New to growing

Ok so heres the dilly, i am new to growing and this is my first grow. I currently have a 4X8 grow room with fans and 2 4 ft florescent tubes . I am only in the veg stage right now so i know florescent lights will do but i need an HPS for flowering. i am using miracle grow moisture control mix as a soil. I am currently looking for nutes but am not sure what i really need for soil growing? besides high N and lower P and K....any help? also i have 3 plants about a foot tall, 2 of which lost most of their leaves during transplant but one that took very well and seems to be getting bushier. any tips for bringing them back? Along with this i have 4 seedlings starting from seeds i brought home from bonnaroo last year. These seeds seem to be doing alot better than the first i planted but i am still looking for as much advice as possible. so please help with any tips or tricks i can use.
thanx alot....... forgot to include, i also have a humidifier in this room keeping my humidity and temp just right

Welcome to RIU
You need at least 400 HPS (preferrably 600w) for that space along with the means to control the heat and air circulation.
With Miracle Grow, you will not need any nutes for a while. Get some bloom nutes to use in a month or so.

yea, but just for knowledge sake, you dont NEED to have an hps lamp. you can bloom without one. i'm not saying they're not very good for bloom, just that other light forms can be used.... i would get foxfarm soil, and nutes. you want grow nutes for veggie stage, for a nice, thick, healthy plant, then nutes for flowering/budding for nice fat sticky buds! keep your current flour's as close to plants as possible. tall plants do not neccesarily mean good plants. a short bush is better than a tall scragley popcorn budded mess. sounds like your growing too much at once though, you have too many plants to care for. try downsizing and getting premium product by changing soil, nutes, and lights. foxfarm nutes will bring that plant back to life. keep it small, simple, and efficient, and you will be happier with end result. always leave root ball alone when transplanting cut out well around plant, gently lift out, and right into new container....

thanks for the advice, i was looking at the fox farm nutes and the sunshine mix #4, but shipping to AR is absolutely crazy, its usually more than the actual product, so i decided to go down to the local walmart haha ...... i have found a hyponex soil i was thinking about using? i believe it is a soilless mix, anyone know anything about it? my bigger plants have been planted for about 3 weeks or so and only one of them is doing well.....still not sure if its a female though. This is the reason i chose to plant the other 4, (because i honestly thought the others would die lol) they have been in soil about a week now and seem to be doing very well compared to the others at this time, but i was wondering if when i transplant them for veg should i go ahead and switch the soil? Also, i was wondering if i should switch to cfls or keep what i have.

you can change soil during transplant. go to fox farm nutrients web page, and find the dealer near you. that's what i did i dont know anything bout soiless mixes, lol. i like using cfl's compared to those big ass bulky 4 footers. try stealth hydro's web page for the best grow cfl's. try your luck with plants you have now, if you still like growing after that, lol, then buy high quality seeds off internet. you will be happier with the results. good bud is born, not made. the cfl's direct light better in the direction you want, so long as your using the circular hood reflector. if you can, keep those big ol' 4 footers on with the addition of cfl's. you CAN NOT have too much light. heat will be your only concern.... keep lights on 24 hours a day during veg. get em' up to 2'-3' or so, depending on your space available, then kick em' into flowering... also helps to know if you got indica or sativa.... peace

hells yes.... i found a fox farm distributor near me , no more wal mart crap for my babies!.... does anyone know where to get the cheapest CFLs available, what spectrum i would need for veg, and about how many i would need for 5 plants? Would it be cheaper and easier to go to a MH bulb? they seem kinda pricey but so does buying 15 cfls and the reflectors to go along with them....will it stress them out if i switch the light source during veg? i just got my 400 hps for flowering and i know my babies arent ready yet, but does it matter when i switch to the 12 on 12 off cycle? i plan on waiting at least a month or so but i just wanna make sure i dont switch to early if it will affect my yield or potency

your welcome.

most definitely thank you

ijustgrowGREEN said:

your welcome.

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cool, like i said, go to stealth hydros web page and get their cfl's. they have 1 for veg. and 1 for flower that arn't too expensive. get as many as you need. no, switch lights ASAP, your plants need a quality light source. they'll thank you for it. doesn't matter when you switch lights to 12 12 . just get a timer and make sure it's consistently the same time that the lights go on and off. let them get a few feet high before you do that. MH lights, i believe, run hot. you'll then need a way to move air in and out of room to control heat. thats why i like cfls. you still need adequate airflow in growspace, but you dont need to be concerned with overheating your plants....

NismoZ said:

#1 Would it be cheaper and easier to go to a MH bulb?
#2 will it stress them out if i switch the light source during veg?

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#1 yes it's cheaper as a MH produces much more light (lumens) per watt and less heat per lumen too. Be sure to get a proper spectrum of 6500K light either way.
#2 no

ok so i was rummaging around this weekend and found 2 more ballasts for 4 foot florescent tubes, and i also had 6 more of my seeds germinate that i thought were done, so now i have a 4X8 growroom 3 -florescent ballasts with 2 lights each all with the 6500k cool daylight bulbs, 2 medium sized fans, a humidifier and 2 heat lamps for the cool nights(havent had to use but just in case). Growing i have 3 that are close to a month old, about a foot tall and it seems like they're all gonna pull through, 4 more fresh little babies about 7 days old, and 6 more seeds that were just put in soil this weekend. I also picked up my fox farm nutes, and ocean mist soil (what should i add to it initially? anything?). Im gonna wait to use these when i transplant my babies, i hope it doesnt hurt them since they sprouted in MG. but the main question was will i have enough light once all 13 get around 3 feet tall, just while they re in veg? i am in the process of getting 2 400 watt hps for the flowering. ( i also bought 4 cfls this weekend but havent put them up yet, plan on doing that soon)

I'd stick with the plan for the HPS if you want the best results.

