This is my first time and i’ve been reading eeeeeverything in these forums! So much good advice! It seems like most of you guys are high-volume growers with lots of sophisticated hydro equipment that I can’t even fathom making work or paying the electric bill for. Lol. I am an experienced gardner in that I grow all of my own produce for eating and I have cultivated a pretty nice flower garden along with some indoor citrus trees. Cannabis is foreign and new to me, but it seems like so far so good. I’ve got two, one week-old WW seedlings in my indoor greenhouse under the same setup I use to start all of my vegetables (I grow from seed) and clone my flowers. I am keeping it super simple and growing in my own homemade compost, which I mixed with a teaspoon of earthworm castings. I water with a very VERY dilute neem oil mix like I do with all of my plants. For some reason gnats get really bad really quickly here, even if the soil isn’t wet and I never have issues if I use the neem. I have a sunblaster full spectrum light above and a seedling heat pad below. For air circulation and humidity/temp control I just open the flap of the greenhouse and leave it open during the day while the light is on while a ceiling fan in the room is on medium speed. At night when I turn off the light I lightly mist the tray that the plants are sitting in and zip the door closed. In this way they are never ever saturated, but the humidity stays consistent enough that they don’t ever get bone dry. About 50% humidity and 74F temps seems to be where it stays at… which is generally what I like my entire house to be at come to think of it. Must be a magic combo. 
I don’t plan on using any nutes besides what I use on my produce… i’m not much of a smoker, and I don’t like chemical fertilizers in the things i’m going to eat. Earthworm castings and a neutral ph fish/ocean mineral emulsion will likely be the extent of it. Does anyone else grow in a similar manner? Any tips? Anything special I should watch out for?
Looks like a good start, I am only growing one plant currently. I use very little nutes as well, aside from a real weak alaskian kelp mix and water from my aquaponics. Check out my grow in “fun facts” section. It’s called “unknown grow journal” good luck and the guys Mac and Latewood are very knowledgable.
Welcome to our world. Great to see you getting off to a great start .
My name is Garrigan62. But you can call me Will. Iem sure I’ll see you around and if I can help you I will. Lakewood and Stoner are awesome forks who can really help when you n
Need it the most.
Will
Welcome this is the best place for knowledge I’m new also but have learned so much since being on this site
Hello and welcome.
We’ll help you the best we can through this interwebbernet thingy.
There is nothing wrong with keeping it simple and basic and growing organically in soil. However hydro doesn’t need to be sophisticated nor expensive and it wouldn’t necessarily really add anything to the electric bill. The light, and/or dealing with the heat they generate usually contributes the greatest to the electric bill. I had to google the sunblaster full spectrum light to gather it is probably a T5 fluorescent light, nothing wrong with using these in small quarters, and with a little effort you can get really good flowering results with fluorescent lighting, especially the new T5 high output lights like those sunblasters.
A note about “chemical” fertilizers, technically everything is chemicals, THC is a chemical, and plants need the basic chemical compounds describe in detail in the NPK and micro-nutrient info on most fertilizers. I have no problem getting the necessary chemicals from “natural” sources such as earthworm casings and fish emulsions, manure and home made compost, but keep in mind, not everything has to some out of some creature’s behind to be good and healthy. Having said that, Robert himself does like a good natural compost and has written much on it here:
And so, if you can grow healthy tomatoes with your compost, you shouldn’t have any problems growing cannabis. Keep in mind cannabis roots are a little more delicate and can become waterlogged easier than many plants, treat them like cactus roots and you should do good.
I personally prefer Diatomaceous Earth (food grade)/Fossil flour for fungus/soil gnats, but if the low neem oil is working for you, so be it, many others have good success with neem oil.
Latewood will likely get around to welcoming you here as well. And he has a lot more experience with soil amendments and might be able to add something, but it looks like you are likely going to do well. Cannabis is not really that different than most plants.
Thanks! I realize it might take a little longer to grow in soil, but being that good seeds are $10 a pop average I figured I would stick to what I know the first time around for safety. I might try a small hydro setup with some clones someday in the future once i’ve figured it out, but expensive mistakes are definitely my least favorite kind.
Thank you for the advice! In regards to the chemical ferts, I actually had a decent crop using them (once I figured out that they all say to mix WAY too much and you should always half it) but they changed the flavor of my veggies. It made them taste ferrous… like the aftertaste you get after you test a 9v battery with your tongue, and I realized that some have some heavy metals in them. Unfortunately the majority won’t list their ingredients. I have a well and they can build up in ground water and cause algae during the summer as well so I just err on the side of caution and non-stinky water. Lol. I placed an order for some D. Earth and i’m excited to try it out on my indoor plants and in some outdoor pots where slugs are eating my bulbs. I use the neem mainly because it is systemic and I have a hive of wild bees that pollinate my garden and share their excess honey with me in turn for being kept very well-fed. My garden is also a breeding hub for the monarch migrations and I don’t mind sharing with the caterpillars. There is more than enough to go around out there, and the neem doesn’t hurt either of them, but destructive pests like locusts, ants and potato bugs hate it. I have grown tomatoes, hot peppers and figs to fruit over the winter under this little Sunblaster light. It’s pretty good for what it is, and it is definitely very bright. A few strategically placed reflective surfaces in my little green house get me full exposure from all sides on most plants (I rotate the center foliage to face the outside every day if I have it packed), and even closed up it only seems to change the ambient temperature by about 5-8 degrees, which is really nice.
Yes, it does greatly depend on what other metals, especially unnecessary ones, that might be included in a cheap fertilizer.
Welcome Pinky! Sounds like you’re off to a great start, and with a green thumb you should do fine. I’m more of the hydro guy, but I absolutely love the organics. Keep us posted on your progress!
Happy Growing. Look forward to your success 
Hi @PinkyPigBull . You’ve got tfe right stuff there lady. You’re right on top of things. Good job. Welcome to the forum. I live in the NE, Boston area…south. My only advice may be to pick a strain that matches your latitude. I’ve had great success with Afganny. You’re lucky to have a greenhouse. Envy at this end. LOL. Good luck. Happy grow.You will do well.