first grow questions.

hello. this is going or be my first grow. i will be using a 400W HPS light. i plan on ordering from attitude seeds i want to do a auto strain probably lowlifes automatic white russian.

first question is should i grow in soil or hydropnics for my first grow? im only going to do grow 2 plants at one time. and if i were to do hydroponics i would do a ebb and flow. but i would be around my plants every day and could do traditional watering. i would like to use organics.

so pretty much do i have less chanve of messign up my first harvest if i hand water?

any suggestions would be great

Your idea run with it but a 400 hps for just two plants seems like an overkill why not three or four min. You can get a seed pack that has four or five different strains or all sorts of assortments all female also.

yea i could do 3 but i dont have room for much more than that.

soil is way easier on a noob and more organic choices.

soil makes tastier bud anyway, but hydro grows bigger

i would do 4 hempy buckets with that light.i have 10 3 gallon hempy buckets under my 400w mh right now .here are some pics this method is super easy,and very cheap to get started. if you are interested let me know i can tell you how its done.you can get every thing from walmart if you need to.

hempy buckets are easier then soil and produce more bud like the hydro.and you can use a smaller bucket. i've done soil before its hard for a first timer and it has no benefits..

johnny12r said:

i would do 4 hempy buckets with that light.i have 10 3 gallon hempy buckets under my 400w mh right now .here are some pics this method is super easy,and very cheap to get started. if you are interested let me know i can tell you how its done.you can get every thing from walmart if you need to.

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o nice what do you have in there just perlite? and you hand water them right?
could i do a smaller version? i sont think i would need 3 gallons for a autoflowering but i guess i could just get them for the extra root space.

Dittos to what Johnny said. Hempy Buckets is the only feasible way for dummies to grow dope. Would beg to differ with him only as to what can be bought at Wally World. Few things you can get from there but not much. Now they do have Miracle Grow Pearlite which is a weed killer. You will also need to make friends at the lighting and hydro store. One gallon buckets is much more feasible for small fish. Speaking of fish, do not be foolish and buy the Alaskan Fish Fertilizer. Its a weed killer too.

BW

how tall will they get? i use 3 gallon buckets and my plants get 5-6 ft so if your looking at 3ft you can get 2 gallon buckets no problem. this is nothing but perlite $7 and a plastic mop bucket $2 at walmart...put a 7/16th hole about 2 inches from the bottom and fill it up..you can water every day or every 4 days they don't care just don't let the bottom get dry.keep your nutes low i do 200ppm for veg and 400ppm for budding and give them plain water every now and then.your ph can be 5.6 to 6 i do mine at 5.8.you can use soil or hydro nutes.you can put your peat pucks or rock wool (what ever your seedling are in) right into the perlite when there ready.if i missed any thing i'm here to answer any questions.

johnny12r said:

how tall will they get? i use 3 gallon buckets and my plants get 5-6 ft so if your looking at 3ft you can get 2 gallon buckets no problem. this is nothing but perlite $7 and a plastic mop bucket $2 at walmart...put a 7/16th hole about 2 inches from the bottom and fill it up..you can water every day or every 4 days they don't care just don't let the bottom get dry.keep your nutes low i do 200ppm for veg and 400ppm for budding and give them plain water every now and then.your ph can be 5.6 to 6 i do mine at 5.8.you can use soil or hydro nutes.you can put your peat pucks or rock wool (what ever your seedling are in) right into the perlite when there ready.if i missed any thing i'm here to answer any questions.

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nice yea the plants get about 2 -2.5 feet.but yea im really glad you should me this method never heard of it till now and ive been researching for months haha. is theres any good organic bloom nuts you recomend?

i use the miracle grow perlite from walmart it has about .1% miracle grow in it and you'll never even notice it.you probably can do 1 gallon buckets for auto flowers.just put the hole at 1.5 inches.if you have the light what else do you need? nutes and a fan. i use advanced nutrients and yes i hand water about 4 cups per plant every other day and i try not to have any run off,so i don't have any water on the ground .

this is my train wreck and i did it just like i explained so i know it works like a champ... now that i do these i think no one should ever attempt a first grow in soil.the hempy bucket is just plain better in every way.

if you ever start to see a little nute burn, just give it a gallon of plain water asap and its fixed,if your in soil you need to wait till next water and bring it down to the bath tub and run 10 gallons of water threw it,by then your plant looks all burnt.

johnny12r said:

if you ever start to see a little nute burn, just give it a gallon of plain water asap and its fixed,if your in soil you need to wait till next water and bring it down to the bath tub and run 10 gallons of water threw it,by then your plant looks all burnt.

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yes this system really seems like its gonna work for me. yea i just need a fan im getting a carbon filter for the odor and will use a reqular house fan too. i really appreciate all your help. im goiong to do a grow journal when i start but might be another month or so. have you had any experience with grow tents or should i just line a closet with some reflective material?

Well gallon buckets will grow them 6' too if thats what is wanted. Seems dependent more on how big they they get in veg than in the size of the bucket. I grow in a pure mix of Turface Game Saver. Nine bucks for 50 pounds. Plug that into the budget as compared to Pearlite. It also dont float out of the bucket. Google it up and find where to buy in your area. It is sold in places which handles supplies for pro type landscapers/grounds keepers etc. The John Deere place sells it in this area. Its a fired clay product with water rentention properties highly similar to Pearlite. Ph total neutral. They use it to dry out athletic fields after a rain storm. It's wonderful stuff. Cheap too when compared to Pearlite.

BW

i've never had perlite try to float out of the bucket ..i line my walls and floor with panda film its $100 for 100 feet and its 10 ft tall.(you can just paint the walls flat white and that works)that gamesaver stuff looks good that might be an option for you.the size of the plant will depend more on the strain and your lights than the pot size , i was just saying you could grow a good size plant in a gallon of perlite.

well thanks both of you for the help johnny keep an eye out for my journal so you can help me through haha

johnny12r said:

i've never had perlite try to float out of the bucket ..i line my walls and floor with panda film its $100 for 100 feet and its 10 ft tall.(you can just paint the walls flat white and that works)that gamesaver stuff looks good that might be an option for you.the size of the plant will depend more on the strain and your lights than the pot size , i was just saying you could grow a good size plant in a gallon of perlite.

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BTW your train wreck looks superb.

you can pm me for anything you need i'll answer asap.i just pulled 3 clones off it before i took the pic i added bud blood and now its in the other room under my 12/12 1000w hps. i ended up with a bunch of different kinds of plants becouse i got clones from a few diff places i have train wreak , big bud ,and blue berry in the pic but i have diesel and strawberry cough in the other room.they all seem to do good with the same nutes and ph so i'm happy.

Fox farm is good