newbie help w/nutes

[metrojimc]

Hi guys this is my 1st grow and have a few questions.my plants are about 10 days old ,bought some botanicare pureblend pro grow.can i start using this now?if yes how often?am i better off using 24hr or 18/6?on the lights?thanks guys

[WantDaChronic]

while im not sure about the nutes, i can safely say that growing under 18/6 is better for your plants sure 24/0 gives faster growth, but 18/6 gives the plants some time to recover from a hard day of growing and in reality the difference between the growth rates doesnt really warrent having the lights on for an extra 6 hours a day

[blacksaint]

yeah metrojimc, how's it goin?

I don't think ya need to look much further than what WDC said about the lights. I've always used 18/6 - cheaper too is a bonus.

 

Looks like your off to a good start. What sorts of lights are you using and how close are they to ya babies? It's just a few of ya babies look they are reaching for it a bit.

 

Cheers.

[Stoney]

hey there metro

 

i agree with black looks like some are stretching abit i would drop ya light if ya tell us what ya using we can tell ya a safe distance so that ya dont burn them

 

also you could start using ya nutes now if ya want i would start at half what the bottle says and at the stage they at they only need a small amount of water once every 2 days or when the soil gets dry

 

and if ya got a decent soil they will only need nutes maybe once a week but looking at ya pick they could use abit more nitrogen so i would start them on nutes soon

 

you can go to full strength after a week or so

 

cheerz :Dj:

[metrojimc]

yeah metrojimc, how's it goin?

I don't think ya need to look much further than what WDC said about the lights. I've always used 18/6 - cheaper too is a bonus.

 

Looks like your off to a good start. What sorts of lights are you using and how close are they to ya babies? It's just a few of ya babies look they are reaching for it a bit.

 

Cheers.

 

thanks for your help guys ,i am using a 400w mh light,its about a foot from plants,is that to far?Also my plants soil is very dry almost evry day,like in one piece,it seems to be a space around the inside rim of cups.Like the soil would fall out in one piece if turned upside down....

[jimbojones5678]

I think that soil is too dry...should be slightly moist when you re-water.

 

Jimbo

[sunnycoaststoner]

may be add some water crystals to your soil or get some soil wetter from the hardware also i think like any out door garden to retain moisture you mulch over the top of the soil but keep it away from the base of your plants to avoid rot, but then again maybe i'm wrong. i use clay balls as a medium and feed every hour by timer. works for me. at some stage you gonna have to repot them into something bigger so they dont get root bound hey. as a rule with your lights put the back of your hand under the light and find the point where it is too hot to keep your hand there, and then just go a bit over that point over your plants. too high over the plants will make them stretch to far and too close will burn them. its a big learning experience hey, ask heaps of questions on here as you go and i guarantee you will learn heaps from the other members who are always willing to help. get in and do some reading in the forums too it all helps dude..

[loylty gets u nothing]

never apply nutes to dry soil

make sure the soil is wet 1st

and id be going every other day nutesall the best

bill

[dkone]

Metro,

When you are in a soil medium and it tends to "harden" as you described,you can bring it back to a much more useable state.

 

It is always good to add a mix of up to %20 perlite to a soil base.The expansion and contractions of the perlite from wet to dry,leave air pockets in the soil,allowing for more even water channeling.

 

If you are past that stage and your girls are in thier final home,treating soil with humic acid,will help to make the soils water retension properties more constant.

 

you dont mention if the 400 you are running is in an air-cooled shade.If not,then being a foot away may well be far to warm.

More important than the ambient air temp of your room,is the air temp in the canopy of your plant.

 

Always good to hang a small thermometer into the canopy of your plants and adjust your temps from that.

 

Hope there is some helpfull info there for you.