Newbie grower here.

So, I know jack shit about plants. Or gardening.

I managed to grow some seeds into about 8 plants and they're about 4 weeks old, stringy, I've been giving them various amounts of light, recently at 12/12 intervals since I learned about it.

I would really like to grow some dank bud. But I'm on quite a tight budget. I want to know, what are the absolute must haves. Do I NEED a ph scale? What kind of cheap nutrients can I give my plants? What else is essential? Right now I have fluorescent T8 bulbs, thinking about upgrading. I don't know shit about bulbs either and I get rather confused. All I know is that the long bulb thingies fit into a fixture I have that's about 24"

I grew these plants from collected bag seeds, is there any way these will be good?

Also, if I'm planning on having this in a closet, and I have a 1br apartment, where can I grow the males safely from the females if I wish to cross breed them? How far and what measures do I need to take from the pollen going everywhere?

Also, I've been seeing a lot about ventilation systems and fans. Are these really helpful? Do I need a de-humidifier?

I really don't have much yet and I'd like to know where the cheapest stuff is, what DIY stuff I can do, etc. I'm pretty handy so I'm thinking I could do a bunch of DIY stuff but I don't know if it's possible...

I've also been using potting soil. Nothing special. Is there any soil I should get that's better? Does it matter?

What's the best watering schedule, week by week? How often should I mist my plants in comparison to feedings?

Most people say more light is better, but what are we really aiming for with growing weed? I hear it's the red spectrum but I'm not sure. I don't really know the difference between flowering and vegetation time. I've read the stickies and I just get more confused. :/

Please simplify for a confused grower. Thanks~

so... growing dank but frankly is never cheap. there are a few ways to do it efficiently and cheap though. as far as the stringyness, thats not enough light. when the plants stretch for more, that means more light. 12/12is only for flowering times too wen u first start the veg have about 18 hours of daytime. the cheapest lights are cfl lights. go get some at lowes their cheap and u can get them in bulk. they also have socket adapters for those at lowes too its not hard to wire up a cfl. the important spec of a light bulb is its lumens, not necessarily watts. look at the cfls and pick out something with the most lumens. right now im assuming that t8 is all you have which will be good to start but you will not get the best out of your plant (yield) without a hps or mh light. 150w's are pretty cheap on ebay. a ph scale isnt a must but their very cheap. were talkin like 3 bucks at a hydro store. look for a hydroponics store closeby it will save you time and those guys usually no their stuff if u ever have a problem. another obvious thing you will need is a fan, just with enough breeze to get them tingling a little. nutrients arent cheap for the good stuff. miracle grow is cheap but is not the best it will taste different and you can burn a plant easily with something like that.

bagseed is good for the first time. remember anything you get like mids that has seeds in it will be better when you grow it yourself. reason being, the plant uses about 40% of its thc making energy to make seeds, so homegrown seedless will be much stronger. just a tip, dont try any breeding yet. gotta get the basics first. theres also not much of a point if your using bagseed. dont need a dehumidifier. basically your supposed to have about 50% RH during vegging and slightly less about 40% during flowering.

try not to get any soil with too many nutrients already in it (ie miracle grow). like i said earlier, try and find a hydroponics store and buy some fox farm ocean blend. its the best stuff imo.

water when the top inch of soil is starting to get dry, not bone dry. this will change frequency depending on pot size. only give them nutrients once a week. and trust me take them LIGHT. its so easy to overfeed. start like 15% strength then 25 the next week maybe even 25 again the following week... u get it. misting is not terribly important either. wateriong is considered pouring water until a small amount comes out the bottom. i woudl suggest spraying the top to get it wet first before pouring water on. this makes sure the water doesnt just run down the sides. when it goes down the side of the pot and comes out that doesnt count as watering. overwatering is considered watering too OFTEN like every day thats bad. but soaking the plant when you actually water is not a bad thing and not what overwatering means.

more lumens is better. the blue spectrum is used for vegging. this is when the plant grows shutes and bud sites. when you switch the lights to 12/12 and give it a ver important **completely dark, uninterrupted** 12 hours of dark, is when the magic happens. once the lights are changed, the plant will begin to flower. do not interrupt it with ight. NO light during dark period. also the red spectrum is better for flowering. either are really good but thats if u wanna get a little fancy with it.

phew...lol

peace and happy growing.

OK, you have opened the proverbial can of worms. You will be receiving many posts telling you about all the pricey crap you have to have to produce quality weed. I can tell you how to provide plants with all they need basically for free, but there will be many who say I am full of it because my practices are those which have worked for poor farmers for thousands of years. What you need to do, IMO, is look to nature for a reliable model of how plants work, and what they want. there are many sources, that occur naturally, where you can find all your plants nutrient requirements, but many are not pretty or nice. Your very own body produces a high quality form of nitrogen which you flush daily, I am referring to your urine. In it's undiluted state it is way too potent, but mixed 5 parts water to one part urine you have a very effective fertilizer for veg stage, screw the nay sayers, it only smells bad for a day after it is applied, then soil absorbs the rest and smell is gone. Next, for phosphorus and trace minerals, nothing beats poultry manure. All you need do is find someone raising chickens, or better yet ducks. In most cases these people ( unless they are commercial ) are more than happy to let you have some of the crap from their coops. Place this crap in a bucket fill with water, let steep for a day, strain and you have very potent fertilizer ( mix about one cup to every half gallon of water to feed ). This fertilizer is not pleasant to produce and is very pungent for the first day after you use it, but very effective. Also, once you have started flower stage common epsom salts are a great and cheap form of phosphorus ( needed by flowering plants ) sprinkle about one tablespoon around edges of plant containers (direct contact can cause burn so be sure it is out away from plant). I am telling you how to start thinking organic. Organics can be tricky, but are arguably the cheapest way to go if you have the stomach to deal with the all natural processes. If you have more questions or desire help learning more about organics, I am more than happy to assist as I can. The basic principle behind pure organics is that you are seeking to create soil which is itself a living organism. You are relying upon certain natural processes in the soil to break down organic compounds to create for you a living soil which provides all your plant requires. The nice part about organics is that if you do screw the pooch, soil can be flushed with straight water before serious damage occurs. With hydro, if you f#ck up, there goes your crop. Good luck and don't hesitate to write if you need help.

wait, so how long should I wait before flowering? My plants are about 4 weeks old. Still should give them 18 hours? I found out I have T15 lights, is this better than the flourescent ones at lowes? Also, can someone provide a link for the best cheap lights? Thanks.

Edit: Is Schultz a good plant food for them? Will it make them taste any different?