My second grow, help.

Hi all, well i'am gona try again after my failure in a loft with the blueberry strain(no good in a loft in the uk ,a drafty loft at that DUH).

So basically i have just put to baby's to hatch(which is white widow) in the airing cupboard.I have a cupboard which is aprox 30 sq ft .I have NTF system with a 400 watt HPS and using rockwool as my medium.

My veg feed is vita which has a npk of 10 5 16 A AND B.my bloom feed is also vita which has a npk of 10 9 19 A AND B.and i also have vita buddy .

Am i doing evrything correctly? iam really not sure about my fertz either.I have heard that a good tomato fert is as good as any.
What is the best temp for my room to be at?and also what temp should my water be?

PICS TO COME.
Thanks all.

I guess i'am doing things wrong?

post up some pics if you're worried.

res temps 60-70, foliage 77-85.

croniccrag said:

Hi all, well i'am gona try again after my failure in a loft with the blueberry strain(no good in a loft in the uk ,a drafty loft at that DUH).

So basically i have just put to baby's to hatch(which is white widow) in the airing cupboard.I have a cupboard which is aprox 30 sq ft .I have NTF system with a 400 watt HPS and using rockwool as my medium.

My veg feed is vita which has a npk of 10 5 16 A AND B.my bloom feed is also vita which has a npk of 10 9 19 A AND B.and i also have vita buddy .

Am i doing evrything correctly? iam really not sure about my fertz either.I have heard that a good tomato fert is as good as any.
What is the best temp for my room to be at?and also what temp should my water be?

PICS TO COME.
Thanks all.

Click to expand...

You seem to be more worried about WHAT you're using instead of HOW you're using them. I'll tell you what I think ...

If your grow area is 30 sq feet that's too big for a 400 watt. A 400w will cover a 4x4 area max. (Some people even say 3x3.) Trying to cover too big an area for the lighting you have is a common beginner mistake. You'll have to change this to contain your light into no more than 4x4 or your plants will not be receiving sufficient light. Keep the light 4 feet away when they are very young. As they get older you can get as close as 1 foot but ONLY if you have great ventilation. It's better to stay a little farther away if you have to. Heat damage is irreversible.

Since you're only using 400 watts, you can't use a normal dose of fertilizer. The recommendations on the bottle would be for a 1000 watt light. Use about 50% of the recommended amount as a main feeding once every couple weeks. Between times, use only 10% Over fertilizing is another common problem. You'll be amazed how well your plants do when you cut back.

Let the soil dry out completely between waterings. Get used to how light your containers are when dry so you can tell by lifting them. If you believe there may still be a little moisture in them, don't water yet - wait 'till they are totally dry. This is important to build a healthy, strong root system. It allows oxygen to get into the soil plus the roots will go searching for water. (But don't leave sit dry for more than 12 hours.)

The water should be at room temperature. The temperature of your grow room should be 72 - 77 optimally. If it starts climbing towards 85, do something about it before you get into trouble.

You need good ventilation and a fan blowing over your plants. The fan induces stronger root growth and will keep the temps down. Don't skip this part or you'll have heat damage in no time.

Those are the basics. Get out of that big space, water and feed properly without over-doing it and you should be fine. Good luck!

thanks for the feed back.

My babies have been in a jar for 3 days now still no sign of cracking.is they a problem?

And also what is the best lighting to have i have heard that 18/24 is better than 24/24 so could some please advice me on it.

thanks

18/24...??? so you mean 16/6? i personally like 18/6 because it builds stronger roots. 24/0 helps foliage growth but either work

Doesn't make much difference between 18/6 and 24/0 - choose whichever suits you. I've been doing this for 20 years and have used both depending on what I want to accomplish. The advantage of 24/0 is that you get to bloom quicker - that's it. As for 18/6 the argument is that the 6 hour sleep period is more natural and benefits the plant in a variety of ways. I generally go for 18/6 mostly because I don't like the lights running all the time; I like to know things are shut down while I'm sleeping - no fire worries etc. Besides, it only takes me a month to get to bloom on that schedule anyway. Your call, but don't sweat over it - it just doesn't matter much.

So i go for 18/24 ,,yes?

croniccrag said:

So i go for 18/24 ,,yes?

Click to expand...

I think you should judge which method to use by the lights you have. If you don't have the best lighting, you may want to use 24/0 because it will get you to the bloom stage quicker. If you have great lighting, then, take your pick - honestly, it doesn't really matter - it's personal choice.

Ativas said:

You seem to be more worried about WHAT you're using instead of HOW you're using them. I'll tell you what I think ...

If your grow area is 30 sq feet that's too big for a 400 watt. A 400w will cover a 4x4 area max. (Some people even say 3x3.) Trying to cover too big an area for the lighting you have is a common beginner mistake. You'll have to change this to contain your light into no more than 4x4 or your plants will not be receiving sufficient light. Keep the light 4 feet away when they are very young. As they get older you can get as close as 1 foot but ONLY if you have great ventilation. It's better to stay a little farther away if you have to. Heat damage is irreversible.

Since you're only using 400 watts, you can't use a normal dose of fertilizer. The recommendations on the bottle would be for a 1000 watt light. Use about 50% of the recommended amount as a main feeding once every couple weeks. Between times, use only 10% Over fertilizing is another common problem. You'll be amazed how well your plants do when you cut back.

Let the soil dry out completely between waterings. Get used to how light your containers are when dry so you can tell by lifting them. If you believe there may still be a little moisture in them, don't water yet - wait 'till they are totally dry. This is important to build a healthy, strong root system. It allows oxygen to get into the soil plus the roots will go searching for water. (But don't leave sit dry for more than 12 hours.)

The water should be at room temperature. The temperature of your grow room should be 72 - 77 optimally. If it starts climbing towards 85, do something about it before you get into trouble.

You need good ventilation and a fan blowing over your plants. The fan induces stronger root growth and will keep the temps down. Don't skip this part or you'll have heat damage in no time.

Those are the basics. Get out of that big space, water and feed properly without over-doing it and you should be fine. Good luck!

Click to expand...

+1
Great Post!

Really big thanks about my nutes i would of give them full dosage!
Still no sign of my babies cracking ive put them some where warmer now ,can it take longer than 5 days to crack a seed and are they still ok?

When i was talking about my dimensions of my grow room i may have got this wrong so i will start again its alarge cupboard with dimensions of lenth=5 ft width=4 ft hight 8 ft.

Will this be ok for a 400 watt hps.

Thanks again.

You'll be fine in that space with a 400 watt. It's a little large but not by much. If you haven't already, paint the inside of your cupboard flat white, or use mylar or another good reflective material (NOT aluminum foil) to maximize light reflectivity. Keep the light 3 to 4 feet away when the plants are young (4 feet for newborns) and gradually move it to within 1 foot (no closer) as they get older. Note that you can only go as close as 1 foot if you have good ventilation, otherwise, you'll cause heat damage.

As for your seeds, most often they will germinate within 5 days but they can certainly take longer - up to 2 weeks. Under normal circumstances you can usually guess that they aren't going to germinate if they haven't done so after a week, but that doesn't mean you should give up either. Wait the 2 weeks and see what happens.

thanks again ativas