For all new growers with questions... Tons of information and answers..

"I read that it was good to go out of the bag."

All soil mixes claim to be good to go out of the bag, but next time add 20% pearlite for more aeration and better drainage.

1. I'm wondering what size the container is. Seedlings do better in small containers, because then they can go through a wet dry cycles faster.

Large pot + small seedling = long time to dry out

Forget the moisture meter. If you can dig your index finger into the soil, and it doesn't feel damp - at all - you need to water.

wow VERY informative. great post i also had a question about the harvesting part you said "cut down just b4 or as soon as possible to the light coming on" is this a must or just personal preference i wanna know as much as possible b4 my first grow is done. also another question about curing in a mason jar can i set the jar inside my computer desk where theres no light or should i have it in a fully lit room? and last but not least could u take a look at my first time grow and give me any tips or tricks to get the most outta my automatic strain i dont have alot of room and want the most bang for my buck. thanks again for the great post + rep

R1Farmer said:

Howzit SS420! Please disregard....I read the entire thread again and was able to find the information I needed (I think).

I do have a question that I could not find an answer in the previous posts:

I'm using Sunshine Mix #4 soil and did not add any perlite to it. I read that it was good to go out of the bag (premix with perlite already). So far my girls have not complained and when I do water it drains pretty good. If I'm using 3 gallon pots how long should it take for the soil to be completely dry. I recently purchased a cheap moisture probe and after not watering for a few days the soil is still reading wet yet the top ~2" layer is completely dry. Is this a sign of not enough perlite? The temperature around here has been around 75~85 degrees, slightly humid and it did rain a couple of nights ago. So my questions are:

- should I water only when moisture probe displays dry??
- if top 2"~3" of potted soil is completely dry but bottom of pot is wet after 4~5 days of not water is that an indication of improper soil mix?
- before being schooled by you in regards to watering I think perhaps I have been drowning my girls and it may take a long time for the core soil in my containers to dry out...what do you think?



Tanks again braddah!!

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1) agreed with GC about the perlite.. i personally kept between 20 to 30 percent of my soil mix perlite..

2) water based on the plants needs... the smaller the plant the less you need to water...

ok. let me explain a little more... as GC says below seedlings in smaller containers go through wet to dry faster... if you start seedlings out in a larger container you dont have to wet the entire pot down... this is because the roots of the seedling arent big enough to pull water from anywhere except the small area aroung them... so watering the entire pot down wont make sense...

watering a small area around the plant will cause the roots to grow down and outwards as they begin reaching for water to feed the plant... you have to make sure to water outwards enough, but again, you dont need to saturate the soil...

you will know if you are under watering because the bottom of the plant will begin to droop down, which progresses upwards... if you see this sign water a little heavier... eventually your plant will fill out the pot...

now i do think you have over watered.. which can cause a few problems... first the soil takes a lot longer to dry out.. since the root system is small the soil has to just dry out by itself, instead of the roots absorbing the water...

the other thing that can happen is it slows root growth.. this is because the roots are drowning and are cut of from fresh air they need to grow...

if the soil is heavy this can compound both of those problems... it can cause some other problems too like root rot possibly...

just let the soil dry out as much as possible.. keep a 3" radius around the plant moist until the bottom of the soil is dried out.. once thats done start increasing the amount of water until you start seeing roots growing from the bottom of the pot.. you'll know the roots have filled the pot out then...

its a little harder to actually do than it is to explain.. it takes a little playing around and watching and learning your plants needs by how they are acting.. but the nice thing about watering is you can always add water if you need.. but if you over water, you cant take the water out of the soil.. its better to under water than to over water..

Green Cross said:

"I read that it was good to go out of the bag."

All soil mixes claim to be good to go out of the bag, but next time add 20% pearlite for more aeration and better drainage.

1. I'm wondering what size the container is. Seedlings do better in small containers, because then they can go through a wet dry cycles faster.

Large pot + small seedling = long time to dry out

Forget the moisture meter. If you can dig your index finger into the soil, and it doesn't feel damp - at all - you need to water.

Click to expand...

thank you.. i appreciate the help

Pcmicro13 said:

wow VERY informative. great post i also had a question about the harvesting part you said "cut down just b4 or as soon as possible to the light coming on" is this a must or just personal preference i wanna know as much as possible b4 my first grow is done. also another question about curing in a mason jar can i set the jar inside my computer desk where theres no light or should i have it in a fully lit room? and last but not least could u take a look at my first time grow and give me any tips or tricks to get the most outta my automatic strain i dont have alot of room and want the most bang for my buck. thanks again for the great post + rep

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yes i will look at your grow right after i answer your other questions..

its not a must to harvest then... i actually do it whenever i feel like it once i decide its time.. i fit it into my schedule.. but harvest before lights on or right at lights on is the time when trich production is highest.. it might be 5 to 10 percent more at this time then later in the day...

you can leave the mason jars in your computer desk, no problem... stash it wherever you got the room for it..

