i'm a newbie...having a little trouble

91rtstealth · Jan 31, 2011

i'm a first time grower...I started off with 2 of the cheap fluro lights from walmart and it wasn't working super great, so now I have 4 CFL 26w bulbs...one for each plant and it's working much better...

right now my 4 girls are almost 2 feet tall, and I have them each in one gallon buckets....should I trans them to 5 gallon...i'm just wondering if the smaller bucket will prevent them from growing...

i'm currently using the miracle grow potting soil from walmart that "already contains plant food for up to 6 months"....and then I purchased the miracle grow plant food...so far I have been mixing the recommended indoor dosage (I believe its a 1/2 teaspoon) per gallon of water and pouring the gallon of water into one plant...then I do the same for the other 3..each plant gets a gallon of water....I have been doing this ever 2 weeks since day one and it's been a few months now....recently, the leave tips have started looking burnt...so i'm wondering, do I even need to use the plant food if the soil "has it in it already." All I can figure is that they are getting over-fed due to the nutes in the soil already...

what do you think?

noris559 · Jan 31, 2011

1 gallon for every foot is a good rule of thumb, but it kind of depends on watering habbits. oh and just loose the miracle grow and run down to a grow store and pick up something else, i use advanced but a good alterative would be fox farm. hope i helped...

trichome fiend · Jan 31, 2011

...I would transplant into bigger pots, yes....but, not with that your miracle grow soil. Miracle Grow has time released fertilizer capsules that are released with waterings....the more you water, the faster the capsules open....not recommended for a novice grower. Do you have any hydro stores around your area? I would suggest pure organic soil, such as Fox Farm's Ocean Forest, Happy Frog, or Roots Organic.

MsBBB · Jan 31, 2011

91rtstealth said:
i'm a first time grower...I started off with 2 of the cheap fluro lights from walmart and it wasn't working super great, so now I have 4 CFL 26w bulbs...one for each plant and it's working much better...

right now my 4 girls are almost 2 feet tall, and I have them each in one gallon buckets....should I trans them to 5 gallon...i'm just wondering if the smaller bucket will prevent them from growing...

i'm currently using the miracle grow potting soil from walmart that "already contains plant food for up to 6 months"....and then I purchased the miracle grow plant food...so far I have been mixing the recommended indoor dosage (I believe its a 1/2 teaspoon) per gallon of water and pouring the gallon of water into one plant...then I do the same for the other 3..each plant gets a gallon of water....I have been doing this ever 2 weeks since day one and it's been a few months now....recently, the leave tips have started looking burnt...so i'm wondering, do I even need to use the plant food if the soil "has it in it already." All I can figure is that they are getting over-fed due to the nutes in the soil already...

what do you think?

It all depends, let us see so that the experienced growers might help you :leaf:

91rtstealth · Jan 31, 2011

no hydro stores near me..I live in the middle of nowhere..and I can't afford to get crazy with this stuff...i'm on a real tight budget..i'm just doing this is a little hobby...

I have read the 1 gallon per foot formula before...I should get some 5 gallons and get on that...I was told never to change growth mediums throughout the course of growing..could "stress" the plants...

and if the miracle grow has time time released nutes, couldn't I just use plain water to feed them every 2 weeks and skip the additional nutes?

growone · Jan 31, 2011

the additional nutes probably didn't help, the soil releases a good dose every watering
MG potting is tricky because if you over water, you actually over fertilize
your description sounds like classic MG nute burn, it can be tough to dial in the zone with MG

91rtstealth · Jan 31, 2011

so...do you think it's a good idea for me to just water them every 2 weeks...gallon of water per plant...no additional nutes?

drmarcusg · Jan 31, 2011

back off on the nutes and make sure your checking the ph of your water...if you didnt use any nutes at all they would still be fine...and water them when they get lite (lift them) 2 weeks seems a little long...dont have a set schedule just water when the pots are lite

also what type of cfl are you using? it should be blue/high range for veg like the 6500 k daylight ones
and the red/low range for flower like 3500k
most people do a mix of each

growone · Jan 31, 2011

91rtstealth said:
so...do you think it's a good idea for me to just water them every 2 weeks...gallon of water per plant...no additional nutes?

