Newb help.

So I decided to start growing for personal use. I just wanted to do one plant, so I found some seeds over the past few months in my bags. Germinated 2 of them, and planted them both.

My Grow space is only 3.5x4x3.5. Im currently running a 250 HPS light, and both plants are in a mixed medium of soil/perlite. also, Both plants are in a medium to larger size pot with good drainage. I plan on keeping these smaller. (I really want to do LST.) I have a small fan blowing air around (with the door cracked about 6-8 inches)until I set up proper ventilation. (money is always the issue haha)

I guess all I'm really looking for is some quick pointers and advice. I'm sure I could find what i need searching the internet or these forums, but I've learned that I pick things up a bit faster when i hear other peoples stories.

Here are a couple pics of my plants so far. one week and 2 days since I planted them.

Hope you are patient. By planting your girls in larger final pots you guarantee yourself weeks of little or no growth aboveground. Seedlings only grow roots (pretty much) until the roots fill the pot and hit the inside rim of the pot. After the roots bottom out the plant itself will start to grow. That's why us pros transplant first into a smaller pot to cut down on the time waiting for roots to bottom out. I put seedlings into a 14-oz. solo cup until the plant is twice as tall as the cup is wide. The roots bottom out in 7-10 days and the greenery is right behind. You will waste about 2 weeks growing a rootball much larger than needed. So, start small and TP often. Good luck, BigSteve.

hey, thanks. I actually had them in Jiffy pots and read about how awful they were, freaked myself out, and transferred them to these. I'm pretty patient, so I'll wait this one out. But I will take your advice and start off in a smaller pot in the beginning for my next grow.

I personally like veggin' under T5HO's (florescents). The plants love 'em, low heat, and easy on the utility bill. Save the 250w HPS for flowering as that is what it's more suited for to begin with. This one is perfect to veg 2-3 plants and I have two of em. Nice thing is that there's free shipping and it comes with the right bulbs for veg:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ViaVolt-2-ft-4-Bulb-T5-High-Output-Copper-Fluorescent-Grow-Light-Fixture-V24/202985194#.Upkhy9JDuSo

lilroach said:

I personally like veggin' under T5HO's (florescents). The plants love 'em, low heat, and easy on the utility bill. Save the 250w HPS for flowering as that is what it's more suited for to begin with. This one is perfect to veg 2-3 plants and I have two of em. Nice thing is that there's free shipping and it comes with the right bulbs for veg:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ViaVolt-2-ft-4-Bulb-T5-High-Output-Copper-Fluorescent-Grow-Light-Fixture-V24/202985194#.Upkhy9JDuSo

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oh, awesome! thanks for this. For now, Im stuck with what i have seeing as money is kind of an issue. but i will snag this in the future

Hey if moneys tight fella go with what ya got, it'll do the job. When I do LST I have to start mine out in bigger pots after just a few weeks in a solo cup because I pin down the growth with coat hangers in a circle around the pot. It's pretty hard to do that and keep moving up in pot size all the time. If your patient they'll be fine.
( The biggest bitch though is putting a lot of veg time into something that could possibly turn male on ya )

bigsteve said:

Hope you are patient. By planting your girls in larger final pots you guarantee yourself weeks of little or no growth aboveground. Seedlings only grow roots (pretty much) until the roots fill the pot and hit the inside rim of the pot. After the roots bottom out the plant itself will start to grow. That's why us pros transplant first into a smaller pot to cut down on the time waiting for roots to bottom out. I put seedlings into a 14-oz. solo cup until the plant is twice as tall as the cup is wide. The roots bottom out in 7-10 days and the greenery is right behind. You will waste about 2 weeks growing a rootball much larger than needed. So, start small and TP often. Good luck, BigSteve.

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With all due respect sir, I tend to disagree.

Y do u disagree,jst askn cuz u gav no answer

Based on a seedling in the ground and the size it can get in 4 months before harvest time .

The "pro" is wrong. Can only grow roots until the pot fills up? Hah!

bigsteve said:

Hope you are patient. By planting your girls in larger final pots you guarantee yourself weeks of little or no growth aboveground. Seedlings only grow roots (pretty much) until the roots fill the pot and hit the inside rim of the pot. After the roots bottom out the plant itself will start to grow. That's why us pros transplant first into a smaller pot to cut down on the time waiting for roots to bottom out. I put seedlings into a 14-oz. solo cup until the plant is twice as tall as the cup is wide. The roots bottom out in 7-10 days and the greenery is right behind. You will waste about 2 weeks growing a rootball much larger than needed. So, start small and TP often. Good luck, BigSteve.

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This comment spurred on an experiment in my veg cab. I have five 2 week old plants and after reading this, I transplanted two into the 5 gal pots, and left the other three in the 1 gal pots. I'll watch these for the next few weeks to see if there's any difference in growth between these two groups.

MoreBudzPLZ said:

hey, thanks. I actually had them in Jiffy pots and read about how awful they were, freaked myself out, and transferred them to these. I'm pretty patient, so I'll wait this one out. But I will take your advice and start off in a smaller pot in the beginning for my next grow.

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I use Jiffy Pots all the time and feel they're great...especially for those of us that suck at transplanting.

bigsteve said:

Hope you are patient. By planting your girls in larger final pots you guarantee yourself weeks of little or no growth aboveground. Seedlings only grow roots (pretty much) until the roots fill the pot and hit the inside rim of the pot. After the roots bottom out the plant itself will start to grow. That's why us pros transplant first into a smaller pot to cut down on the time waiting for roots to bottom out. I put seedlings into a 14-oz. solo cup until the plant is twice as tall as the cup is wide. The roots bottom out in 7-10 days and the greenery is right behind. You will waste about 2 weeks growing a rootball much larger than needed. So, start small and TP often. Good luck, BigSteve.

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Like TWS I would like to respectfully disagree. When the plant becomes rootbound it is a signal due to space/nutrient limitations to divert production energy to vegetative growth and that is what makes them put on a growth spurt. Transplant shock is simply the plant redirecting its energy ( which requires a hormonal change ) to root growth now that the signal has changed and more room/nutrients are available. Once new root growth is established the plant then undergoes hormanal changes again to accommodate vegetative growth. All of this redirection takes unnecessary energy that should be used in proper sequence for better overall plant health and maximum total growth. Plants that are place in a properly sized pot from the beginning or that are transplanted in a timely manner LONG BEFORE they get rootbound will appear to grow slower than those that are rootbound initially. However over time the plants treated properly will develop a much stronger and healthier root system and they will surpass the other plants in vegetative growth. Much like the dreaded defoliation, you are trading an apparent ( but short term ) increase in growth for long term plant health and vigor AKA size which is what you are trying to achieve.

Roots before shoots after any transplant expext a week usually of extremely slow growth then a boom in upper shoot growth

Dannoo93