SimpsonSampson,
I have a question about setting your timers for feeding/watering using hydro. I'm using microsprayers and my set up is similar to what they make on here with the PVC (cloners) and micro sprayers except I have 2 separate containers, the res and what the plants are in. It (where the plants are), drains continuously while watering back into the res by 1/2" hose. I have seen on here they say 1 min ON and 5 min OFF, will a 30 min cycle timer work? Say if you did 30 or 60 min ON and 2 or 3 hours OFF???
Thanx for your help

hey man all your post have been real helpful. I learned alot for one i just cut the clone at a 45 and put in rockwool. it that why its not growing??? still i will post some updated pics lager....i changed closets, and put up construction bags to hide my grow room... i got a get deal on a farmland hood a 400w MH.. i got my temp down to 82 with the help of the cooltube and AC duct to the tube...Oh got great liitle fans at target 6 bucks fit in my duct work..., humdiy is a 50... In my hydro contraption, i have a sad mother i may put her down,,three clones that are not growing,,,one little girl 5 days old, i aslo put one in soil get to compare how my nuts are doing....How often do i clean out my res?... i think once a week.. i clean and put in new water and adjust the PH... how close should this lite be it like 3 feet above. i still dont have a timer of my water pump and left it on for like 4 hours today.. I ramble cause im baked....I think my light cycle has not been consistant as well....im on a 18/6....6pm-12pm.. aslo what is the best strain for a newbee... im looking for one that i can veg about 18inch...forgiving and will be worth it...

ok..got to rebake

again your post are great..one of the most helpful i read..

And foil is no good huh that sucks....

I picked up B.C grow boost and flower. think i will start them on it sat...

im work hard on these ladies and seeing little from the clones

bobbychuck67 said:

Holy Sh*t! Sorry all I didn't mean to quote that whole thing. Be patient with the newbie.

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lol no biggy...

DIMEBAG6604 said:

nice many thanxxx

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no problem.. glad to help.. if there is anything you still have ?s about feel free to ask..

gabrownzfan said:

SimpsonSampson,
I have a question about setting your timers for feeding/watering using hydro. I'm using microsprayers and my set up is similar to what they make on here with the PVC (cloners) and micro sprayers except I have 2 separate containers, the res and what the plants are in. It (where the plants are), drains continuously while watering back into the res by 1/2" hose. I have seen on here they say 1 min ON and 5 min OFF, will a 30 min cycle timer work? Say if you did 30 or 60 min ON and 2 or 3 hours OFF???
Thanx for your help

Click to expand...

there really is no right or wrong misting schedule... its whatever your plants like and can handle... i've read/seen setups with continuous spray... 1 on 1 off... 1 on 3 off... 1 on 4 off... 1 on 2 off... well i think you get the picture there..

the best thing to know if you are doing on is by watching your plant... start with a continuou spray.. you'll know fairly quickly if its too much water for your girls to handle.. if they start to droop all over then you'll know its too much and you need to back off...

if you can i would try to get a timer with 15 minute intervals instead of 30... but... that might not be possible.. so the 30 might have to work... the best advice i can give you is to just try it.. i would start with a 30 on/30 off schedule... if that works for them and roots arent having any issues (drying out mainly) then stick with it... i am almost certain in an aero setup that 60 minutes would be too long... unless there is some amount of water left in the pvc pipes for the roots to stay moist in, 60 minutes will be too close to drying them out without some sort of medium to retain moisture for them...

so start with 30/30... watch your girls closely for 24 hours... and you'll know if they are good or not.. if not, you'll just have to purchase a timer with smaller increments...

you just have to remember, some plants use more water and like wetter environments.. watching your plants behavior will tell you exactly what she needs..

mikerollup said:

hey man all your post have been real helpful. I learned alot for one i just cut the clone at a 45 and put in rockwool. it that why its not growing??? still i will post some updated pics lager....i changed closets, and put up construction bags to hide my grow room... i got a get deal on a farmland hood a 400w MH.. i got my temp down to 82 with the help of the cooltube and AC duct to the tube...Oh got great liitle fans at target 6 bucks fit in my duct work..., humdiy is a 50... In my hydro contraption, i have a sad mother i may put her down,,three clones that are not growing,,,one little girl 5 days old, i aslo put one in soil get to compare how my nuts are doing....How often do i clean out my res?... i think once a week.. i clean and put in new water and adjust the PH... how close should this lite be it like 3 feet above. i still dont have a timer of my water pump and left it on for like 4 hours today.. I ramble cause im baked....I think my light cycle has not been consistant as well....im on a 18/6....6pm-12pm.. aslo what is the best strain for a newbee... im looking for one that i can veg about 18inch...forgiving and will be worth it...

ok..got to rebake

again your post are great..one of the most helpful i read..

