Hello all,
I'm on my first grow and I'm trying to learn as much as I can to be successful. I am currently growing 4 auto NL's under a 400W MH/HPS interchangable ballast. Previously the plants were under a 1000W MH (one of my beginner purchase mistakes). I moved the 400W closer to the plants as I read from the distance chart that almost as many lumens can be put into the plant that way with a less powerful light. The plants are growing but I feel they are somewhat small for their age (almost 4 weeks). I did repot them and afterwards read that this was a bad call for autos. Still I am very proud of what I have accomplished with what I have so far. Although mistakes tend to cost money, I am thankful for them because of the learning experience.
Anyway, I do have a few newbie questions for anyone willing to answer-
1) I recently found some seeds in a random bag of bud (not too high quality). I was wondering if it is possible to grow these (assuming they germinate) and get high quality bud off of them, simply by growing it better than the original grower? I realize seeds are very much based on genetics, but maybe this weed was good originally at one point and then just got old by the time I got a hold of it?
2) I have been strictly using the MH bulb on my MH/HPS ballast. I have read it is best to have a 2:1 light spectrum ratio depending on the stage of the plant. Would it be beneficial to switch in the HPS bulb once every 2 days, and have the MH in the rest of the time? Or should I just be using straight HPS for these autos?
3) I realize there's a calculator for this sort of thing, but I was just wondering how much people's electric bills went up with a 400W light.
That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading and for potential answers.
I'm on my first grow and I'm trying to learn as much as I can to be successful. I am currently growing 4 auto NL's under a 400W MH/HPS interchangable ballast. Previously the plants were under a 1000W MH (one of my beginner purchase mistakes). I moved the 400W closer to the plants as I read from the distance chart that almost as many lumens can be put into the plant that way with a less powerful light. The plants are growing but I feel they are somewhat small for their age (almost 4 weeks). I did repot them and afterwards read that this was a bad call for autos. Still I am very proud of what I have accomplished with what I have so far. Although mistakes tend to cost money, I am thankful for them because of the learning experience.
Anyway, I do have a few newbie questions for anyone willing to answer-
1) I recently found some seeds in a random bag of bud (not too high quality). I was wondering if it is possible to grow these (assuming they germinate) and get high quality bud off of them, simply by growing it better than the original grower? I realize seeds are very much based on genetics, but maybe this weed was good originally at one point and then just got old by the time I got a hold of it?
2) I have been strictly using the MH bulb on my MH/HPS ballast. I have read it is best to have a 2:1 light spectrum ratio depending on the stage of the plant. Would it be beneficial to switch in the HPS bulb once every 2 days, and have the MH in the rest of the time? Or should I just be using straight HPS for these autos?
3) I realize there's a calculator for this sort of thing, but I was just wondering how much people's electric bills went up with a 400W light.
That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for reading and for potential answers.
