Watering/Lighting new plants (sorry Im a noob)

Looked in the 101 asked questions and could not find it, but I just planted 8 germinated seeds in 4 inch pots (had them in a wet towel in a jar turned sideways to keep them damp but ventilated and they sprouted about 1 inch tails each) I bought 6 cfl's which put out about 1700 lumen's each, planted them In MG African Violet potting soil with a little bit of vermiculite (all this based on forums reading). Number one does this all sound good? More importantly now that there in the pots when should I begin to water? And how often?

Secondly when do I add light, and how often? And also how far above the buried seeds? Sorry I am such a newbie but that's why Im asking you pros! I have taken pics and if all goes well I will start a grow journal, thanks for all your help fellas! Wish me luck on my new babies!

PS - I haven't been this excited about doing something like this in a long time, Im sure a lot of you fellas felt the same on your first grow huh?...lol

im not a pro however you should put the seed to the depth of your finger down to the first horizontal line in your finger like you were picking boogus lights acording to the pros 24hr i put mine to 18/6. i have a problem with over water over nute i think

View attachment 38027

View attachment 38028 my system from botanicare (micro-garden)

be careful when you top you nutes if you r hydro'n

check out my situation
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/34084-ebb-flow-cfl-lighting-need.html

You don't need the lights until the sprouts break through the soil.

For cfls, about 1-3 inches away from the plant. (when they do sprout anyways)

Studies show they grow faster under 24 hours light- but some people do prefer 16-18 hrs light.

Water so there is 10% runoff water, then don't water until the soil is dry 2 inches below the surface...

Hope this helps a bit, if you have any other questions feel free to post or pm me...

Thanks for the info so I will wait until they sprout until I add light. But when they do how much light should I add this is how much light I have available:

(note each bulb is 1700 lumen so paired its 3400 lumen each plug, and I have 3 plugs)

I know they look dim but in person they look bright as shit!

Pics to help:

And the watering more importantly because there potted now, but do I water the first day I pot them? How long do I wait? and how much do I give them? How often?

Sorry for so many questions I dont want to mess this up.

LOL... breath... go smoke a bowl. remember why you are doing this.. LOl... ok..

You can water right after you plant them or you can wait.. water them jus enough so a bit of water comes out of the bottom drainage holes. Don't water it again until the soil is dry two inches below the surface. If you're ever in doubt, WAIT! It's so much easier to overwater them than underwater them.

How many lights you want to put on them right away is up to you. I first put 2 bulbs (each bulb 42 watt/2700 lumens) per 4 sprouts and started upping it as they grew bigger.

Is that foil on the walls?

Yes the foil is taped on the as with double sided tape, I figured that would be a good idea to illuminate as much light as possible, why is that bad?

lol.. yea.. take the foil down.. flat white painted walls reflect more light onto your babies.. plus the foil can create hot spots and burn your babies..

I though florescent doesn't generate heat so all the foil is doing is reflecting the light...no?

If you're passionate about the foil, at least put it on the dull side. But the fluorescents do generate heat. just nothing compared to hps/mh systems. I dunno, personally I'd just have the green wall there and start looking for the polywrap gift wrap, esp wit the holidays.. def. up to you but thats just my advice..

Ok ill look into the polly stuff, but thanks a bunch for all your advise, just watered the little fuckers now

Your welcome, good luck! If you ever need anything else pm me. Peace..

Looks like you got everything under control to me. IMO I would back off the lights early. Get a feel for your room and the heat the lights are going to generate. Maybe start 12 inches and work your way down. Keep a close eye on temps and have a small fan to move the air and strengthen the little things.