And foil is no good huh that sucks....

I picked up B.C grow boost and flower. think i will start them on it sat...

im work hard on these ladies and seeing little from the clones

Click to expand...

alright.. ill try to dissect your ramble and answer your questions... lol


1) scraping the stem and slicing up the middle isnt needed for cloning to work... in fact what you did is pretty much the absolute basic form of cloning you can.. as long as you are keeping the rockwool moist (not wet, not dry.. a happy middle ground), under 24/0, and keeping the clones misted (mist 3 to 4 times a day lightly), your cuttings should root... it just might take 10 to 14 days.. so that could explain why they arent rooting...

2) you NEED to get a timer for your water pump... your plants should be fed at short intervals over the course of the day.. for a couple reasons.. 1, if the water temp isnt cool enough (below 80F) it can cook the roots.. the hotter the water, the more it cooks... this will cause problems later, and drastically slow all growth... 2, if the water runs out of dissolved oxygen the roots will drown... plus warm water holds less oxygen.. so its possible, if you are flooding that long, you are adversely affecting your plants... 3, over watering clones will cause them to root a LOT slower.. so if you are flooding them for that long also, it could be adding to the slow rooting..

3) try to change out/clean your reservoir 1 time a week... no less than once every 2 weeks.. keeping fresh water and new nutes will ensure your girls are getting everything they need.. since nutes are used at different rates its possible to run low/out of specific nutes over the time they are in the res.. keeping things new and fresh in the res will limit the possibility of deficiencies...

4) you should always try to keep your light(s) as close as possible without it affecting the plant... this means light bleaching, heat stress, or burnt leaf tips.... i have my 400w lamps (aircooled by a 6 inch fan) about 5 inches from canopy.. maybe a little more/less.. with little effect to the plant (i've had some light bleaching in the past if they get too close)... you should at least be within a foot tho..

5) an inconsistent light can cause your female to hermie... keeping light schedules consistent is very very important... do the best you can with that... 10 minutes wont make a big difference.. but an hour or two will... i dont know how off you are.. but try to stay on a consistent schedule...

6) there are a TON of great and easy strains out there to grow.. its almost easier to tell you what strains to stay away from than to get into.... but first check this out http://1stmarijuanagrowerspage.com/ there should be a few answers on there... i would just recommend staying away from "conniseur seeds".. these tend to have (from what i can tell) the more difficult growing traits... if you still want some personal recommendations later, i'd be happy to give you my top 10 list... just let me know..

7) bc is a good line.. used them on my last grow... great results.. you should be happy with them...

simpsonsampson420 said:

not a problem BC... very glad to share the knowledge i have...

i try to stay as mellow as possible.. it takes a lot to work me up.. whats a stoner if not mellow

so yes, 7.5 is bit high for soil.. i would personally use with sulphur, aluminum sulfate, or a soild acidifier like this http://www.planetnatural.com/site/chelated-iron.html

regardless of which you choose try to adjust your ph slowly... its better and easier to continue to lower than to over do it... if you can get it down to around 7.0 or a little less that will be plenty sufficient...





post count.. thats it.. just gotta keep posting..



aerogardens are nice... they offer very fast growth... great results... and are fairly simple to operate...

the down side is there are minor adjustments that need to be made.... parts of the "puzzle" that may fail... and takes a little more attention to get started.. but once you get it up and going its easy...

with it being hydro you have to watch ph and ppm much more closely... to much nutes will cause burning really quickly... the wrong ph and you'll suffer bad lock out...

you always have to adjust the feeding lengths.. which means watching your plants for signs of over and under watering...

in my experience i am happy i started with soil and to hydro.. soil is more forgiving in that the soil acts as a buffer zone.. so nute burn or deficiencies, over and under watering, things like that, take a little longer to affect the plant.. which means you have more time to figure and diagnos the problem before it really becomes a problem.. with hydro that reaction time is drastically reduced...

now im not in any way trying to shy you away from starting with aero... im just warning you that if you do start with hydro it will take a little more "fine tuning" than dirt will.. which could lead to frustrations.. i, of course, will be more than happy to offer any help i can either way...

