Howdy - Novice Grower - Any advice Awesome

[PeeWee]

Good day.

From Northern Suburbs, CPT.

Really interested in growing my first plant.

 

I know it is not the best time of year... tried twice almost got it the second time.
 

I learned a bit along the way... first seed did not germinate successfully (I was a bit inpatient).

 

Second seed I tried was a Autoflower Feminized... started in a 260ml container... wanted to transplant to 10/12 liter container. Plant looked good bit was very small after 2 weeks (after I put it into soil).

- kept it indoors for the first 10 days (window sill)

I want to try again... going to plant directly into “Final Pot” (after germination).

 

Soil Medium: The Grow Station
- Organic Living Soil

Is this soil ok for the Autoflower?

 

Water +- 6 PH

- First two weeks only water... not allot

 

Bought this for nutrients:

Wonder

- All purpose plant food

- Started with half recommended dosage after two weeks in soil

Transplant seemed to kill the plant

- leaves yellow

- I know it could be one of 10 things but yeah I think it was the transplant.

 

Seed I want to use next:

-  Bruce Banner Auto Fem
 

 

Any advice will be awesome.

[Prom]

Hi PeeWee

Hope you fine the right answers 

Soil.. looks good. Never used that brand, but contains what it should.

Ph, good...

First two weeks only water, not a lot.. keep it well moist all the time. so better to soak it and then let drip off well, then keeping it on the dry side. Nothing against some nutes from the start. You get special fertilizer for root development. 

Your nutes don't look to bad for the veg part.. so in your "auto life" first 3-5 weeks, depending on strain. But for flowering, you have to bring potassium and phosphorus up and Nitrogen a bit down. So look further into fertilizer 

Transplanting.. knowing when, is a bit the key ^^ The rule is rather simple, when you have a plant in a pot, as soon as the leaves reach the outside of the pot, is time for a new home.. with Autos, yes, helps if you put the seed directly in the final pot. 

Watering rule with hemp is also rather simple.. it wants dry and wet phases. So when you wet it, wet it well, but never let the run off stand in the saucer for longer as 5 hours, best, no saucer and raised above the ground. If the water can easy run off, swamping will not be your issue. Young plants like it moist.. also high air humidity helps. Never let them drop below 10C degrees or the plant will become unhappy to suicidal 

 

Due to the short life of an Autoflower, any mistake you do, will cut your yield substantially, first steps with a higher reward at the end you get with a feminized seed, just bit wrong time for that right now. 

But in any case.. good luck with your next grow

 

[SkunkPharm]

If it was me I would not over complicate your grow. The soil looks good. I would give no nutrients. This soil should have enough in it. I would maybe read up on compost tea's and make it 2-3 times just to give the microbial life in the soil a boost. The plsnt should do the rest. My philosophy is to stary with a good soil and then Kiss. Keep it simple stupid. Just dont over water it.

[PsyCLown]

Firstly I would not recommend you use an autoflower, although if you have to grow outdoors since we're going into winter perhaps it does not make much of a difference as a photoperiod would start to flower early on too.

 

I do not know that soil, although it's possible that the soil is too hot (too many nutes in the soil) for the seedlings if they're dieing or the PH could be an issue. Such problems are not uncommon when it comes to soil.

The cold in winter will slow down the plan'ts growth, another reason an autoflower isn't ideal as regardless of size it will start to flower somewhere between 3 and 5 weeks so yield may be reduced heavily.

I personally like to use nutes, the one you have is not something I would use but I am sure it will work alright during the veg part of the grow - as others have mentioned you will need a different nute when the plant is in flower.

With watering, do not over water and do not underwater. Basically water the plant but give it time to dry out a bit - do not keep the soil wet all the time, in 20L fabric pots in flower I tend to water every 3 to 4 days. When the plants are smaller they drink less and therefore you will probably water less often. You'll have to guage it, I like the top layer to dry out a bit before I water again and this worked well for me.

 

Get started and keep us posted on your progress, if you are unsure of anything ask and we can guide you through the process of your first successful grow.

[PeeWee]

Good day.

My new Autoflower now Germinated and ready to plant.

I was thinking to try grow indoors as it is a bit cold in the evenings.

What I read so far... per square foot using CFL bulbs you need 50watt per plant.

Will 4 of these be any good or waste of time? Only bulbs I can get now.

[PeeWee]

Germination went quick in 3 days.

Planted in Soil just now.

Can I give it the odd 7-8 hours sun outside during the day and give it a additional 8 hours artificial CFL light at night?

 

 

[420SA]

1 hour ago, PeeWee said:

Good day.

My new Autoflower now Germinated and ready to plant.

I was thinking to try grow indoors as it is a bit cold in the evenings.

What I read so far... per square foot using CFL bulbs you need 50watt per plant.

Will 4 of these be any good or waste of time? Only bulbs I can get now.

