First grow and very confused about soil and nutes

[Pure]

first decide what medium your usign then the fertilisation comes into it , if your using a hydroponic soil medium like cocopeat or if you use any other hydroponic medium you will be feeding every watering with nutrients the reason for this is that most hydro mediums have zero trace elements in them meanign the plant constantly wants that source of energy, this works well as far as drainign goes though , you will find that you can water more and fertilise more meaning faster growth is gained through hydroponics, where as with soil you need to let it dry out before each watering , makign it so it gets fed every few days instead of everyday/ hour / or 24 /7 constant feeding

 

it sounds like you want a soil type mix from what your sayign , but I would sugest a soil "type" hydro medium like cocopeat, mix 60% that with 40 % perlite and you have yourself a very nice absourbant ( bu still well drainign ) mix that you can water in many different ways ( I have seen some peopel that water once a day , but I have also seen peopel water up to 6 times a day with it , I water 3-4 and it works well for me

 

I also find it helps to use clayballs or broken up clay pots in the bottom of the pots so as no water collects at thje very bottom

[instink]

Thanks... I'm a bit paranoid so I don't want to use anything hydro (cause of the harsh punishment if caught). Probably just be using the 2 parts soil 1 part perlite, seems to be pretty common

 

Thanks again

[Pure]

I hate to be the barer of bad news but as far as the cops are concerned anything indoors done in rows with a feedign system is considered hydropoic , they don't much care about what medium you use

 

there are so many ways to grow this wonderfull plant though so do whatever works for youself

 

if you use soil your gonan want pots that are 15 ltrs minimum , think I forgot to mention that before

[nouseforaname]

hey,

If your going to use canna nutes, you'd be better off to go as pure said with cocofibre and perlite possibly some clay balls to help drainage.. If you use the "canna coco" nutrient it will be sufficient to use during veg and flower.. You will also need cannazym and PK13-14 the pk is only needed aftere 3-4 weeks of flower but the zym is needed all the way through. Otherwise you will need to buy canna vega (growth) and canna flores(flower) aswell as the pk and zym...

You can buy the compressed cocofibre bricks 500grams for 2-2.50 at most dollar store (reject shop etc) These need to be expaned in hot water but make 20-25 kilo of substrate(cocofibre).. This then needs to be rinsed clean by using a cloth in the bottom of the pot(8-12") to stop the coco running out the bottom.. Heres an old thread How to coco

[instink]

stonedas... thanks for your help but i'm really not after something as complex as that... I barely smoke at all, don't plan to sell, so I'm not after a super yeild or anything just something for a bit of experience to get me by... do I really need to do all that stuff just to use canna (veg and flores)? IF so I'll just use some ordinary ferts I suppose...

 

Pure.... What defines a "feeding system"? Simply adding ferts to the soil and then spraying the leaves later? People do that outside and thats no hydro...

Edited March 9, 2005 by instink

[Rattrap]

hay instink,

I started off small, just like u want to & grew 2 very nice plants under a 600w light, both were female - lucky me!.

I use fluros to grow cuttings now, 4ft, 38w dual tubes. Ok for cuttings, useless for growing, the plants grow tiny & spindally - i mean tiny!

Your parents won't notice much of an incease in power bills with a 400w light, your computer uses that much!

I'm sticking with soil, i like to go organic all the way. Add some worm castings to your soil mix, its available at any good nursery. I'm sticking with the following mix for soil;

2 parts quality potting mix ( not the cheap wollies stuff)

2 parts worm castings ( u can grow in straight worm castings if u want to)

1 part perlite

1 part vermiculite

1 part seaweed compost.

U can drop the seaweed if u want.

 

With that mix u'll need very little nutes during the veg stage (4 weeks) & none at all for the first 2 weeks. Go easy with the nutes!!! Get yourself a PH kit from a pet shop, they're only around $15 but worth they're weight in gold! If growing in soil only fert once a fortnight in veg then once a week in flower, and use half the recomended strength! I had no end of probs because i got overexcited with the ferts! check the PH of your water regulary too, ours varied from 5.5 up to 7 from summer to winter.

I haven't decieded on a flowering nute yet but i'm sticking with organic all the way. Probably voodoo.

With organics u don't have to do a flush 2 weeks prior to harvesting. Hooch grown on chemical nutes give me a headache even when flushed!

Pruning is another important factor, especally if growing under a low watt light like a 400w.

