some basic growing techniques?

i have a friend who is trying a grow. we have a couple of questions;
is miracle grow a good idea?
is 12 hours light, 12 hours dark good?

and finally, is there any way to force it to grow faster than usual. i'm not even really sure what a normal grow time is, but it must be something like may to october for outdoor. so is there any way to make indoor plants grow quicker??
thanks

 

Q. is miracle grow a good idea?
A. No.

Q. is 12 hours light, 12 hours dark good?
A. Yes - for the flowering stage.

Q. and finally, is there any way to force it to grow faster than usual.
A. Yes, leave the lights on 24/7 while in the veg stage.

Q. i'm not even really sure what a normal grow time is, but it must be something like may to october for outdoor.
A. It depends on where you are. The longer it grows, between the frost seasons, the more the female plant will produce if cared for properly!

Q. so is there any way to make indoor plants grow quicker??
A. Most people only grow indoor plants for 3-4 monthes total. 3 or 4 harvests a year of many small plants indoors as opposed to 1 harvest of a few big plants outdoors.

 

well no need to post anything here.......t.h. got it

- 42o -

 

T.H. got most of it. Miracle grow isn't bad, it's not the best, but it'll work. Just remember you want food high in N for veggie time, and high in PK for flowering. For a veggie photoperiod most people go either 18/6 or 24 hours on. Most plants take about 2 months from the time they start a 12/12 photoperiod till they are ready to harvest. Now once the pre-flowers start to show on your plants, then you can either put them into 12/12 and start them blooming, or wait and keep them in veggie longer to make a bigger plant, and a bigger yield. Good luck

--Dash

 

You also want abundant Magnesium for chlorophyll or your photosynthesis will be limited. So if you're using MiracleGro be sure to supplement with Epsom Salts.
And don't forget calcium, if you're using MiracleGro be sure to keep an extra close eye on your ph levels at all times. Oh yeah, and Sulfur - well, you get the picture.
MiracleGro is good for house plants - just not the kind of plants that we grow in the house!!!

 

thanks guys, one more thing;

what about the lights right now, when its just a seedling?
12/12 or 24hrs?

does PK mean phosphorus and potassium?
what do you mean "keep them in veg longer?" by giving more light and then reduce it to 12/12 to get them to bud?

and TH, i got S, Ca, and Mg, but how do we test the pH? and what should it be?

 

watch the movies on youtube . . . search marijuana cultivation. it's a start, but there is a ton of shit you should learn .. .

 

I would suggest for a seedling 24/0, keep it like that for a week or two then switch to 18/6 or just keep it at 24/0......it's up to you. But i would suggest atleast a 18/6 light cycle. (Being 18 hours on, 6 hours off.)

yes P is phosphorus and K is potassium

What dash means is, after the plants show signs of male/female you can either put them in a 12/12 cycle to start budding or you can keep/put them in a 18/6 light cycle for more vegatative growing to get a more plentiful harvest

you can buy a digital pH meter from almost anywhere on the net. Or you can buy soil pH checker that you just put in the soil and it reads the pH. Or you can buy a kit that checks the water pH. I have a digital soil pH checker and a water pH checker/adjuster kit. I keep my soil at a pH of about 6.5 and they seem to love it. I just pH adjust my water to 6.5 before i water the plants. That way when you water your plants your giving them water with a pH of 6.5 and if you keep watering with that pH it generally keeps your soil around that pH. So i would suggest you atleast get a water pH checker/adjuster kit that way you can atleast pH adjust your water.......i would try and keep the pH between 6.0 - 7.0. It can grow in conditions other than this but i find right at about 6.5 pH seems to be the best for my plants.


- 42o -

 

Forgot to add that a great online site for supplies is......... plantitearth.com


- 42o -

 

Hey Porkstock!

First of all - read, study and learn everything you can find about growing marijuana so that you will understand the terms we are using. Start now!
Second - what kind of lights are you using?
The lights should be on for 18-24 hours per day. If less than 24 they should be on a timer so they are turned on and off at the same time everyday. This timing should stay the same all through the veg cycle.
Yes, P and K stand for phosphorus and Potasium.
"Keep them in veg longer" means to extend the vegetation cycle - continuing to leave the lights on for long "day" periods for an extended period of time. This makes the plant bigger before switching to the flowering cycle.
Test the ph with a ph tester available at Walmart garden centers or Home Depot etc., or else at a pet shop that sells tropical fish. Or with Litmus Paper available at a pharmacy. Try to keep the ph at about 6.5

 

thanks guys! i hope my buddy checks up on this. i'll be able to explain what he can't grasp hopefully.

 

I'm using some of that generic fertilizer so am needing micronutrients, any suggestions? I don't want to buy anything online so like the epsom salts and eggshells those are great, any more? Am using perlite so no nutes in it.

 

Buy a grow book.
Read it.
Read it again.

 

I think that is the best advice you can give! You can only get so much info on the web, but if you buy a good book like Jorge Cervantes' or BOG's books, you will learn a great deal, the authors are absolutely reliable and very informative. The Indoor Grow Bible is one of the best IMO.

 

i have that