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not to be an ass, but when using the word to as in, i have way to much cron. the word to needs two os as in i have too much cron. this word can also be used as a sub for also, as in would you like to go too.

sorry we are educating one another and you have tought me more about growing than i'm willing to admit, lol i can't really tell you much in that department other than my personal journals as i'm a new grower and your knollege is far superior too mine when it comes to this. So on that note peace for the moment and you have got to be one of the most informative people on this site. Thanx a ton

algeezy509 said:

not to be an ass, but when using the word to as in, i have way to much cron. the word to needs two os as in i have too much cron. this word can also be used as a sub for also, as in would you like to go too.

sorry we are educating one another and you have tought me more about growing than i'm willing to admit, lol i can't really tell you much in that department other than my personal journals as i'm a new grower and your knollege is far superior too mine when it comes to this. So on that note peace for the moment and you have got to be one of the most informative people on this site. Thanx a ton

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grammer has never been a strong suite of mine.. spelling.. sentence structure... and all the little details (to vs too)... all fall through the cracks with me... even when im aware im doing it i still dont see it... i take no offense.. i just can promise it'll probably never change with me.. lol hell even when it comes to conjunctions i only use the apostrophy occasionally...

mikerollup said:

How long should i flood, and how many times a day?

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it depends on the intervals you can set your timer to...

but i would say that on average 4 times a day for 5 to 15 minutes... if you are flooding 4 times a day for 5 minutes and they are still thirsty, add another flood.. and vica versa... if you see signs of over watering then cut back a flood or the time....

Simpson, don't worry about the grammer man, we all have our strengths and yours is clearly a green thumb. I have the next question though. Is the price of femenised seeds worth it? Obviously twice as expensive but you should get twice the females. Right? I'm also wondering how they do it and if it messes up any genetics. Would be nice (since I have limited space) to save it for gals only. Hope you are well.

bobbychuck67 said:

Simpson, don't worry about the grammer man, we all have our strengths and yours is clearly a green thumb. I have the next question though. Is the price of femenised seeds worth it? Obviously twice as expensive but you should get twice the females. Right? I'm also wondering how they do it and if it messes up any genetics. Would be nice (since I have limited space) to save it for gals only. Hope you are well.

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fem'd seeds are well well worth the price..

they are made by chemically stressing a true female, typically with colloidal silver, so it produces pollen sacs... these sacs contain pollen with ONLY female genetics... when this pollen is used on another true female it will produce only female seeds..

when i say true female i am talking about a female that no matter the amount of environmental stress she goes through will stay 100% female.... the ONLY way a true female will ever produce pollen is to be chemically induced too..

if you purchase from a quality breeder then all the seeds you get that are fem'd should be 100% female...

sometimes you get hermies... hermie genetics can be present, but lay dormant through many grows... so sometimes, no matter how strong the breeder thinks their female is, it is possible to get a seed that has VERY dormant hermie genetics that come out randomly... even then the worth of fem'd seeds way outweighs the risk of a hermie...

i will only buy fem'd seeds as long as they are available in the strain i want..

You mentioned you might list your favorite strains. I checked out the website link you offered. It all looks pretty delicious. So what are YOUR top five?

my personal favorite strains... hmmm.. i can list them.. but not in any specific order.. they all rank close enough to one another that i couldnt pick my fav fav...


blueberry

ak-47

matanuska tundra

m-36 or 39.. whichever it is

strawberry cough


those have been my favorites so far... maybe not all are the most potent.. but they are all great smoke.... i plan on trying a lot of different strains and start documenting some about them... that way i can have a more accurate list of what i live and why...

Cool thanks. Some of your best advice yet in my opinion because it is personal. Will definately try the fem'd versions of your favs in the next grow. I'm in flowering now and pretty psyched becuse it's been way too dry lately. Was that your fav seed site? I'm especially concerned with stealth delivery. Also what is the safest pament method? Cash? Prepaid visa gift card bought with cash? Peace Bro!

yea.. thats by far my favorite seed bank site... they are hands down the best bank to buy from...

for 10 bucks you can guarantee the shipping.. so if it does get picked up by customs, attitude will send them again free of charge.. and keep doing so until you get them...

you can pay extra to have "stealth" shipping in which they will send them folded in a t-shirt, or in a coffee mug, ect.. which makes things easier...

but really, i never used either of them.. i pay for express shipping... they are sent fast... they come in a plain yellow envelope.. just like standard mail.. it doesnt say anything about a seed company or anything.. the only way you would know what it is is to open it yourself..

unless you are planning on buying hundreds of seeds at a time, there is nothing to worry about..

one more question, the second leaves and a little of the first, the edges have risen up towards the metal halide, why is this happening?

how far away is the light from the plants?? and how big is it??

well they're alittle over 2 feet away from the metal halide and the plants are about 2, 2 1/2 inches tall.

i would like to show you the dam picture but i dont know how to put one on here for you to see.

xXkillerklownXx said:

i would like to show you the dam picture but i dont know how to put one on here for you to see.

Click to expand...

click quote (close to this post)

or advanced (at the bottom near quick reply)

this will take you to another screen with more options you can do...

click the paper clip looking thing.. this will allow you to upload pics to this page..

ill be able to tell better what the problem is..