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[bhawk]

hey guys, bhawk here and i have decided to go with autoflowering for my first time grow. so far heres the set up i have a stealth 3ft tall x 2.5ft wide x 1ft deep. lights are forsure going to be a 150w hps system (and possibly a few cfls?) my main questions are
1. when to start/stop nutes
2. which strains are good for begginers
3. should i mix in a few cfls with a 150w hps system
thanks for you time and input.

 

[Muddy]

Welcome to AFN. I see a possible fatal flaw in your plan, you're not going to have enough vertical space. By the time you add up the height of the pot, size of the plants, space to the light, and the light itself you might have enough room. Unless you do a micro grow, where you intentionally keep your plants small, you're going to need at least 42, if not 48". Even a 150 watt HPS puts enough heat that they will burn the plants if too close. To stay within 36" you would be better off using all CFLs or some fluorescent tubes. They don't get as hot and you can get the plants a lot closer.

What nutes you use and when you feed them will depend to a degree on what kind of soil you are using. What were you thinking of?

 

[bhawk]

thanks muddy for your input, i can extend the cabinet about 6-10 in. i am going to transfourm i can just knock out the bottom and lower it. as for nutes/soil ive been hearing foxfarm soil and nutes are good and easy to follow, would some LST/bonsi or a sog it would keep them fairly small and to start with im going with probably just gonna go with cfls
if you have used cfls whats a good way to get the buds denser because i was readying you would get more fluffy /popcorn nuggets and less strechy

 

[Muddy]

I don't think you will regret making it a little taller. Fox Farms or General Organics are good nutrients for first time growers. Easy to use and give good results. Their Ocean Forest soil can be too hot for some strains. Most who are using it are mixing it 50/50 with Happy Frog. Things like LST and SCROG do help to keep the plants lower. They are considered advanced techniques and not always the best thing for new growers to try. For your first grow or two I'd just concentrate on sharpening your basic growing skills and become familiar with how a plant normally grows before attempting them. I'm an LED grower and do use some CFLs to supplement my veg area, but have not used them for flowering. I know other growers here are getting very good results with them. I'm sure they will see your thread and offer some opinions.

 

[bhawk]

soil to hot? what does that mean

 

[Muddy]

When a soil is very high in nutrients it is called a hot soil. OF contains both worm castings and bat guano. Depending on the strain you are growing it can been too much for tender seedlings and can stunt or even kill them.