Kriegs
Well-Known Member
I posted this in someone else's thread, then thought I'd share it more generally. Hope it helps you somehow.
I thought I'd share a few things with people; things I think I've learned over the last grow-and-a-half, really. This isn't everything I've learned, but it's a start.
This advice is for "from seed in soil" grows. I don't know a damn thing about any other method.
1. Start in soil. It's easy. Are you in this for bud?
Or a challenging course in biochemistry?
I thought so....
2. As long as you have a decent, ventilated grow space, buy the most light you can stand to choke out the dough for, at least up to 400-600W HID. Beyond that, more subtle preferences become involved. If you have a $200 lineup of nutes and supplements, and a $150 cheapo HPS or less, your priorities are off. If you feel you're serious about this, get a flouro bank AND an HID. I've used my HID throughout both grows. If I could only have one light, I'd rather struggle with the challenges of raising seedlings under an HID and have that power for flowering later. But, I'm convinced flouros are superior for seedlings, and will be adding a flouro bank next grow for sure to produce sturdier, less stressed seedlings.
3. Use multiple container steps; don't be afraid of transplanting. I've started in big pots both times. It works, but has avoidable limitations. By starting small, you can a) start more plants and weed out obvious losers b) change your soil at transplant time, if you have plants that don't like what they're in and c) focus your resources (more space, soil, water) into your females later when they show.
4. Don't be afraid to water! If you have good pots with drainage holes and good soil, it's difficult to overwater. It's better to give more than less, within reason. I've held back on water for fear of overwatering and over-releasing pre-added nutes. That's nonsense. This actually caused the struggles I hoped to avoid. A full watering keeps a fresh, healthy environment around your roots. Water until you get a little runoff out of the bottom. Burn the "feel" of a wet vs dry pot into your brain -- pot weight is the best rule of thumb, IMO.
5. Don't anguish every little change in your leaves. Yes, sometimes plants have real problems, but mostly they don't. And the leaves go up, down, sideways, curl up, look a little yellower / greener than the next plant... on and on and on. And 98% of the time, it's a natural response to temp, moisture, humidity, variability in the strain, etc.
6. That said, sometimes you have real problems. Almost always from adding too much stuff. Once trouble starts in soil, you can't make decisions about problems and solutions on an hourly or single-day basis. You have to take your time, make your best possible estimate of what the problem is, correct it, then give at least a few days to see if that's the fix.
7. Finally, sometimes you're going to lose plants. It doesn't mean the rest are in the same danger. So don't stress.. Like people, some individuals just can't get along in certain situations.
I've made all these mistakes personally so you don't have to ('cept the light -- got that right first time with a 400W HID).
Peace...
I thought I'd share a few things with people; things I think I've learned over the last grow-and-a-half, really. This isn't everything I've learned, but it's a start.
This advice is for "from seed in soil" grows. I don't know a damn thing about any other method.
1. Start in soil. It's easy. Are you in this for bud?
Or a challenging course in biochemistry? I thought so....2. As long as you have a decent, ventilated grow space, buy the most light you can stand to choke out the dough for, at least up to 400-600W HID. Beyond that, more subtle preferences become involved. If you have a $200 lineup of nutes and supplements, and a $150 cheapo HPS or less, your priorities are off. If you feel you're serious about this, get a flouro bank AND an HID. I've used my HID throughout both grows. If I could only have one light, I'd rather struggle with the challenges of raising seedlings under an HID and have that power for flowering later. But, I'm convinced flouros are superior for seedlings, and will be adding a flouro bank next grow for sure to produce sturdier, less stressed seedlings.
3. Use multiple container steps; don't be afraid of transplanting. I've started in big pots both times. It works, but has avoidable limitations. By starting small, you can a) start more plants and weed out obvious losers b) change your soil at transplant time, if you have plants that don't like what they're in and c) focus your resources (more space, soil, water) into your females later when they show.
4. Don't be afraid to water! If you have good pots with drainage holes and good soil, it's difficult to overwater. It's better to give more than less, within reason. I've held back on water for fear of overwatering and over-releasing pre-added nutes. That's nonsense. This actually caused the struggles I hoped to avoid. A full watering keeps a fresh, healthy environment around your roots. Water until you get a little runoff out of the bottom. Burn the "feel" of a wet vs dry pot into your brain -- pot weight is the best rule of thumb, IMO.
5. Don't anguish every little change in your leaves. Yes, sometimes plants have real problems, but mostly they don't. And the leaves go up, down, sideways, curl up, look a little yellower / greener than the next plant... on and on and on. And 98% of the time, it's a natural response to temp, moisture, humidity, variability in the strain, etc.
6. That said, sometimes you have real problems. Almost always from adding too much stuff. Once trouble starts in soil, you can't make decisions about problems and solutions on an hourly or single-day basis. You have to take your time, make your best possible estimate of what the problem is, correct it, then give at least a few days to see if that's the fix.
7. Finally, sometimes you're going to lose plants. It doesn't mean the rest are in the same danger. So don't stress.. Like people, some individuals just can't get along in certain situations.
I've made all these mistakes personally so you don't have to ('cept the light -- got that right first time with a 400W HID).
Peace...
