First time grower, any tips/comments GREATLY appreciated

this is my first time tryin to grow..i got 7 plants and planted them about 16 days ago..I am currently having some smaller plants getting a little droopy and have brown/yellow spots on the leaves. any ideas? I was using deer park water but ran out so now i fill up bottles with tap water and let it sit for a day atleast..heres what ive got so far
thanks for looking and hopefully readin

What I started with



This is the standard 75 watt houselight i was using, could this be the cause of
the spots on the leaves?



10th day, my biggest plant



the cfl light setup for now



again



potting soil i use



What i have now




containers i am transferring too within the next 2 days

its never too late to try.....

get some better soil, and mix your own nutes(i hear awful things about time release nutes) trans plant those bad boys as soon as possible and get the light about 3 in. away.(cfls are most effective at this range from a nutritional stand point.) Loose the cardboard box and just use your closet or something.(air circulation, venting, etc. is poor in a box) you have alot of stretch in you plants, topping will allow the to bush out a little bit and you can recover nicely. READ THE GROW FAQ...IT IS A MUST.

I don't want to be mean...and I hope this isn't....but your growing conditions are about as poor as you can get, so your plants will be the same...about as poor and miserable as you can get.

That would be like taking a new born infant...to a crack house, putting it in the closet...putting a blanket over it's head so it couldn't get fresh air...and then leaving the closet door cracked just a bit so minimal light can come in, and then expecting that baby to grow up big, healthy and strong....just aint gonna happen.

Your plants are suffering probably for many reasons...all factors contributing...poor lighting, poor room, poor air circulation, poor temp, poor potting conditions (pots are too small, pots you want to put them in will be too small very quickly)...and miracle grow isn't meant for growing good pot either...it's for your weekend gardener.

I'd be suprised if those kids made it another week without drooping over to near death....the bigger they get the more they will struggle too...they're only going to need more water, more air, more light, and better conditions as they get older.

Overall suggestion....improve conditions, start over.

Below (3) attached pictures, just to give you an idea of how much your grow conditions are effecting your plants....those are only 4 plants, and only about a week older than yours [aprox. 22 days]

grobudd said:

its never too late to try.....

get some better soil, and mix your own nutes(i hear awful things about time release nutes)

Click to expand...

Yeah time release is bad-joo-joo....it's near impossible to control the rate at which the nutrients are delivered....plus who knows at what amounts each nute is being delivered. It's all just a crap-shoot

I've seen nothing but poor results out of time release....besides, when growing indoors...time is not on our side, everything has to be clean, measured and precise...we only grow for about 3 months, one small snafoo in your plant care and you may not have time to recover your plant, or you'll extend the grow out by weeks waiting to correct the mistake....i've watched it happen.

Ya not to bust your balls, there is hope for these plants. and they are alive still so your thumb is somewhat green. But in cases like this action must be taken quickly or alk the time and money is wasted. clear cups for seedlings...BAD. Miracle Grow with time reales nutes...Bad. CFL to far away...BAD. Poor ventilation and no air circulation...bad(a small fan will help with the stretching also as well as make the stems nice and fat.) Those pots in the last pic will be outgrown in 2-4 weeks so be prepared to transfer again. use these transplant times to recover your grow. with lots of grow faq reading and thread searching you will find everything you need. Dont give up, you have done ok so far, but BCENVY is correct and you will need to make lots of changes quick....goood luck

Oh, I may have been slightly misleading, there is hope....personally I'd start over....but yes there is hope.

And I agree whole-heartedly...the time to act....IS NOW!!!

Oh yeah and grobudd is right....clear cups....BADDDDDDDDD

light kills roots....and young plants rely heavily on their root growth.