it's tough to give you an exact plan, i did try MG Moisture Control for my 1st grow, had some of the same troubles, never did get them figured out
so next grow was organic soil, much easier and great result
but since you seem stuck with the MG potting, here's a few best guesses
watering every 2 weeks seems like a stretch, that should be bone dry before 2 weeks, maybe once a week at least
the 2 foot plant in a 1 gallon pot may not work out, depends on what your plant bulk is, but the usual formula is 1 gallon of pot for every foot of plant
the trick that i have seen quoted for MG potting soil, is to cut it with some perlite, it's too 'hot' for MJ, too concentrated with nutes
best of luck

91rtstealth · Jan 31, 2011

drmarcusg said:
back off on the nutes and make sure your checking the ph of your water...if you didnt use any nutes at all they would still be fine...and water them when they get lite (lift them) 2 weeks seems a little long...dont have a set schedule just water when the pots are lite

also what type of cfl are you using? it should be blue/high range for veg like the 6500 k daylight ones
and the red/low range for flower like 3500k
most people do a mix of each

ok..i'll eliminate the nutes and see what happens..and good idea..I never thought see if the pot was heavy or light...I basically water them when the soil starts to dry out a little..i was told that dry soil allows the roots to move freely...

i'm using the 6500k bulbs from walmart....and I plan on changing them when I decide to bud...

91rtstealth · Jan 31, 2011

growone said:
it's tough to give you an exact plan, i did try MG Moisture Control for my 1st grow, had some of the same troubles, never did get them figured out
so next grow was organic soil, much easier and great result
but since you seem stuck with the MG potting, here's a few best guesses
watering every 2 weeks seems like a stretch, that should be bone dry before 2 weeks, maybe once a week at least
the 2 foot plant in a 1 gallon pot may not work out, depends on what your plant bulk is, but the usual formula is 1 gallon of pot for every foot of plant
the trick that i have seen quoted for MG potting soil, is to cut it with some perlite, it's too 'hot' for MJ, too concentrated with nutes
best of luck

yeah I should probably transplant them into bigger pots...I think I am going to really soon..

and is one gallon of water per plant a good amount? should I alter that at any point? and you'd be surprised..the soil isn't very dry after 2 weeks...

growone · Jan 31, 2011

91rtstealth said:
yeah I should probably transplant them into bigger pots...I think I am going to really soon..

and is one gallon of water per plant a good amount? should I alter that at any point? and you'd be surprised..the soil isn't very dry after 2 weeks...

watering is very much keyed to your conditions - humidity, temperature
if the soil is moist, then it's best to wait for it to dry(mostly)
i use 1/4 the volume of water as the size of the pot, but that's more for organic setup
you should water slowly, and have significant outflow, you need outflow to carry away toxic salts which will buildup if you don't water enough
thing about MG potting, it's not a good beginner soil, there is a zone that it needs to work well for MJ
but some use it and get great results, it can be confusing at times

91rtstealth · Feb 1, 2011

growone said:
watering is very much keyed to your conditions - humidity, temperature
if the soil is moist, then it's best to wait for it to dry(mostly)
i use 1/4 the volume of water as the size of the pot, but that's more for organic setup
you should water slowly, and have significant outflow, you need outflow to carry away toxic salts which will buildup if you don't water enough
thing about MG potting, it's not a good beginner soil, there is a zone that it needs to work well for MJ
but some use it and get great results, it can be confusing at times

yeah...the basement is real damp so the soil stays wet for a long time...2 weeks is usually about when the soil gets dry...is there such a thing as over watering the plants?

and I just used MG cuz they sold it at walmart and a few people recommended it...and I didn't want to spend a lot...like I said..first timer here..haha..

pelt1 · Feb 1, 2011

I've used MG as a potting soil outdoors, but it was just a small amount to start the seedling.

