Each plant is different on exact amounts. Lithops and split rocks can go with just a small drink. Jades during the growing season can tolerate pretty deep watering. That by the way is the way I was taught to water. Let the soil dry almost completely between waterings, and then, water thoroughly. IF you have peat in your soil,(which if you bought ready-made box store soil, you probably do) you are going to have to water from the bottom. Get a containter that is at least 2/3 the size of the one your plant is in and at least two inches wider. Put your plant still in its pot in the other pot and fill with water. Let it sit until you see moisture on top of the soil (or at least close to the top; you can push away soil to see what it looks like). Then pull it out of the watering pot. Every other time I water, I top water thouroughly after I get the soil moist. This helps insure that salt and mineral build-up doesn't occur in the soil. I would suggest to do a search on soil mixes and get away from brand name c&s soils. They are mostly junk because of the peat and lack of grit material. You could also consider going peatless and using something like coir in your soil with fired clay and pine bark fines. Can you give a better description of the plant? What are the leaves shaped like, what is the stem like? How are the leaves arranged on the stem? Without a picture or knowing what you have, it is hard to tell you ideal conditions.

There are several kinds of lights that can effectively be used for plant growth. Metal Halide (MH), High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and High Intensity Discharge (HID) are the types most commonly used in commercial growing. These lights provide extremely bright light up to 120,000 lumens over a wide area of approximately 4x4 feet (about 7500 lumen/ft) and are a reasonable substitute for direct sunlight. However, these lights generate tremendous amounts of heat and generally run at 400-1000W. Home growers looking for supplementary lighting have traditionally used fluorescent bulbs. There are 3 main types of fluorescent tubes named based on the diameter of the tube. T12: These are the oldest and cheapest fluorescent tubes with a diameter of 1.5 inches. A single 4 foot long T12 running at 40W will generate about up to 1980-3300 lumens (depending on bulb specifications) over the 1x4 foot area underneath (max 825 lumen/ft). This type of setup is very effective and very affordable but T12 bulbs are being phased out in favour of much more efficient T8 and T5 tubes. T8: 1 inch diameter. A single 4 foot T8 runs at 32W and can generate 2850-3400 lumens. T5: 5/8 inch diameter. These are the newest, brightest and most efficient fluorescents avaiable, and therefore also the most expensive. T5s are split into 3 types, High output (HO) Normal Output, and High Efficiency (HE). For the purpose of growing plants, you will be looking for HO bulbs. 4 foot T5HOs run at 54W and generate 5000 lumens. A fixture of 4 T5s will generate 20000 lumens over 1x4 feet (5000 lumen/ft) when coupled with reflectors, which will be effective for growing most plants indoors. CFL: Compact fluorescent lights are bright and can be used to grow plants when space is an issue. As you know, another option is to use LED grow lights. LEDs tend to be very expensive and the benefits over HID, MH or Fluorescent lights tend to be overstated by the merchant. Also unlike the other bulbs, LEDs do not generate light over a wide spectrum, rather they generate narrow bands of red (650-660nm) and blue (460-465nm) that roughly mimic the peak absorbance of chlorophyll (430nm and 642nm). While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does mean that your plants will be under purplish light for 12-16 hours a day and won't look very attractive. I currently use 4 3-foot T8 bulbs (about 2900 lumen/foot) with a timer set to stay on for 16 hours a day. I'm also moving in September and will be looking to upgrade to a fixture of T5HOs, which is also what I'd recommend for you. I've just given you a quick overview but there's much more information on the "Growing under lights" forum. If you decide to get fluorescent fixtures, businesslights.com is a great supplier and offers full fixtures with bulbs included.

Like to make a couple of comments on this test. Cheaper 125 watt LED's usually only draw 90 watts or so, with 125 watts of total LED bulbs. A better quality 125 watt light, would draw about 125 watts, but would use 200W worth of higher quality LEDs. There is a huge difference in quality and spectrum of units, and aside from bogus manufacturer claims, comparing a unit that likely draws 90W against an HPS system that probably draws over 500 watts with the ballast (not to mention heat removal) is not a fair test. A fairer test would be a true 200W (with 300W or so worth of LEDs) of quality build against a 400W HPS would probably have the LED come out on top with the newest generation products. Without mention of the brand or any other LED info, we cannot draw any real conclusions with this test.

Hi, to make an MH ballast into an HPS ballast, you buy the ballast kit from HTG supply for $55. This is a universal conversion kit. It includes a transformer, capacitor, ignitor, brackets and screws, probably some wire, connectors, a mogul socket, and full set of instructions. You will remove several parts of your existing ballast: you will need to open the case, remove the innards, and substitute them with the new ones. You will keep the case, the plug and cord that you use to plug the ballast into the wall, and the cord that runs from the ballast to your octagon box with mogul socket. All the rest is replaced, so you are left over with an MH transformer and a few other goodies, that you will no longer use, because they have become obsolete. HTG claims they include PROPER INSTRUCTIONS, so I believe them. Now enjoy the beauty of CMH, you and your plants will love it. For 55$ for the kit, and $50 for the lamp, you have a winner that will beat the pants off the AgroMax, AND you will be able to run a reflectorized 400w HPS lamp to boot, should you so choose. You will also be using a 1000W agromax MH lamp, which is a real monster of a workhorse and a beauty of a lamp, for only $70, that's a bargain. I wouldn't change that part at all. It will be generating heat of course, but hopefully your greenhouse is attached to your house, so the heat from the lamp will both keep your greenhouse a pleasant temperature, and also moderate you house heating cost somewhat. Total lumens = 95,000 + 95,000 + 32,000 = 222,000 lumens This is a serious amount of light. What is the square footage of the garden anyway - this amount of light would be good for 90 square feet of vegetative phase growth, and 30+ square feet of cannabis in the flowering phase. Nice. :) Sativa.