TheMANDALAurian
Member
Hi All,
TLDR: Reading a TON of conflicting opinions on every single question I have about the growing, and need some experts to outline the answers to the numbered questions below once and for all so I can get the process right. I understand this post is extensive, so please don't feel the need to answer every question. If you can contribute to even a single question, I would sincerely appreciate it. God bless!
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N00b here on my first grow. The Internet, regardless of enabling humankind to possess virtually infinite knowledge at its fingertips, has failed to provide a consistent methodology to growing marijuana. In other words, while websites, forums, and advice are abundant, one major thing I am struggling with is the lack of consistency in the information available online regarding growing. I'm taking this to mean two things: 1) many people have found success in many different ways and 2) no uniform method exists. As such, I'm calling on the more experienced growers on this forum to advise on a few key issues whose answers are heavily laden with conflicting opinions online.
Prior to outlining the issues, I'd like to state the current setup.
7 1" by 1" garden-grade (non-industrial) rockwool cubes were soaked for several hours in pH-adjusted water of roughly 5.8. Next, rockwool cubes were removed from water, gently squeezed to remove excess water without destroying the structure of the cube, and seeds were added to pre-cut hole in varying orientations (pointy side up, pointy side down, etc). After the first week, 7 out of 8 sprouted.
I have been keeping the rockwool cubes in a 4' x 4' x 80" tent under a 600W VIPARSPECTRA LED light under ONLY the vegetation light setting (keeping the blooming light setting in the off position) for 24 hours a day. Distance of the light from the tips of the plants is roughly 32". Temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit, humidity sits at 35% (put a bucket of water in the tent today in hopes that it would increase moisture). A fan and carbon filter run in the tent to help circulate air. The majority of the sprouts have grown cotyledons, and a few of those have their first true leaves. It has been a total of 8 days since planting. I have 4 8-inch 5-gallon DWC systems and Hydroton. DWC has drip ring. Air pump is 3L/min and I have four of them. Each pump has two outlets, to be connected to each bucket's drip ring and air stone.
While the above may sound reasonable so far, I would like to outline the conflicting opinions I have seen that have made this process impossible to feel 100% confident in (i.e. no matter which method I choose, I always feel like I'm doing something wrong because there's never a consistent answer to any question that I've consulted the Internet for). So as experts, I would like your opinion on the following matters:
1) Rockwool vs. Rapid Rooter. It took me several days to dig through posts and decide which one to choose. Fans are die-hard about both. Which do you use?
2) pH of water. I've heard 5.0-5.5, 5.5-6.0, 5.0 to 6.0, and 5.5 to 6.5. Which do you use?
3) Distance of light from seedlings: Manufacturer says 32" on labeling, people online are saying 12-24, some are saying over 30, and some are saying that the light can touch the leaves. Which do you do?
4) Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of Water: I've heard everything from 100-700 ppm. Which is ideal for one-week old plants? Some people even say not to use nutrients at all. I put my best sprout into Hydroton and added small amounts of nutrients to the reservoir. After several hours, a fully upright sprout was bending. I got paranoid, and took out the air pumps from the drip rings. I re-calibrated my meter and measured ppm at 671, which falls under the 700 mentioned above. I suspected the bending may have been because of shock from nutrients. The plant is still slight bent. I've ripped up some Rapid Rooter (soaked in water) and propped it against the base of the sprout to help it stand up straight. All leaves on this particular sprout appear green and healthy. Any ideas on what might have caused it?
5) When to transfer the rockwool to the hydroton. Some people are saying to toss the seed in the hydroton and let it grow, others say toss seed in rockwool and wait until roots come out from bottom (2-3 weeks) and then hydroton, others are saying to put the rapid rooter in the hydroton and wait for it to germinate in there, while other people are saying to put the seed in a paper towel and then transplant to hydroton when roots develop. Which of these methods do you use?
6) The light I have has two switches. One for vegetation and one for flowering. Some people are saying to only use the vegetation light for the seedlings at this stage, which others are saying to switch on both lights at the same time (full spectrum). Which do you do?
7) Timing of the light: some people are saying they run the light on a 24-0 schedule until it's time to flower. Others are saying 18-6 on vegetation. What hourly schedule do you use for one-week old seedlings? I'd like to point out that between the range of answers I've heard regarding the distance, lighting schedule, and veg/bloom/full spectrum of just the lighting, there are hundreds of different combinations I could do regarding the orientation and wavelength of the light alone. This makes things confusing and frankly, frustrating. Which light cycle do you use and see the best buds form under?
Watering. I've heard everything from just to spritz the rockwool once a day, to watering four times a day, to leaving the cubes alone until they are almost dry (6-7 days) and then watering, to leaving cubes in a tray of water with a dome, to not using rockwool at all and watering from the top in the hydroton. What's your take?
9) Germination hood: I have heard to put a hood, to not put a hood, to leave in a lighted area, to leaving in the dark. What's your method?
I have a TON more questions to ask, but my hands hurt from typing. God bless you if you've made it this far into the post. Thank you so much!
