wall of my grow room. For lights. Increase as the plant grows. It is not the same as nature. Yet it helps because heat needs to be controlled. You do need a thermometer in your tent. Hydrometer to tell humidity. For your plants. After at least one five leaf is present. Then transplant into the 5 gallon pots. The reason I say 1 or 2 plants. At the end 1 plant is a lot of work to harvest. So when you get to the point were you don't have issues harvesting it or taking care of it. You can plant more if you want. I know lots will dissagree with what I just said. It hurts less to screw 1 or 2 up. Rather than 9. It is based on your needs. As for space that the plants can take up. 2 foot around to 4 feet around. They get big. I grow only 1 or 2 because this is my medicine. Also I can't work real hard. I have a 4 foot by 4 foot closet.

To get the basics. Keeping plant count low helps. Each day you need to spend some time with each plant. Examine the leaves. Touch them. You need to know what they feel like. The plant doesn't mind. Search into the plant as it bushes up. You want to make sure everything is healthy. You may need or may want to tie it open. Lets light in to the inside. There are things to think of. Don't be affraid to make a mistake. Because you will. Thats not being mean. Its the truth. Everybody makes mistakes as they learn more about the grow. I don't know how many grows I have done. I know I have screwed some part of them up everytime. So I just want to prepare you for this. The plant is a weed. So like most weeds. It can be hard to kill. Or it can take a lot of abuse. As your plants grow you need to know each part of it. You minimize touching when they are in flower. By then it will have stretched out enough so digging can be done with your eyes. They also feed off human contact. By the way I am sober right now. You spending time just watching them. Talking to them. Never smoke around them. Big stress causer for your plants. You need fans or a fan to make it blow around. You want the leaves in motion at all times. It strengthens the stalks. It keeps the bugs and pest off as well. So it helps to have them moving. Air curculation is key. My grow room door is always open. Fan blowing into the closet. That makes the stail air come out as well. That helps your plant a lot.

Up to you. I would get rid of some of your 9 plants. As your grow goes you will be happier in my opinion. Don't forget to have fun. Do a grow journal in here. Ask for help. Read all sections in the newbie section. Consult them as needed. You can do this. It is an art that you master with much practise. Go in expecting that. Give it your all.

this is the cure, take a copy ..is easy and with pics the 12 week grow

to my blog: https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/12-week-grow-sceneario-by-jorge-cervantas.30164/

good luck

9leaves said:

When I got to 9 plants I went OH NO. If this is your first grow. 1 or 2 plants is enough to keep up with. INFO overload is easy. If you read to much you could panic yourself to well you know. Go slow. Best advice I ever got. I even wrote it on the wall of my grow room. For lights. Increase as the plant grows. It is not the same as nature. Yet it helps because heat needs to be controlled. You do need a thermometer in your tent. Hydrometer to tell humidity. For your plants. After at least one five leaf is present. Then transplant into the 5 gallon pots. The reason I say 1 or 2 plants. At the end 1 plant is a lot of work to harvest. So when you get to the point were you don't have issues harvesting it or taking care of it. You can plant more if you want. I know lots will dissagree with what I just said. It hurts less to screw 1 or 2 up. Rather than 9. It is based on your needs. As for space that the plants can take up. 2 foot around to 4 feet around. They get big. I grow only 1 or 2 because this is my medicine. Also I can't work real hard. I have a 4 foot by 4 foot closet.

To get the basics. Keeping plant count low helps. Each day you need to spend some time with each plant. Examine the leaves. Touch them. You need to know what they feel like. The plant doesn't mind. Search into the plant as it bushes up. You want to make sure everything is healthy. You may need or may want to tie it open. Lets light in to the inside. There are things to think of. Don't be affraid to make a mistake. Because you will. Thats not being mean. Its the truth. Everybody makes mistakes as they learn more about the grow. I don't know how many grows I have done. I know I have screwed some part of them up everytime. So I just want to prepare you for this. The plant is a weed. So like most weeds. It can be hard to kill. Or it can take a lot of abuse. As your plants grow you need to know each part of it. You minimize touching when they are in flower. By then it will have stretched out enough so digging can be done with your eyes. They also feed off human contact. By the way I am sober right now. You spending time just watching them. Talking to them. Never smoke around them. Big stress causer for your plants. You need fans or a fan to make it blow around. You want the leaves in motion at all times. It strengthens the stalks. It keeps the bugs and pest off as well. So it helps to have them moving. Air curculation is key. My grow room door is always open. Fan blowing into the closet. That makes the stail air come out as well. That helps your plant a lot.

Up to you. I would get rid of some of your 9 plants. As your grow goes you will be happier in my opinion. Don't forget to have fun. Do a grow journal in here. Ask for help. Read all sections in the newbie section. Consult them as needed. You can do this. It is an art that you master with much practise. Go in expecting that. Give it your all.

Click to expand...

@9leaves Thanks for the scoop. I thought 9 plants was a bit much as well. The reason i have so many right now is because im not really sure if these seeds were feminized or not. My goal is to end up with 4 plants to fill up my tent with, any other ones would be donated to some of my peers. If I end up with an extra fem and a male, then ill try to sex them for some additional seed. I know this is most likely beyond my current skill set but there has to be a first time at some time.

