My first grow

I am going to be using 5x 30w CFL daylights 6400k full spectrum at 2000 lumens per light. I figured I'll grow 2 plants.

I'm also going to buy 1 cubic foot of "scotts premium potting soil with fertilizer"

It says that 1 cubic foot is equal to 7.5 gallons so I assume this will be fine for 2 plants.

I am using some random seeds I found laying around from different bags, no idea of how old they are or where they came from.

How long do most people veg for? Does it depend on the strain or do you just make it bud at 2 feet or so?? Also, what do you think about the soil?

I'll do a more serious grow if this works out decent, it would be cool to get an ounce or two total if they are both female.

Help is appreciated!!

hi monster, good luck to you on your grow. First of all, if you haven't already bought your soil then I would recommend getting something else. Scott's, or Miracle grow or any of the other soils that have fertilizer already in the soil are really undesirable. You want to be able to control what nutrients your plants get & when they get them. You can't do this w/ the soil w/ fertilizer already in it. That fertilizer is designed to release w/ every watering. So that means you can't flush your plants & clean them of fertilizer & also you can't control what your plants are getting.

I use a mixture of ProMix, Faffard 3b, & Perlite. I do a ratio of 4 parts ProMix : 1 Part Faffard : 4 parts Perlite. I usually mix up a bunch in a wheel barrow, so I just use a scoop & do 4 scoops promix, 1 faffard, 4 Perlite.

Anyway, if you don't wanna buy all that for 2 plants, you can use just promix & Perlite. Or you could use just Faffard & Perlite. With either one you want to use close to or up to 50% Perlite with it. The Perlite will help w/ drainage & soil aereation. I highly reccomend you go w/ something like that instead of the scott's or anything with fertilizer in it. To get this stuff you may need to go to a specialty gardening store. I know the Lowe's & Home Depot around where I live do not have any good soils, they only sell the stuff w/ fertilizers in it. Same w/ the Perlite, i tried to buy some @ home depot & the only stuff they had was with fertilizer in it.

& plz note, the Perlite is very important. Don't skip it. If you skip the perlite your soil will hold water for too long & not dry out enough, or fast enough between waterings.

As for how long to veg for, that really depends more on how big you want your plant to be. And that depends on how much light you can give per plant. With the set-up you are talking about I would say you should start flowering before 24". Maybe 18", but 24" at the very latest. Your plants will double in size between cutting the lights back to 12/12 & harvest time. So don't get them too big b4 flowering.

Good luck!

how do i cut my lant so that it will regrow?

some help its my first harvest

I researched it and there aren't any stores that carry promix or fafard. Home depot carries perlite by miracle grow, it doesnt look like it has fetilizer in it either. what are my other options?

I picked up some MG Perlite & it did have fertilizer in it, although it's possible they make both. As for other options, i'm not sure. Do you live near even a small city?? Maybe try calling some of the landscaping or greenhouse businesses around & perhaps they could tell you where to get soil.

I'm dealing with what I have to. I got the scotts miracle grow and I also got perlite, both from home depot and both have fertilizer in it. I hope its ok for a first time.