Transplanting Related
Common Q & A
Question: Why do some of or all of my plants die when I first transplant them?
Answer: A common mistake made when transplanting is transplanting into dry growing medium. You always want to get the soil or medium wet before transplanting into it in order to stop the roots from drying out. If the roots dry out the plants will die. Also when you get the soil or medium good and wet; you want break up the clumps. If you don’t, then you will have a dry spot and when the roots grow into that dry spot they will die back. Also in most cases you will need to hand water from the top until the roots start growing a little bit, usually a couple of days. Superthrive is a great product to use when transplanting. Superthrive is like getting a vitamin shot when you are sick.
Question: What size container should I have my plants in?
Answer: It will depend on your growing style and space limitations. Come into one of our stores and speak with our in-store garden design experts who can help you make informed decisions to maximize your space and budget.
Lighting Related – Common Q & A
Question: How often should I replace my bulbs?
Answer: As a general rule of thumb, you should replace your lamps/bulbs once every year.
Question: Sometimes when I buy a new Metal Halide (MH) bulb, you can see little balls rolling around or the inner arc tube is hazy white. Is that normal or is that new bulb no good?
Answer: The little balls rolling around in the arc tube are metal, that is the "Metal" in the Metal Halide/MH. The white hazy is the gas in the Metal Halide/MH. Both of these are normal for a Metal Halide/MH, and yes the bulb is good.
Question: When should I use a light meter?
Answer: You should use your light meter to test the output of your new bulbs so you have a baseline number for testing output loss over time.
Question: How often should I clean the glass in my air-cooled reflector?
Answer: As a general rule, you should be cleaning all of your hardware in your grow room, including the glass on your hoods, every two months.
Question: Is there such a thing as too much light?
Answer: Definitely yes! Too much light can and will negatively impact your plants.
Question: How do I eliminate the hot spots under my lights?
Answer: You can acquire a hot-spot diffuser, acquire a better hood (Sun System Reflectors are all we sell and the best for evenly disbursing light) or try aiming an oscillating wall fan at the area where you are noticing the symptoms of hot spots.
Question: How many hours of light do seedlings need?
Answer: 18-24
Question: How many hours of light do my clones need?
Answer: 24
Question: How many hours of light do my mom’s need?
Answer: 18-24
Question: How can I go in my grow room when the lights are off if you cannot turn on the light?
Answer: Use green spectrum lighting. At our shops you will find green spectrum LED headlamps and flashlights or a green spectrum T5 or CFL lighting system.
Question: How do I attach ducting to my air cooled reflector & fans?
Answer: We like to attach ducting to our reflectors with hose clamps and where we attach ducting to fans we like to use a combination of hose clamps and duct tape.
Question: Do my fans that cool my lights need to be on when my light is off?
Answer: No.