First Time Coco/CFL Grow Tips?

J

JerseySure

New Member
Hey Guys,
This will be my first venture with indoor growing, I've got a spot outdoors, and have some experience with natural in-the-earth growing, but as the thermometer drops below 0 outside and my bag is getting light, I figured I'd give this a go...
I've got a 2x3 closet, I plan on 2 plants, and am using unknown seeds i got awhile ago to start off with, so i can give any details as to their strain. I'm using botanicare CocoGro, with HG Cocos A&B as well as Drip Clean. I plan on possibly picking up MultiZen and Shooting Powder as per my local store's recomendation.
My lighting to start off with is 8 40watt (actual wattage, 150watt equivalent) putting out 2800 lumens each. Ive got 6 65k and 2 27k for the veg and the reverse for flowering. I'm not sure if that will be enough lighting for 2 plants, but can pick up more lights to fill in any shady areas as they get bigger.
I'm going to germinate next week, and will post some pics of setup once it's up and running, but as this is my first time any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.
According to my local store, i should add the A&B and Drip clean to every watering, as per instructed on the labels, and won't have to wash out the coco prior to growing as its a pretty good quality. He also gave me a bag of Growstone sample to put in the bottom of the pots as well as mix in with coco if wanted to aerate. Am I being led down a good path? Its a little overwhelming walking into one of those stores, when you're used to finding a good sunny spot and letting mother nature do most of the work for you.
Thanks in advance for any helpful tips!
 
Coco is a great medium, I've never used Drip Clean nor have I had to. I would rinse the coco, even bagged material could use a flush, I wouldn't risk a good start on some snake oil, when rinsing is easy and can only benefit your start. Depending upon how you plan on growing with coco will determine the need for grow rocks, perlite, or hydroton. If you are going with drain to waste then the grow rocks aren't necessary. If you are going hempy or using a drip tray like soil then throw some grow rocks in the bottom, it's preferred to not have the coco sitting in standing water.

You have enough light for veg, but as it is well proven the more light the more bud.

Best of luck with your grow.
 
Forgot one very important thing. Get some cal/mag, you may or may not need it during your grow, I don't use designer nutes so I need 5ml/gal of water.

With the coco prep, after rinsing soak in water with 10ml/gal cal/mag, this will charge the coco. Coco has an affinity mag.
 
I agree with the Cal/Mag added to your regimen. I have run a multitude of nutes in coco straight from the bag or brick with no issues. A good draining container is paramount. Learn the weight of the dry container and water when it is due based on weight. Do not wait for the plant to droop. Wont destroy it if it happens as you learn, but you want to avoid it. My preferred brand is Canna Coco. I also suggest adding silica as well, as the coco lacks it, as soil does not. The silica helps build a strong resilient plant structure to carry the weight of blooming.

No experience with DripClean so I cant comment there.
 
Thanks for the tips guys... My guy at the store has given me some facts as well. The house and garden coco a&b will give the plant enough cal/mag, but I can add 1/2 tsp of Epsom salt per gallon of h2o if I see signs in the leaves ofa deiciency. The drip clean is there to keep the soil clear of any salt buildup. That with a ph of 5.8 will be optimal to allow the roots to suck up all the notes including cal/mag that comes in the a&b. I'll definitely rinse out the coco prior to planting and will germinate the seeds this weekend, I'll keep ya posted
 
Closet26.jpg

so this is the setup i'm working with... currently have 8 bulbs, all 42 watt actual, 150 equivalent, 6 of them are 65k and 2 are 24k, got a computer fan running up to my attic, as these lights actually put out more heat than i woulda thought. Keep it around 80 degrees with the lights on, and i put a humidifer in there, it was only around 20% before, its about 45% now...
week_18.jpg

these are the 3 different gals about during the 1st week. first one germinated and broke the soil within 24 hours, i was very pleased with her. the other 2 took their time, and the third didnt develop the 2nd leaf, its just a yellow shriveled up nub, don't know if she's gonna make it, but i give them all plenty of love. Thoughts?
 
Closet_Week_2.jpg

Ya, the waiting is killing me haha. Its alot easier to forget about them when theyre outside and dont need to be taken care of so much, but these babies are growing much much faster than i'm used to. Theyre not as tall as I would expect yet, very bushy, no stretch at all. I dont know if its because of the strain (which is unknown) or because I'm able to keep the CFLs so close without burning, either way they look mostly healthy.
Week_210.jpg

I took these photos right as the lights came on. #3 survived and though shes a slow grower, i'm happy with her so far. #2 looked a little droopy this morning, could just be because the lights weren't on, or could i be doing something slightly wrong with her? #1s leaves are big and green, though they are curving up out towards the main vein, not flat at all, Is this a sign of anything I should be looking out for?

Thanks
 
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