New Grower Complete newbie Autoflowering lighting and watering question help needed.

[Ghostman420]

Hellow i am new to Autoflowers and ibeen researching but could never get a define answer. Say i just germed my seed and i plant it. Do igive full strength light before it sprouts out of dirt and is above soil. I am growing in a 4x4x6 closet. I have a 4 bulb 4ft t5 light and and 8 60 watts cfl. Do istart them with all lights on or do i work my up with lights. If yes how much light should give them before theysprout above soi. And when the plant is above ground how light should give should i turn them all on or what. Do i just put t5 on them till they grow abit and adddthe cfl on or do i just use a few cfl in the beginning. And watering so many people told me diffrent stuff i dont what to do.When i plant seed in pot do i pour water through a couple days before i put them in so all soil is wet and moist or doi put the seed in and only water around the seed till its bigger and needs water. And ho iknow how much to water it and when i really dont want to drowN my plant and dont want underwater. Any if is highly appreciated i am super new to this so any ifo would be great. Ihave dinafem blue cheese, auto seeds candy kush, barneys farm sweet tooth, and 3 free paradise seeds auto vertigo. Witch one you think would be beginner friendly. Witch would you do first. Thanks to anyone reading this its highly appreciated .

 

[tony mcstoney]

I always water my soil a bit the night before.not soggy then I plant seed n use a spray bottle on seed for few days till pops.never let dry out but never soaked...I baby em from a waterfall type watering....lights not sure I'm new I put under cfl right away after it sprouts

 

[tony mcstoney]

I got a vertigo freebie waiting hope yours does well

 

[Heavily Medicated]

You don't need or want all that light in the beginning. The only reason to have lights on before the plant emerges from the medium would be to keep temps up if needed. Young plants can have adverse reactions to excessive light right off and will "burn" if pushed too far. I would start off with a couple cfl's about 6-8 inches above the plant. As they grow, add more lighting. By the end of the 2nd week, put the t5 into action, about 3 inches off the top, watch for heat stress and raise the light if you see any. Once you move into flowering, hit her with everything you got with the t5 overhead and the cfls as side lights.

As for watering, I prep my pots about a week in advance by giving the pot a good soaking until runoff, then let it dry out for a week or so before I plant my germinated seed into the medium. I mark the location of the planted seed and place a small glass beaker over the spot. Every morning, I 'trickle" a very small amount of water around the outside of the beaker. After she emerges, I remove the glass but put it back over to protect the small seedling from getting splashed as I continue to trickle feed for another 3-4 days, then about the end of week 1, I go ahead and give a larger feeding all the way out to the rim of the pot. At about 10 days, I feed until runoff and continue feed until at least 15% of what you put in the top, comes out the bottom. Collect and dispose of the runoff. The runoff helps keep excess salts leached out of the medium. How often to feed/water depends on pot size, plant size and stage, type of medium, and other factors. After your first feed/water to runoff, lift the pot and remember about how it feels. That is your base, when the pot is considerably lighter, then it's time to water/feed. You will get the touch after a little while. This is basic stuff, without knowing what your pot size and medium are, it's the only thing I can give you. Super well drained medium is key with autoflowers. I use 2/3 promix, 1/3 perilite in 3 gallon pots and once the grow gets going, I take care of the chores every Tue and Fri, just because it works best into my schedule. Seems to work good for me.

Great luck with your grow, if you want to you can PM me with any questions. I will help where I can.

 

[Ghostman420]

You don't need or want all that light in the beginning. The only reason to have lights on before the plant emerges from the medium would be to keep temps up if needed. Young plants can have adverse reactions to excessive light right off and will "burn" if pushed too far. I would start off with a couple cfl's about 6-8 inches above the plant. As they grow, add more lighting. By the end of the 2nd week, put the t5 into action, about 3 inches off the top, watch for heat stress and raise the light if you see any. Once you move into flowering, hit her with everything you got with the t5 overhead and the cfls as side lights.

As for watering, I prep my pots about a week in advance by giving the pot a good soaking until runoff, then let it dry out for a week or so before I plant my germinated seed into the medium. I mark the location of the planted seed and place a small glass beaker over the spot. Every morning, I 'trickle" a very small amount of water around the outside of the beaker. After she emerges, I remove the glass but put it back over to protect the small seedling from getting splashed as I continue to trickle feed for another 3-4 days, then about the end of week 1, I go ahead and give a larger feeding all the way out to the rim of the pot. At about 10 days, I feed until runoff and continue feed until at least 15% of what you put in the top, comes out the bottom. Collect and dispose of the runoff. The runoff helps keep excess salts leached out of the medium. How often to feed/water depends on pot size, plant size and stage, type of medium, and other factors. After your first feed/water to runoff, lift the pot and remember about how it feels. That is your base, when the pot is considerably lighter, then it's time to water/feed. You will get the touch after a little while. This is basic stuff, without knowing what your pot size and medium are, it's the only thing I can give you. Super well drained medium is key with autoflowers. I use 2/3 promix, 1/3 perilite in 3 gallon pots and once the grow gets going, I take care of the chores every Tue and Fri, just because it works best into my schedule. Seems to work good for me.

