First Ever Grow: Beginner Questions

[Danielsaaan]

Hey all,

New member to the forum and about to start my first grow.

Strain: Fastbuds Gelato Autoflower from NA Seed Bank.

My tent with carbon filter, in-line fan, and light are all ready to go. I’m using the Vivosun VS4000 in a 4x4 tent and I’m going to try to grow 3 plants. Soil is Fox Farm Ocean Forest with additional organic perlite in 5 gallon fabric pots. I’m germinating the seeds using the paper towel method now.

Question 1: Should I water the soil before I place the seedlings? If so, how much? Til little run-off?
Question 2: How far away should my lights be from the soil at this stage? 100% light, or use dimmer? Is there a guide to what strength my lights should be, and how far from the plants I should have them?
Question 3: How long can my plant grow before I begin supplementing nutrients? Ocean Forest with Perlite in 5 gallon fabric pots. I do have the FF trio, but I’m thinking I may only need to use Tiger Bloom later on in the plants life? Maybe some Cal-Mag as well?
Question 4: Do I need to pH my water? I see conflicting advice everywhere. Some say it’s extremely important. Others say the soil will regulate itself. If I do, what pH am I looking for?

I plan on doing little LTS as it’s my first grow.

Trying my best to be prepared and not overcomplicate things (not easy)!

I appreciate any feedback. Excited for my first grow and to be apart of the AFN!

Thank you!

 

[JoeBogs]

Man I hope someone answers em all! I’m you but 20 days later and the only piece of advice I can offer is light related and it’s to get the Photone app so as you learn about ppfd requirement/suggestions you can see what your levels are around the tent at different distances from the light. My light (efinity 630w) had a chart showing that at 24” away and 100% power it has ppfd of about 1080. I read a lot that 200-400 ppfd is good for seedlings so I set my dimmer at 40% and 10/10 seeds popped. To be honest though I don’t know if it was my common sense or dumb luck that it worked. Good luck man and welcome to the rabbit hole!

 

[Danielsaaan]

Man I hope someone answers em all! I’m you but 20 days later and the only piece of advice I can offer is light related and it’s to get the Photone app so as you learn about ppfd requirement/suggestions you can see what your levels are around the tent at different distances from the light. My light (efinity 630w) had a chart showing that at 24” away and 100% power it has ppfd of about 1080. I read a lot that 200-400 ppfd is good for seedlings so I set my dimmer at 40% and 10/10 seeds popped. To be honest though I don’t know if it was my common sense or dumb luck that it worked. Good luck man and welcome to the rabbit hole!

Appreciate it, Joe! I’ll look into using the dimmer at first. I’ll check that app out too

 

[Danielsaaan]

Also, who do you guys recommend for good genetics? I’ve heard Mephisto is one of the best for autos. What are some other recommendations?

 

[MIAutomatic]

Welcome!
I have used happy frog quite a few times in the past and this is what I did for seedlings:

prepare pot and water till you just barely get some runoff about 24 hours before you are ready to plant. Don’t plant more plants than 1/2 inch deep, but I usually for less, more like 1/3-1/4 inch. I soak my seeds overnight but I don’t wait for a big taproot to emerge, I plant as soon as the seed cracks open and you can see the white tail just poking out to know it’s viable. Too wet or too dry at this stage can make it break a seedling, you need to keep the topsoil moist, but not wet. A viable seed should pop in 1-3 days. Once it pops continue to keep it moist but not wet, and do not add anything to happy frog but tap water for at least 3 weeks. This is where most people go wrong with happy frog, it’s far from super soil, but is has enough to keep plants well feed for 2-4 weeks depending on the grow.

Seedlings can handle more light than most people give them, but here is where some knowledge of PPFD and DLI will be useful, get the Photone app and aim for a DLI of 25-30 for your seedlings. Marijuana plants can take crazy high DLI in the right circumstances, but for your first grow I would aim for a DLI in the mid 40s with 18 hours of light by the time your plants have their 4th node.

Wait at least 3 weeks after sprout before adding anything to happy frog, so important I said it twice. If you are using tap water also DO NOT add any additional calmag, and if you are using RO a small amount 100 PPM max. This is another area where folks go wrong with happy frog, it is loaded with lots of calmag and only needs light doses like you would get from tap water.

It’s good to know your PH, but you shouldn’t need to fuss with it too much. Check runoff ph occasionally to make sure it’s staying in range. Most nutrients are designed to keep an acceptable range of ph when mixed with tap water, but RO will usually need adjusting and buffering with calmag. Ph of 6-7 will be fine for a soil grow, and you can push those margins without having too many issues.

good luck!

 

[MIAutomatic]

Also, who do you guys recommend for good genetics? I’ve heard Mephisto is one of the best for autos. What are some other recommendations?

Mephisto

 

[MIAutomatic]

Mephisto

Haha, I was dealing with a baby while I typed that, but Mephisto is good enough to say it twice.

 

[Danielsaaan]

Much appreciated, MIAutomatic!

 

[Danielsaaan]

Welcome!
I have used happy frog quite a few times in the past and this is what I did for seedlings:

prepare pot and water till you just barely get some runoff about 24 hours before you are ready to plant. Don’t plant more plants than 1/2 inch deep, but I usually for less, more like 1/3-1/4 inch. I soak my seeds overnight but I don’t wait for a big taproot to emerge, I plant as soon as the seed cracks open and you can see the white tail just poking out to know it’s viable. Too wet or too dry at this stage can make it break a seedling, you need to keep the topsoil moist, but not wet. A viable seed should pop in 1-3 days. Once it pops continue to keep it moist but not wet, and do not add anything to happy frog but tap water for at least 3 weeks. This is where most people go wrong with happy frog, it’s far from super soil, but is has enough to keep plants well feed for 2-4 weeks depending on the grow.

Seedlings can handle more light than most people give them, but here is where some knowledge of PPFD and DLI will be useful, get the Photone app and aim for a DLI of 25-30 for your seedlings. Marijuana plants can take crazy high DLI in the right circumstances, but for your first grow I would aim for a DLI in the mid 40s with 18 hours of light by the time your plants have their 4th node.

Wait at least 3 weeks after sprout before adding anything to happy frog, so important I said it twice. If you are using tap water also DO NOT add any additional calmag, and if you are using RO a small amount 100 PPM max. This is another area where folks go wrong with happy frog, it is loaded with lots of calmag and only needs light doses like you would get from tap water.

It’s good to know your PH, but you shouldn’t need to fuss with it too much. Check runoff ph occasionally to make sure it’s staying in range. Most nutrients are designed to keep an acceptable range of ph when mixed with tap water, but RO will usually need adjusting and buffering with calmag. Ph of 6-7 will be fine for a soil grow, and you can push those margins without having too many issues.

good luck!

Just keep the plant moist until how long? When should I begin regular watering?

Do you water until there is a little run off each time you water? Do you water the entire area of soil, or just near the plant?

I bought the FF trio a while ago, before I dove deep into this, so I’m going to give them a shot. Start around week 4? Start with just Grow Big every other water until flower? Then when flowering, start giving Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom? I’ll start low on the recommendations to see how the plants react, then slowly increase if needed.

Sorry for so many questions. I think I will soak my soil in some tapwater tomorrow, as my seeds should have a taproot by Thursday (I hope)!

Thanks all!

 

[MotaZona]

I would top dress &/or mix in some quality compost &/or worm castings.
Using Recharge wouldn’t hurt either.