Now for indoors, I have tried several MG versions. I have tried the Moisture Control, the Wild Orchid, and the Organic Miracle grow. All this stuff is in my journal. I was in a similiar situation, in that it's a PITA to get better soil locally for me. Also, I have had bad luck with FF with my seedling and them getting nuked.

Moisture Control - Hated it, as it nuked my seedlings like the FF did.

Wild Orchid - Also was a bit rough on my seedlings, but seemed to do ok once they grew up.

The MG Organic - This is what I've had the best luck with so far. This was my first indoor grow medium and things went well. The adverse problem with it was that it grew my seedlings pretty slow. To help this, I added Blood Meal to the mix and the seedlings grew great!!!!

So, what looks like it will work best FOR ME and my situation, is started my seedlings in the MG organic with Blood Meal in a small pot. And later transplant into larger pots with FF when I move to flowering. This is what I am doing now.

growone · Feb 1, 2011

you can definitely over water, especially with MG
just to be sure, this is MG Potting soil? there are a number of MG soils
over watering usually means watering too often before the soil dries out somewhat
watering every other day can be too much, but again, conditions dictate water rate, some soils can dry very quickly
but when you water heavily with MG Potting soil, fertilizer is released in proportion to the amount of water
water heavily enough, and you get nute burn from too much ferts being released
this makes MG potting tricky, you can get into a cycle where you burn, then cause other problems when you try to fix it

91rtstealth · Feb 3, 2011

I"ll have to double check what exact MG soil I am using..it's the stuff at walmart that already contains plant food, but I forget what the exact name of it is...i'll have to check..

and I am definitely waiting for the siol to dry out before I water...about every 2 weeks...and it's a 1 gallon bucket per plant and I water each plant with one gallon of water...what is the generally watering rule of thumb? one gallon of water per gallon of bucket? would you give a plant in a 5 gallon bucket 5 gallons of water? I haven't gotten to a 5 gallon bucket yet so I don't know what the water rule will be at that point..

growone · Feb 3, 2011

that sounds like MG potting, if it has plant food, that means time release
that it takes 2 weeks to dry doesn't sound right, basement floor is cool, too cool probably, elevating might help a bit
i use 1/4 the volume of the pot as the amount of water to use, this is a rough rule of thumb, may not fit your needs exactly
others use the 1/5th rule, that 1/5th of the total water used comes out the bottom, you need outflow to carry away the toxic wastes that build up over time(which is normal)

91rtstealth · Feb 6, 2011

growone said:
that sounds like MG potting, if it has plant food, that means time release
that it takes 2 weeks to dry doesn't sound right, basement floor is cool, too cool probably, elevating might help a bit
i use 1/4 the volume of the pot as the amount of water to use, this is a rough rule of thumb, may not fit your needs exactly
others use the 1/5th rule, that 1/5th of the total water used comes out the bottom, you need outflow to carry away the toxic wastes that build up over time(which is normal)

really? wow..I have 1 gallon pots..so I should water each plant with a 1/5th of a gallon?? damn..i've been dumping a gallon of water into each..

growone · Feb 6, 2011

91rtstealth said:
really? wow..I have 1 gallon pots..so I should water each plant with a 1/5th of a gallon?? damn..i've been dumping a gallon of water into each..

watering MG soil is not easy, there is a zone where it works well
not sure what that is exactly, my experience with MGMC convinced me organic was a lot easier(and it is)
that amount of water could explain the burnt leaves, too much maybe
i'd think you need a bit less, how much outflow to you get?

91rtstealth · Feb 6, 2011

i'm not really sure how to gauge how much outflow I get....I just let it run out until it slows a lot or stops...but yeah..i've been watering a gallon per plant mixed with mg nutes...so I think i'm going to water 1/5 of a gallon per plant and leave out the nutes for a while...

i'm a newbie...having a little trouble

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