i need help with fertilizer BAAAAD

[ofishall1]

HI GUYS im new and i just harvested my first 6 plants ever, well the plants didnt smell at all and the buds were very small they did the trick so far but ive got every tom dick and harry saying do this , use that and the 3 shops in my area are all telling me to use diferant fertilizers, i need some good advise on what to use for all stages of growth please guys , my wife and i are disabled and have our doctors note and all i just am haveing a hell of a time figureing out whats wrong my new plants now have yellow leaves not all of them but most do i have no bugs my room is spotles, i know this is a fertilizer issue please guys help me out , what do i need to buy to keep my plants growing big and strong and big buds also im soo woried, thxs for all the help im growing in 3 gallon buckets in soil and my plants now are about 10 inch tall i was told to buy bat guano and all kinds of stuff im only make 850 a month and my wife 1000 so its hard to do something when your not sure on what to get i was also told to use carow suruphelp what do i need from start to finish and some kind of schedual please , im desperate for help thxs guys,, tom :(

[stra8outtaWeed]

you will get as many opinions here also....if it was me...Botanicare Pro series..grow and bloom...and Cal-mag+...those threee should do just fine for what you need...the cal mag can be used from grow to bloom ending in week 6...it will also help green your babies up:thumbsup:

[WashougalWonder]

Yep, you will get bunches of opinions and mine is one of the most controversial.

Want to save money? Want to not worry about it all? Want great meds if you have enough light?

Do all your plants in Fox Farm Ocean Forest. Think of it as your fertilizer, start the plants in smaller pots and when you transplant just use more soil and you have just fertilized. Look up some of my posts and pictures. That is essentially what I do. I do experiment with fertilizers, but usually burn the plant when I do because the OF is so hot.

Let the opinions roll!

[SpaceNeedle]

Everybody will have a different answer for you.... but you know what? Just like the name implies MJ is 'weed'. It will surprise you under what conditions and soil they will grow from.

My advice would be going back to the basics. Get some potting soil from Lowe's or Home Depot, and don't add anything. You will be surprised how well it will grow without any of the additives people are suggesting to you. Get a few growths under your belt before you experiment with any fancy additives.

My opinion on your situation? I think they are not healthy because you probably have too much 'crap' additives in your pots. Well, maybe not crap, but there is such a thing as overfeeding and killing your plants with what you think is needed, and its not. If you wanted to grow tomatoes in your garden, would you buy all the crap you've put in your MJ pots? Probably not!
I say just use good potting soil and get a few crops under your belt, and only after a few successful harvests should you use ANY additives, and start in very small amounts until you see that its helping or not.

What kind of light are you using? ....and what kind of temperatures are the plants in?

SpaceNeedle

[killerweed420]

HI GUYS im new and i just harvested my first 6 plants ever, well the plants didnt smell at all and the buds were very small they did the trick so far but ive got every tom dick and harry saying do this , use that and the 3 shops in my area are all telling me to use diferant fertilizers, i need some good advise on what to use for all stages of growth please guys , my wife and i are disabled and have our doctors note and all i just am haveing a hell of a time figureing out whats wrong my new plants now have yellow leaves not all of them but most do i have no bugs my room is spotles, i know this is a fertilizer issue please guys help me out , what do i need to buy to keep my plants growing big and strong and big buds also im soo woried, thxs for all the help im growing in 3 gallon buckets in soil and my plants now are about 10 inch tall i was told to buy bat guano and all kinds of stuff im only make 850 a month and my wife 1000 so its hard to do something when your not sure on what to get i was also told to use carow suruphelp what do i need from start to finish and some kind of schedual please , im desperate for help thxs guys,, tom :(

A little more info on how and what you're growing and maybe we can help a little.
How much did you end up with, cured and dried from your 6 plants?

[McLuvin]

One thing you want to make sure you are not killing them with kindness. It is very common for people to of water or use to much nutrients in their grow.

Just a thought.

