Hey Everyone,
First of all I hope I'm posting this in the right thread. If not please feel free to remove.
Like in the title, I'm pretty new at indoor growing but not a total newbie. I've grown outdoors a half dozen times.
When I grew outdoors, it was in Northern Ontario, Canada with an older friend who taught me the little I know. We would germinate our seeds under fluorescent bulbs starting them in April, putting them outside on May 2-4 weekend and tend to them once a week all summer long.(100 regular seeds, hope for the best, removing males along the way) giving them lake water and miracle grow and no training methods. As most would call it guerilla gardening/farming.
Obviously throughout my time, I've come to learn how terrible everything Miracle Grow is for your plants hence why I bought everything mentioned below.
I've also done a lot of reading and research but sometimes it feels like it leaves me with more questions than answers. Due to my limited skills and experience, hydro feels a little out of my comfort zone so I am going with soil.
So I got a 24"x48"x60" grow tent with a 190 CFM inline fan with speed controller & carbon filter. The light I have, I bought slightly used from a friend, it has 4 Cree CXB3590 COB's with a 250w LED driver at 1400mA without a dimmer. Setup on 4"x 42" rail about 8" apart. I also have three 18" T5 fluorescent lights with a cheap plastic propagator for seedlings. I have some small pots (solo cup size) for seedlings, some 1/2 or 3/4 gallon (not sure) square pots and some 3 gallon pots that are deeper than they are wide. (all pots are plastic, I bought them before I started my research and saw fabric pots are better) I bought some seedling mix soil, some Fox Farm Happy Frog soil and some perlite to mix into the soil. I've got a timer, hygrometer, soil PH tester, water PH tester & water TDS/EC tester. I'm going to be using Reverse Osmosis water from Water Depot. I've also bought Remo Nutrients Supercharged kit. I've bought some feminized seeds but not auto flower as it somehow feels out of my comfort zone. I unfortunately didn't do a whole lot of research on the strains I bought so that's a bad decision on my part. I've spent a fair amount of money now and don't want to screw it up completely.
I haven't setup my tent, ventilation and light, I don't know how warm it will get in there yet. I'm waiting for the wife to finish clearing the space for it. So this is why I'm here.
So onto the questions... (I plan on only growing 1-2 plants to start so I don't waste seeds and too much soil etc. and practice training methods)
Are these lights not strong enough/too strong for that size tent? should I get a dimmer for them?
What distance should I have the light from the plants during veg and flower? My biggest worry!!!
Should I start them under the fluorescent for seedling and move them under the stronger lights after or should I do it all under the stronger lights?
Should I transplant them from the small to medium to larger pots or start with the large pots right away? I've read so many different opinions but usually with auto flowering plants.
Should the ventilation be on 24/7 or should it be on the timer with the lights?
With the tent only being 60" tall, how many weeks should I veg and which training technique should I use?
Are 3 gallon pots big enough for them or should I go bigger?
Are the plastic pots good enough or should I invest in fabric pots?
I've read with LED you will water less and use less nutes since they don't get as hot. If not watering as often and using less nutes, won't they grow smaller and less potent buds?
What happens if the lights make it too hot in the tent? is my ventilation system not strong enough?
Other than a small/medium oscillating fan and maybe a small humidifier, how else can I control heat & humidity?
I think I've got all the questions I can come up with. (I will edit if I think of any)
Sorry if it's a little long winded and if there are too many questions.
Again, I hope this is the right thread for this post and I'm sorry if it isn't and upsets anyone (yes I am Canadian and I'm apologizing! lol)
Thanks in advance for any advice and help that may come!
mustang_14282
First of all I hope I'm posting this in the right thread. If not please feel free to remove.
Like in the title, I'm pretty new at indoor growing but not a total newbie. I've grown outdoors a half dozen times.
