(Sorry if my explanation is a little unclear and all over the place, I have a few different things on my mind right now, but here it is..and thank you in advance!)
Edit: it seems even when I try to keep it somewhat short.. it is still really long, so my main questions for people that don't want to read everything and details.. are
1.) how reliable is the "float or sink seed test" for germination rates? should I rely on it when planting seeds?
2.) Is my 4.500k MH 400w bulb very useful? or is it pretty much as good as a HPS bulb without the added lumens, and if it really is not useful for producing more clustered/shorter/bushier plants, should I purchase a new bulb with a temp of 6.600k instead?
3.)added extra question is already pretty short at the bottom.
I am starting to clear my basement of all the clutter so I can set up my grow tent that should be coming in tomorrow, and I also just planted a bunch of my pepper seeds in the large Jiffy trays the other day, so I have a few questions about testing the seeds and some HID bulb questions that I have been unable to find a direct answer searching around..
(First off, I do not have the time, or interest in doing the germination test, yes I know that would be a foolproof way of knowing which seeds are good, but I just don't want to do it, so I am going with the float or sink test)
1.) I planted a majority of my seeds the other night, and I just got the Bhut Jolokia Naga Morich and 7Pot/Pod pepper seeds in today, and I will be getting some Jamaican Hot Chocolates and some Trinidad Scorps., Chocolate Bhuts and Aji Lemons in soon. But anyways I was reading about seed viability, and I saw that if the seeds float, they are more likely not to be viable. Is this true for the most part, because I remember that in some cases a majority of my seeds were floating before. The Nagas and 7Pot peppers are soaking right now, and about 1/2 of them are floating in the 7Pots and about 3/4 of the Nagas have sunk.. For these, since I will only be keeping 4 of each and I am running out of Jiffy Cells/room, I was going to put 2 seeds in each Jiffy cell to increase the odds. But for the seeds I planted the other night, I only planted 1 seed per cell, with 5 seeds per type of pepper (I planted a total of about 40+ seeds. And at this point is is kind of too late for them to see which ones were floating or not obviously, but I would like to know for the pepper seeds that I have yet planted, because I would like to only put 1 seed per cell in so that I don't need to separate them later if they both pop up.
So, for the majority of the seeds that I already planted, I will have to wait a few weeks to see if they pop up, if not then I will stick another seed in the cell and go from there, and I will make sure the seed I put in, will sink since that is generally more likely to germinate right? And for the new seeds once I get them in the mail, I will put just the seeds that sink into the cell, and probably save the other ones in a separate baggy since I don't have too many of them. That sound about right?
2.) And for my other question, I bought a 6x6' grow tent, I have a 400w grow light kit, that accepts both HPS and MH, I know 400w will only really cover about 4x4' and maybe 5x5' if I have some other supplemental lighting for that extra foot, that is not what I am worried about right now. (I plan on getting a dimmable 600w HID kit for next winter when I have fully grown pepper plants that I will keep over the winter, and start the seeds for next summer again so I will need all the room in the tent)
I was checking out the kit that I bought from Virtual Sun http://www.virtualsu...S400MS.asp?rt=2 and saw that the MH bulb temp is only 4,200k, I thought it would be much higher like 6.500k, but since it is not and I have it.. is that OK to use.. will the plants still grow well since it is a MH light, or is it pretty much close enough to a HPS light, that I would be better off using it for the higher Lumens.. And if that is the case, since I really want the smaller/compact plants, would I just be better off buying a new MH bulb that has a color temp of 6,600k from online if it will make a noticeable difference..
I am starting out the pepper plants this year, and keeping about 10-15 or so in pots and bringing them back in next winter (depends on space), and when I do I will be getting the 600w dimmable HID kit, but for now, would I be ok to use the MH bulb that I have, and when I get the 600w kit, get a higher temp bulb like 6,600k and then either keep the MH bulb I have now in the 400w kit, or just use the HPS bulb, so I would cover everything and have a boost in Lumens?
Right now I have already spent too much on growing stuff since this is my first time, but I would like to do it right since I have already spent the money, and would like the results to show the money/time I spent on everything, but if the MH bulb I have will do the job then I would rather not waste it and get some use out of the money I spent on buying it.
3.) Also last quick question about potting, from what I have read, I can get away will potting the plants that I will be moving into the garden outside this summer with 1gallon pots, and the ones that I will be keeping in pots I will move into either 3gallon or most likely just into 5gallon buckets so I don't need to buy more.. is that about right? and is there a noticeable different between plants in 3 gallon buckets as opposed to 5gallon buckets?.And is there a noticeable difference between the space a 3gallon pot takes up, and a 5 gallon bucket, because some of the taller/slimmer 5 gallon buckets I have are almost less space consuming than the shorter/fatter 3gallon buckets I have. I am just thinking about when I bring them back inside, I would like to keep about 10-15 plants (if it is possible to fit them in a 5x5 area about.. so I have the extra room in the 6x6 tent for the new plants for the following year when I need to pot them into 1gallon containers for about a month or so before I stick them in the mini greenhouse outside before it gets warm enough going into the ground
I just want to be clear on as much as possible, and once I get my grow tent tomorrow I can kind of get a better idea of how much I can fit, but other people's first hand experience is much better than speculation and guessing.
