First time soil grow....any advice would be appreciated!

First time soil grow....

This is what I have for a soil grow:

Auto Flower Seed
Fox Farms Happy Frog Soil
Fox Farms Ocean Forest Soil
8 Quart bag of Perlite
3 Gallon soft sided pot
*Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed Extract
*Botanicare Cal mag Plus
*Canna cannazym
*General Hydroponics Flora Nova Grow and Bloom

My plan of attack:

Soak seed in tap water for 12 hours.
Plant seed into red plastic drinking cup using 60% happy frog soil and 40% ocean forest soil.
Place cup inside humidity dome with heat mat and wait until seed sprouts. QUESTION: Should I add pH water to soil in cup while in dome or just some water on the dome base (will put holes in bottom of cup) or both?
Place sprouted seed under a small 12w led light for a couple days till I see some leaves. QUESTION: Along with pH water should I start adding any other nutrients listed above?
Transplant plant into 3 gallon pot using same mixture of soils.
Place pot into grow tent using 300w LED. QUESTION: Which nutrients should I start using at this point, if any? Also, this may be a really dumb question but when I start to mix all the nutrients (*) into a 1 gallon container, should I use all that water for one feeding or spread it out when the plant needs to be watered? Or how often should I use the nutrient water to water my plant in between just ph watering?

seedlings dont need nutrients first the first week or so , all their food comes from the first two baby leaves.and when feeding, start off with 10% or so. your water ph should be a t 6.5

hibok said:

seedlings dont need nutrients first the first week or so , all their food comes from the first two baby leaves.and when feeding, start off with 10% or so. your water ph should be a t 6.5

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So before transplant into 3 gallon pot, just add ph water. At what point should I add the calmag, seaweed and cannazym?

Hello how are you? First off soak the seeds for 48 hours and they should have a tail on them at that point if not put in a moist paper towel and into a ziplock bag for humidity and put in warm dark place for a day. Now you have a tail with a seed top on it, poke a hole in the dirt and place it about an inch down (i use a pencil to make the hole so the seed just drops in) then place under your light with a dome on it for humidity untill the seedling pops up then remove the dome. Now those soil mediums you have contain some nutrients so adding to it will just burn your plants early on, just water only and they like to dry out completely in between waterings. Yes drain holes in the cup. Use 1 gallon jugs add the properly measured nutrients and shake well, I hot water rinse all my jugs and refill them for the next time. Hope it helps MD.

Just mist seedling ..... Don't feed it or add too water.
Let the new Taproot SEEK moisture ( other words it will grow thru medium and begin to root out ) .

Once a couple nodes growth ... Water 6.5 .
Ocean Forest will carry plant for a while in 3 gallon container - up to week 5/6 of veg.
It is loaded with everything the plant needs upfront. If you start dumping everything into an already hot mix ... You are asking for trouble.

Autos require LESS FEEDING WHEN USING LED ... They do not transpire fast enough as with hotter lights ( hid ). This also is the same with watering. Start checking what pot feels like dry and when watered.

Autos are " plug and play " .... Just plant and let her go.
18/6 cycle ALL THE WAY THRU HARVEST.
When plant is bigger - keep LED 15-18" from top.
LED grows will require CALMAG later during grow / flowering.

CFL DURING INTIAL SEEDLING STAGE - will set the stage for an easy transition before LED LIGHT.



Although i moved on from LED , i still keep the photos from prior grows to help show what to expect.

great info guys! so basically the first couple weeks 2-3 weeks no nutrients and just pH water. When would be a good time to add the seaweed extract?

Budzbuddha said:

Just mist seedling ..... Don't feed it or add too water.
Let the new Taproot SEEK moisture ( other words it will grow thru medium and begin to root out ) .

Once a couple nodes growth ... Water 6.5 .
Ocean Forest will carry plant for a while in 3 gallon container - up to week 5/6 of veg.
It is loaded with everything the plant needs upfront. If you start dumping everything into an already hot mix ... You are asking for trouble.

Autos require LESS FEEDING WHEN USING LED ... They do not transpire fast enough as with hotter lights ( hid ). This also is the same with watering. Start checking what pot feels like dry and when watered.

Autos are " plug and play " .... Just plant and let her go.
18/6 cycle ALL THE WAY THRU HARVEST.
When plant is bigger - keep LED 15-18" from top.
LED grows will require CALMAG later during grow / flowering.

CFL DURING INTIAL SEEDLING STAGE - will set the stage for an easy transition before LED LIGHT.

View attachment 3902285

Although i moved on from LED , i still keep the photos from prior grows to help show what to expect.

View attachment 3902290 View attachment 3902291

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Exactly what CFL light are you using for the seedling stage?

Remember your ffof soil will buffer itself as well ....I use the same soils as you ....I start them in light warrior just misting with a spray bottle until there well established ....then I use plain water to water my babies ....16 ounce water bottle with holes poked in the lid can water a lot of seedlings and it gives the soft sprinkler effect when lightly squeezed ......after I transplant into ffof ,,,I wait a minimum of 4 weeks before I even think about starting nutes at very low levels ....GL

Indacouch said:

Remember your ffof soil will buffer itself as well ....I use the same soils as you ....I start them in light warrior just misting with a spray bottle until there well established ....then I use plain water to water my babies ....16 ounce water bottle with holes poked in the lid can water a lot of seedlings and it gives the soft sprinkler effect when lightly squeezed ......after I transplant into ffof ,,,I wait a minimum of 4 weeks before I even think about starting nutes at very low levels ....GL

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Is it recommended to use the seaweed extract at some point?

Civicsi06 said:

Is it recommended to use the seaweed extract at some point?

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I don't use it personally ....so I have no advice on that for you

Civicsi06 said:

Exactly what CFL light are you using for the seedling stage?

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5000k ECOSMART 100w equiv.
Or Feint Electric 6500k.

Both are local hardware store bulbs.

Or .... I got these at the 99¢ store .
These work pretty damn good for seedlings.

Budzbuddha said:

5000k ECOSMART 100w equiv.
Or Feint Electric 6500k.

Both are local hardware store bulbs.

Or .... I got these at the 99¢ store .
These work pretty damn good for seedlings.

View attachment 3903178

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Was thinking about starting my seedlings early indoors......my new indoor set up is still being built and I know il need more than just those bulbs to sustains my seedlings for a few weeks ........correct??

Budzbuddha said:

5000k ECOSMART 100w equiv.
Or Feint Electric 6500k.

Both are local hardware store bulbs.

Or .... I got these at the 99¢ store .
These work pretty damn good for seedlings.

View attachment 3903178

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info....I searched amazon and found these. I know link are not working on here yet but maybe you could copy and paste into search. I just want to make sure I get the correct one.

https://www.amazon.com/EcoSmart-5000K-Spiral-Daylight-4-Pack/dp/B0042UN1U0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489125509&sr=8-1&keywords=5000k+ECOSMART

They are EcoSmart 14W 5000K Spiral CFL Light Bulb, Daylight

This is one that I own now but not sure if it would work for seedlings:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GNWK2XO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ok so I started my auto flower in soil and I think she is doing well. She is 9 days old. So far no nutrients just water. I am using 2 CFL 5000k bulbs right now on a 18/6 cycle. At what point should I move her into my grow tent under the LED light? Here are some pics I took today: