First Grow + pics! Help/Advice please :)

Hey RIU! This is my first grow and i'm just looking for some experienced feedback... I realise this setup is ghetto as shit but its pretty budget. I'm in the process of making a box/cabinet to house them, and setup a proper lighting/vent system. I know already I've made a few errors with pot size and only filling them 3/4...& only using clay pebbles for the growing medium, but its all a learning exp right?

So currently i have 4 plants running, just bagseed. Started them in rockwool, maybe about 3-4 weeks ago? Not exactly sure when i started.

Lighting - They are under one 120w 6500k CFL, and i just added 2 24w CFL's because the light just wasn't reaching them enough. I have a pretty dodgey reflector above the big CFL, a piece of cardboard wrapped in that plastic from the hydro shop, the double sided black/white stuff. They were on a 18/6 cycle, but i'm slowly reverting them back to a 24/0...cutting half and hour each day.

For watering - I mist with water 4-6 times daily, with the occasional dash of Seaweed in the water. I do a root water every second day using a combination of Rhizatonic, Seaweed Extract and some A+B Nutes.

Ventilation - Currently i just have a bathroom exhaust fan running next to them, more for circulation and to try and strengthen the stems. They are in a walk-in wardrobe which has an access hole to the room which is open a crack, so i think they are getting enough fresh air? The temp in the room is just slighty warm, it's getting into winter here so i've tried to make it a mild climate. I dont have a humidity meter but you can feel a slight heaviness in the air.

The overall plan is to LST them so they stay rather smallish..nothing too crazy as i really just want to get a grow from start to harvest.

A few questions i have - Is it possible to transplant them into smaller pots if the roots are already spread through the pebbles? Space wise the ones they are in now are just not efficient. I know they are better for root growth..but i would like to be able to put them into a box of some sort.

Also how often should i water the roots? AFAIK Clay pebbles don't retain much water?

If any of you guru's out there have any advice or suggestions they would be welcomed..I hope to be a contributing member of these forums one day..but you gotta start somewhere


These are my little girls (hopefully)





Here is how the pots sit, and the last photo is the usual setup. I started to LST the back 3 today, but I'm leaving the front one normal for comparison purposes. That and it was the runt of the litter..it was so small i didn't even think it would grow..its slowly proving me wrong however

*P.S - The random tiles + small mirror are an attempt to boost light reflection *



Happy Tokin'

Alright i'll give a go at answering your questions! q)Is it possible to transplant them into smaller pots if the roots are already spread through the pebbles? Space wise the ones they are in now are just not efficient. I know they are better for root growth..but i would like to be able to put them into a box of some sort.

a) you could, yes, but I think it's a bad decision to do so. If they're already expanding through the hydroton, a smaller pot may just root bind them, which will stunt their growth. (if you're talking about the resevoirs the pots are in, you can put them in smaller ones, yes)

q)Also how often should i water the roots? AFAIK Clay pebbles don't retain much water?
a) Place them into your DWC or Ebb and flow system now. If you don't have an ebb and flow system....4 times a day, and let the water drain off. OR you could leave a small layer of water at the bottom of the hydroton (clay pebbles) for when the roots get long enough to wick it up.

Hope this helps! Peace and love...

-Ex

Hey Excise, thanks for the quick reply They arn't in a hydro water system, hence one of my mistakes being using just clay pebbles Just good old watering can style..so give them a full water 4 times a days still? They havn't shown any signs of underwatering with the current regime, but ill boost it to 4/daily instead of 1/twice daily. Ill keep this thread updated as they go. Thanks again

Yes 4 times a day. You could also plant them in soil (which is what i did, I started off in rockwool, and hydroton and moved to soil)