My First Grow- looking for any advice/help!

Hey guys (and gals),

I just started my first grow, just two plants that were kinda dropped in my lap. They both sprouted from seeds, outdoors. Where they grew/sprouted was hidden from view by other plants so both were a bit stretched from the beginning. I transplanted both when they were 6-8in tall, one of which has a beautiful skunky aroma, the other is well, quite planty. The skunky one however got very sick a week or so after transplanting, I believe due to overwatering/overfertilizing. The other however, which was growing in a solo cup, shot up very fast and is currently 18in high, with 2 main stems (i pruned the original stem), and many other new shoots coming out. Like i said this is my first grow so I was scared of under watering, pruning them to death etc. etc. I've learned sooo much in the month ive had them and since switching to a 24-8-16 (for veg) and hanging my 2x fluoro tubes and installing cfl's on the sides the skunk is getting much better and the other is still great.

***I would love any input from experienced farmers***

Ed Rosenthal's "Closet Cultivator" has been my handbook throughout

I'm a college student at the most conservative university in Texas (yes... of all places to grow cannabis). So I'm short on $$$ but long on Ingenuity.
I was lucky enough to score my fluorescent setup from Goodwill for 6$- my whole setup w/ all supplies is still def under 100$ (i already had the tower fan/ion filter)

*) What's a safe/reliable seed site? and what's a good (easy) indoor strain?
1) Are my containers large enough?
2) When I change my lights to 18/6 will I be able to tell sex? I would love to start up some clones.
3) I won't be able to buy HID lights for a while, so my flowering will have to be done with CFL's / fluoro's / incandescants??? What light should I use? (I know I need intense red spectrum lights to pierce the buds)
4) Any advice on cloning?
5) Fertilizer for flowering stages? What kind of growth can I expect in the flowering stages?
6) Any other advice in general- I'm looking to learn everything I can!

UPDATE:
I have switched the plants R <--> L so the big guy now has the CFL desk lap ~2-3in (i can't rig anything closer at the moment), and the sick-but-getting-better skunky is under the tubes/foil hang lamp.

Brute,

Welcome to the site! From your pics it is clear you are a newbie, thats okay, its why this site exsists. Instead of giving you long drawn out awnsers to your 7 questions, I will insist that you read (thouroughly) the GrowFAQ, for everyone of your questions can be awnsered by it.

*) Nirvana seed co. (its advertised on this site)
1) No, you need to have at least 3 gal containors, and clear containors will deminish your grow since roots arn't made to have light shining on them. Diminished grow = little bud.
2) Your lights should be on 18/6 now, since 18/6 IS the veg. light cycle. 12/12 is for flowering (that is main thing the GrowFAQ tells you).
3) T5 HO flouros would be BY FAR your best bet (SunBlaze is an awesome brand, I have 3), next would be 26w 6500K CFLs from wal-mart (26w is the equivelant to 100w, 6500k is the light spectrum you need to veg). You will need 3-5 T5s for two plants and a crap ton of CFLs. In the end you will find that you could have spent $80 more and bought an awesome HID system, but I wouldn't recommend that for your first grow, plus flouro technology saves money on bills.
4) Cloning is easy if you follow GrowFAQs way of doing it, as for the root compuond I recommend "Clonex."
5) I used Botanicare's "Pure Blend" for flowering (1.5-4-5) it is organic! STAY AWAY FROM SYNTHETIC FERTS ie Miracle Grow!
5 b) as for what growth to expect.... My plants doubled, from 17" to 32" by the time it was all done.
6) Know that in the south this is VERY illegal. One plant can fuck up your criminal record, thus your future. The top two reasons for getting caught are #2: Stealing electricity, and #1: telling people.
-------------> 6 b) Growing is a test of character. The combination of resisting the urge to tell your friends what you have going on, coupled with the patience to resist the temptation of harvesting the last 3 or 4 weeks before your plant is ready, is the ultimate test. I can tell you if you show people "loose friends" (people who come over rarely or with other friends) you will get busted. If you go to work and tell a couple co-workers, you will get busted. People who do not grow always love to know someone who does, because it makes them feel cool/important/whatever. They can pull the "John Citizen is growing pot!" at a party and get alot of (temporary) attention. Don't allow yourself to be that "John Citizen."

Good luck man, don't tell anyone (only two people knew of me, my girlfriend who I live with, and my very close friend). Also you should check out building a grow box, it looks like you have alot of light escapping.

Most of this info can be found in the growfaq, get to know it, it is your friend. You probably won't be able to sex until you go into flowering although some strains show sex earlier. As for a couple things I noticed in your picture, one of your plants is in a clear pot, you will need to either transplant her into a pot that is not transluscent or put a few layers of duct tape around that one, because roots hate light, and your roots will be touching the edges any day now. Also if you do transplant one more time, I would suggest burying some of that stem since it is so stretched, this will give them a little more support for when they take on the weight of buds. I would get as much more light as you possibly can asap, because they are going to start to stretch again, just go out and get the highest wattage cfl's that you can afford, do the wiring diy from home depot or any other hardware store to save some extra money. Also I would think about flowering those things pretty soon as well, since you don't have much money for supplies smaller plants will give you better results. Lastly you should probably get rid of that foil, that stuff can reflect hotspots and burn your plants and it isn't really the best reflective material, if you can afford or find it get some mylar. Good luck on the rest let us know how it goes.

I would flower that befor eit got any bigger, reveg, and then sog the shit out of it.You are going toend up with a 20ft closet monster.

P.S. I love that you talk about being a broke college kid but your avatar is just a picture of you playing with money. I believe that call that "frontin'" in some communities. lol.

ok well thx for all the advice guys, like i said i am constantly changing everything about my grow as i learn. i totally forgot about the roots hating light thing, i just thoguh tthe clear thing was cool cuz i could see the root development and water level.

and yes- i my avatar is the definition of "frontin"

btw- how does one flower... and then reveg?

flower, harvest, leave as much plant matrial as you can, and then put it back under 24/0 light.

alright cool. thx man