New to growing

[ogdeno]

Hi all.

 

This is my first attempt at a grow. I just dropped a seed into a pot that my little xmas tree came in and it's sprouted. I had it sitting on the balcony (i live in an apartment in the city) but it didn't get sun consistently. it's now sitting in my cupboard with a small 16 watt flouro providing light set on timer with 16 hrs on 8 off. Does this sound like it may work? I've also bought some yates multi nutrient plant food which i haven't added yet. i was going to leave it a couple of weeks before adding a very diluted mix. once again, will this work or am i on the wrong track? any help will be appreciated. cheers.

[Wrangler556]

Sounds good so far, i'd just bump the light to 18/6. Also plants like fresh air, so if you dont have an exhaust fan, just try opening and closing the cupboard door as many times as you think of it while the light is on, to get some fresh air in there.

[ogdeno]

Thanks for replying. Do you think the light is adequate?

[Wrangler556]

Yeah, they will be fine, they need 16hours or more light to grow in Vegatative state, or are you talking about the actual fluro?

[ogdeno]

The actual fluoro. I'll bump it up to 18 hrs on. Was wondering if i should get another fluoro or something different.

[Wrangler556]

While its tiny you can get away with one, but as it grows, you might want another 1-2, as the light coverage and penetration of fluros aint so great, also keep the fluros nice and close to the plant, within a couple of inches from the top.

 

You can mix a few spectrums of fluros to get the best coverage too, like one cool white, and one warm white, so they get a nice even mix of different light.

[ogdeno]

Cool, will get another one when it's a little bigger. Thanks for the advice. At what stage should fertilizer be added?

[Wrangler556]

The first 2 leaves that the plant comes out of the soil with, have enough nutrients to last atleast 2-3 weeks. Other way to tell is when the seedling starts to lose some color, ie: looks a little pale/yellow intead of a nice healthy green.

[ogdeno]

Thanks heaps for the advice. It's going great!! Fingers crossed I keep it going. Will post some pics soon.

[ogdeno]

Hi. For how long should the lights be at 18/6 and then what would you change to?