First grow first post! Need some help!

Hello all I am new here and a newbie to the cannabis growing world which is probably why I find myself here in this newbie forum asking for help!

Basically I have a bunch of babies I have started for the up coming outdoor season. I have them inside in my closet which I leave the door open to for most of the day so that it doesnt get too hot. By open I mean a few inches enough for fresh air to get in and out. I started with a bunch of bag seeds which yes I know isnt always great to start with but I am a newb and figured I would try and just learn a few things this year before really spending money on seeds or clones next year. Anyways I am just going to make a list as to what I do and have and then post a picture or 2.

Setup.
5 cfls (daytime light - veg stage lights) all about 4 or 5 inches above the tops of my babies.

-The grow space is small but the temps and humidity are usually good and I have good air circulation. temps are from 72-82, humidity around 33-45.

-Plastic cups filled with FAFARD FARMS custom mix. The custom has nothing to tell me what is in it but the guy at the nursery told me its an organic mix with no ferts added, not sure if I believe him or not.(this could be part of my problem)


-Water usually a very small amount once a day when I notice the top of the soil looks a dry. I havent tested the water yet (yes, this could also be an issue) but its good tap drinking water that is fed from a local spring I believe. (I live out in the woods)

Problem.
-I am notice some of the leaves are starting to curl under and the tips of some are just starting to turn slightly yellow. From what I understand this may be cause form over watering but I dont think I am over watering too much but what do I know, I am a newbie!! Thats why I am here asking you guys what you think.

Thanks guys, any suggestion would be great and much appreciated. Cheers all and I look forward to hanging out with yall through the internet now! haha

Setup


Curling Leaves


Yellow tips


Yellow/Brown Tips


What I am considering to be healthy!


Thanks for any input, anything helps! Less water, move the lights, different soil, check my water ph?!?!! IM lost help me!

rofl
too dry

also - is that soil nuted?

water those, man

1/2 cup of water every other day - you DO have drainage holes?

I have drainage holes, I am not sure on the soil and if their have been nutes added I am going to stop by the nursery today and ask if they can tell me what is IN their CUSTOM mix lol!

Ya thanks for the help, I will water them right now! When reading the newbie stuff I often see DONT OVER WATER!! so I guess I was just trying to be careful!!

and by cup you mean a drinking cup not like an actual measuring cup I am assuming haha

So I just picked up a rapitest ph/moisture/fertility/light tester today. Ya not the greatest one as it was only 15 bucks but I figured it would at least give me a little bit of an idea as to what is going on.

pH - in soil tester sits around 7.

light - the tester has levels from 1-10 I am currently at about an 8

moisture - the scale read from 1-4 4 boing very moist. I am currently at a mid 3 and the package says to water plants that are in veg or vegetables when they are in the 2-3 range.(would like some info on this and if this something that is good to follow)

Fertility - Being that I am using the fafard farms custom mix I really didnt have any idea of what exactly is in it. After testing the soil with my tester it came out with an extremely low reading as if there is no fert in the soil which is a good thing. I did talk to the guy at the nursery again today and he assured me that its an all organic mix with no added ferts.

My Water - I am starting to think I may get my water tested or just start using a natural spring that is near my house to fill up gallon jugs. I have very good water at my house but being that it is well water out here in the boonies it may have something wrong with it. Not wrong for me but for my plants. I am guessing it has a heavy filtration system so that could be causing some issues with it. Maybe getting too much or too little iron or salts. I am not really sure but I am going to grab some good distilled or natural spring water today and start letting the plants drink that in stead of my tap water.


Also, I have notice maybe a slight improvement in my plants since giving them a little bit more water than I have been. Also it is kind of odd to me(kind of as in these are all bag seeds) that some of the plants look healthy as could be and some well look like the pictures I posted 2 days ago.

Thanks for the help! Cheers!

Also just to add about the Fafard Farms custom mix, the guy at the nursery who is a friend of mine and knows what I am doing with it told me that they start all of their plants at the nursery in this stuff.. from the time they are little babies until they are full grown. He assures me its good stuff and I believe him just need to work out these minor kinks. The reason I dont want to leave from this soil unless I really have to is because this is going to be an outdoor grow and this stuff is easily available to me and is also only about 15 bucks for a huge bag.

ahh I hate forgetting stuff I want to tell you guys! He also mentioned to me to maybe go down to like a 20/4 light schedule with them and then maybe down to even more hours of dark as they are going to be plants that are going to be growing out doors for a long time with a light schedule that is not going to be constant light for 24 hours. I just flipped the lights off and plan on leaving them off for the next 4 hours. If this is a bad idea please chime in quickly so I can go turn them back on!!

THANKS!!

lights need to be basically on top of the plant or they will stretch. i see really dry soil. i see lots of sticks which isnt bad but not good either. i would get different soil. the soil you got looks terrible. miracle grow looks better. try lamberts or something from home depot

i was told sticks attract bugs i dont know because my soil doesnt have sticks.

fir3dragon said:

lights need to be basically on top of the plant or they will stretch. i see really dry soil. i see lots of sticks which isnt bad but not good either. i would get different soil. the soil you got looks terrible. miracle grow looks better. try lamberts or something from home depot

i was told sticks attract bugs i dont know because my soil doesnt have sticks.

Click to expand...

Ya the soil I think was too dry when those pictures were taken. As I said I did add some water and I have noticed maybe a little bit of change for the better. I am thinking about switching to pro-mix which is something I can get at my local nursery. Any thoughts on pro-mix potting and seedling mix or whatever it is??

phaeded said:

Ya the soil I think was too dry when those pictures were taken. As I said I did add some water and I have noticed maybe a little bit of change for the better. I am thinking about switching to pro-mix which is something I can get at my local nursery. Any thoughts on pro-mix potting and seedling mix or whatever it is??

Click to expand...

never used it. im using lamberts from home depot. its 6.50 for 2.0 cu ft. or something like that. it needs perlite added but my seedlings i got
in it right now are doing good. its got nutes for 30 days nutes so you wont need anything until 30 days. here is a link

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202529919/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=lamberts&storeId=10051

i get miracle grow perlite though it does the job.

fir3dragon said:

never used it. im using lamberts from home depot. its 6.50 for 2.0 cu ft. or something like that. it needs perlite added but my seedlings i got
in it right now are doing good. its got nutes for 30 days nutes so you wont need anything until 30 days. here is a link

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202529919/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=lamberts&storeId=10051

i get miracle grow perlite though it does the job.

Click to expand...

Ya they dont carry that near me or I would grab some.

Any recommendations on maybe some stuff I can add to this soil to make it better. It looks like it could use some perlite or something but I dont really know...