LED - Multiple Autos - Soil - First Grow

2

2Star Princes

New Member
Hello Guys,
How is everyone doing today ? I want to welcome to my first grow attempt ! :welcome: :welcome:
I'm from California and I will be growing indoors at my house. This is my very first grow and I'm a total beginner at this guys. I hope You guys can help me to grow a healthy plant :thumb: So what I did is - I have ordered seeds from "SeedSupreme" and I have 3 strains coming, they are Auto Northern Lights, Auto Afghan Mass and Auto Sweet Soma. They should be arriving this week sometime soon :)

Than I asked my husband to order me stuff from Amazon, they are - 300W LED, PH Pen Tester, 3 Smart Pots 5-Gallon, General Hydroponics Ph control Kit and BioBizz Light-Mix soil. Guys like I said I'm brand new at this growing thingy and if there are experts out there, would You please be so kind and guide me through my grow :battingeyelashes: What I'm doing now is reading as much stuff as I can, learning and reading some more. What I wanted to ask is - I'm soooo confused about nutrients, some guys out there use a Lot and some don't and I read posts where guys used only one nutrient the whole time. I'm confused and don't know what to do, that's why I did not buy any nutrients at all yet.

I will be mixing BioBizz Light Mix soil with 30% Perlite. Do you guys have any other recommendations on what to buy ? What nutes or other stuff that I would need or what not ? Money is not a problem at all my hubby is paying for my hobby :) so if You guys tell me I should buy something to add, I will. I want my plants to be healthy and happy with Your's guys help :) I will be posting pictures once I get my stuff :) I'm trying to read as many journals as possible right now and trying to set up a schedule and to understand this whole thing, but it is not easy as I thought. With so many nutrients brands and soils, stress trainings etc. :circle-of-love: I have a laundry room where I'm thinking I will be growing my 3 plants, I was also thinking about getting a tent to set it up latter on as well. Any advice from all of You guys are very appreciated.
:thanks::thanks::thanks:

Bucket Size - 5 gallon
Medium - 70% BioBizz Light Mix Soil 30% Perlite
Lights - (1) 300w LED
Nutrients - None (Don't know what to buy or the schedule/how to use)
Strain(s) - Auto Northern Lights, Auto Afghan Mass, Auto Sweet Soma
# of Plants: 3
 
Hello Gentlemen,
Can anyone please help me, I read just now that for my organic soil mix I don't need to test pH , is that true ? Do I even need pH tester ? I'm confused :) Also is there anything else do I need to add to the soil mix or only BioBizz and perlite would work ? Please point me in the right direction, thank You :)
Any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated
 
Hello there! Id love to stick around and help when I can. A ph tester is always a good idea. Usually in an organic set up I add dolomite lime and this helps to keep your soil at the correct ph. As far as nutrients go, I have heard good things about biobizz but i know very little about them as I have never used them myself. Right now im using Roots Organic by Aurora Innovations in my organic set up. Its nice to see a new grower following the organic path, it is so much more rewarding than synthetics! You should check out my journal as well! Ill try to start including more details as to what im feeding my girls and other details I usually leave out. Like I said I will try my best to answer any questions you have and im sure there will be more growers joining the conversation soon. :welcome:
 
GreenMachinee
Thank U so much for all the info You provided :)
I got an email after I put this post up about my light from 420magazine. I'm planing to return my light now and buy Mars Hydro light. Can anyone please tell me if I should go with Mars Hydro II 700 or should I buy Mars Hydro Pro EPISTAR160. I have germinated 3 seeds and waiting on them. If money is not a problem should I get Pro 160 is that a better light since it new ? Seems like you guys are pros in these lights.
 
Ok Guys,
So I went ahead and bought mars hydro pro 160 should be in my house by end of this week. Right now I have 3 seeds in my 3gal pots under 300w LED witch I will be returning back once I get my Hydro lamp :) I will try posting pictures of my set up today for all of You to check out, so You guys can tell me what You think, I have couple fans in there and temps are staying between 72-75F. Will try to upload pictures tonight once I get home.
Very exited about my babies :) Thinking about getting BioBizz nutes in couple of weeks but affraid to burn them, someone please tell me schedule for nutes that would be awsome :)
 
Hi 2Star Princes

I grow in hydro now but I do have couple of years of growing in soil under my belt so here's my two cents...

- Go easy on the nutes in the beginning (first couple of weeks), 1/3 of the strength or even less, depending if the soil is pre-fertilized (slow release) or not. I would suggest to get non-fertilized soil, that way you control the feeding schedule from the very beginning.