Usually 20w is a suggested minimum but even that is very weak. For the first 2 weeks, 2 of those bulbs will see you through but be sure to keep the bulbs very close to the seedling, about 10cm above it. All this being said, you are sacrificing time and with an auto you don't have much time to sacrifice. 

What's your budget? Gthydro have just been deemed an essential service (quite funny that) and are now doing online orders and deliveries during the shutdown. If you want to start growing indoors you're going to need to invest in some decent lighting. With that auto, the sooner the better

[PeeWee]

1 hour ago, 420SA said:

Usually 20w is a suggested minimum but even that is very weak. For the first 2 weeks, 2 of those bulbs will see you through but be sure to keep the bulbs very close to the seedling, about 10cm above it. All this being said, you are sacrificing time and with an auto you don't have much time to sacrifice. 

What's your budget? Gthydro have just been deemed an essential service (quite funny that) and are now doing online orders and deliveries during the shutdown. If you want to start growing indoors you're going to need to invest in some decent lighting. With that auto, the sooner the better

Hi thanks for the advice.

 

So it is one of the following options?

Cfl or LED...

The two CFL bulbs as shown in picture and the refelector

Or just that one LED light.

Basically 1k cheaper to go the CFL Route... and a bit “more” of a mission.

Gthydro... how are their prices and products compared to other suppliers?

 

[PsyCLown]

I wouldn't even waste my time or money with the CFL's

 

That LED light isn't the best but would be way better than the CFL's, I wouldn't suggest growing more than 1 plant at a time under that light.

GT Hydro, their pricing often is a bit higher than other places but for the most part pricing is much of a muchness and right now during the lockdown you are not spoilt for choice either.

 

With autoflowers, anything which negatively affects the plants growth early on will negatively affect your yield and can do so in a drastic way. Lighting on an auto can be the difference between 20g dry and 80g dry for an autoflower, or even a delay in getting good lighting onto a plant.... Autoflowers really are not a good way for beginners to learn how to grow as it does not offer any room for error. Any errors will e felt in the overall plants size and yield.

[PeeWee]

24 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

I wouldn't even waste my time or money with the CFL's

 

That LED light isn't the best but would be way better than the CFL's, I wouldn't suggest growing more than 1 plant at a time under that light.

GT Hydro, their pricing often is a bit higher than other places but for the most part pricing is much of a muchness and right now during the lockdown you are not spoilt for choice either.

 

With autoflowers, anything which negatively affects the plants growth early on will negatively affect your yield and can do so in a drastic way. Lighting on an auto can be the difference between 20g dry and 80g dry for an autoflower, or even a delay in getting good lighting onto a plant.... Autoflowers really are not a good way for beginners to learn how to grow as it does not offer any room for error. Any errors will e felt in the overall plants size and yield.

Ok thanks.

I will then rather wait a bit and try again.

I have a few seeds.

 

Something like this better?

Going to grow small scale... but would like something proper for two plants.

 

Thanks for the advice.

[PeeWee]

[PeeWee]

This one also no good?

Giving it the 8-9 hours natural sunlight during the day.

 

Want to give additional 8 hours at night with that CFL...

 

 

[PsyCLown]

On 4/14/2020 at 1:20 PM, PeeWee said:

Ok thanks.

I will then rather wait a bit and try again.

I have a few seeds.

 

Something like this better?

Going to grow small scale... but would like something proper for two plants.

 

Thanks for the advice.

These diodes are better and I feel they will do a better job than that other light from GT Hydro.

Ideally I'd suggest a Quantum board with 2x QB288's on it for 2 plants inside an 80 x 80 tent. @Ill_Evan actually has a setup like this, perhaps take a look at his grow diary to get an idea of how well it works.

 

 

I do not recommend ANY CFL as they are just extremely inefficient when it comes to growing cannabis.

To put it into perspective, a single 400w CFL will perform worse than the above QTM 150 LED light which only draws 75W. 

 

Also with CFL's, having 10x 10W CFL's vs 1x 100W makes a big difference. The 1x 100W will perform significantly better than 10x 10W, heck the 1x 100W will even perform better than 12x 10W.

If you do want to go for a CFL, you really need to get a single large one. I would recommend a minimum of 250W but you are really wasting your time, money and electricity. I personally would not use a CFL for anything more than seedlings and even then LED would still be better and more efficient. I would never purchase a CFL light for growing cannabis.

 

The difference between that CFL you have a picture of compared to the QTM 150 is like comparing an old Opel Corsa to a new Ford Focus ST with a 2L Turbo. Sure they both provide light (they both drive and get you places), but if it is a race taking a stock 1999 Opel Corsa to a race against a Focus ST is a waste of time.

[420SA]

That CFL you were holding there was what I used for my first ever grow but it only lasted me through veg and then bought an HPS setup for flower. For veg that CFL will do fine (for one plant) but as Psyclown says CFL is highly inefficient with their worst attribute being poor penetration. You have to keep the bulb as close as possible to the plant for it to be of any worth. It's just kak, just stay away from CFL. Take it from another CFL victim. So many growers starting out start with CFL and every single one of them regrets it. Don't be another statistic 

It depends on your budget though! If all you can afford right now is that bulb and you wanna get going ASAP then get the bulb, your plant will grow and it won't suffer.... otherwise don't...

