Newbie Questions for 1st Grow

So after looking through this website, watching a few videos, and reading many books on growing I'm finally beginning to gather my materials and get this thing going.

My grow space is roughly Height-3'7 Length-2'9 Width-2 ft and I've just purchased 6 5500k 27w (equals 100w) for veg and 6 2700k 23w (equals 100w) for flowering. I'm looking to grow 2 or 3 plants in soil from bagseed.

Does that sound good?
Should i buy more lights?
I was also confused as to what soil i should buy. one of the books i read (buds for less) used this miracle grow

with perlite which is what i was planning on doing.
Is that sufficient?
Also I'm very confused with nutrients. The book previously stated didn't use any nutes.. should i? What should i get? When should i use it? At what strength?

Besides that i pretty much have everything covered. I just don't want to start until i have everything bought, ready, and understood.
Any input is greatly appreciated.

Hope you aint bought the miracle grow yet mate. Its too heavy on the nutes. This forum is full of growers that have had or are having problems with nute burn. At the moment i am using cheap compost that has small amounts of nute in it. Your lighting sounds ok. But if you want bigger yields and earlier harvests you gonna need summit like a 250w hps with a dual spectrum bulb. But if you just growing personal you will be fine with what you got. Good luck mate.

hey bro

my suggestion is that you should by a aerogarden. its a badass device found at sears. lol just make some alterations as you go along

Miracle Gro potting mix w/Perlite will work. But plenty of folks will warn you away from it - for legitimate reasons. I used straight MG potting mix with my plant, which thrived on it. The problem comes when the 3 month supply of nutes runs out. Now you have to try to get a nute schedule dialed in 3 months into your grow. I'm going through that right now. I might not use it again, but it did an awesome job for the first 3 months. I'm thinking about springing for one of the more popular nutrients (FoxFarm, etc.). I believe they provide you with a feeding schedule.

From my research, you can grow successfully with the lights you described, but more is always better. Moreover, I think it's safe to say that 100watts is not enough for 3 plants. Some folks here will say a good rule of thumb is to use at least 100watts of CFL's per plant. I picked up the 68watt CFL's, hoping to generate less heat than I would otherwise using more CFL's of a lower wattage. Best of luck.

Im using the same soil, but only about 1/4 of my soil is actually that. Got about 2/4 perlite and 1/4 peat moss.

Yeah I'm keeping my expectations moderately low on yield, as this is my first grow. But thankfully i didn't buy that miracle grow, and when you say compost.. is that something that can be picked up at home depot? I'm on their website and i have no clue what to be looking for.
And about the aerogarden, maybe next time man. I want a successful soil grow or two before i try other methods.
Thanks for the responses guys.

Maybe i will pick up the miracle grow then. My space is under 4 feet tall, so do you think the 3 months supply of nutes in the mg will be enough for a fairly short plant? And thanks for the input Pablo ill just grow two plants instead of three. And Skoad what benefits does peat moss have?
thanks again.

Sorry mate was away for a couple of Bongs there. I got my compost at Asda which is uk based but is the same company as walmart so i would imagine you would get compost there. Anywhere that sells miracle grow will no doubt have normal compost close by.

You might read up on FoxFarm's Ocean Forest potting soil with FoxFarm's Grow Big (6-4-4) for veg growth. I've heard good things and I'm about to try it out myself.

And seriously mate search the forums for info bout other growers experience with miracle grow. Dont think for one minute i am down on miracle grow. I used to use mg plant food right through vegging. With incredible results. Just think every time you water your plants they will be getting a dose of nute that it maybe dont need. Leading to the inevitable nute burn. I aint trying to put your grow down either man! I just dont want a first time grower to become a last time grower. Know what i mean? Anyway good luck whatever you decide mate.

Thanks for the responses. Reading around mg isnt looking to good. FoxFarm products do seem to be popular like Fender said and there is a hydro store a little bit away from me that carries grow big but not the potting soil.

"Grow Big is an organic-based liquid plant food which contains, earthworm castings, blood meal and Norwegian kelp. It is rich in nitrogen (12-7-7) and other trace minerals. Grow Big helps to produce lush, plant growth and spectacular green plants and spectacular blooming and brightly colored flowers. It is suitable for all plant types as a soil fertilizer or foliar. 1-2 Tb. Per gallon."

So if i were to use that for veg nutes, what should i use as soil?
thanks again.

Its cool man.

Also would Big Bloom be sufficient for flowering?

yeah
hey this is .... that 5hit
thanks for the + rep check out my(https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/207516-lights-lights.html) thread its in the indoor growing forum tell me what you think. + rep me back

Connorcaff said:

So if i were to use that for veg nutes, what should i use as soil?
thanks again.

Click to expand...

If your local hydro store doesn't have foxfarm, I'd look for something similar contents-wise. FoxFarm doesn't contain any NPK (from what I've read) so using grow big with a medium that has NPK could cause a nute burn.

Connorcaff said:

Also would Big Bloom be sufficient for flowering?

Click to expand...

Based on what I've read, yes. You would switch from grow big to big bloom / tiger bloom (also by foxfarm)

FoxFarm also has a feeding schedule for their products
link

cheers

I suggest against the MG potting mix by itself , mixing it with compost 50/50 is a great method and also you can cough up the extra cash for a 6 month or 9 mnth feeding cycle in the MG brand. Although I have had great results with scotts myself. And another tip is to prune the plants well to keep them short but to. Bush out well for a better yield!

Fender420 said:

If your local hydro store doesn't have foxfarm, I'd look for something similar contents-wise. FoxFarm doesn't contain any NPK (from what I've read) so using grow big with a medium that has NPK could cause a nute burn.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply bro.
I found this skimming through the shops site.

https://ssl.cgicafe.com/clients/hmoonhydro.com/just_right_xtra.html

Will that work?
If so will that feeding schedule work out with that as well?

https://ssl.cgicafe.com/clients/hmoo...ight_xtra.html
eh eh?

Sorry I never got back to you, I had ended up leaving the house shortly after that post.

Peat moss loosens the soil so that water can get to and drain away from roots.

and I actually use Sphagnum peat moss

Thanks Skoad.
I'm still confused as to what soil i should use. I've read nothing but great stuff about Fox Farm products and i plan on using Grow Big for veg and Big bloom for flowering. The problem is FF's feeding chart is for Ocean Forest Potting Soil which my local Hydro Store doesn't have.
So i need help finding soil which is identical to Ocean Forest so i can use Big Bloom and Grow Big.

Any Input is greatly appreciated.