New Grower newbie please help

[Joe Dirt]

Welcome to AFN, gdawg... got your pm and just finished reading through your thread. You can pretty much take anything Muddy suggests to the bank. Also, Jackal has recently been added to the staff as a new grower assistant, and you can take his advice with confidence. There are many fine growers among our membership but a new member might have difficulty sorting that out, which is why AFN has designated a few mods for the purpose of helping new growers along.

muddy should i not us liquid ph up/down with my soil and nutes???

Since Muddy is out of packet at the moment, I'll offer an assist. The pH in your OF and HF will stay withing a good range if you don't put anything in there that knocks it outta whack. As Muddy has said, you will not need a lot in the way of ferts with FoxFarm mixes. So, you want to make sure your water and fert mix is pH'd to around the mid 6's (6.3-6.8) before putting it into the soil. I use mixes and I pH my water (and fert mix when used) toward the low end (for N absorption) during veg and toward the high end (for Mg, Ca absorption) during flowering. Some pH charts for soil show Mg and Ca completely locked out below 6.5. That's just my personal preference and as long as you stay 6.3-6.8, your plants are gonna look great!

One important thing to know... never mix you ferts together directly... pour them into your water, one at a time. After you have mixed them into your water, take a pH reading and start amending your pH to acceptable levels.

 

[growdawg30'z]

thanks joe your the man!!!muddy has been a great help also...if you can see my pics with the root plugs and the t5 can i germ in them am i doing it right?i did not soak seeds or pre germ strait into the root plug and under my 24watt ho t5(i did pre soak my root plugs)

 

[Joe Dirt]

if you can see my pics with the root plugs and the t5 can i germ in them am i doing it right?i did not soak seeds or pre germ strait into the root plug and under my 24watt ho t5(i did pre soak my root plugs)

I don't see any moisture in the humi-dome. Not everyone will agree with this, and that's ok... but, I keep my humi-dome misted to the point that there are always visible droplets in the dome itself. When I used rooters, after moistening them initially, I liked to mist the outside just enough to keep them from drying out. When the plant popped out of the rooter, I took it out of the humi-dome and planted it in the pot. I don't use them anymore but there is certainly nothing wrong with them... strictly personal preference, and they can be pretty handy.

 

[growdawg30'z]

i just sprayed the dome so now there is moisture in the dome at all times thanks....once popped i shoud transplant directly to 3 gallon pots right?what do you use just cerious???.....Thanks for all the help its been almost 2 days and my seeds havent sprouted yet am i doing something wrong mabye?

 

[Joe Dirt]

once popped i shoud transplant directly to 3 gallon pots right?what do you use just cerious???

Yes, right into the soil but I would plant them into Happy Frog, not Ocean Forest. When I'm planting directly into a large pot, I fill the bag/pot with Ocean Forest. Then I hollow out an area in the middle with a 16-14oz beer cup and lightly pack the Ocean Forest around the cup and water the soil in well enough to saturate, eliminating any chance for air pockets (make sure it has a place to drain). After the Ocean Forest is watered in well and had a chance to settle, I gently twist the cup until I can carefully remove it from the soil. I then place Happy Frog in the hole and water it in until it has settled in, filling the hole. I place the seedling in the Happy Frog.

Some people mix HF and OF, I don't. Happy Frog is not particularly hot and seedlings do very well in it. Ocean Forest, on the other hand, is too hot to be ideal for seedlings. Also, I do add perlite (2 parts HF/OF to 1 part perlite). Both mixes seem heavy to me without the extra perlite.

 

[growdawg30'z]

new pic one of my auto ak's just sprouted thanks to muddy and joe dirt....i was so happy to see at least one head out of the ground!!!should i remove the humidity dome even tho the rest of my seeds have not sprouted??

 

[Joe Dirt]

should i remove the humidity dome even tho the rest of my seeds have not sprouted??

I would remove the plant and rooter from the humidome and plant them in whatever container you're going to grow in. Leave the other rooters on the humidome and keep it misted util they sprout, then remove the individual plant, until all have broken ground.

 

[growdawg30'z]

thanks im going to try your idea about the soils sound like a good idea...how long can i keep the seedlings under that 1 24watt t5???i have 400watt MH/HPS also???? should i have a light scedual at this point cause i have had my 24watt t5 on 24/7 all day no dark should i stay with this scedual untill i switch to MH/HPS PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

[Joe Dirt]

I would leave the seedlings under the t5 until the second set of true leaves. After that, I put them under my MH until they have shown sex for a week or so. I would have the MH about 2' (24") above the seedlings. Once they are hardened off (about the 4th node), I would start adjusting my HID for maximum light penetration, without being close enough to burn the plants. I go from 24/0 to 20/4 when I put them under the MH.

 

[growdawg30'z]

The first pic is of my new( AK47) sprout i just transplanted into 3gallon pot i took joe dirts advice and filled the pot with OF then took a 16oz can and stuck it in the middle hollowed out a hole and filled hole with LW and put my rapid root plug in the LW the guy at my hydro shop suggeste LW it so i went with it the other seedlings are just popping out today so i took the dome off....IS THIS RIGHT?? and when i transplant the others in a day or 2 that one 2ft 24watt doesent seem to be enough light for the 5 3 gallon pots???any help would greatly be appreacted and second pic is of the new sprout..