***Need Advice*** Minimal Indoor Grow

foil i hear is bad can make hot spots and burn plants other than that looks like a good show. sprouts can take a few days sit back and get a hobby you have a long road ahead of you

Foil I heard is bad too, can actually burn holes through the leaves. Im on a small budget too just decided to cover the walls with white printer paper rather than foil. Will sprout soon probably, mine took a few days.

thanks guys, ill switch that foil out

someone had told me on another forum that i needed to use more light? i mean i know i just have two 26w cfls now, but thats only cuz im waiting on sprouts. i was going to up it to 42wcfl and add like 2-3 more until veg. do i really need more than whats going on just to make it pop out of the pete?

No your lights are fine for seedlings for the first week or two, but you really don't need the lights until you really have growth.

Turn the lights off until they sprout. Loose the tin foil but not because of heat, with cfl you will not burn them with it anyway. And you don't need to waste time and energy with the paper thing either. The flat white paint in the closet will provide better reflection than either method. If this is your first grow, I would suggest staying with soil. Your chances of success are a lot better. You can always change down the line.

The best suggestion I can offer is to read, study, plan, and act. Please click the link in my signature. Tons of videos from Master growers for 1st timers. Best of luck!

halfaweek said:

foil i hear is bad can make hot spots and burn plants other than that looks like a good show. sprouts can take a few days sit back and get a hobby you have a long road ahead of you

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Foil can be bad if you are using a powerhouse light set up...2 26w cfl bulbs arent going to cause any leaf burning due to foil.

bkbbudz said:

Turn the lights off until they sprout. Loose the tin foil but not because of heat, with cfl you will not burn them with it anyway. And you don't need to waste time and energy with the paper thing either. The flat white paint in the closet will provide better reflection than either method. If this is your first grow, I would suggest staying with soil. Your chances of success are a lot better. You can always change down the line.

The best suggestion I can offer is to read, study, plan, and act. Please click the link in my signature. Tons of videos from Master growers for 1st timers. Best of luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks, I thought maybe the wall's already white paint could work, but its like an egg shell--not really stark white you know? ill give it a shot. Im used to growing outdoor, so I wanted to try the hydro just to be able to control certain variables. Ill think over the soil for indoor idea as well--Ill check out some of those vids too!

Well its been a roughly a week since my last post. I have had some decent progress (given two seeds were waaaay behind). The changes I made are pretty small at this stage of the game, but I noticed the bulbs I had in were warm and it hit me that I was using SW light, I wanted that cooler--daylight bulb (5000K @ 26W x2) up into and throughout veg growth. I notice a almost a half-inch in growth within like 3-4 hours after switching them out. I also stopped using tap water and used filtered water because it had a pH of 6.3 which is closer to what I wanted. I also removed the foil and stuck with the white paint. I know its only sprouts that Im dealing with, but I am definitely seeing the results of some change. You go from 1/4'' daily in growth to almost 3/4" daily--not to mention the second tier leave set. Im happy so far. Because of the growth boom, I sent the sprouts down to about 4 inches from the lights. Yeah, I know they will climb higher to reach it if i keep moving too far too quick--and I do want to keep them around 3"-4" max... so I'll have to watch it. I have had some game plans change as well. I have decided to clone. I dont care to buy cloning gel, because I have willow trees all around my place, which naturally have the auxins to produce roots of most plants when made into a solution which entails almost boiling willow stems in water and allowing your cuttings to soak in the auxins. I have two very healthy plants started and two stragglers. I will let my two healthy ones grow to be "motherplants" while I just monitor my two weaklings. I will clone 3 of both my mothers and throw one of each into flowering mode along with the two stragglers--that should be at a size (by then) to just make use of and bud way early. Im gonna get those sexing clones and those two weak dudes to give me a couple of nugs to sample while I focus on building up my remaining 4 clones and two mothers. I will set up a flowering room in my other closet, which will include the warmer bulbs and higher nutes (not to mention CO2 misting from loading bubbling H20 in my water sprayer). Granted my mothers will be females, Ill make out ok I believe. If males, then I destroy the whole line from that motherplant--and just clone more of a fem. I hope they both aren't males !!! Then I'll have to count on my stragglers!!! Im anticipating a week from now when I build the hydro setup (along with upping my lights to 1 42W & 2 x 26W 5000k CFLs). Any suggestions? I heard you shouldn't risk shocking your plants with nutes at first so in a few weeks what should i do: go ahead at the recommended ratio, or at like a half-size proportion? I've been watching videos as of late, and I'm really feelin' Mr. Green on his tips. Call me cliche. Thanks guys--pics included.


Pic one = setup and light readjustment.

Pic two = sprout growth detailed. Sprouts in middle are my two healthy babies, the ones two the left and right are either unhealthily not growing up to par with 1 & 2, or just now sprouting like the one on the far right. The one to the far left is behind because it grew up stuck inside of its shell until about 4 days ago when I "assisted" it in removing it by loosening the seed sheath with H20.




Bout that time...

ok so i had too high of a pH for my plants. now I am adjusted to 6.0 (brought it down with filtered lemon juice). i may see some results now. I was wondering why i was lagging behind some of the other journals around this time in the game..... hmmm. we'll see.

What ever your lighting plans are. Get some reflectors. Even if its just a pop can cut in half. It makes a huge difference.

Here for the show. Cfls can grow amazing plants used correctly. Those lights will be fine for a while but I suggest getting couple more of the upper wattage cfl's for flowering and later in veg.

Gigaah said:

What ever your lighting plans are. Get some reflectors. Even if its just a pop can cut in half. It makes a huge difference.

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Well i went back and forth with foil. im told its causing hot spots, so i was trying out my 4 white walls. The 'temporary' set up that i have is to carry me into 3rd week, a real start for vegetative growth. The make shift ceiling, has reflective foil (which sits 4" from the bulb area), but thats about it as far as a reflector. Im sitting down after a week and a half and building my hydroponics. I would consider mylar as a reflector, but im strapped for cash and trying to pull a few tricks.

I will also be upping the light wattage in 3rd week. Keep with me guys. I appreciate the advice.

**I also noticed today that my roots were already hanging down into the bottom of my cup. I darkened my clear cups with black tape on the outside to prevent light exposure to the roots, and added some spongy--6.0 pH treated--pete to the bottoms of the cups to keep em snug for now until I can push that three week mark. if I notice a problem with it by 2 1/2 wks ill upgrade them to the netted cup + hydro gravel. I will definitely be taking advice on what ratio of nutes to use in my 18 gal tank starting out in veg.

Alright guys im probably moving this thread to grow journals to get more traffic. Just a heads up... i know ill still get the bump msgs. but anyways, I am constructing my DWC/Bubbleponics system as we speak. Got my 18 gal sterilite container with lid, plenty of airline tube, and a dual nozzle 60 gal pump with two 12"air stones for each row of roots. Im headed to my local hydro store to grab up some 3" & 5'' net pots and hydroton. I need some advice tho..... Which brand of nutes is best? I want to grab the quart of humboldt grow for my up and coming veg. stage. What do you think?


I will also be upping the light in a week and a half to 42 W CFL (5000-6500K)


Feel free to sub me guys, advice is welcomed. Pics coming soon of the new setup.

I've moved forums. Heres the link in Grow Journals... https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/506857-strawberry-kush-micro-bubbleponics-cfl.html

sub me guys!!!