My first grow, Advice welcome/also need help

[Oblivion-]

Hi, after re-doing my attic out ready to start growing and reading loads of info on hear i have put the seeds to sprout and all 5 have sprouted.
They were placed on a plate with paper on the bottom and on the top and then covered with a bowle and wrapped in Cling flim and place in warm dark place for 3-5 days untill they all split.
They went into Rock cubes for 2 days and now have been placed into larger pots last night as they were around 1 inch tall.

My set up consists of the following.
What Strain is it? there are various plants, 1 x Dr Ray skunk one
2 x Lowrider 2 auto flower
2 x Flyingdutchmen mix, (unknown, mixed pack of various strains)
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? What percentages? Unsure sorry
How Many Plants? 5 in total
Is it in Vegetative or Flowering Stage? It is in veg state at the moment as it is my first grow of many i hope.
If in Vegetative Stage... How Long? 2 months before any cuts will be made for clones
If in Flowering Stage... How Long? N/A at the moment
Indoor or Outdoor? Indoor
Soil or Hydro? Soil grow
Soil mix (the name is special mix) local bust and they left 200 bags ;-) its got small poly balls in.
Pots are around 7 gallon in size
Size (Wattage) of Light? How Many? 1 light 250w MH ligh on 18/6 for growing.
Is it Air Cooled? No but i have a fans ready to go into it.
Temperature of Room/Cabinet? not the warmest of places, ealed it up as much as i can (can do more if needed??)
PH of Medium or Reservoir? Tap water at the moment, Unchecked PH.
Any Pests? None at the moment.
How Often are you Watering? Unsure at the moment as they went in last night
Type and Strength of Fertilizers used? None at the moment.
Size or Square Footage of Room? Unsure, its quite a big space, i can stand up in the space so i would guess at 7ft high 7ft wide.



This is the enclosure.

Is my light to high? i read somewhere that it should be 2ft above or 24inches, it is 24inches from the top of the soil at the moment.any advice welcome.

The middle one which is in a rock cube has now been placed in a pot the same size as the others so there is 5 plants in there now.

They have all sprouted to around 1/2 - 1 inch high although the Skunk one is a little bigger as it was first to crack and the root was massive.
The two lowrider seeds will be going to the opposit side of the attic after 3 weeks where there is another room the same size. they have been under this light for 5 days max and seem to be doing well although looking at some of the other grows on hear i would like to get the light closer but am not sure if this is right?? Help please?

As you can see they are all around the same height

They have been sprouted 5 days up to now (5th day today)

Couple of questions if you dont mind.

Should the light be lowered? if so how low?
Should i have a fan on if so how long?
Watering once a day and they still feel damp so seem kind of happy with that, if this is wrong please advise me!
Will the temprature of the attic make much diffrence to the grow?

Going to start on a half strenth nutes once they are 3 inches high and thats about where i am up to. Any advice tips

I will update this journal as i go.

 

[Damagoman]

Should the light be lowered? if so how low?

If they start stretching for it.

Should i have a fan on if so how long?

I would, one to make them wiggle a little
It causes micro-fractures which heal and strengthen the main stem.

 

[Oblivion-]

Thanks for the reply, just looking at some of the other grow journals and the light is well low compaired to the 24 inches i have mine at. Some are very close although they are using diffrent bulbs.
Im guessing if they strech it will be blatant to see and ill need to lower them.

 

[Bee23]

If they start stretching for it.


I would, one to make them wiggle a little
It causes micro-fractures which heal and strengthen the main stem.

Thanks for the factoid. I wondered 'how' it strengthened but never thought to ask. Damagoman you rock!

 

[Dr. 215]

as stated above, fan is an excellent idea. For the watering a general guideline is to stick your pinky about an inch into the soil and if its very most or wet, dont water. If its very dry go ahead. the smaller the pot the more frequent you need to water. Works the other way as well. Good luck man. All it takes is hardwork and love.

 

[Oblivion-]

Thanks for the advice you two. I am getting a ph kit on the weekend to test the water and a bottle of ph + and PH -. Fan is also going in on the weekend and set on low and on the same 18/6 timer.

I know they have only been in these pots for a day or so but i am not noticing them growing much at all and i think the light might be to high (or i am expecting to much) LOL

I cant find any other grow journals where people have used a 250w MH light to see how far they have the light from the tops of the plants so i am kind of stuck.
Can anyone give me advice on the height i need to put the lights at or a rough idea as to how high you lot have your set ups at (be that 400w/600w etc) ?


