Hey, this is my first ever grow op.

I currently got one little seed to sprout a nice long white shoot and is planted in some dirt. Now, I'm really growing on a budget but im still also trying to give my new lil plants lots of love. haha SO, for the dirt i just used regular mulch mixed with some soil (from my parents garden). I tried to get it as fluffy and airy as i could. I also put some rocks at the bottom (for drainage). The little seeds are growing in a clear little cup. I'm really anxious but im curious:

1. is regular soil (and some mulch) okay? (not any permulite or vermiculite or anything like that in)

2. Would clear cups be okay? (ie, does any sunlight on the roots hurt the plant?)

Thanks!

i wouldn't recommend a clear cup IMO. If the roots get to much moisture and sunlight you could have issues. As far a the soil I would let your plant dictate by its growth. Good Luck

Thanks! I took some of the condensation/water out

one other thing, when should i put it under the flourescent light?

You need to put it under light as soon as you have leaves really, as soon as the plant is able to photo synthesise. As close to the plants as you can without burning them, this will vary depending on what light you have though so be careful.

I would start giving it light and not have the light to high away from the plant so it wont stretch as much.

okay. I figured that thanks guys. Free the weed!!

one other really quick question. Currently im using a compact (reading/desktop) fluorescent light. I know fluorescent lights do not get very hot but I was wondering if it is okay to leave it on for very long times?

Using clear cups pros and cons

pros:
- you can check on the root growth as you can see through the cup
- you'll have a better idea as to when to transplant into a bigger pot
- easier to tell how much moisture there is still inside the cup even when the top appears dry

cons:
- roots don't like light. sorry, can't expand on this as I don't know any facts to back it up but I've gathered that light and roots generally don't go together
- plastic cups in general make poor containers. they're flimsy so everytime you pick it up or whenever the cup gets squeezed a little the soil gets shifted around easily, disturbing the position of the seedling, roots etc

I started my first grow only a couple weeks ago and planted germinated seeds into plastic cups. Due to many other newbie mistakes, none of these made it.. but I reckon my plastic cups were too small and weak anyway. If you reckon you'll have better luck using these as a container my only advice is to get the bigger and sturdy ones (beer pong cups). If they are clear or white, place these cups inside bigger cups to keep the roots in the dark. This way, you can just pull the smaller cup out of the bigger cup to check on the roots every now and then.

Thanks! I had a feeling darker or red cups would have been better but i just wanted to get the cheapest thing available. Maybe I'll just move the clear cup inside a dark container or something.