I found this thread on cannabis world that i wish i had found before my first indoor crop.

http://www.cannabisworld.org/vbportal/foru...15&pagenumber=1

Its called 'prune along' in case the posted link doesn't work. Using his method of SAVAGE pruning u get lovely BIG heads & no shitty popcorn buds!

good luck on your first crop.

PS; a bigger prob than the light bill might be the smell! Plants get very smelly in the last 3 - 4 weeks of flowering mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! :thumbsup

[F420]

Ok sorry to nit pick but-

 

A/ Dont buy ph testers for plants from a petshop they are inaccurate and in the wrong range.

Range 6 - 7.6 is what you will get from a petshop and the ranges we are interested in are 5.0 to 6.5ph.

 

B/

2 parts quality potting mix ( not the cheap wollies stuff)

2 parts worm castings ( u can grow in straight worm castings if u want to)

1 part perlite

1 part vermiculite

1 part seaweed compost.

U can drop the seaweed if u want.

 

Nice mix, A good and readily available brand of seaweed is seasol, its about $10-00.

The worm castings dont do too good straight, its too much for the plants.

 

Choosing the right potting mix is very important. A good mix isn't just thrown together - it contains just the right proportion of airspace, water holding capacity and concentration of nutrients for good plant growth. I always look for a potting mix which displays the Australian Standards endorsement - so I know I am getting a good product.

 

With organics u don't have to do a flush 2 weeks prior to harvesting. Hooch grown on chemical nutes give me a headache even when flushed!

 

http://www.3rlighting.com/tutorial/tutorial001.htm

Is another good one on organics.

 

I recommend flushing any plant that has been growing with nutrients as it removes mnost of the nutrients before it is harvested. that way your getting a more pure bud.

 

As far as saying that chemicals cause headaces, yes they can if they are not flushed.

flushed weed will NOT give you headaces unless it wasnt flsuhed for long enough or the plants were given too many nutes.

 

I suffer from migraines and the buds I grow are not organic, and they dont give me headaces. infact they prevent many of my migraine attacks.

 

Q: What is the Difference between Organic and anything else?

 

A: Carbon.

 

 

Q: Carbon? Why?

 

A: There are bacteria which live off of the compost. They use Carbon as their fuel and Nitrogen as building blocks. They use about thirty times more fuel than they do construction materials. These bacteria transform things like leaves, sticks, clean garbage, grass clippings, etc. into a mulch or humus which is a good growing medium (or substrate) for growing plants.

 

When you compost plant material, the ratio between Carbon and Nitrogen is the difference between OK compost and good compost. Now, plenty of people obsess over the numbers. It makes them happy and it's a free country. Your target for Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio is about 30 to one, thirty times more Carbon than Nitrogen. The easy way to tell if your ratio is good is to use your nose. If the pile smells like rotten eggs or ammonia, then you have too much Nitrogen (or not enough air). If the compost pile is too slow, then there is not enough Carbon (or water).

 

Even if your ratio is not right, the pile will eventually compost as long as you do two things: make sure there is enough air and keep the pile damp, moist--not wet, not dry--just damp, moist.

[Pure]

Pure.... What defines a "feeding system"? Simply adding ferts to the soil and then spraying the leaves later? People do that outside and thats no hydro...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

a feeding system is exactly what it says really , it's a system used to feed plants , drippers, sprinkler systems , of irigation of any sorts to grow MJ , setting up a system to feed outdoors is just as bad as one indoors , once they move past the automated sep they judge the complexicity of a system , unless your in a place that allows you to grow which if you are I respect you wanting not to break the law but under certain conditions you really shouldn't be so concerned abotu this crap they say abotu hydro vs soil and punnishments , if they find 5 plants thats the law your breakign , they don't care what it's growing in , where you need to watch yourself is if your a person who has only one or two plants but 4000 watts shine onto them , they consider that as an arguable comercial operation and thats they type of stuff they screw you over on ,

 

keep your numbers down and do what works for you , don't let laws make your decision if your breakign it eighter way the punishmet god forbid the day come is the same, and provided you keep those numbers down it will liekly be a fine

[Luke Skywalker]

I would also suggest being very, very careful growing in a place where you don't have total privacy.

[instink]

Thanks guys, this is all such amazing help you've all legends. I'll try to take on board everything thats been said and hoefully I'll get a good crop going... my biggest concern with only going for 2 plants is getting males! Everything else is second to that obvously

 

Just quickly, I've found an amazing cabinet and the salvo's that I want to get but it smells a bit... aside from leaving it open and in the sun for a few days prior to anything going in there.. is there some way I should treat the cabinet before use?