100% new - First time growing - Never used before

M

Mictian

420 Member
Good evening ,

Have some White Widow arriving soon and have virgin questions.

Yes, I do have a green thumb but not near green enough for this forum!

A few quick questions as I don't want to overwhelm myself at the first attempt here.

I'm in the central prairies of Canada , weather, at best is unpredictable.

The germination part I have found plenty of information on and that won't be an issue.

I will be starting my plants indoors and will be moving them outside after chance of frost has left.

I also want to plant them into the ground after they are a suitable size and I see very little information on this.

1.Do these plants have to be hardened like other plants?

2.At this first stage is sunlight in a window suitable?

3.How long on average do these plants have to be outside to get a decent harvest? The risk of frost comes quickly around here.

4.Is planting directly into ground a no no?

I still have to research the and understand the different stages of plant growth.

All these questions is why I am here.
 
Welcome to the Forum my friend .....All right, let's get you started off correctly.

Yes, you can start your seeds in a sunny window. BUT......In order to optimize growth, some people use fluorescents in the seedling stage when the seed first emerges from the ground. Starting them off under a mild form of light is advisable, because even left fluorescent can cause light burn. The distance that your lights are from your plants is determined by each individual strain. As you read more about your strains, you will discover little tips that people have created in their journals specifically for this reason., Once ur girls big enough you will find people either use LEDs or MH (metal halide, due to light spectrum) for veg. 30 days is a basic minimum for a single plant, the longer you keep your veg State going, the bigger your girl will be. It is only when you flip to flower, that the bushiness stops and the stretch will commence. I'll let you research about stretch LOL.

Yes you can plant outside, I know the Prairies have some pretty good soil... Although I've never been there LOL. He will need to amend your soil before you can put your girl outside in a hole. There are many recipes but to make it simple I would look up something called CC mix or Clackamas coot. Kind soil is also a very good water only so I'll for the novice. It's just very cost-prohibitive here in Canada. It is manufactured in Michigan.
Basically, when you put your plants outside after mid May, they are kind of on their own but you can protect them the same way that you would protect a small tomato plant say for instance. We'll use the sun's energy to stay in vegetative state for the entire summer, and then how's late summer Falls and the Suns availability to the plant starts to diminish, it's internal clock will flip and she'll start to flower. This is a very crucial time, and as Canadian I like to think that something with a short flower time is best just due to the possibility of frost when fall does actually come. You might take 4 months to get to the flowering stage, you don't want to risk it when September rolls around. White Widow is a good choice, solid strain for a northern climate and a short flower time at 8 to 9 weeks.

That's a lot to do you for now, let me know if you have any other questions.
 
Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.....you can also tap on my latest grow in my signature to see what's up in my world.

Number 1 thing I was taught and it still holds true..... be patient. Nothing GOOD comes quickly.
 
Well, -24 this morning, definitely no hurry to put anything outside!

So ,I will go and find a suitable light for the germination/grow stage.

I will do my 10 plants of White Widow.

I also do have Orange Kush coming(10seeds) Not feminized I believe so I will have to separate these once they get planted outdoors is the stage I would assume to do this.

So, my next question, at the grow stage after germination:

I have been reading a lot of the light cycles but from my understanding they can be illuminated for 24 hours while growing to maximize size?
 
My other big concern is once they are moved outdoors and the transition from vegetative to flowering with natural cycles of the sun.The frost can be here before we are at a 12/12 natural cycle.

Would never make the spring cycle as we are beyond 12/12 outside and hit -24 last night.
 
Mictian said:
My other big concern is once they are moved outdoors and the transition from vegetative to flowering with natural cycles of the sun.The frost can be here before we are at a 12/12 natural cycle.

Would never make the spring cycle as we are beyond 12/12 outside and hit -24 last night.
Click to expand...


Shiver... Too cold for me. I'll stay inside, thank you very much.

An autoflower would probably be best for you as they are not tied to a 12/12 photoperiod.
 
Yeah same for us, temperature still in the negatives. I would not change anything outside until May long weekend at the earliest, using the same kind of principles as tomatoes.

I do a 24/0 light cycle with zero I'll effects in veg under a 400W MH.. 12/12 in flower w/ LEDs.
 
Mictian said:
My other big concern is once they are moved outdoors and the transition from vegetative to flowering with natural cycles of the sun.The frost can be here before we are at a 12/12 natural cycle.

