Indoor Novice advice

[BillyWu]

Hi there folks. I've just ordered my first grow set up :] Due to space restrictions, I can only grow 1 plant at a time.

I'm reading about the correct methods to look after the plant, but I'm a little bit confused on the vast amount of nutrients and growth stimulants available. Would anyone be able to advise me on some please?

Ideally, I'm looking to use as much as safely possible to grow my plant and I'm not sure what I'm going to need for it's whole life cycle. Here are the details of it:

Grow tent: Secret Jardin Dark room pro DR60 II
Strain: "Think Different" autoflowering, by Dutch Passion
Lighting: 250W HPS (should I go with a 350W/400W instead for a bigger yield?)
Filter/fan: 4" / 100mm RVK Fan, Rhino Pro Carbon Filter
Medium: Soil in an 8 litre pot

 

[ACV]

A simple veg and bloom combo. I used fox farm 3 part by their directions and did good. The macro nutrient n, p and k are pretty simiar, look for a nutrient that has micro nutrients. Almost any organic nutes should have them.

 

[madmable]

there are many different nutes on the market, ive used many and now feed heavy tomato feed, tho i dont reccomend this untill your a little used to watching your plants and knowing them, ignore the veg feeds for autos, go for a bloom, there are many on the market, id always feed from week 3-4 at approx half reccomended strength to start, then upping if no burn, finishing last 2 weeks on water alone to flush! look for a high pkn ratio in your feed 12/12/12 is good tho this high will be hard to find, phosphates and nitrogen need to be highest if possible! as i say after years of trials i now use 299 tomato feed in double dose as its only 4/4/4 but it works for me! your plant will inform you what she needs if you watch and learn, hope this helps! id only use 1 feed for its whole life as autos have no veg period, just seedling then flower, so just water then bloom feed, or fruiting feeds!

 

[BillyWu]

Righty, not a lot of that makes sense to me I'm afraid :] Thanks though. Could you perhaps get me a link or two to some good nutrients? I'm also looking for some kind of root stimulant to enhance it's growth in the early stages, could you advise me on that?

Finally, I'm going to be using a 250W HPS light. If I went to a 300W/350W/400W, would it enhance growth or be too powerful? I want to grow the biggest plant possible :]

 

[bgrt]

i disagree on the no veg nutes and i think most would.. maybe you have experience that has worked for you but on the whole id say autos need veg and they do have a veg period.... maybe your soil is N rich and you dont need to.
they continue to grow in veg while showing pistles and feed should be given to accommodate this before switching to bloom once vertical growth stops or combine the two near that point in sensible amounts.


i have used canna with decent results, trying general hydroponics 3 part and though they have too many products advanced nutrients are supposed to be good. biobizz if youre going organic though i havent much experience with many brands atall.

basically you want a veg nute and a bloom nute some make 3 part combos that you use in different amounts during the grow others will have one formulated for veg and one for bloom usually called that or similar (grow etc.)

if you cant find any good brands around veg nutes will usually be higher in N while bloom will be higher in P & K. all nutes in gardening shops should have an N/P/K ratio on the back.
as a rule of thumb people usually have bad results with miracle grow.
also autos are more nute sensitive as a rule some arent but you should start off at half strength atleast just to not kill them.

that tent is small enough id say that the 250 hps would be good in that theres a lumen per foot squared formula.

WxD% total lumens, i think around 5000+ per foot squared is what people say is good for flowering but good results can be had without reaching that just its better if you can get that much or better.
also controlling heat can be a big issue so with the 250 you might be playing it safe in that respect.
:thumbs:
good luck

 

[ripster]

http://www.greners.com/i/nutrients-additives/brand/general-organics.html

I use these. All except the Diamond Back...You can go by the directions but watch for leaf tip burn. It can happen with organics...These are very simple to use...

 

[BillyWu]

Alright thanks guys :] I'm about to order my light, I found this: http://www.growsosimple.co.uk/hps-grow-light-complete-kit-250-watt/
Could someone advise me on it please? It seems like it's got what I need, besides the timer which I'll buy with it. Wondering if I could get it anywhere for cheaper?

Ripster, I wanted to buy this: http://www.greners.com/i/nutrients-additives/brand/general-organics/go-box-starter-kit.html
But then I saw it's another $80 to get it shipped to where I live :[ Any other places you could recommend please?

 

[bgrt]

might not matter for a 250 watt but i think you need special timers. this might be wrong but i read about regular ones arent meant to take so much power and sometimes they fuse internally on either on or off so make sure you get a good one or atleast one meant for growing not just out of the pound shop.

http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk...es/Maxiswitch-2%2dWay-Light-Controller-(10A)/
i got this one myself. good site too very quick.

whenever i see it discussed people dont see much difference in brands of hps maybe only in noise, rf interferance etc.
that one looks like itll get the job done anyway.

nutes look pretty good, though maybe not enough of them but i dont know how much you need to use especially in organics. i would say either way they would do you a while and you couldalways just buy more if needed anyway.

 

[Mr Piggy]

Hey there billy, I'd stick with that 250w light. Putting anything larger than that in that tent would be stuffing ten pounds of shit in a five pound sack. You'd be struggling with temps the whole time. As far as nutes, are you looking to use organics or synthetics? I know it can all be confusing but don't let it intimidate you. There's lots of extras to put in to help your grow but all you really need are a base set of three nutes.

A vege nutrient for when your plants are vegetating and in early flower.
A bloom nutrient for transitioning to flower and the whole flower period
And a Micro nutrient to provide all the background vitamins and minerals your plant needs.

All nutrient companies have feeding schedules for their products for you to follow. The general rule with cannabis is to start feeding at a quarter strength what is says on the chart and work your way up to half or three quarters depending on how hungry your plant tells you it is. Don't worry, you'll learn to read your girls. They're one of the only things in your life that won't lie to you.
Here's a beginners synthetic nute lineup that people have good luck with.
http://www.greners.com/i/nutrients-additives/brand/foxfarm/nutrient-trio-soil-formula-3-quarts.html

Ripster already put up a link to the general organics line, people get great results with that as well.

If you want something that's short bus simple there's the flora nova line. I've seen people grow monsters with this, but you have to shake the bottle for five plus minutes to get the sludge mixed up. no, really. It's also a synthetic. The great thing about it is there are only two different bottles. Vege and bloom.
http://www.greners.com/i/nutrients-additives/brand/general-hydroponics/floranova-grow.html

Personally I use organics and make what is called guano or compost tea. I put purified water into a bucket with a bubbling air stone for a fish tank and add bat guano, earth worm castings, kelp and molasses. I let it bubble for a day or so and it gets all foamy with all the microbes going crazy. I use that to water my plants and get great tasting organic results.

Whew, I didn't mean to go off like that, I just know how confusing it can all be. This freshly cured organic white widow doesn't help either :smoke:
Good luck and hope you grow a monster!

 

[BillyWu]

That was actually very helpful Piggy, told me quite a lot I didn't know there :]
So I guess I'd be going with Veg and Bloom, like you suggested, though I also want to buy a root stimulant for the earliest stages. Big roots, big plant :]

Is it generally better to go with synthetic or organic? I'm growing in soil, unless someone is experienced enough to help me grow my way through another medium.