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indoor Transferring from the humidity dome to the grow tent

BurninBob

BurninBob

Greetings,
 
I have some hot peppers ( and some other veggies such as cucumbers, tomato, zucchini, bell peppers, kale, etc) that have started germinating in the humidity dome.  As they have sprouted I have been transplanting them to my 48"x48"x81" grow tent with a Sunleaves Pioneer VIII high output T5 (8 grow bulbs).  I have some questions that I'm hoping folks can help out with:
 
  • How close should I keep the light to the plants?  I know if you keep them too far up, the plants will "reach" for the light (cucumbers have already done this, as they are the fastest growing)?  Right now I have the light about 12" above the plants.  I had it lower last night, but decided to raise it, as it was getting very hot (100 degrees+) under the light (I have a digital thermometer that displays temp, humidity with highs and lows for both also under the light).  
  • Whats the best light cycle at this stage?  Right now I have it set to 18 hours on 6 hours off. 
  • Should I be adding any fertilizer/nutrients at this stage?  As I'm sure most of you know, the seedling mix is pretty sterile, as you don't want anything to burn the seeds while they germinate.  Eventually I'll be transferring them into some bigger containers (I see a lot of peeps use 16oz Solo Plastic cups, I'll probably do the same) with true potting soil, but the seedlings are definitely not ready for this yet, so wondering if I should give them a boost at this stage.   
Thanks in advance!
 
Bob
 
Sounds like you're off to a great start, the lighting height/schedule sound good to go.
 
Ferts depend on your starter soil mix, if they start slowing down or showing deficiency it would be wise to give them a 1/4 dose or so. Kelp meal products are a good boost to young plants, relieving the need to "do something to help" without throwing something too strong at them :D
 
Sounds like you're off to a great start, the lighting height/schedule sound good to go.

Ferts depend on your starter soil mix, if they start slowing down or showing deficiency it would be wise to give them a 1/4 dose or so. Kelp meal products are a good boost to young plants, relieving the need to "do something to help" without throwing something too strong at them :D


great, thanks! i used Black Gold seedling mix. i am thinking Algamin Kelp Meal might be a good additive to give them a boost?
 
Kelp meal can be made into a weak tea by soaking a tablespoon per gallon for a day or two, speeding it up a bit if you start it off in half a cup of boiled water. Unless they are showing a lack of vigour, it is usually best to let the plant do its thing :)
 
Ok, so I picked up some Neptune Harvest tonight.  Its 2-3-1, made of fish and seaweed, organic, micronutrients, all that happy $h!t.  For house plants it called for 1 tblspn per gallon, so cut that in half and did 1/2 tblsn per gallon.  Hopefully that's not too strong.  I'll let everyone know how I make out. 
 
BB 
 
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