Would never make the spring cycle as we are beyond 12/12 outside and hit -24 last night.
Click to expand...
i l;ive in Western Ma. and I've been planting in fabric bags, so I can bring them in, if necessary . I'm going with 15 gal this year. this lets me set them out any day the sun is shinning, and get a head start. otherwise, I'd have to wait till about June 1st. , to be safe. Bad storm, into the garage or shed. Good luck to you !!
 
Guy Cavallero said:
Yeah same for us, temperature still in the negatives. I would not change anything outside until May long weekend at the earliest, using the same kind of principles as tomatoes.

I do a 24/0 light cycle with zero I'll effects in veg under a 400W MH.. 12/12 in flower w/ LEDs.
Click to expand...

Ordered this yesterday...

300W LED Grow Light Panel Full Spectrum Medical Hydro Indoor Veg Flower Lamp | eBay

Not massive but for my experiment should do well, see what works for me then upgrade or increase size for next year.

Now onto supplements/fertilizers.

Lots to learn but this is actually very enjoyable.
 
Mictian said:
Ordered this yesterday...

300W LED Grow Light Panel Full Spectrum Medical Hydro Indoor Veg Flower Lamp | eBay

Not massive but for my experiment should do well, see what works for me then upgrade or increase size for next year.

Now onto supplements/fertilizers.

Lots to learn but this is actually very enjoyable.
Click to expand...
Same exact light as my first one.....still got it too. Never had an issue with it. Man they've come down in $$ though. M8ne was $300 a year ago.
 
Slowpuffer said:
i l;ive in Western Ma. and I've been planting in fabric bags, so I can bring them in, if necessary . I'm going with 15 gal this year. this lets me set them out any day the sun is shinning, and get a head start. otherwise, I'd have to wait till about June 1st. , to be safe. Bad storm, I can put them into the garage or shed. Good luck to you !!
Click to expand...
 
The light you got is great for a small area. It's actual power is only 124W±5%. That's good for about 8 - 12 sq ft, or 0.5 - 0.75 sq meters in veg. Always ignore the wattage stated in the titles, and dig down to get what it actually draws from the wall. For veg you will want about 10 - 15W / sq ft or 110 - 160W / sq meter. In flower this goes to 30 - 35W / sq ft or 325 - 375W / sq meter.

Don't get upset if you got caught in the hype. Your light still has its uses. I almost got caught myself. I bought an 1800W light that draws 300W from the wall for a 60cm X 120cm grow tent. I got a yield of .47gm / watt or 141gm or nearly 5oz from this setup. This is something to keep in mind for next year.
 
Old Salt said:
The light you got is great for a small area. It's actual power is only 124W±5%. That's good for about 8 - 12 sq ft, or 0.5 - 0.75 sq meters in veg. Always ignore the wattage stated in the titles, and dig down to get what it actually draws from the wall. For veg you will want about 10 - 15W / sq ft or 110 - 160W / sq meter. In flower this goes to 30 - 35W / sq ft or 325 - 375W ' sq meter.

Don't get upset if you got caught in the hype. Your light still has its uses. I almost got caught myself. I bought an 1800W light that draws 300W from the wall for a 60cm X 120cm grow tent. I got a yield of .47gm / watt or 141gm or nearly 5oz from this setup. This is something to keep in mind for next year.
Click to expand...


Actually, I built my grow box, it is 2' and 4' by 6' tall , I am using it to start my plants and I will raise 2-4 plants in it once my seedlings are out doors for the summer.

I think it will work out nicely.

test and trials.
 
Great plan......i too plan on using the sun's energy for 4-6 plants this summer.
 
Update time w/photos.

Having some issues, not sure if Ph or over watering or something all together different.

Here is the details...

The larger plants up front, WW AFF , sprouted seeds into soil on April 16th , no nutrients given , seedling starter soil
April 21 1/4 nutrients in water , May 4th full dose nutrients.

Smaller plants in rear are Orange Kush started 2 weeks later but took on same schedule for watering.

Will be going outdoors into ground in two weeks.

How say you on the curled up and drying leaves , as well as orange type spots.

they are getting 19/5 light , temp is 60 when lights off, as high as 77-78 with lights on.
humidity is 45-55%.
 

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