Just started to grow but doing it on a budget. I have one plant started and a couple more that have not popped up yet. Any suggestions???
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My suggestion is 1st to have fun with growing. As you learn you won’t be so freaked out when issues pop up. These plants are far more resilient than most people realize. There is no 1 way to grow so play around trying synthetic and organic, soil VS hydro VS coco, find what you like the best. Personally I grow organic as it’s a much more simplistic approach imo. Watch lots of YouTube videos. Mr grow it, Mr Canucks grow, home grow TV, and bass drop keys all have great information and high quality videos. The biggest purchase is your light, don’t skimp. If you can afford to or can save up ac infinity has great lights as do HLG and grandmaster. Remember vivosun, Mars hydro and spider farmer are all budget brands, great to get your feet wet but you’ll out grow their potential fairly fast. They do work and can give you good weed but yields will be smaller and less dense than say an HLG or grandmaster. Ac infinity makes the quietest inline fans. Go bigger than what you need for your tent. Mine calls for an 8” and I bought a 10” one. I did this so the fan can operate at slower speeds with the same result. This will help the fan last longer and operate much quieter. Don’t just use any soil you can find, stuck with something like fox farms happy frog at least as a starter. If you’re feeding synthetic nutes make sure you have a pH pen and a way to measure ec/ppm. That’s my basic starting point for beginners.
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Yes, control your urge to touch and manipulate the plant every day, watering it every day, over-fertilizing, etc. The most common mistake is that we want to be constantly attentive, when in reality they grow alone and strong if you give them food and a suitable environment. Avoid homemade concoctions and fertilizers.
Mmm yes, watering, less is better than more. If it’s hot in your country, even better; if not, you’ll barely be able to water because the pot will retain water for many days. A good trick is to weigh the pot by hand before watering, remember the weight, and don’t water again until it weighs the same.
But the soil must be dry before watering again; even if you think it’s time to fertilize, don’t overwater, especially if it’s not summer, because it can take a very, very long time until you have to water again.
And with fertilizers, start low and go slow. If 1ml per liter is recommended, start with 0.5ml per liter and then increase it at the next watering; this will save you many problems.
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Why would you avoid homemade ferts. There is a whole growing style called Korean natural farming that is just homemade ingredients. Hell if you grow organic you can make all of that too.
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Because he say that ita his first time :).
and it is not that easy, it will probably end up saturating the substrate, or clogging the roots, irrigating with inappropriate pH, etc. Just because something is homemade does not make it better, that is why experts create biostimulants. I have no doubt that as a novice grower, you have 100 more important things to take care of and focus on. such as the substrate, irrigation, amount of light, distance, fertilizer dosage, pruning, ventilation, humidity, etc, etc, etc, when he has some experience he will have fun making homemade fertilizers (which will still not be better than the commercial ones) don’t you think hahaha
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My fist 5 grows was basic levels of knf. It’s just combining plant matter or flower material and fermenting for a week before use. Stupid simple and requires about 15-20 minutes of work per batch. Now years later I still use it to supplement my organic store bought ammendments. Also in organics and knf pH isn’t a thing we chase.
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The thing is, the organic elements you mention need to be more controlled, precisely because of your experience. I don’t think it’s reasonable for a first-timer to try such things. You can, of course you can because they will give you experience, but it will be based on problems and failures. The plants will grow and yield fruit just the same (if you don’t make too many mistakes) because they are very resilient themselves, but you will undoubtedly reduce production, at least until you gain experience and start calibrating. And even then, you will always tend to get less production than with commercial products, because they are simply designed specifically for these plants, in laboratories, and are still 100% organic and natural. I don’t see why these products should be underestimated, as, among other things, they are as simple to use as measuring milliliters per liter of water, and following the product’s fertilization chart.
I don’t mean that homemade products are worse, although in my opinion they are, since we can’t achieve the quantities or results that laboratory experts can “by eye”. But that’s my opinion, and I know there are people who believe otherwise, and I respect that. In my opinion, I repeat, a specific laboratory product cannot be improved upon. Organic products are simply more complicated, and first-time cultivators tend to have serious problems. Advising them on homemade fertilizers is a headache, which will add to the problems they already have due to inexperience, and in the best-case scenario, being very optimistic, a significant loss of production for a novice, I repeat. I don’t doubt that experienced people control this perfectly, but they also have the advantage of controlling all other parameters and easily correcting errors or problems. 
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What I said I’m my last comment still stands true. My first grows were done using knf homemade inputs(nutrients). It’s silly how simple it is to get started. I had a “black thumb” before knf, I couldn’t grow anything. Knf homemade inputs simplified everything and was practically free. I’ll leave it at that.
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