Best advice pros can give noobs: Laissez-faire

[orangehaze]

I love this community and I've read hundreds of grow journals to try to learn how best to grow a plant. I'm saddened by the fact that 9/10 noobs mess up and either severely stunt the growth of their plants or even kill them. I don't blame the pros for giving expert advise, but I wish you guys would spread the principles of KISS a bit more than you do and stear us more towards laissez-faire.

A common pattern among the noob grow journals is this:

1. germinate (with great difficulty)
2. transplant in a soil mixture that is packed with way too much additives
3. pros give advise on LST, FIM, topping and fertilizing
4. watch how plants suffer from nute-burn and over-watering.
5. watch how pros bring out the nute-burn chart trying to save noob's plant.
6. plants are stunted or dead, noob is sad and blames the strain
7. journal abandoned or completed but with a poor looking plant that yielded 5 g.

First grow should be about raising a healthy plant, not so much about high yields through sofisticated methods. The easiest way to raise a green, vigourous plant is IMHO to:

1. germinate the easiest way there is (24 h i glass of water then strait to soil)
2. use standard indoor soil mixed with perlite
3. water only when soil is dry
4. don't add nutes
5. don't LST
6. no, no, no, leave the nute bottles alone
7. fight the urge to LST
8. fight the urge to add nutes
9. watch how your plant makes it through veg without being stunted
10. time for 12/12. Sure, ok, give a little nute, I mean you came this far without falling down, you earned the right to start messing with nutes
11. watch how even a noob can produce great yields

Let me know how you feel about this.

 

[indica vet]

the main issue with new growers is they try and pump the hell out of their plants with stimulants and budd boosters etc,
IMHO when new to things start with simple systems that require little maintenance ,passive watering is a good starting point,
nutrients in some form are a must , just a simple hydro nutrient on its own and adjust ph ,keep temp and humidity optimal lights adjusted
and air flow and there should be minimal issues.
build from there

 

[orangehaze]

nutrients in some form are a must

Sure, but most good quality indoor soil has enough nutrients to last almost troughout the entire veg. And plants are less stunted by a lack of nutes compared to nute burns, wouldn't you say?

 

[orangehaze]

the main issue with new growers is they try and pump the hell out of their plants with stimulants and budd boosters etc

I agree, and I wish the pros would go out of their way to stear noobs away from that behaviour more than they currently do. Nip that behaviour in the bud, so to speak

 

[indica vet]

while using a soil with pre added nutrients is all good, the problem with it is that while it will prob be sufficient for veg period ,once flowering starts it will still be in the soil but not enough to support flowering ....this is were people start adding nutes "ba bow", adding nutes whilst original nutes are still present will cauase a miriad of issues as there is no way to determine which of the NPK are still present and in what amounts which in effect may overdose 'nute burn" the plants or lock out nutrients due to ph spiking.
i would use a neutral potting media ,no added nutes, start with 1/4 strenghth hydro nute for a week and gradually increase from there, no need for additives that boost veg ,just makes things complicated where ph is concerned for noobs.
use some training to control the plants keep envirioment optimal, switch to flower when ready use flower nutes only no bud booster until last 3 weeks of flower . that is as simple as it can be while still maintaing adequate control of your grow.
REMEMBER LESS IS BEST WHEN YOUR A NEWBIE , that way the elimination process is easier when problems are encountered.
and we ALL encounter problems , ive been growing 20 years and im a qualified horticulturist and i still run into problems lol
we make mistakes to learn by, the advice offered by the pro's in this community are to help us all get through this learning phase and then we can help the "noobs" with what we have learnt .
the advice they offer is to be commended , they dont have to share what has taken them many years to master but they do so it wont take you as long to become the master .
i wish sites like this were around when i started lol
my first grow was pure tin ass luck almost 1 pound dry from 2 plants under 600 watt hps
i cloned them and try to repeat with 2nd grow and it was a total disaster ,i did everything the same but it just didnt happen on 2nd grow
so i sought out some pro's at the local hydro shop and 'LEARNT' somethings from them. without them i would prob have given up on growing.
Listen to them , they are only trying to lessen the stress you experience when things go wrong