NEVER EVER EVER EVER use clear containers when growing, if you do...paint em or tape em up so they aren't clear anymore

thanks for the quick answers everyone
and i do realize i have shitty growing conditions as i am growing at college and couldnt be more broke ha..the cfl is actually about 2 inches from the top of the plants, i raised them yesterday.
i also had a fan to circulate air but it fell and broke

For when I switch to these new pots tomorrow, what soil should i use. i.e what exactly should i get and mix together. please keep in mind i am on a tight budget..
tonight im planning on building a better set up for them and my roommate is hooking me up with some cooling fans..also going to pick up some more cfl's tomorrow for the new set up..

I have one question though, why do you say my lighting is bad? Its 4 CFL's and produces a crap load of light

BCENVY said:

Oh, I may have been slightly misleading, there is hope....personally I'd start over....but yes there is hope.

And I agree whole-heartedly...the time to act....IS NOW!!!

Oh yeah and grobudd is right....clear cups....BADDDDDDDDD

light kills roots....and young plants rely heavily on their root growth.

NEVER EVER EVER EVER use clear containers when growing, if you do...paint em or tape em up so they aren't clear anymore

Click to expand...

Thanks again for the advice..im in the process of taping shrouds around the cups so no light seeps through, until i can transplant my younglings

Could anyone steer me in the right direction of soil mixture so i can transplant tomorrow

I found this in the GrowFAQ

3) Margins of the leaves are turned up, and the tips may be twisted. Leaves are yellowing (and may turn brown), but the veins remain somewhat green. >> Magnesium (Mg) deficiency. b) If not, go to #4.

4) Leaves are browning or yellowing. Yellow, brown, or necrotic (dead) patches, especially around the edges of the leaf, which may be curled. Plant may be too tall. >> Potassium (K) deficiency. b) If not, keep reading.

Could i have magnesium and potassium deficiency? Or nitrogen?

turbogti686 said:

I found this in the GrowFAQ

3) Margins of the leaves are turned up, and the tips may be twisted. Leaves are yellowing (and may turn brown), but the veins remain somewhat green. >> Magnesium (Mg) deficiency. b) If not, go to #4.

4) Leaves are browning or yellowing. Yellow, brown, or necrotic (dead) patches, especially around the edges of the leaf, which may be curled. Plant may be too tall. >> Potassium (K) deficiency. b) If not, keep reading.

Could i have magnesium and potassium deficiency? Or nitrogen?

Click to expand...

It's near impossible at that age....or it could be a defficiency....starting to see the problem with Miracle grow...you have no clue what your plants are getting and/or need.

But to be perfectly honest with you, you have so many variables, that like I said previously your plants could be suffering for about 40 different reasons. In order to properly diagnose any defficiency all other variables have to be removed...meaning you need to improve your grow conditions to rule out bad air, poor lighting, or bad home. I'm guessing it's more of a light/air combination for your young tender little plants rather than a nute defficiency.

I can tell you this, your plants are cramped already in those cups, that main root is coiling around the bottom of that clear cup...go lock yourself in a box that is just narrower than your shoulders, and just 4 inches shorter than you are tall....tell me how ya feel after a week in there...that's what your plants feel like.

I personally before I grew soiless, used a mixture of hydroton clay pellets and coco fibers....both are PH stable, inert, and hold PLENTY of oxygen and nutes.

coco pelltes and shit....dont you see this man is poor people.find some rich earth with lots of decaying leaves (they give nitro)or steal some damn potting soil from one of the many gardens probly surrounding your dorm/college.your plants did stretch alot but they look really healthy considering. what ever you do when you go to a store (sorry this is about the only place to get the stuff) and buy your first liquid nutes go organic its weaker,cheaper, and easier on the plants, plus its harder to fuck up with get some guano juice or fish emulsion .the stores gonna have a huge display of all kinds a shit but your looking for somethin with nitro so the numbers oon the bottle should read like 15-5-5.get that whatever the hell it is and dilute the shit out of it with some water and start easy .really diluted at first then work your way up.plus get a god damn fan they are cheap as fuck!