[ofishall1]

thxs guys im useing 2 hps lights with vented hoods and they are 1000 watts next im useing is a 8 lighthood with t5 in it 4 lamps are red and 4 are blue i used that for most of the growing last time then i bought the hps almost 3/4 of the way thourgh the growth then added them, now i have 1 more hps 1000 ballast and 1 metal halide also both 1000 should i ad then , next i have 3 box fans and 3 circulating fans on high and lastly 1 squral cage fan pulling in air from outside its a 2 speed fan in the moring i have it on 550 cfm and then in early afternoon turn it up to 750cfm to try and cool room down , also the lights are vented with an inline fane up thourgh the ceiling to try and vent heat NOW for the big question why was it easyier for me to regulate room temputure when the plants are bigger im haveing a hell of a time getting the heat down to were i want it 86 deg now at this moment the room temp is 92 i cant figure it out sould i put more vent holes in the ceiling , im a renter dont you know it, lol, im afraid of putting the mh light in becouse of the heat issue, the hoods are 18 inch to 20 inch above plants and lastly i have an indoor outdoor temp thing at the plant levle its 92 in the room its 87 and as the day cools down the temps go down 2 to 3 deg any ideas or help or just tell me what to do, should i go back to just the hood with the t5 in it and use the mh light and take down the hps till flowering ore should i use them all at once i just need a tried and true method my 23 yr old son says my last crop is ok it does the trick but there is no smell to the buds once so ever NONE but it does do the trick its a head high not a body or a uphoric that my wife and i are looking for befor we go to bed we dont smoke till the kids are in bed at least 2 hours and good asleep then we step out back to smoke outside, ive got all this stuff i bought and i know i shouldnt have but my wife is so sick at times i want the best i can give her, me ill suffer i just dont want her to anymore,,maybe i should move back to maghnolia in seattle it was cooler there i grew up there i lived in magnolia for 30 years my family still is there lol owell thxs for any advise guys nlet me know what to do about the rest, oyea home depot guy told me to buy humbolt count soil what do you think of that stuff and some other soil called BLACK GOLD LET ME KNOW THXS,,, tom gore:thumbsup:

[gypski]

If you live on the west side and want to grow in soil, go out into the wood, a woods that is in a second growth stage or older, and fill up some 5 gal buckets. Tokal soil, the state soil of Washington is the most productive soil going. Why buy when its free for the taking? And it has the right natural ph in the low 6 range, so little nutes are needed. Only as a supplement. :thumbsup:

Official Series Description - TOKUL Series (http://ortho.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/osd/dat/T/TOKUL.html)

Spokane County Conservation District: Soil Survey (http://www.sccd.org/soil/statesoil.shtml)

[ofishall1]

I LOVE YOU GUYS<<<< YOUR ALL AWSOME i know with your help and knowlege im going to produce some healthy big fruit in the near future for my wife and myself, and like my wife says i spend more time in the grow room than i do with the family right now maybe she is right, and you guys are to maybe i am hurting them with kindness, god knows i kiss all my babies as much as i do my wife and kids LOL:D

[SpaceNeedle]

It sounds to me like you have more ventilation problems than anything else. I couldn't quite figure out how many watts of light you have under those six plants, but if it is anymore than 1000W, it is overkill unless they are huge plants. The younger the plant the more sensitive they are in regards to standing the heat as well as the light. If you place say a 4" tall plant under 1000W light 18" away it will have a lot more problems than one that is 30" tall. For an ordinary garden, say they are flowered when about 10" tall, 600w would be fine..
Now for your ventilation.....
Assuming you are running your lights at night (which you probably should be) simply because the outside temps are cooler at that time. Say at midnight it is 40F outside and it is 90F in your growroom, which is how I read your note, that is a difference of 50F, or 50 degrees warmer than the outside air temperature. Having worked in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning for 10 yrs, there can only be two reason for such a high difference.... that is, a 50 degree difference. The reasons are quite simple. You are not getting the 40 degree air INTO your room, or you are not extracting the warm air OUT of the room. When you are bringing the air into the room, this air needs to come from the OUTSIDE of the house, not from warmer air that is in other rooms. FRESH COLD in. Now, if you are bringing in 700 CFM of cold air, and then Extracting the HOT AIR out at the same rate (700 CFM in this example) your temps in your room should be no more than 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. That doesn't mean your room should be at 50F, but it could be. You will be able to use your fans to control the temps. Put the fans on a timer and run every 15 minutes per hour, or whatever schedule works with the current outside temperature.

