hi im doing my first grow in a 1.2m grow tent under a 600 hps the temp is 80.6ºf or 27.2ºc and im useing the canna coco professonal pluss medium and sum canna coco nutrients part a and b and got sum superthrive and ph down and im growing 9 cheese clones. just wanted some advice like how long do you think i should veg how long you think i should flower and how often should i feed them and all that info basicly what would you do if you was me. thank.
Few mistakes I made off the bat:
-Never buy clones unless you have known the person for a few years and are friends. Not just some dispensary owner who will sell you a spider mite infested batch to make 50 bucks off of you. Good seed is expensive, but has to be worth it - it took me a year to harvest because of pests and all of the "fuckup" plants I have had to throw out.
-When referring to PPM and nutes, if you are using RO, you will need to mix in your nutrients, along with a calmag. At first when I was given advice on PPM in relation to the strain I was growing. For example: 500 PPM for me was 500PPM of nutrients, plus another 500 calmag. I did not realize that it accounts for everything even though you have taken so much out of your water. I should have done: 250 nutes, 250 calmag, + 20 or so extra for some roots excell maybe a beneficial bacteria...
-Temps: I started in the hottest part of summer when all of the pests can reproduce faster than rumors of a dead president. I have two tents, a vegitative, and a flowering. My veg is powered by 2 2ft x 4 bulb HO t5's with individual reflectors. Right now in winter, my temps are usually perfect. In summer, I have to run another 4" exhaust fan out of my veg room just to keep temps down. In my flowering tent, I have a cool hood with a 600w hps with a dimmable digital (and i believe switchable ballast). A 6" exhaust fan through the cool hood with a top mounted carbon filter keeps that tent at a perfect 78 at almost all times. Your post made it sound like you have a 600w bulb in a small area with no exhaust fans. I would worry about fire at that point..... especially in the summer time. Remember, heat rises, extract it at the top of your room/tent, and never mount a carbon filter to your hood. It puts extra stress on everything, and the filter should always be at the top, even though you lower the hood (leave extra ducting) (heat rises, heat rises, heat rises).
-Cleanliness: I used to rip apart all my hydro setups every week and clean them spotless. This is bad, beneficial bacteria grows, and the plants love it. You should clean every cycle, and I like to stay away from bleach so the guys at the hydro store recommended Mad Farmer Oxygenatior - I believe is the name. It is basically a very high concentrate hydrogen peroxide that evaporates into air. You mix in certain amounts pending your res size, with fresh water ( i use RO even for cleaning), and then just cycle your system without plants. You can clean your roots with the same stuff at lower concentrations I believe, but don't take my word - not something ive tried.
-Cloning: many say you need a $300 cloning machine to be successful or increase your chances. I am sure that many people have luck with this, but if it were to break you are out $300, and good luck fixing or selling. Guys in the hydro store who have been growing for years tell me they own multiple cloning machines and still use manual tactics because it is just easier. Just get yourself some NEW, FRESH, and Sharp scissors or a razor blade, sanitize with rubbing alcohol and cut at a 45 degree angle on your lower branches. Dip the end in rooting hormone quickly (i try for 3-7 seconds, and move the end around inside of it, coating about 1/3 height of a root riot) Pop those bad girls in some root riots, spray your clone dome, and smoke a bowl.
-Animals: keep your dogs away. Bugs love to live on dogs, its nature. On another note, I hate buying a sack and pulling dried animal hairs out. If you own a cat, which most growers do, keep them away. I told myself I will call out the next dispensary that pulls that shit, it is just nasty. I can understand those small clothing filaments, but not a two inch hair. Also, if your pet eats your bud or wires for that matter, they could hurt themselves and the situation could result in a large medical bill.
-Lastly, take advice, but always with a grain of salt. Common sense will do you right. On the other hand, don't be ignorant and ignore monumental advice from experienced growers. Just because someone works in a hydro store does not mean they know everything. I have gone into some with a hot chick- big boobs and nice ass who was only hired to be a fun sex toy on lunch break for the boss. I have also gone into some with people who know a lot, and I let myself get comfortable: then you get reassurance about pests from someone who was just trying to take their 5 minute break and get you away. Two weeks later you see webbing on your plants. If you so much as even see any spots or discoloration on your leaves, ask about it. Better safe than sorry.