Ah wish I woulda went to the store after i saw ur post..i just got back from lowes, i picked up 7 6in pots and i want to transfer them over..i also just got epsom salt because im pretty sure i have mg deficiency

Some people said its to early to tell, but others said thats why my leaves have brownish/yellow spots and are curling up

Also installed a fan over night, 120mm exhaust fan. I have another 120mm for an intake but its not working right now
here are pics
oh i was told to cover up the clear cups because the light is bad for the roots

I also have a question for the experienced growers reading this..
What is the correct epsom salt to water ratio?
I read 1 teaspoon/1 gallon of water
is this correct?
thank you

I like the smiley slip ons. Good luck on resolving your issues.

wow those are reallly thin,sorry i dont know much about epsom salt but you should snip the shell leaves they fall off anyways and are a waste of energy.careful with that fan those look like they could break.

ive had a stem snap at that age before and i know its sad but its not always over if its a tough strain they can reroot sumtimes just put it in some rockwool. i know you probly are broke but that shit is cheaper than bottled water.

Gyp said:

I like the smiley slip ons. Good luck on resolving your issues.

Click to expand...

I like how the bigger and healthier the plants are, the bigger the smileys get

JESSE said:

coco pelltes and shit....dont you see this man is poor people.find some rich earth with lots of decaying leaves (they give nitro)or steal some damn potting soil from one of the many gardens probly surrounding your dorm/college.your plants did stretch alot but they look really healthy considering. what ever you do when you go to a store (sorry this is about the only place to get the stuff) and buy your first liquid nutes go organic its weaker,cheaper, and easier on the plants, plus its harder to fuck up with get some guano juice or fish emulsion .the stores gonna have a huge display of all kinds a shit but your looking for somethin with nitro so the numbers oon the bottle should read like 15-5-5.get that whatever the hell it is and dilute the shit out of it with some water and start easy .really diluted at first then work your way up.plus get a god damn fan they are cheap as fuck!

Click to expand...

Well, aren't we the abrasive one??

Look first of all...this isn't a broke man's hobby....soooooooo....with that said, clay pellets and coco fiber will cost all of $30.

SECOND....he asked for suggestions as to what grow medium to use...so I made one...take yer insults elswhere.

And what is with people suggesting to steal??? Oh and good idea....tell the kid to go steal dirt around campus....that's a good way to stay descrete about your growing.

"excuse me son....why are you taking 7 pot fulls of dirt"

"uhhhh....uhhhhh.....for my fern plant in my dorm"

Real brite advice....

Meanwhile you have suggested he go spend about $60 on nutes he doesn't need. Nutrients aren't going to do squat for him if his plants don't have a good home to grow in....besides we STILL have yet to determine these plants even have nute defficiencies.

Educated responses would be helpful.

Now with that said....don't steal...even if it is dirt...the last thing you want to do is get caught doing something stupid where you live, go to school...oh and are growing pot while yer at it....stay away from more illegal activities that could get you caught and expelled from college.

I stand by my advice, and if you can't afford clay pellets and coco fiber, then buy a quality potting soil such as fox farm's ocean forest potting soil, or M. J. R. blend organic potting soil.

Plain and simple....if this hobby were easy and cheap, people wouldn't be getting $200-$400 an ounce selling pot. It takes time, money and lot's of love and stress.

By the way....this is for everyone, but mostly you JESSE.....


suggesting taking soil from a random garden is poor advice...you know NOTHING about what's in that soil, the nutrients in it or missing from it....and biggest he won't know that PH...and since you're so observant that he's strapped for cash probably has no PH tester.

So let's say that soil he takes is below 5 or above 7.5 on the ph scale...you just put his already struggling plants into a worse scenerio

On top of which you suggest to add nutes to an unknown growing medium....bad form bud!!!

TURBOGTI, you have enough problems with unknown variables....don't add more into it. As I suggested you need to get proper conditions before assessing ANY possible nutrient defficiencies.

Throwing nutrients at the problem is like throwing gasoline on a fire right now...the effects could be catostrophic.

Went to Lowes today and picked up some pots to transplant my girls..also picked up some epsom salt just in case it is Mg deficiency..

heres how its set up for now..working on fixing it up when i get free time