Need some general help on where I am going wrong?

Hey guys, was hoping someone could read through my experiences and tell me where I am going wrong -

I have 2 grows under my belt - 1st grow was with 2x 100w HPS and 4x 4ft fluros hanging down the sides. I grew femaleseeds.nl NL, nirvana pure haze, and kush x something.

1st grow went well, used MG soil + perlite, and fertilome super bloom. Harvest like 2 oz's, but still not bad for a first timer. No real problems.

2nd grow I used a 400w used HPS, did 1x original grapefruit, 3x indoor mix, all Femaleseeds.NL. This grow went really well and harvested a qp. I screwed both grows up when it came to curing.

That was 4 years ago and I havent been able to make it past the seedling stage since.

I dropped a good $1k into new stuff - 600w HPS and MH, Secret Jardin II (its the 4x4 and I think 7 feet high), 350 CFM whisper quiet Panasonic 6" fan, big ass carbon filter, Jungle juice micro, bloom, grow, coco brick, and perlite.

I just came off a disappointing 3 week run and all me babies are dead again.

I just planted 3x seeds again - 1 la diva, 1 something else, and 1 pure ak, all feminised.


This time, I did flush the coco coir, and did a final flush with 1/8th strength micro + 1/10th grow (the jungle juice stuff), then popped the seeds in and covered with saran wrap.

I am using bottled spring water from the store.

So, any idea on what steps I should be taking to ensure success? I didnt realize I should be lightly feeding every watering with coir, nor did I realize I should be watering more often. The last 4 seedlings I just killed, I let the pots dry out for a week because I thought I was over watering.

Any input would be incredible -

all this money youve spent, did ya happen to buy a thermometer, and a ph kit?

and you have 4 posts on here.... after spending 1000 bucks... should spend more time on RIU and less on ebay.

I bought a soil ph tester from hong kong, but it reads in .5 increments and not really useful. Should I just order the 10$ strips from amazon? What is a good ph tester for not too much money?

I never did test PH on my only 2 successful grows before. The soil tester does have a thermometer and light meter.

This will work. I been using these for years, ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-PH-Meter-Tester-Pocket-Pen-Aquarium-Pool-Water-Screwdriver-Free-/130657078520?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6bc4ccf8#ht_3170wt_1236) 9 bucks including shipping. If your having watering issues, switch to dwc, it's easy, cheap, and "death by drought", will become a thing of the past.

So then you guys think PH is my big mistake? Ill order one of those testers tonight!

Ok I just ordered it. I also googled DWC's, and home made systems seem pretty easy to set up. I already bought a 4 port air pump + stones because I always oxygenate the water before hand watering. I already started my most recent 3 in coir + perlite, so next run I will try a dwc.

pH is the first thing to check any time theres an issue.

go to a pet store. get a pH kit for the fish tanks. 10-20 bucks
also, see if they have a pH buffer, 6.5 (or 7.0) for tropical fish tanks, that stuff is like gold. i use the 6.5 stuff, up to harvest. 5-10bucks. there might be one thats 6.0, better for hydro set ups, but not sure, check tho.
*a buffer is has a STRONG pH, not high or low, just very steady. some nutrients have crazy pH´s, ive noticed one of my nutrients is around 4.0 on pH, but adding a few drops of the buffer easily takes it up to 6.5*
or spend more and get a good one at a garden store or hydroponic store.

for temperatures, go to walmart and get some cheap digital thermometers, ive seen some for 5-10 bucks, but if ya wanna be a bad ass, spend like 20 and get one that tells you humidity and the peaks during the day.

i spent 40 bucks on mine, and it tells me the temp, time, and humidity, as well as highest and lowest temps and humidity. if you have a big grow room, or several, get atleast 1 for each room, i like to place one every 3 feet or so. youd be surprised at how the temps can change in a matter of a few feet

also, buy a camera, take pics. it helps.

What Nic17 sayz. Yeah, Ph is the one dynamic that rules whether or not your nutrients will become soluble and available for uptake by the root system. ( lets say that your plant is showing an iron deficiency, chlorosis.) You could easily rectify this if you find your ph is too high, or you could dump more micro-nutrients into your solution to give it more iron, however, by doing this you may just create a micro nutrient toxicity such as a zinc toxicity which also manifests itself as clorosis. I'm just sayn, for the price of a cheap ph meter you can avoid a lot of bullshit you don't need bro.

Here's one problem -- germ. your seeds in saran wrap. That's no good as SW is impermeable. Means it's made to keep air out
so food don't spoil. You want to let air in, not keep it out. I use quilted paper towels in a baggie. The quilted part helps get oxygen to the wet germing seeds.

BigSteve.