Hi all,

I have a detatched garage. It's walled into two 10x20 ft individuals garages. It's in a stinky alleyway next to several HPS streetlights. Nice potential. However this is my first real grow attempt. My log is below, and I'd welcome any and all feedback, but I have a more urgent question:

We're about to have our first cold front here (I'm in the south). It's supposed to be in the 40's tonight. Eventually we'll have a freeze, so I went to home depot and bought I nice thermostat and timer-controlled ceramic heater that promptly and repeatedly blew my old fuse. My 400 watt MH/HPS and the fan is about all this old garage wiring can take and the heater sends the wiring over edge.

Please suggest alternative, controllable heating methods? A propane camp heater? If so, do I get the kind that's safe to use in tent or the kind that emits carbon monoxide? Electric seems to be out of the question, and I'd hate for these babies to freeze to death.

Thanks for the feedback,

guano


__________________________________________________ ________________:rasta:
GROW LOG 10/16/06

Ok let??s see. For right or wrong, here??s what I??ve done for (and to) my crop so far. Most of it is based upon Ed Rosenthal??s ??EZ MJ Gardening? Guide.

October 2, 2006. I planted 36 seeds in 36 starter discs (dome + grow medium). Threw them under the bed ?? (Mistake #1?? but that??s what the instructions said to do on the box! -Hope Depot crap!! 

October 4th ?? no seedling ?? no nothing. Nada

October 5th ?? have to leave for biz trip.

October 6th I arrived home to discover that 11 of 36 seeds had germinated during my time out of town. Some plants had just sprouted and looked stout and health, other were bent from the humidity dome. All were fairly spindly. (No light ?? under the bed, d??oh!)?.I had no further germination of the remaining 25 seeds after 10 more days of water and light.

The 11 survivors stayed in the starter cups and I provided 200 watts of incandescent light for 2-3 days for both the germination dome (which produced nothing further) and the 11seedlings.

(*an aside: I know I screwed up the lighting (i.e. no lighting at all), shouldn??t have gone out town, etc, but I kept ??em moist, left the temp. above 72, etc. Any future suggestions on germinating seeds ?? like which light to use, how close and for how long? and which mediums? Fertilizer or no? I think I wasted some viable seeds this time around. Subsequent efforts have produced similarly poor results. I??m currently trying to germinate using paper towels.)

I am following Ed??s EZ grower??s guide pretty much to a ??t?. Instructions included placing the new seedling & the domes (which produced nothing further) under light, in my case metal halide, 24 hrs/day. Lights are 18? away from the tops

After the second set of leaves came through I repotted to 6 inch plastic pots using Fox Farms Organic potting soil.

Ed said to start fertilizing right away and I began using ph balanced water with ½ strength BioGrow from BioBizz in Holland. - - The soil medium and Bio Bizz were recommended by my local hydro store. I have not yet tested the soil PH, but considered I??ve always used balanced water, and this stuff is $21 a bag and from Humboldt County, I??m assume soil PH is not the problem.

It seems like there are many here would feel that I??ve over fertilized the babies from the beginning. The pictures shown are two days after transplant to 6 inch pots. So they??re about 12 day old? (Oct. 15th). I think I will flush with pure, balanced water (i.e. no fertilizer) after they dry up a bit more and establish themselves in their new homes. Or will the rapid reduction in fertilizer cause harm? Temp is variable from 70- 80 (in a garage  ) and humidity ?? 60-65. Water is 6.5 ph, non-chlorinated.

Any other suggestions? Am I on the right track? Anything else that might be causing the yellow, thinning, burning, etc? How can improve what I??m already working with?

Should I keep the MH light on 24/7 until flower time? I then plan to switch 12/12 HPS Sodium.

Thanks sincerely for the help!

guano
guano68 Reviewed by guano68 on . advice on non-electric heating in an unheated garage Hi all, I have a detatched garage. It's walled into two 10x20 ft individuals garages. It's in a stinky alleyway next to several HPS streetlights. Nice potential. However this is my first real grow attempt. My log is below, and I'd welcome any and all feedback, but I have a more urgent question: We're about to have our first cold front here (I'm in the south). It's supposed to be in the 40's tonight. Eventually we'll have a freeze, so I went to home depot and bought I nice Rating: 5