So that is it, and thank you very much for the response in advance!
Edit: it seems even when I try to keep it somewhat short.. it is still really long, so my main questions for people that don't want to read everything and details.. are
1.) how reliable is the "float or sink seed test" for germination rates? should I rely on it when planting seeds?
2.) Is my 4.500k MH 400w bulb very useful? or is it pretty much as good as a HPS bulb without the added lumens, and if it really is not useful for producing more clustered/shorter/bushier plants, should I purchase a new bulb with a temp of 6.600k instead?
3.)added extra question is already pretty short at the bottom.
I am starting to clear my basement of all the clutter so I can set up my grow tent that should be coming in tomorrow, and I also just planted a bunch of my pepper seeds in the large Jiffy trays the other day, so I have a few questions about testing the seeds and some HID bulb questions that I have been unable to find a direct answer searching around..
(First off, I do not have the time, or interest in doing the germination test, yes I know that would be a foolproof way of knowing which seeds are good, but I just don't want to do it, so I am going with the float or sink test)
1.) I planted a majority of my seeds the other night, and I just got the Bhut Jolokia Naga Morich and 7Pot/Pod pepper seeds in today, and I will be getting some Jamaican Hot Chocolates and some Trinidad Scorps., Chocolate Bhuts and Aji Lemons in soon. But anyways I was reading about seed viability, and I saw that if the seeds float, they are more likely not to be viable. Is this true for the most part, because I remember that in some cases a majority of my seeds were floating before. The Nagas and 7Pot peppers are soaking right now, and about 1/2 of them are floating in the 7Pots and about 3/4 of the Nagas have sunk.. For these, since I will only be keeping 4 of each and I am running out of Jiffy Cells/room, I was going to put 2 seeds in each Jiffy cell to increase the odds. But for the seeds I planted the other night, I only planted 1 seed per cell, with 5 seeds per type of pepper (I planted a total of about 40+ seeds. And at this point is is kind of too late for them to see which ones were floating or not obviously, but I would like to know for the pepper seeds that I have yet planted, because I would like to only put 1 seed per cell in so that I don't need to separate them later if they both pop up.
So, for the majority of the seeds that I already planted, I will have to wait a few weeks to see if they pop up, if not then I will stick another seed in the cell and go from there, and I will make sure the seed I put in, will sink since that is generally more likely to germinate right? And for the new seeds once I get them in the mail, I will put just the seeds that sink into the cell, and probably save the other ones in a separate baggy since I don't have too many of them. That sound about right?
2.) And for my other question, I bought a 6x6' grow tent, I have a 400w grow light kit, that accepts both HPS and MH, I know 400w will only really cover about 4x4' and maybe 5x5' if I have some other supplemental lighting for that extra foot, that is not what I am worried about right now. (I plan on getting a dimmable 600w HID kit for next winter when I have fully grown pepper plants that I will keep over the winter, and start the seeds for next summer again so I will need all the room in the tent)
I was checking out the kit that I bought from Virtual Sun http://www.virtualsu...S400MS.asp?rt=2 and saw that the MH bulb temp is only 4,200k, I thought it would be much higher like 6.500k, but since it is not and I have it.. is that OK to use.. will the plants still grow well since it is a MH light, or is it pretty much close enough to a HPS light, that I would be better off using it for the higher Lumens.. And if that is the case, since I really want the smaller/compact plants, would I just be better off buying a new MH bulb that has a color temp of 6,600k from online if it will make a noticeable difference..
I am starting out the pepper plants this year, and keeping about 10-15 or so in pots and bringing them back in next winter (depends on space), and when I do I will be getting the 600w dimmable HID kit, but for now, would I be ok to use the MH bulb that I have, and when I get the 600w kit, get a higher temp bulb like 6,600k and then either keep the MH bulb I have now in the 400w kit, or just use the HPS bulb, so I would cover everything and have a boost in Lumens?
Right now I have already spent too much on growing stuff since this is my first time, but I would like to do it right since I have already spent the money, and would like the results to show the money/time I spent on everything, but if the MH bulb I have will do the job then I would rather not waste it and get some use out of the money I spent on buying it.
3.) Also last quick question about potting, from what I have read, I can get away will potting the plants that I will be moving into the garden outside this summer with 1gallon pots, and the ones that I will be keeping in pots I will move into either 3gallon or most likely just into 5gallon buckets so I don't need to buy more.. is that about right? and is there a noticeable different between plants in 3 gallon buckets as opposed to 5gallon buckets?.And is there a noticeable difference between the space a 3gallon pot takes up, and a 5 gallon bucket, because some of the taller/slimmer 5 gallon buckets I have are almost less space consuming than the shorter/fatter 3gallon buckets I have. I am just thinking about when I bring them back inside, I would like to keep about 10-15 plants (if it is possible to fit them in a 5x5 area about.. so I have the extra room in the 6x6 tent for the new plants for the following year when I need to pot them into 1gallon containers for about a month or so before I stick them in the mini greenhouse outside before it gets warm enough going into the ground
I just want to be clear on as much as possible, and once I get my grow tent tomorrow I can kind of get a better idea of how much I can fit, but other people's first hand experience is much better than speculation and guessing.
So that is it, and thank you very much for the response in advance!