As far as nutes, get some hydro nutes if you can get some in your area, they work just as well with soil as they do for hydro. Just get Veg nutes for Veg, and bloom for flowering. I don't really look at the label for specifics I just use what everyone else seems to have success with, Botanicare, fox farms or general hydroponics. Mix them at 1/4 strength after the plants are a month old and see how the plants react, then you can move up to 1/2 strength if all goes well, if you start burning the plant then back off. I usually only feed once a week, I usually only water once a week, sometimes twice when they get bigger. Get one of the cheap moisture meters for $7 - $8 and you will see the plants stay plenty moist even if the top of the soil is drying out. The roots need oxygen just as much as water, to get best results you need to make sure they get both.

ya, ditto to what la9 said. read the back of your new soil. it says not to add nute/fert. for 30 days. if that's the light you got, then that's what you got, and it has to work till you get better light. the new cfls will help. use the HPS for flowering, directly above plants. use cfls for side light, coming off wall and onto sides, lower portion of plants. buy mylar maybe to reflect/ re-use as much light as possible. get rid of males ASAP, and your sure to have at least one. keep those flouros as close as you can to the plants.....

awesome thanks for the advice la and grow green! 3 of my six are out of the ground already so i for sure have 10 plants, gonna get some mylar tomorrow or somethin reflective, any place i can get it local (wal mart, home depot, lowes, lumber 1)? got the cfls all around for side lighting my temp still seems to be doing good, but sometimes my humidity gets to around 68? temp stays between 76 and 79 i think it will be ok?.... will the mylar make it hotter? again thanks everyone for all the advice!

sounds good nismo. any reflective material will make it warmer, as it recycles more of the light. it shouldnt be a big deal with flouro's though. if you cant find mylar, use tinfoil. BUT... use the dull side of the tinfoil, not the shiny side. the dull side reflects more light than the other side. i dont even bother with humidity and my plants are doing great. if you feel it's humid in the room, then you should correct it. but if your comfortable in the grow room, your plants most likely are too. keep fresh air movin in and out, and they will flourish. 76-79 temp is good... what size pots do you have these 10 plants in?

ok so i now have 12 total and waiting on 1 more to see if its gonna come up..... the first 3 are in 10" pots from walmart, the seedlings are currently in clear plastic cups, but i have 10 3 gallon pots to transplant to once they are ready. are these sufficient for a 2 to 3 foot plant?

NismoZ said:

awesome thanks for the advice la and grow green! 3 of my six are out of the ground already so i for sure have 10 plants, gonna get some mylar tomorrow or somethin reflective, any place i can get it local (wal mart, home depot, lowes, lumber 1)? got the cfls all around for side lighting my temp still seems to be doing good, but sometimes my humidity gets to around 68? temp stays between 76 and 79 i think it will be ok?.... will the mylar make it hotter? again thanks everyone for all the advice!

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I haven't checked it out yet but another member said at home depot in the lumber section in the back corner of the store usually buried under a bunch of dust is something called astrofoil. I'm going to get some next time I go to home depot. Basically described it as the back corner of the store, if that's where you find it let me know because I'll be looking soon enough myself.

ya, an 8-10" pot is perfect. however, you have ALOT of plants going at once... hopefully you live on your own or have a really good air filter, cause them girls is gonna stank! not to mention that your in the felony ballpark with that many plants.... keep your grow to yourself, and NO ONE else. as soon as you find males, cut them up and dispose of them. i would kick those plants into flowering at like 2-2 1/2' tall, you wont get yields of a fully grown plant, but you need to get rid of what you can, and your still going to get alot of bud from only 6 or 7 smaller plants. that's just my personal opnion. just letting you know the risks involved with that many plants. get your entire grow done with asap, then you can buy high grade seeds of whatever strain you want and grow a smaller, safer quantity at one time. food for thought....

thanks for the info, whats the quickest easiest way to tell if its a male? luckily i do live on my own and in the middle of BFE the only people that know about this grow is the people on here, i actually had no idea i was in felony ballpark thanks alot for that. ummm what would be the best way of disposing of the males?

NismoZ said:

thanks for the info, whats the quickest easiest way to tell if its a male? luckily i do live on my own and in the middle of BFE the only people that know about this grow is the people on here, i actually had no idea i was in felony ballpark thanks alot for that. ummm what would be the best way of disposing of the males?

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If it's your firts time you will be worried about figuring out if it's a male, but the plant will show itself about 2 weeks into flower, you'll be able to tell it isn't hard. Especially if you have a couple plants you'll be able to tell them apart pretty easy, the hard part is just waiting. If you look at a couple pics and a chart or two you won't have any problems.