Think different

[painretreat]

:thumbsup:Hey Bluedevil69,

Sounds like you have just started one of the best hydro threads around. I have no doubt, Emmie can walk you through an entire grow, having never done it! However, we do have some expert growers here, in hydro. PolishPolack, SilentLeprechaun, FarmerRich and of course the infamous; Weezard! Looks like Loc nar on prob, already looked in.

Some of these growers are only here on the week-end. Sorry, it is Tuesday. They generally will comment and help. Happy Pharming!:jointsmile: pr

[bedrik]

Good to see the update here.

[Weezard]

I appreciate the vote of confidence, PR, But I know very little about NFT.
I do DWC because it's simple and forgiving.
And bad advice is much worse than no advice, so I'll jus' hang around and wait for some good advice to happen.

Aloha, y'all
Weezard

[Esteban1]

Same here, I'm soil in the raw. Appears all of your ducks are in a row. It's gonna be a learning experience that I can assure thee. Read a bunch on the WWW 'bout hydro cuz it's out there plain to see, floating like a bumble bee stinging like a bee!

Sic Semper Tyrannus

:s4:

[emilya]

It seems to me that the theory is the same... NFT just uses a film and a bit of an angle to get the nutes to drip around the trunks to the roots. BD69's problems are even more basic... how does he find out how to get a correct nute mix with the stuff he has on hand?

Sometime soon BD69, you are going to need to move your plants out of the propagator and into the cubes on the table. I have never even used those cubes, so I know I am not much help. Someone should walk you through these next couple of steps. You need to figure out where the cubes go, how the film goes over them to distribute the solution and of course how to mix the solution correctly for the stage of growth you are in.

Do your lights have reflector hoods? Post a bunch of details in several notes BD, we need to get you over the threshold here so you can post pictures.

[bluedevil69]

I've decided to go soil on this grow till I find my feet.
Thanks for the input guys.

[emilya]

oooooh... now I can help you. If you have access to a hydro/soil/equipment store, I highly recommend Fox Farms Happy Frog for this early stage... it promotes good root development. If not, get some Miracle Grow 6 Month and flush it a couple of times really good before you put the young plants in it in order to rinse that initial nitrogen load they put in there away, it is usually too "hot" for seedlings. For this first stage, put them in beer cup sized pots, and water them really good. Then, leave them alone until they dry out. You are growing weeds, and they need to have a clear wet/dry cycle in order to thrive. Get used to the weight of the beer cup when it is dry, and use the lift method to tell when it is time to water again.

Don't make the mistake of putting the seedlings into too big of a container. It might seem like a good idea, but it is not. Right now, it is all about root development, and a large container is going to do things to those roots that are not very beneficial. Water slowly at first, even using a spray bottle if necessary. The roots are not very well developed yet and the plant will tend to move around in that first container if you are not careful. Water to the point of runoff... by that I mean slowly and until it starts coming out at the bottom. If you carefully measure how much water it takes to get to that point, you will be able to see your root growth... as the roots get more developed, you will be able to add more water each time than you could at first.