If you have temps in the high 80's now when the weather is still cool, what will your temperatures be in there when the low for the night will be 70F outside? You definitely need better ventilation than you have now!

SpaceNeedle

[WashougalWonder]

If you do use 'outdoor' soil, sterilize it before using or you WILL have bugs.

[gypski]

If you do use 'outdoor' soil, sterilize it before using or you WILL have bugs.

That could possibly be true, but they can also come from store bought soil. Whether or not its bad bugs remains to be seen with Tokal soil. Screen it before use. I do know, grown outdoors in this soil, the only bug problem I had was from two legged bugs who got my medicine. That also said, I never had any problems with bugs indoors. I spray before hand a few days, and have been known to use a praying mantis or two to handle any bugs. But, as you say, that may not be the case for everyone. A clean environment is the key. Keep your grow area clean, clean, clean. :D

[ofishall1]

ok as of right now today i have 15 plants that are under 1 foot tall, i have 2 1000 watt hps lights and 1 8 lamp t5 laying against the wall the 2 1000 watt hps lights are vented into the ceiling, now i have a 750 cfm squral cage fan sucking air in from outside the side of the house thats the coolest during the day, next i have a t spliter hooked up to the hoods to cool them down and the outher is blowing fresh air into the room all day till the timer goes out i have them on a 18/6 right now, but i do need to switch my times around i never thought of running it like you said spaceneedle, i will do that, and as for my 6 fans in the room i have them running all the time till the lights go out is this wrong, next should i switch my hps lights to a metle halide i have 1 1000 watt mh light and 3 hps 1000 watt lights and a 8 bulb t5, i am running 2 hps lights they are 1000 watts each and the t5 is on its side next to the wall by the plants i have 7 plants under 1 light and 8 under the other but they are all spread out to capture as much light as possible,im going to buy another 750cfm fan to help bring in more fresh air i guess, i know its all my venting and air circulating thats probably my biggest issue, as for the other 6 fans should i put them on a timmer for 15 min per hour or just let them run like i am i will try to take a pix of my set up and post it here for any and all help is that ok to do thxs guys im so ignorant when it comes to this stuff im trying to learn as fast as i can, i just want a healthy crop and a potent one at that for my wife, i can suffer for that matter but she cant i wont let that happen, thxs for the help,, tom:thumbsup:

[SpaceNeedle]

Ok,
Ventilation is important. But its not enough to add another 700CFM fan.
Think of it this way: Your grow room is in a room say just for kicks 6' x 8' and it is surrounded by a balloon. If you into the balloon without getting the old or heated air out, you are not ventilating. You can only blow so much into a balloon, and if there is no escape of the warmer air, you will only increase air pressure. 2 1000W lights produce right around 8,000 BTU. I don't want to get technical, but for your information, I have a gas fireplace that puts out a max of about 12,000 BTUs. That gas insert will heat my entire house quite comfortably in the winter time without any help from my furnace. I am sure your grow room is a lot smaller than my house. So now imagine that fireplace turned on high in your grow room in August, when the coldest air you can find might be 75F... and there is no air conditioning to help!
RULES:
Exhaust 10% more CFM than incoming fresh air (That way you will encounter less odors coming into your living quarters), so your grow room will be at negative air pressure.
Get your fresh air (esp when lights are on) when they are the coolest air temperatures.
Doing it this way, if your outside air temperature is say 70F, you should be able to maintain 80F. In other words a 10 degree difference.

