My First Grow :D (work in progress) - Pointers? Suggestions?

Hey dudes and dudettes, I've been lurking your site for a while now and finally decided to register! I started my first grow a few weeks ago and the information from other growers' experiences I have read on these forums thus far has been indispensable. My little plant is about three weeks old at this point, grew her (hopefully a her) from a bag seed and thought I would do some show and tell (and I have some more questions). My grow is small, and cheap. I work FT and go to school FT so I don't really have time to invest in anything larger than this (plus I live in a small 1br apartment with only one closet to spare).

First, let me get you a pic of my baby:




Based on my knowledge of MJ (first time grower, long time toker) it appears to be an Indica and smells real nice already - not smelling up the grow room but stick your nose in her and you'll get a good whiff.

I'm using MG Potting Soil because I rushed and bought some stuff before I did my research but it seems to be working well thus far. I was watering it daily until I noticed the tips of first set of leaves I had were curled down and dry... I read some more on these forums (THANKS AGAIN RIU) and realized the error of my ways - that was three days ago and she's already recovered.

My (cheap-ass) grow setup:

2 1/2 ft x 5 ft closet
8" Pot with drainage and tray
MG Potting Soil (90 day time release nutes - based on my research on these forums this shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm careful with any additional nutrients I add)
2x 8" Clamp light w/ reflector, socket extenders + Y adapters 4x23W 5000k CFL (total rating of ~4000 lumens) about an inch from the plant (plan on adding more lights as she grows - buying it all at once was cost prohibitive)

I have a wooden frame that I clamp the lights on to as well as a small 4" electric fan to get airflow and add some strength to her stalk. I have enclosed the frame, fan, lights, and plant in heavy duty aluminum foil (dull side in) because I can't actually paint the walls (I rent) and mylar is expensive. I have both lights and the fan plugged in to a timer which I am running on a 16/8 schedule right now.

I was talking to a grower friend of mine and he said that I am definitely going to need a bigger pot to transplant her once she gets bigger. Based on my research, I can choose to flower her whenever I want by switching to a 12/12 cycle on the lights - my questions are as follows:

If I want to keep my plant small, say, under 2 feet at harvest, by switching to a 12/12 sooner, will my 8" pot be too small? And if I DO need to transplant to a larger pot, what is the best way to do so without harming my baby? And lastly, on a somewhat related note, is it possible to keep a mother alive and in bloom indefinitely? How does the life cycle of a mother go - does she go through another veg stage before her second bloom? Any general suggestions from experienced growers? I seem to be doing all the right things so far. f I can keep her alive and growing with your help, I will keep updating this with my progress on my first grow and you all get to watch me struggle

Thanks in advance, happy growing, and cheers!

PS Please don't let it be male.

Wow that was a mouth full. First off time release is ok but it can not be taken away from the plant when its time to harvest. The nutes will stay in the bud leaving you with a rough smoke. I did the same thing my first grow. LoL. Yes 12/12 sooner is better to keep it small. In my experiences the plant will grow 25 to 30% after they start to bud. I have grown a 2' plant in that same pot but out door. If you do change pot here is how. You know the Spok hand sign? Well make it. Place your hand over the pot with the plant in between your Spok fingers. Do not squish the plants stem. Be gentle. Now turn the pot upside down. the plant should come out. You may lose some soil. If she does not come out place back on table. Now take a butter knife and loosen the sides in the pot by running the knife along the edge of the pot deep into the soil. Now try again. I never heard of a plant staying in a perpetual bloom. Your mother plant should stay in veg for optimal results. I have seen a mother in veg 5 yrs old. Ps. You can type key words in the search box at the top right of the web page for most all what you have posted here. Your welcome.

Your 8" pot is too small for anything other than sprouting. Be careful and you won't "hurt" the "baby". If you want a true mother do not let her flower or you'll have to reveg and you're already asking about 8" pots. Good luck and your budget start is perfect as you didn't get suckered in spending money for crap you don't need. Now if I can just get to you first on nutrients - FORGET THEM FOR NOW AND FOR A WHILE!

Sorry for the mouthful of a first post, I didn't realize it was so long until after I had posted it and I'm just a little excited about the grow... Thanks for the pointers so far and I will back off with any nutrients for the plants for the time being.

As far as pot size goes, if I'm going for limited grow space, how many gallons should my container be? And should I continue to use the same soil when I transplant to a bigger pot?

Roots do not necessarily need to grow down. What I am saying is you can transplant to a shallow but wider or longer pot. When you do add some inert (NOT more MG) perlite to your mix to buffer the nutes and add oxygen. Your mix is thick. The whole trick with MG soil is watering. The more you water the more you feed. I ve used MG a couple of times and I have never given any plant more than a half gallon at a time and that was not until the very end of the whole cycle. I would suggest getting some CalMag as well, you will likely need it when she starts to flower.

A Mother is most often taken from a clone and is never flowered at all. They stay in 18 hour light their entire life and produce clones.