First attempt at growing ever, how big should they be, soil and light options? Help!

I have 5 babies 8 days old, theyre about 1.5 inches long and with 4 leaves each. Im growin them by the window (I live in north florida so theres still some good sunlight atm) daytime and at night below a normal sidebed tabble lamp, till i get paid and can buy some lights in 10 days. Also its all bagseed i collected from the best buds i smoked this summer, i wasnt planin on growin, i just put about a dozen seeds in 2 small containers full of dirt and then i trew some water on it, just to see if something would happen. 2 days later about 7 little plants started comin out the dirt.
Anyways, it was getting really crowded in the 2 little containers, so yesterday i found some candle glasses like 3.5' x 3.5' (i dont have any pots) and i moved 5 of the 7 babies, each one to their own glass. I thought they would die at one point or another during yesterday, due to the early moving, but ive just check on them and they seem fine and taller. Thats the whole story, here come the questions now :P

~I seen pictures of baby plants with 6 or more leaves and a little taller, i was wonderin if my babies should be bigger or have more leaves?

~I know the glass containers theyre on now are really small, but will they survive for 10 more days in them till i can afford to get all the needed equipment.

~What are the best light options in terms of practical use. I live with my dad, and althoug he rarely comes inside or sees the interior of my room, i dont have enought space to set up a "growing dresser" or something like that. Is there a light like those computer desk lamps that you can bring or move closer, cus then i could just set it up in the floor in a corner and put the plants below it.

~What size of pots should i get and whats the best soil also?

~What else should i buy or need: fertilizer, plant food, etc and what kind.

~How can i know if theyre sativa or indica and how old do they need to be so i can tell.

Sorry for all the questions and the essay, but im kinda of a newbie at this and im trying to learn the most i can. I know a little about the growing cycles but ive never try growin before. Any advice, information and comments are more than welcome and thanks a lot in advance!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zerch

~I seen pictures of baby plants with 6 or more leaves and a little taller, i was wonderin if my babies should be bigger or have more leaves?

~I know the glass containers theyre on now are really small, but will they survive for 10 more days in them till i can afford to get all the needed equipment.

~What are the best light options in terms of practical use. I live with my dad, and althoug he rarely comes inside or sees the interior of my room, i dont have enought space to set up a "growing dresser" or something like that. Is there a light like those computer desk lamps that you can bring or move closer, cus then i could just set it up in the floor in a corner and put the plants below it.

~What size of pots should i get and whats the best soil also?

~What else should i buy or need: fertilizer, plant food, etc and what kind.

~How can i know if theyre sativa or indica and how old do they need to be so i can tell.

Sorry for all the questions and the essay, but im kinda of a newbie at this and im trying to learn the most i can. I know a little about the growing cycles but ive never try growin before. Any advice, information and comments are more than welcome and thanks a lot in advance!

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1. Size at this point you shouldn't be worrying about. Some people have strains that grow really fast, some grow much slower, some have proper lighting, some don't. Growing by the window is a slow way of doing things, but it's good to hear you're going to buy some proper lighting. For the time being, turn around the containers everyday so the stems grow straight instead of them stretching sideways.

2. Not only are your glass containers small (as you stated), but they do not have drain holes in the bottom. Drain holes are a must. Just take it VERY VERY easy on the watering. If you give them too much, the water has no where to go and root rot will set in and kill your plants, so just go easy on the watering, but don't let the soil get bone dry either. Plastic pots are only about $2 each and another .50cents for the drain pan, so if you have about $10, I suggest going to get some right away so you don't risk killing all of your plants.

3. CFL;s/Floro lighting is your best bet, but you will need to put the plant in a completly dark area for 6 of the 24hrs. Light cycles usually go as: 18hrs on, 6hrs off for vegging...12hrs on 12hrs off to force flowering (budding). Those dark periods must be near 100% dark, or your plant will turn out male or hermi on you. CFL's are those spiral bulbs you see and they screw into a normal light socket. For a 25W bulb, they are about $10, but in some places, you can get 125W bulbs for about $30 or so. Like I siad, screw into a normal socket, and the number of plants you have, to avoid stretching (which happens when not enough light is provided), you want at least 50W per/sq/ft of light, so lets say you have a space that is 4 x 4ft, you want at least 200W of light.

4. Pots, when they are first sprouted, I use a small 4inch square pot. When they have a good root system, about 4-6 weeks into veg., I then transplant into 3 gallon pots. Soil, I keep it simple. I use just plain, sterilized potting soil, then I add some vermiculite to it to lighten up the soil. I usually mix about 1/3 vermiculite, and 2/3 potting soil.

5. Food. When you go and buy nutes, you will see 3 numbers on the front of the box. These are the ratio numbers known as N-P-K. For the vegging stage, you want something high in N. Some 5-1-1 for example will be fine to use. For the flowering stage (budding), the plant needs something high in P, so something like 10-15-10 or 15-30-15 would work.

6. Sativas have long, spaced out blade leaves, and grow tall and lanky. Indicas have short, webbed like blade leaves and grow short and thick. You should be able to tell when the plant is about 6 weeks old. Most strains have a cross between the both of them, those blade leaves kind of have both traits in them.

I suggest searching on some marijuana/cannabis cultivation. There is so much to learn and here what I typed, is about 1% of what you need to learn. A lot of learning comes from trial and error, doing it yourself, but hopefully this will help you get started.

Good luck.

You're welcome. ;)

Id get em out of those candle glasses asap if y cant afford any pots yet what about any old yogurt pot type things y can make holes in them your plants need the drainage or even some of those peat pots they are cheaper than plastic ones and as soon as y get the plastic ones y just plant the peat pot with plant in it saves having to keep disturbing the plant. Dont know how much peat pots cost over there but in uk only £1 for 12 thats less than $2

Thanks a lot for all the info nochow and psycho, it will help a ton. ill keep on with news on my first ever attempt at this.

First thing you should buy: The Grow Bible. Very helpful book that covers the most important aspects...