riddleme, darkdestruction420, FDD and other heavyweights on New. central, we got ???

newbieharvester said:

So I´m quite ambicious, and thought after reading and researching many, but many posts and threads, looking out for "expert" comments, or simply good advices that some give, and some make more sence to me then others....
So why not ask them (the ones that frequents "our" subforum) a couple of general questions that rolls over and over again in the newbie forum. Like 5-10 questions about the same thing every day...

So I made a list of "stupid" questions that may be answered for the benefit of us all. I will put actual meaning of "shorts" in () so that others may look it up by search if they want to.
Personally I found the answers on most of these ?, but they were some of the ones that made me crazy worrying.....

But I do not pretend that you actually answer, and I for one will not be offended, but would be nice though!

So here goes....

Favourite seedshop/growshop, and also favourite website/usefull link regarding our hobby.

The Atittitude,,,,,,,,,,,,, fav site/thread would be my threads at RIU


What is your favourite commercial strain (you guys seem good at what you´re doing so I would like to know what you actually relax with, and grow for yourself)

Northern Lights, I like couchlock

A bottle producing co2 (carbon dioxide, obviously with a s-lock (water lock) or similar) in the room, benefit or waste of time?

waste of time for personal medical grows

What is your favourite germination method (most of us would like to know in simple words, and with lowcost materials), cotton is my way, stupid?? And when to put them in their future grow media?

soak the seeds for 12 hours and plant em, I like Happy Frogs to start em in

What is the minimum you could grow 1m2 (square meter) (give it in 1 square foot if more usefull in the community) on? Wattage that is.

min watt per sq ft IMO would be 50

Lights in general, how do you rate LED, CFL (low energy bulbs), HPS (High Pressure Sodium), MH (Metal Halide) and CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide)?

I like CMH, that is no secret here LOL, spectrum is same as the sun, has UVB and does not get as hot, so less temp isues

Most go for HPS/MH, what is the mimimum wattage, and what is optimal for a m2?

subjective question as not all bulbs are the same

Your best tip/philosophy on growing?

Less is More

Watering in general, should you let the soil dry out or not? And how often do you give nutes? 1 out of 2 etc etc?

My watering technique is no secret, I make it rain, flush everytime I water and feed everytime I flush, soil should never dry out completely, 10 to 20% moisture content would be best

How to give nutes? Begin with, up to?

start with 1/4 strength and gradually (1/8 increments) work your way up to 1st sign of nute burn then back off a step

Optimal growth temperature?

78F

How "devastating" is it if your 12/12 (lightcycle in hours) plants get accidental light?

not at all

Now, a couple of questions on very basic things that newbies get very diffenrent answers when asking.

When talking about 1st node to calculate lst (low stress training), topping and more. Which is the one to start on in your opinion?

1st set of serated leaves

Chop off leafes, or never touch them except for when they die/fade away?

let the plant decide, it knows better what it needs

When will I see the preflowers, when will I know the sex?

varies from garden to garden and strain to strain, I have seen as little as 5 days and as long as 21 days

Topping them, when? Node?

totally up to the grower and should be experimented with to discover what works best in YOUR garden

Lst, when? Node?

whenever, I have seen 2 inch seedlings get LST'd

Yield, what is minimum if you go trough a flowering stage?

yeild is another subjective, I grow for quality not quanity

Male plant, pros and cons throwing it away. What could it be used for?

breeding, testing, learning, cana butter

And finally, worst stressfactor for a plant? Except for drowning it, thats no stress, thats execution

heat/moisture and nutrient stress are the worst IMO

So if some, or all of you answered, great! I´m gratefull, and do hope that your answers will be beneficial to many!

Please start with an answer, than you can fight about whos right or wrong And if you feel I missed or forgot a ?, then please feel free to fill in. Btw, we do not expect looong answers, just fast and accurate so that you wount use hrs answering.

should be nothing to fight about???

Finally, thank you all for help (directly and indirectly) in the past, know and surely in the future! You teach us all so much!

