First grow, a few questions

[zach111]

Hey, im a bit new here , this is my first grow.
Im using a soil made at a local store, all I know is its sterilized, very fluffy, and the plant is doing very well in it so far!
I ordered big bloom, tiger bloom, and grow big (I think thats the names) but while im waiting for them to come I picked up some 20-20-20 fert from canadian tire, my plant is about 4 inches , only a few leaves on it yet, Its bag-seed and I have 3 CFL's on it , inside a container currently with no ventilation, im getting a fan tommorow.
Im wondering if I should start the fert now at 1/4 the instructions on the bottle, Any advice at all is appreciated, im getting some alluminum foil tommorow also to put on the sides of the container the plant is in.
I need some advice for when I have to transplant, Im nervous Ill damage the plant://
Thanks In advance!

 

[Hiker]

Hi Zach

Welcome to

You may not need to fertilize yet. The potting soil will have enough nutrients to last it for awhile.
The plant can feed itself from the 2 little roundish leaves, called cotyledons, until it gets to at least it's second set of real leaves. I tend to wait until I see signs that the plants are hungry, but I only grow mothers in soil/soiless.

Skip the foil. Paint the inside of the cabinet white. It will result in more reflected light.

Transplanting isn't anything to worry about. It's pretty straight forward. If the plants are root bound, it's almost easier. You just pull the entire root mass out of the old pot, then put it into the new pot. If it's root bound, I will cut off some of the bottom roots and slice the sides vertically a little to loosen things up. If the plant has not been in the pot too long, ie isn't root bound, then I just put the whole thing into the new pot. A lot of growers like to add some B vitamins as they help reduce the amount of shock the plant experiences. I use SuperThrive myself. It has vitamins and other stuff too.

You didn't mention how big the CFLs are or how big the grow space it. I've seen plenty of successful CFL grows. I think they are a great way to get started.

Good luck. Keep asking questions. There are lots of folks here that want to help make sure you successfully grow your own meds!