I am about to start construction of the flowering room. Its going to take a while to clear and completly block of (like this one), There will be a fan in there and an outlet fan and one 250w sodium light. i am looking into getting a 400w light but these both 250w lights were free and an easy start.

Can lowriders be grown and flowered under a MH light on a 18/6 cycle?

 

[Damagoman]

Can lowriders be grown and flowered under a MH light on a 18/6 cycle?

Sure,
they grow and auto-flower so fast I don't think it matters much,
other than more wattage is always better.

 

[Oblivion-]

Right, so i do not need to flower these two lowriders under sodium lights so i think i will just keep them in the veg room and grow them like that.
Thanks for the input

 

[Be Irie]

Your best bet for the light is to get a little thermometer and set it on the top of the pot. Then drop the light down and stop when you have a temp you like.. High 70's low 80's. Just remember to keep the thermometer around the top of the plants once they start to grow.Aim one of the open sides of your reflector towards the opening and get your fan and blow it right out. Heat is usually the limiting factor on the light height. the closer it is the more lumens they get.

 

[Oblivion-]

Got a little yellow starting on the leaves , raised the light a couple of inches just incase. any advice? will get pictures tomorrow, camera is in work.

 

[McBudz]

Got a little yellow starting on the leaves , raised the light a couple of inches just incase. any advice? will get pictures tomorrow, camera is in work.

If it's the little round leaves that poped up first from the sprout(forget the technical name for them) it may be normal. If its the new pointy leaves then somethings up. Pics will help.

 

[Oblivion-]

Picture's hear are the best i can get sorry.
This is the size of them after 8 days under lights.

They dont seem to be growing much.
They are not been feed any nutes at the moment. Only water.
The yellow has started on 2 of the plants. It in only faint but i noticed it straight away when looking at them.

I just read that it could be down to over watering, Been away last night so gave them water before i went and again when i got back today as they seemed a little dry.
Not sure if you can see the yellow on the main leaves.

 

[McBudz]

It looks light green to me from the pics which is normal for new growth. It darkens up as it matures. Soil does look pretty wet in the pics though. Those little seedlings will never use up all that moisture. You should really just be pouring a little water in and around the seedling area and let it dry out a bit but no too much. As the seedling grows out and gets a more advanced root structure you can allow it to dry out more between waterings.

 

[Oblivion-]

Thanks very much for the reply. Will lay of the water for a day or two and see how they go.
Better to be safe than sorry,
Right chill out time

 

[McBudz]

from the looks of the soil lay off for 5 days or more. The soil should be dry for a few inches down from the surface by the time you should have to water again. It is very difficult for the roots to get absorb oxygen in soaked soil like that. O2 is just as import as the h20. If they don't get the o2 they will rot. And that is a huge bummer.

 

[four20friend]

I would add 1/4 to a half dose of seedling nutes when you do water again they should be ready. I am not a soil guy so mcbudz or another soil guy can recommend a range but I add nutes the second week for sure. try placing your hand under the light at the height of the tops of the plants if it gets warm under a minute raise the light if its cool lower it a little everyday. what is the fresh airflow like in your attic?

 

[Oblivion-]

The light has built in vents so doesnt get to hot , it is an industrial light from a warehouse so kind of all one built unit. Like this one

The temprature in the attic is farily cool. (winter hear)

I will get nutes on the weekend and start adding them to it. Again looking just now (lights just come on) they do not look like they have grown much at all in 24/48hrs. I swoped the buckets round not to give they yellow ones (if they are yellow) to much direct heat.

 

[Oblivion-]

Well I am a bit late getting back to this journal sorry, been away over the christmas break and left it up to my mate to come and water the plants.
What a shock I got when i looked earlier. (pictures to follow tomorrow once i work out how to do it)
They have all gained a good height and plenty of leaves have started. A couple of them are not as bushy as some of the others but they are getting there.
The two lowriders are doing great (i think) one is slightly thin on the steam so i am tempted to put a stick in to hod him upright ? (advice welcome?)
How deep should i put the stick and will that be enough?

Ill get some pictures sorted tomorrow for you to see how they are doing. As i have been away i have not trusted my mate to do the nutes so i will be strarting them tomorrow and will post the dosage up before i go ahead and do it.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas.

 

[Bee23]

Do you have fans blowing on them? Damagoman saved me when he told me that the fan creates tiny fractures in the stem. It ultimately strengthens it to support the forthcoming weight.

 

[Oblivion-]

Yes i have had 1 fan on them for 3-6hrs a day (manual), its only the one plant that is showing this problem and when i first done the seeds they were in rock cubes so they sat a little high in the soil pots when i watered them.