[PeeWee]

41 minutes ago, 420SA said:

That CFL you were holding there was what I used for my first ever grow but it only lasted me through veg and then bought an HPS setup for flower. For veg that CFL will do fine (for one plant) but as Psyclown says CFL is highly inefficient with their worst attribute being poor penetration. You have to keep the bulb as close as possible to the plant for it to be of any worth. It's just kak, just stay away from CFL. Take it from another CFL victim. So many growers starting out start with CFL and every single one of them regrets it. Don't be another statistic 

It depends on your budget though! If all you can afford right now is that bulb and you wanna get going ASAP then get the bulb, your plant will grow and it won't suffer.... otherwise don't...

Cool cool cool

Ol then I’ll pass on that CFL Route.

 

Say I want to grow one or two plants... what LED Full Spectrum must I buy? For +-2k... can pay a bit more.

 

Good Quality

[PsyCLown]

17 hours ago, PeeWee said:

Cool cool cool

Ol then I’ll pass on that CFL Route.

 

Say I want to grow one or two plants... what LED Full Spectrum must I buy? For +-2k... can pay a bit more.

 

Good Quality

Getting quality LED's locally for that price is difficult, even importing some quality stuff right now works out a bit pricey.

 

I saw @Cannabist was looking at doing some DIY LED kits, not sure on his pricing but that may be a suitable option.

[PeeWee]

20 hours ago, PsyCLown said:

Getting quality LED's locally for that price is difficult, even importing some quality stuff right now works out a bit pricey.

 

I saw @Cannabist was looking at doing some DIY LED kits, not sure on his pricing but that may be a suitable option.

Ok thanks.

 

So I must buy a Full Spectrum LED Quantum Board QB288... I saw a 125 watt one for R2990.
 

Will that work for one plant in a 80x80X160 grow tent... then later I can add another light?

Thanks

[PsyCLown]

2 minutes ago, PeeWee said:

Ok thanks.

 

So I must buy a Full Spectrum LED Quantum Board QB288... I saw a 125 watt one for R2990.
 

Will that work for one plant in a 80x80X160 grow tent... then later I can add another light?

Thanks

Yeah, should be alright for a single plant in a smaller tent like that.

Do you know which LED's are on that Quantum Board?

 

You do not have to get a Quantum Board, you can try get some LED strips although most of the time with strips you need to build your own light.

You could also go HID but I personally prefer LED over HID.

[Cannabist]

For a 130w, would go for under 2k. I need to check prices after the rand took a dump.

[PeeWee]

2 hours ago, PsyCLown said:

Yeah, should be alright for a single plant in a smaller tent like that.

Do you know which LED's are on that Quantum Board?

 

You do not have to get a Quantum Board, you can try get some LED strips although most of the time with strips you need to build your own light.

You could also go HID but I personally prefer LED over HID.

Samsung LED LM301 B | 1 x QB288 V8 T

[PsyCLown]

Samsung LED LM301 B | 1 x QB288 V8 T

That'll work well. Pretty much the same as what I have, awesome lights!!

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[Bennie]

On 4/18/2020 at 12:25 PM, PeeWee said:

Samsung LED LM301 B | 1 x QB288 V8 T

I have a Monster Bruce Banner auto I'm currently growing under one of the 125W GreenLeaf QB, I got 5 MBB seeds from @Cannabist. It draws 109Watt at the wall. I normally grow hydroponic, but with this one  I got a 40 liter material bag and some Just Cannabis Craft Cannabis Coco-peat Soil. The nice thing is that I just give it rain water every two to three days and it's growing beautiful.  

[Zah]

Hi buddy, welcome, I am also a new grower and have I am finishing up my first grow, I did a diy led setup which costed me around R2500 that produced a light that pulls 144 true watts that my plants are thriving in. I ordered the components( which is the Samsung led strips and a mean well driver to power them) there are many diy threads for lights as well that gives a comprehensive guide to building a monster light at a fraction of the cost compared to a commercially sold light, growopz also has some nice well prices options as well.

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[PsyCLown]

Hi buddy, welcome, I am also a new grower and have I am finishing up my first grow, I did a diy led setup which costed me around R2500 that produced a light that pulls 144 true watts that my plants are thriving in. I ordered the components( which is the Samsung led strips and a mean well driver to power them) there are many diy threads for lights as well that gives a comprehensive guide to building a monster light at a fraction of the cost compared to a commercially sold light, growopz also has some nice well prices options as well.

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Keep in mind that importing anything now will cost a fair bit more than it did prior to lockdown, around 30% more.

Although I agree that strips are a decent option too.

When it comes to LED's, regardless of whether you are buying or building, it's the actual diode itself which makes one of the biggest differences.

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