TLDR: Reading a TON of conflicting opinions on every single question I have about the growing, and need some experts to outline the answers to the numbered questions below once and for all so I can get the process right. I understand this post is extensive, so please don't feel the need to answer every question. If you can contribute to even a single question, I would sincerely appreciate it. God bless!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N00b here on my first grow. The Internet, regardless of enabling humankind to possess virtually infinite knowledge at its fingertips, has failed to provide a consistent methodology to growing marijuana. In other words, while websites, forums, and advice are abundant, one major thing I am struggling with is the lack of consistency in the information available online regarding growing. I'm taking this to mean two things: 1) many people have found success in many different ways and 2) no uniform method exists. As such, I'm calling on the more experienced growers on this forum to advise on a few key issues whose answers are heavily laden with conflicting opinions online.
Prior to outlining the issues, I'd like to state the current setup.
7 1" by 1" garden-grade (non-industrial) rockwool cubes were soaked for several hours in pH-adjusted water of roughly 5.8. Next, rockwool cubes were removed from water, gently squeezed to remove excess water without destroying the structure of the cube, and seeds were added to pre-cut hole in varying orientations (pointy side up, pointy side down, etc). After the first week, 7 out of 8 sprouted.
I have been keeping the rockwool cubes in a 4' x 4' x 80" tent under a 600W VIPARSPECTRA LED light under ONLY the vegetation light setting (keeping the blooming light setting in the off position) for 24 hours a day. Distance of the light from the tips of the plants is roughly 32". Temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit, humidity sits at 35% (put a bucket of water in the tent today in hopes that it would increase moisture). A fan and carbon filter run in the tent to help circulate air. The majority of the sprouts have grown cotyledons, and a few of those have their first true leaves. It has been a total of 8 days since planting. I have 4 8-inch 5-gallon DWC systems and Hydroton. DWC has drip ring. Air pump is 3L/min and I have four of them. Each pump has two outlets, to be connected to each bucket's drip ring and air stone.
While the above may sound reasonable so far, I would like to outline the conflicting opinions I have seen that have made this process impossible to feel 100% confident in (i.e. no matter which method I choose, I always feel like I'm doing something wrong because there's never a consistent answer to any question that I've consulted the Internet for). So as experts, I would like your opinion on the following matters:
1) Rockwool vs. Rapid Rooter. It took me several days to dig through posts and decide which one to choose. Fans are die-hard about both. Which do you use?
2) pH of water. I've heard 5.0-5.5, 5.5-6.0, 5.0 to 6.0, and 5.5 to 6.5. Which do you use?
3) Distance of light from seedlings: Manufacturer says 32" on labeling, people online are saying 12-24, some are saying over 30, and some are saying that the light can touch the leaves. Which do you do?
4) Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of Water: I've heard everything from 100-700 ppm. Which is ideal for one-week old plants? Some people even say not to use nutrients at all. I put my best sprout into Hydroton and added small amounts of nutrients to the reservoir. After several hours, a fully upright sprout was bending. I got paranoid, and took out the air pumps from the drip rings. I re-calibrated my meter and measured ppm at 671, which falls under the 700 mentioned above. I suspected the bending may have been because of shock from nutrients. The plant is still slight bent. I've ripped up some Rapid Rooter (soaked in water) and propped it against the base of the sprout to help it stand up straight. All leaves on this particular sprout appear green and healthy. Any ideas on what might have caused it?
5) When to transfer the rockwool to the hydroton. Some people are saying to toss the seed in the hydroton and let it grow, others say toss seed in rockwool and wait until roots come out from bottom (2-3 weeks) and then hydroton, others are saying to put the rapid rooter in the hydroton and wait for it to germinate in there, while other people are saying to put the seed in a paper towel and then transplant to hydroton when roots develop. Which of these methods do you use?
6) The light I have has two switches. One for vegetation and one for flowering. Some people are saying to only use the vegetation light for the seedlings at this stage, which others are saying to switch on both lights at the same time (full spectrum). Which do you do?
7) Timing of the light: some people are saying they run the light on a 24-0 schedule until it's time to flower. Others are saying 18-6 on vegetation. What hourly schedule do you use for one-week old seedlings? I'd like to point out that between the range of answers I've heard regarding the distance, lighting schedule, and veg/bloom/full spectrum of just the lighting, there are hundreds of different combinations I could do regarding the orientation and wavelength of the light alone. This makes things confusing and frankly, frustrating. Which light cycle do you use and see the best buds form under?
Watering. I've heard everything from just to spritz the rockwool once a day, to watering four times a day, to leaving the cubes alone until they are almost dry (6-7 days) and then watering, to leaving cubes in a tray of water with a dome, to not using rockwool at all and watering from the top in the hydroton. What's your take?9) Germination hood: I have heard to put a hood, to not put a hood, to leave in a lighted area, to leaving in the dark. What's your method?
I have a TON more questions to ask, but my hands hurt from typing. God bless you if you've made it this far into the post. Thank you so much!