When I grew outdoors, it was in Northern Ontario, Canada with an older friend who taught me the little I know. We would germinate our seeds under fluorescent bulbs starting them in April, putting them outside on May 2-4 weekend and tend to them once a week all summer long.(100 regular seeds, hope for the best, removing males along the way) giving them lake water and miracle grow and no training methods. As most would call it guerilla gardening/farming.
Obviously throughout my time, I've come to learn how terrible everything Miracle Grow is for your plants hence why I bought everything mentioned below.
I've also done a lot of reading and research but sometimes it feels like it leaves me with more questions than answers. Due to my limited skills and experience, hydro feels a little out of my comfort zone so I am going with soil.
So I got a 24"x48"x60" grow tent with a 190 CFM inline fan with speed controller & carbon filter. The light I have, I bought slightly used from a friend, it has 4 Cree CXB3590 COB's with a 250w LED driver at 1400mA without a dimmer. Setup on 4"x 42" rail about 8" apart. I also have three 18" T5 fluorescent lights with a cheap plastic propagator for seedlings. I have some small pots (solo cup size) for seedlings, some 1/2 or 3/4 gallon (not sure) square pots and some 3 gallon pots that are deeper than they are wide. (all pots are plastic, I bought them before I started my research and saw fabric pots are better) I bought some seedling mix soil, some Fox Farm Happy Frog soil and some perlite to mix into the soil. I've got a timer, hygrometer, soil PH tester, water PH tester & water TDS/EC tester. I'm going to be using Reverse Osmosis water from Water Depot. I've also bought Remo Nutrients Supercharged kit. I've bought some feminized seeds but not auto flower as it somehow feels out of my comfort zone. I unfortunately didn't do a whole lot of research on the strains I bought so that's a bad decision on my part. I've spent a fair amount of money now and don't want to screw it up completely.
I haven't setup my tent, ventilation and light, I don't know how warm it will get in there yet. I'm waiting for the wife to finish clearing the space for it. So this is why I'm here.
So onto the questions... (I plan on only growing 1-2 plants to start so I don't waste seeds and too much soil etc. and practice training methods)
Are these lights not strong enough/too strong for that size tent? should I get a dimmer for them?
What distance should I have the light from the plants during veg and flower? My biggest worry!!!
Should I start them under the fluorescent for seedling and move them under the stronger lights after or should I do it all under the stronger lights?
Should I transplant them from the small to medium to larger pots or start with the large pots right away? I've read so many different opinions but usually with auto flowering plants.
Should the ventilation be on 24/7 or should it be on the timer with the lights?
With the tent only being 60" tall, how many weeks should I veg and which training technique should I use?
Are 3 gallon pots big enough for them or should I go bigger?
Are the plastic pots good enough or should I invest in fabric pots?
I've read with LED you will water less and use less nutes since they don't get as hot. If not watering as often and using less nutes, won't they grow smaller and less potent buds?
What happens if the lights make it too hot in the tent? is my ventilation system not strong enough?
Other than a small/medium oscillating fan and maybe a small humidifier, how else can I control heat & humidity?
I think I've got all the questions I can come up with. (I will edit if I think of any)
Sorry if it's a little long winded and if there are too many questions.
Again, I hope this is the right thread for this post and I'm sorry if it isn't and upsets anyone (yes I am Canadian and I'm apologizing! lol)
Thanks in advance for any advice and help that may come!
mustang_14282
@mustang_14282
IN TAPE on hand just in case. 6" lower than you think you should, roll the stem crushing the inside 3 x the diameter of the stem in length between your forefinger and your thumb, then bend the branch over at that pinch. Bend to 90° from the stem or horizontal to the light. If you did not get a good enough interior crush the stem can break usually just on the top. If this happens just wrap with the grafting tape and all will be well. You may need to tie down the bent over top as many branches just lift themselves right back up. A great lesson to teach yourself on your first harvest or any harvest for that matter is to practice super cropping on branches you have harvested. You will get a good feel for what it is to crush and bend without the dread of "Killing a Cola".