Good Luck!
SN

[ofishall1]

cool thxs for all the help i have a contractor friend whos going to come down and see me at the end of the month and help me put vents in the right way, should i use the 8" vents or what my hoods are 4" vent holes, and next am i running to many lights, and should i change my hps lights for the mh ones for now or use 1 mh and 1 hps, and the room size is 10 x 8 and for now im going to water every 4th day with plain water and when they start getting to about 2 feet start to fertilize will this be ok or should i use my general hydroponics fertilizer waterd way way down for now, i wish there was a chart or something telling you when to water and at what stages or weeks to change to a higher dose or something, anyway thxs for ALL YOUR HELP sorry for being stupid, this is all new to me but i do grow a vegitable garden every year out back and it does great should i not make it as hard as i am LOL thxs guys i just want to do this the right way without screwing it up, helping my wife is the #1 priority for me right now helping her with her pain and migranes if i could lessen those it would be awsom, thxs tom::thumbsup:

[SpaceNeedle]

I'm not sure if you are growing in hydroponics now. If you are using good SOIL, just add plain water, at least this grow. General Hydroponics is designed for hydroponics... don't get the two confused. Good soil will last as long as your plants will, but you'd prolly want to replace it next time around. A 4" vent is not adequate for a 1000W, 6" is minimum, 8" preferred. I have 8" vents using only a 600W. However even using 8" vents will not remove ALL the heat from your room. There will still be heat coming off the hood which will be hotter than room temperature, as well as the ducting will give off a certain amount of heat. BUT you still have to bring in fresh cold air directly to the plants (not just thru the hoods). So if you have a 700 cfm fan bringing in fresh air TO THE PLANTS, it needs to be exhausted out. Generally speaking, you vent the cold air into the room near the bottom (floor level). and as the air warms up it goes up, so you need to exhaust the air up high from the ceiling dumping the warmer air out.
MH is generally used for vegging, HPS for flowering.

I grow hydroponics, in which case I can measure the exact strength of my nutrients with a meter. Check out EC/PPM meters for hydroponics. I'm not aware of any measuring that can be done for nutrients in soil. A 1000W light should cover a 4' x 4' area very easily. So whatever the size of your plants with two lights, you should be able to cover an area of plants about 8' x 4'.


cool thxs for all the help i have a contractor friend whos going to come down and see me at the end of the month and help me put vents in the right way, should i use the 8" vents or what my hoods are 4" vent holes, and next am i running to many lights, and should i change my hps lights for the mh ones for now or use 1 mh and 1 hps, and the room size is 10 x 8 and for now im going to water every 4th day with plain water and when they start getting to about 2 feet start to fertilize will this be ok or should i use my general hydroponics fertilizer waterd way way down for now, i wish there was a chart or something telling you when to water and at what stages or weeks to change to a higher dose or something, anyway thxs for ALL YOUR HELP sorry for being stupid, this is all new to me but i do grow a vegitable garden every year out back and it does great should i not make it as hard as i am LOL thxs guys i just want to do this the right way without screwing it up, helping my wife is the #1 priority for me right now helping her with her pain and migranes if i could lessen those it would be awsom, thxs tom::thumbsup:

[G13budsmoker]

im glad theres others out there to try and help you and your wife. they are giving you alot of good info. in my opinion you def just need to get the temps lower and stable, i had a temp and humidity spiking problem when i wasnt using good enough fan. without seein what the room looks like and you tellin us that your using two 1000W is way overkill more then likely if the room is a smaller room, i have a 400W in a 4X6X8 room with 8 plants and it was still to much heat without the proper cfm fan that i have now. you should try and keep your temp (flowering) around 75-80* with a 40-50% humidity when the lights are on, any more the 80 and they will have stress. at night when the lights are off you want the temp to be around 68-75* with same humidity. on the nutrients topic (agian in my own opinion) is to use a good soil like "Miracle grow moisture control" or better and not to use any nut until you switch them. i love Fox Farms Tiger bloom and Big bloom, these two make a good harvest with hi thc content at a fair price(i paid $20 a bottle). dont use the recomended doses and start them slow and gradualy add more nutrients, to strong at first will burn them. your yellowing leves sound like a lack of Nitrogen. dont forget to flush with 3X the amount of water per gall of soil around week 4 for if you use nutrients just to be safe and release salt build up from hurting them. Good luck to you and i hope all works out well for you AND your wife