- Get a root stimulator and enzymes, and apply from the very beginning. Stop with the root stimulator around week four, use enzymes until the end. They are very important, if not crucial and can really make a difference.

- Don't plant the babies straight in their final pots. Keep them in smaller pots untill the roots run out of space (around two to three weeks). You'll see when the roots start to curl around the inner pot walls - then transplant them to their final container (pot). This way the roots will explode and you will achieve a substantial root mass which is a solid foundation for a healthy grow. If you plant the seedlings in the big pot from the beginning, the roots get lazy, spread slowly and you get less root mass.

- I can't comment on LED lights, I always grow with HPS.

- PH is important. Always check PH. Organic or not. Check it before and after watering (runoff).

- I've also learned that almost any nutes are good nutes as long as you apply them properly. Get your lights, air flow and temperatures right and the rest will follow. Keep the nutes simple for your first grow - Grow, Bloom, Micro, eventually a bloom enhancer and of course, root stimulator and enzymes. That way you'll have a solid benchmark if you decide later to expand the palette with a wide variety of enhancers and additives.

- I would also suggest to start with one strain for your first grow, not three. Different strains have different needs and, as a novice grower, it would be easier to manage a single strain than multiple ones. But this is, by no means a must.

And check this thread about Smart Pots. I tend to agree with the OP: I think I'm done with Smart Pots

God, I wish I was in SF now :)


I wish you luck with your grow.

All the best.
 
Hi Croatsan :welcome:
Thank You so much for all the info you gave me. (a lot of info) I'm doing reading now and researching thanks for good advice. Can I ask you what is the best method to check run off water after I water it. And how important is that step ? Let's say I always put 6.5ph water inside, how important is to check runoff water ?
Also I read some journals that autoflowers don't like being reported and I was under impression to put sprouted seeds inside 3g pots.
:thanks:
 
I'd say is important to check your runoff, because it's a reliable indicator of how your water, fertilizer, and soil are interacting with each other. That's also how you measure the PH of your soil which is nearly impossible to measure any other way.

Take your water, preferably PH neutral (7.0), pour enough water through the soil to start dripping out the bottom and measure the PH of the runoff water.

If, for example, your PH comes out 6, that means your soil is slightly acidic. And vice versa, if it comes out, say, 8 - your soil is alkaline.

Your aim is around 6.3-6.8 for soil.

I wouldn't know about autoflowers, never grew them. But honestly, I doubt it.

All the best.
 
Hi There! I'm a new grower as well, so I understand how overwhelming it is! You are correct that you plant autos in their final pot. I would start the seedlings in something smaller (in my opinion) and then put in final pot once they break ground. There are a lot of auto experts on here and I am certainly not one of them! I started 4 autos and am not having as much success with them as I am the other photo period plants.

The 300w light you had was probably fine for seedlings.... just keep it 20-25" above the soil for the babies. The new light you just got I think is a stronger light, so you want to keep that REALLY high .... 30+" above seedlings. You will get a feel for the "sweet spot" in a short while.

Don't give the babies nutes for 2-3 weeks. Wait until they are in their final pot and see how they are doing before you shock them with anything.

Add pictures...it helps to see the progress.

I'm subbed to your grow, and if you have any questions just ask. There are a lot of people on this site who are very helpful!
 
Here are the promised pictures of my laundry room :thumb:
Now I had to switch 5Gal pots to 3Gal, 5's was way to big for my taste :) Is this enough soil ? Anything I'm missing ?
:cheertwo:

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You can grow those in your laundry room if it's light proof (meaning, no lights coming in from around the doors or windows or timers, or anything. The best advise I got to see if my room was lightproof (I grow in my close closet....clothes and all!), was to go in there at "lights out" and sit for 3-4 minutes. You will see things that need to be covered, and if you don't you are all set!

How are you going to hang your lights when they arrive?

Here's a photo of my closet set up -- and yes, those are my clothes hanging on the right!! Need to get a tent I think, but I'm becoming fond of this room!!

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Good news gentlemen ! Woke up this moring and two out of three seeds have shown their pretty faces :) So I'm marking as Day 1 for Northern Lights and Afghan Mass

Aug 2, day1
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Aug 3 it's been 2 days, seedling has made progress and happy. Gave water Ph 6.5 for the first time, on day 5 since I made the soil wet, it's been getting dried and need it h2O :) Also Got an awesome upgrade, Mars Pro light 160 I'm happy with it very much. Anyone can suggest how high LED has to be ? I have it at 34"
:thanks::thanks:
:420:
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