Beginner's Single-Plant Grow!

[julik]

I grow with CFLs and you’re gonna need at least five bulbs to flower a single plant. Think about getting some more for he future

For sure! I'm trying to buy them as needed while the plant vegetates and grows larger, so as not to hurt my sensitive college student wallet I've employed some other lower wattage CFLs I had laying around the house as well.

[Chefbjy]

Awesome just take care of it and follow the guides, I'm sure it will peak your interest if you're enthusiastic about cannabis. There is always more to learn and it's a great experience in my opinion. I have always tried to grow and never would have been successful if not for this web site. Sure I could have gotten lucky and followed another inexperienced growers advice but the tutorials guides and troubleshooting columns gave me the knowledge to be confident about growing cannabis.
Wise man say there's always someone who knows more.

[9fingerleafs]

I grow with CFLs and you’re gonna need at least five bulbs to flower a single plant. Think about getting some more for he future

[Canuck147]

Get something with calcium/magnesium in it.

[julik]

Update: Just ordered some coco coir, a pH testing and modifying kit, as well as another bulb- gonna go out and get some perlite and nutrients from my local gardening store within the next few days!

[Chefbjy]

http://www.growweedeasy.com/basics

[julik]

Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like I should go get some real soil. I'll do some more in-depth research into what sort of soil and supplies I need, and definitely will start out with the right soil next time.

[Campesino]

I also have not begun to monitor my soil pH yet, but I plan to buy a pH testing kit soon.

In most set-ups you pH test (and adjust) the water (going in and coming out) not the soil per se.

Agree with others that medium should be changed. May be fine until flowering, but time release nutes will shock and even kill a flowering cannabis plant.
Almost all grow mediums will require that you add nutes of some sort and not just depend on what's in the medium. This site has all the info you need, spend some time reading all the relevant tutorials! And don't be afraid to ask questions or for advice.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Yeah, don't wait, get her in some good soil-coco, soon. Nice little young plant, but she will not do well in that MG.

[Chefbjy]

As you have already discovered miraclegrow is not suitable for cannabis therefore you may have nutrient problems but looks fine if you can get it in some decent medium you could be fine with a soil that contains enough nutes to supply it for a few weeks. I use nutes in my medium and so do a lot of indoor growers it's what the plant needs. I suggest trying to get as much of that miracle grow off the root ball and putting it a medium that it can thrive on or you're just going to run into problems. As for purple tones some plants do have genetics that produce vibrant colors. Definitely not a good medium I'm sure most will agree with that.

[julik]

Hello friends! My name is J and I'm a university student and cannabis enthusiast who has recently gotten into the growing world somewhat by accident. I found a seed in one of my batches of bud, and for shits & giggles decided to see if it would germinate (I had tried this before, but the seed turned out to be a dud so I was a bit disheartened) and to my excitement it did!

The pictures I've included were taken a bit more than 2 weeks after the initial cotyledon leaves sprouted out of the soil. As you can see, the stems, veins, and undersides of the leaves are all a beautiful deeppurple color- I'm hoping this is a genetic trait, as it seems to be universal among all of the plant's growths. The edges are also slightly tinged a dark purple, which I initially thought to be nute burn, but it also seems to be universal among all the foliage and the plant seems happy regardless.

My setup is located in my bedroom closet. Although my closet has a window, I've covered it up and I have the plant on a 20/4 lighting schedule. There's an oscillating fan running pretty much all the time in the grow space.
The soil I'm using is (as I later found out) definitely not ideal for growing cannabis: I used Miracle-Gro soil specialized for succulents, cacti, and citrus plants. It was what I had available within an arm's reach, and as an eager beginner I neglected to do my homework ahead of time. The soil has decent drainage and a reasonable NPK ratio of 6:4:2, but it also contains slow-releasing nutrients which led me to have to flush the soil on two different occasions. I also have not begun to monitor my soil pH yet, but I plan to buy a pH testing kit soon.
I'm currently using one 'daylight' 42-watt (100w equivalency) CFL bulb and another 25-watt 'soft white' CFL as I await my other 42w in the mail. The plant seems to be very happy with the lighting setup, although if it keeps getting bigger at its current rate, I'm probably going to have to order more bulbs!

So, my questions for the public are these:
-Should I risk shocking the root system by transplanting it to a different type of soil, or does it seem happy in the current medium? Should I invest in supplemental nutes or will the soil supply enough?
-Is the purple tone indicative of a deficiency or illness of some sort, or does it appear to be a genetic trait that I don't need to worry about?
-What else can I do to keep the lil' fella happy and healthy while it lives in my closet?

Thanks for reading, and I'm excited to dive into the world of growing cannabis!
-J