Great luck with your grow, if you want to you can PM me with any questions. I will help where I can.

So I should only use a couple cfl lights in till they get bigger how many of them should I put on top. And someone told me to put them like 3 inches above because they don't get hot and aren't very strong lights. Do you think 2 cfl above each plant is good or more in the beggining. Watering say I soak the pot with soil in until the water runs out the day I start germinating you think it will dry out a lil and be safe to put sprouts in. Or do I just water the area I'm putting the seed in till it sprouts above ground. I am afraid I am gonna over water or under. As she grows do i just start watering outward each time until I reach the edge. This for my my aunt she is sick and during to get the best product and most so she has enough and don't have to worry about money to get. This is my first grow and any information will be highly appreciated and used. I am trying to learn as much as possible do you have any tips and tricks to grow better. Oh and my soil is 2 parts happy frog and 1 part perlite in 3 gallon pots

 

[Ghostman420]

I got a vertigo freebie waiting hope yours does well

Yea I got 3 free vertigo seeds from herbies with my order. Good luck I hope we both have a good grow and some amazing buds. Let me know how it goes and I'll tell you to once I start.

 

[Ghostman420]

I always water my soil a bit the night before.not soggy then I plant seed n use a spray bottle on seed for few days till pops.never let dry out but never soaked...I baby em from a waterfall type watering....lights not sure I'm new I put under cfl right away after it sprouts

So you soak the whole pot and soil the night before until water runs out the bottom or what. I am super new to this so I don't want to wreck them when I start because it's important that I don't because the for my aunt that's sick. She can't afford to buy all the time and it's the only thing that works. And when seed is in pot I should just spray a few sprays each day over top the seed and next to it. When it's time for me to give more water how much do I give and when do I know it's time to water. There in 3 gallon pots with 2 parts happy frog one part petlite. Anything you can tell me will a great help.

 

[Heavily Medicated]

I would use two of the cfls in a splitter, one set over each plant. If you get the light too close when young, they do not stretch enough. Once they start stretching, yes you can get very close with cfl. I have had leaf touching the cfl and it took days for leaf to burn. I think you are worrying too much about it, once the girl gets some roots down into that 3 gallon pot, you can let her be for several days with no need to water. You're using a true soil, so you do not want to feed for a couple weeks, just water. My promix is a soilless mix and has no nutes in it naturally, so I have to feed everything she needs. You would not be in too much trouble if your medium at planting was a little too moist. After about 10 days or so, I feed/water until runoff, so the entire pot is saturated and the runoff comes out the bottom. After the runoff subsides, you are at "field capacity", or the maximum amount of water the soil will hold. Lift the pot and remember the weight, when it gets light water.

 

[tony mcstoney]

I like the idea to put beaker over seedling to water around.... as for me n the spray bottle I do before lights come on.on just enough to keep moist put mister close to soil n pull trigger sloftly not to blast holes in soil I use ffhf n coco mix probably not OK wow another ??? I gotta ask.....

 

[Ghostman420]

I would use two of the cfls in a splitter, one set over each plant. If you get the light too close when young, they do not stretch enough. Once they start stretching, yes you can get very close with cfl. I have had leaf touching the cfl and it took days for leaf to burn. I think you are worrying too much about it, once the girl gets some roots down into that 3 gallon pot, you can let her be for several days with no need to water. You're using a true soil, so you do not want to feed for a couple weeks, just water. My promix is a soilless mix and has no nutes in it naturally, so I have to feed everything she needs. You would not be in too much trouble if your medium at planting was a little too moist. After about 10 days or so, I feed/water until runoff, so the entire pot is saturated and the runoff comes out the bottom. After the runoff subsides, you are at "field capacity", or the maximum amount of water the soil will hold. Lift the pot and remember the weight, when it gets light water.

Ok so just put 2 cfl over each plant at like six inches above so they search for light and grow. Yea I saw some plants were that had lights real close from the beginning and it stayed short not tall at all is that because it has enough light and don't have to stretch to look for light. Yea a person I know he grew a Russian deisel auto and had full strength light right away real close it was only like 14 inches it was tiny had alot of branches but didn't grow vertically and didn't grow to its potential. Again thanks for all the info it's been truly helpful I am trying to fill up my head with as much knowledge before I start so I know what to do. Around what time do you usually crank up the lights and put them all on. I was told that when it shows above ground to give as much light as possible for it to grow right he said the more light from the start the better. But I feel that would stunt them and keep them small like his Russian deisel.