Important Question

So when it comes to growing cannabis d o you really need all the special lights and right soil and nutrients and humidity or can you just buy some regular soil plant the seed and water it every day

I don’t know about all the special lights, but you do need enough light for the plant’s stage of growth. Also you do need at least both the two frequencies of blue and two of red covered in the light spectrum provided to the plants. Most lights rated with a color rating of 5000-6500 will cover these colors and are a relatively close equivalent to the color of the sunlight.

Seedlings and clones require about 400-1000 lumens per square foot.

Vegetative growth requires about a minimum of 2,000 to 3,000 lumens per square foot.

Flowering requires about 5,000 to 10,000 lumens per square foot, ideally, and can take possibly much more.

10,000 lumens is supposed to be about the average power of the sun at sea level on a clear day at high noon, or something like that, lol. 8,000 – 12,000 lumens is supposed to be about the average power of the full sun without any overcast or no clouds depending on altitude and potentially other factors.

When looking at this from an electrical usage standpoint, this means you need about 50 watts of actual electricity used by the light per square foot, no matter what type of light you use. Except old fasioned incandescent lights, even at 50 watts they won’t provide what a plant needs to stay healthy, but CFLs with the color rating mentioned above will provide a healthy balance of the light a plant needs. And of course “special” horticultural LEDs, T5s, CFLs, and HIDs at 50 watts per square foot will also provide everything a plant needs to stay healthy. If you notice, you can use half, or significantly less, the watts for veg that you would use for flower.

When growing in a container, for the most part, you can’t expect the soil to provide enough nutrients for the plant for the entire life cycle. So you will wan’t to feed it with something for most of its life, but you don’t absolutely have to buy or use specialty name brand nutrients. But you do need to provide enough of the right nutrients to be able to get your plant to yeild its max potential.

Of course download and checkout the free e-book, it will help you get started no matter what you decide to get or how you decide to grow.

Hope this helps,

MacG

I have finally received my seeds im ready to start but im getting cotrasting information my cupboard is about 2ft deep 4 ft wide and7 ft high… Do you think i should use a dual spectrum bulb 600w for the whole grow start to finish?? I thouvht a 400w would b plenty but have been advised otherwise also been told to place my peat cube under light whilst germination but last time i done it i germinated in complete darkness untill a taproot appeard then i moved to the light area?? I have three amnesia haze and one critical all females but not autos… Im only planning on two at a time tho

Germinating in the dark is how I’ve always done it and as long as it is the right temperature, not too cold, above about say 65F. A light bulb kind of close above the soil could add heat if needed. Then I continue growing it under say a 45 watt(actual watts) CFL anywhere from 5000K to 6500K “kelvin color rating” is fine. I think a 400 Watt HID would be more than enough for a 2x4 for later veg and flower, if you can control the heat, as using 50 watt per square foot as is the industry standard, 2ftx4ft.=8sq. ft. and 8ftx50watts=400watts

I have finally received my seeds im ready to start but im getting cotrasting information my cupboard is about 2ft deep 4 ft wide and7 ft high… Do you think i should use a dual spectrum bulb 600w for the whole grow start to finish?? I thouvht a 400w would b plenty but have been advised otherwise also been told to place my peat cube under light whilst germination but last time i done it i germinated in complete darkness untill a taproot appeard then i moved to the light area?? I have three amnesia haze and one critical all females but not autos… Im only planning on two at a time tho

Ok great i have two feminised amnesia haze in peat cubes in the dark in a propagator temp is a steady 25 around the cubes and the base slightly warmer… Ok so a 400w then the girl in the shop was telling me to use a 600w dual spectrum bulb as she reckons a 400w would not provide enuf wattage during flowering but i think il take your advice and get the 400w as this was my initial thought aswell…i really appreciate the help this is my first solo project

Just keep in imd that the bigger the lamp/s, the more heat you have to deal with. Nothing wrong with a 600 watt digital switchable ballast
, especially if you can manage the heat. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Hi mate ok h er es wats happenin i have successfully germinated 2 amnesia haze feminised seeds, one is four days behind the other iv named um mary and jane tomorrow will be day7 and already both are showing true leaves ihave them under a dual spectrum 250 cfl then qetting a 600w dual spectrum with digital adjustable balist, does that sound right mate??

I think so. It got a little confusing. If you have a 150 cfl, that is great for seedlings and veg. You can flower with it too. However; A dedicated 600w se digital NH/HPS lamp is nice in order to grow bigger buds.

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Electrifying! - pellet starters

Well my girls are now on there third sunday since i dropped the ungerminated ed seed into pelletts and they are growing amazing plenty of green leaves. I went away for three days but set up a wick drip system using a bottle and shoelaces to keep my girls fed whilst away and it worked perfectly i started using first feed on fri and both are now in bigger pots… Am thinking of starting an auto pot feeding system do you know much about em?? @MacGyverStoner

Exactly three weeks since ungerminated seeds where planted… Fed on boiled tap water

AMNESIA HAZE… My first ever attempt at a wee grow

A post was merged into an existing topic: Important Question

What do you mean by auto pots? I’ve seen everything from wicking pots to computer controlled drip systems and even a flood and drain like system called an “auto pot”.

~MacG

It seems to be a system in which i can leave watering them altogether for up to two weeks as this feeds only wat they need, i just mix my water an nutrients in a large container which then feeds my two pots with only what they require throufh a small valve… I am going to collect it today i shall post a pic and u can give me your opinion if thats ok??

This is the system i bought today…there is also a 50litre bucket which it connects too which stores the water/nutrients @MacGyverStoner

It looks and sounds interesting. I say anything that can make your job easier is a good thing, especially as long as it doesn’t over do anything and the soil doesn’t stay too wet. It looks very promising, keep us updated! :smile:

Happy Growing!

~MacG

From how it was described to me it is impossible for it to over or under feed it seems to work like a toilet system with floats and valves it says to let roots establish with feedings before connecting it upso im potting them tonight and will hook it up next week i will keep you updated, thanks for the advice @MacGyverStoner as ive said this is my first go so trying to do everything right