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newbieharvester said:

Favourite seedshop/growshop, and also favourite website/usefull link regarding our hobby.
Can't go wrong with anything from Serious seeds from The Attitude. Or Joey Weed from Hemp Depot. Both deliver to U.S. and have superdank/primo strains

What is your favourite commercial strain (you guys seem good at what you´re doing so I would like to know what you actually relax with, and grow for yourself)
Your question contradicts itself. Commercial=Short flower with abundant yield. Personal=the best high possible in accordance with your grow environment/patience. I have a feeling you may be looking for what is commonly referred to as the holy grail(yield, potency, speed).Lots of threads already on that. Start here and here.

A bottle producing co2 (carbon dioxide, obviously with a s-lock (water lock) or similar) in the room, benefit or waste of time?
Yes, waste of time for personal grows, and even smaller commercial grows. Possible 20% additional yield, but you'll need to spend another $500 to $800 to get anything worth having (ie. expensive co2/environmental controllers, co2 bottles every few weeks).And that's after you get everything else nailed down in your garden. Cost benefit analysis will give you your answer.

What is your favourite germination method (most of us would like to know in simple words, and with lowcost materials), cotton is my way, stupid?? And when to put them in their future grow media?
For soil?=Find 16-20oz. cup (don't forget the holes!), fill with soil, water soil, plant seed, cover with clingfilm, remove clingfilm when sprout appears. If your soil has more structure (ie. chunkier) you can put a little well of peat (1x1 inch) in the center for the seed. The plant can stay in this cup for quite a while. Pop the plant out of its cup (carefully!) after 3 or 4 nodes to see if the roots are close to colonizing the entire cup. Transplant before plant gets root-bound. Good philosophy to follow; if you can see the roots, you can do damage to them. Yes, there are a plethora of ways to germinate seeds and in the end, the germination results fall within 10% of each other and a day sooner or later. So, no big gains or losses either way--just a seed or a day difference.

Lights in general, how do you rate LED (expensive), CFL (cheap, if you must), HPS (the shit), MH (no) and CMH (also the shit, but only available up to 400watts)?

Your best tip/philosophy on growing? FOR A BEGINNER
Plant seed. Step away from the plant.

Don't focus on trying to improve your plant without having successfully having grown the plant. You'll just fuck yourself. This is what I would do:

Buy temp/hum gauge with hi/low display. Buy light (for your space I would suggest a 400watt CMH, but be warned, you WILL have to get an exhaust fan for just about any HID above 200watts). Setup light at approx growing height. Turn it on with temp gauge underneath.

Leave it on for 72 hrs.

What are your temps? Adjust with ventilation (the most overlooked aspect of indoor gardening) .

All good? Buy some tomato seeds. Grow them. Keep a control. Overwater them. Underwater them. Under-feed them. Over-feed them. Put the light right on them. Take the light further away. Always wait 48 hrs to evaluate results.

One month later.

Purchase some cheap seeds from KC Brains. Grow them. Use knowledge attained from growing tomatos for $1.50.

You just saved hundreds of $$$, hours and hours of time, a lot of heartache, and you're ahead of 95% of most noobs and some "veterans". This works because you're not emotionally attached to tomato plants. This is NOOB MISTAKE #1, emotional attachment to their plants. It is the root cause of decisions based on feelings instead of science, and fear of failure (ie. experimentation).


Watering in general, should you let the soil dry out or not? And how often do you give nutes? 1 out of 2 etc etc?
After your first grow, you'll know when to water your plants. This soil recipe out performs most "designer" brands, is cheaper, and is impossible to over-water.

Optimal growth temperature?
71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83F. This is what I've read and seen posted. Ask seven people, get seven answers. Keep your temps between 70-80F and you should be fine. If your temps get above 85F for 4-5 days out of every month, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Any more than that and I would address it. Also, don't be overly concerned about humidity during veg. Only be concerned if it is extremely low (10%), extremely high (70%+), or if you have problems with mold.

best PH for soil?
If it came in a bag, don't even concern yourself. You'll fall into the never-ending pH abyss.

best NPK ratios for container gardening?
Tapla speaks, you listen.

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