I do have a thermostat with humidity reading one of the digital ones and I also have a set of fans blowing air around with some added help of the swamp cooler. the grow room stays at a constant 76 when the lights are off during the day and humidity in the 40-50%. How important is it to have all the right measurements for water PH? Mine is currently tap water and its about 6 to 6.3 according to my soil PH meter.

vostok said:

this is the cure, take a copy ..is easy and with pics the 12 week grow

to my blog: https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/12-week-grow-sceneario-by-jorge-cervantas.30164/

good luck

Click to expand...

This is perfect man. Thanks so much. Makes things much simpler and less scary for a rookie!

PugBacon said:

@9leaves Thanks for the scoop. I thought 9 plants was a bit much as well. The reason i have so many right now is because im not really sure if these seeds were feminized or not. My goal is to end up with 4 plants to fill up my tent with, any other ones would be donated to some of my peers. If I end up with an extra fem and a male, then ill try to sex them for some additional seed. I know this is most likely beyond my current skill set but there has to be a first time at some time.

I do have a thermostat with humidity reading one of the digital ones and I also have a set of fans blowing air around with some added help of the swamp cooler. the grow room stays at a constant 76 when the lights are off during the day and humidity in the 40-50%. How important is it to have all the right measurements for water PH? Mine is currently tap water and its about 6 to 6.3 according to my soil PH meter.

Click to expand...

PH in water is important. If you don't have a water softener. You should be good. I never measured my water. On those plants. When balls appear. They do look like testicles. Pull them. If you want to bread. The males need to be pulled as soon as noticed. If one of those pollen sacks opens. It will be able to fertilise plants for up to a mile. You must keep the males in a seperate place. That place must also be sealed from getting the pollen out. Good luck with making seeds. It could be fun. It could be the hardest thing you have ever done. 4 plants great goal. Sharring the love with others is so cool. Keep it green.

Something else I just thought of. Don't try to do so much you burn yourself out. You don't want to get to buried before you get basics down. That will make it harder to find out what went wrong. I started way to fast. I had a plant so stressed it first was stinking up the entire house. Second it hermied. If you run in to a point when you aren't having fun. You are doing to much. If you are having fun. You are doing the right amount of stuff.

9leaves said:

Something else I just thought of. Don't try to do so much you burn yourself out. You don't want to get to buried before you get basics down. That will make it harder to find out what went wrong. I started way to fast. I had a plant so stressed it first was stinking up the entire house. Second it hermied. If you run in to a point when you aren't having fun. You are doing to much. If you are having fun. You are doing the right amount of stuff.

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@9leaves this is the best advice I've had in the last few weeks. I was starting to freak out a few nights ago about all the info, different grow methods and so on. I've definitely backed off a bit from tinkering and worrying about the small things and started focusing on the basics. I don't plan on selling and never planned on it. I originally undertook this as a hobby and want to keep it on that level till I get to 5 or so grows under my belt.

@vostok thanks for the guide my man. Between the guide and the suggestions from @9leaves I think I'm pretty much set for the rest of my grow but I will be frequenting this forum for any hiccups or questions I may run into. As a lil token of my appreciation here are some snap shots from my grow I took this morning. I know it's not much but I'm proud of my lil seedlings thus far. Lol
I will keep this thread live as I run into successes and failures.

@9leaves what do u think of this on the leaves. The white marks? Something I should worry about? Day 10 of grow.

PugBacon said:

@9leaves what do u think of this on the leaves. The white marks? Something I should worry about? Day 10 of grow.

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Hair growth. On the rounded leaves. Marks left from popping out of the shell. The yellow tip on the other is ok. They are fighting for there lives right now. Is there lots of holes in the bottom of the cup? Drainage is key. Only water when cup is light. You want it almost completely dry before you add more water. Now and going forward. If it feels like it has weight to it. Don't water it. If it feels light water it. I'm glad I was able to calm your anxiety down. This is supposed to be fun. You will have fun. You will also get soar from clipping during harvest. It is always a surprise there. Keep it up. Keep records of changes you notice. I see you said day 10. So you do have a record system. By saving records you will learn from them on the next grow. You will find patterns. When you see something out of pattern you will know you need to adjust something. Keep up the good work.

9leaves said:

Hair growth. On the rounded leaves. Marks left from popping out of the shell. The yellow tip on the other is ok. They are fighting for there lives right now. Is there lots of holes in the bottom of the cup? Drainage is key. Only water when cup is light. You want it almost completely dry before you add more water. Now and going forward. If it feels like it has weight to it. Don't water it. If it feels light water it. I'm glad I was able to calm your anxiety down. This is supposed to be fun. You will have fun. You will also get soar from clipping during harvest. It is always a surprise there. Keep it up. Keep records of changes you notice. I see you said day 10. So you do have a record system. By saving records you will learn from them on the next grow. You will find patterns. When you see something out of pattern you will know you need to adjust something. Keep up the good work.

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What do u think of these nutes? They are organic certified as well as the soil. Planning on amending the soil nutes and perlite right before i transplant. Planning on starting a nute cycle at the end of week two (tomorrow). What should the NPK balance be at this point?