first time grower help needed!!

just got back from amsterdam, love the place and for the first time ive bought some seeds back with me to grow a little bit, save some money n what not...

now, as a first time grower, i asked the lady in the sensi seed bank whats best to do with my seeds, but u know how it is when your not sure of something, u dont ask all the questions u really want to n that...

so here i go with a few more...

i purchased some early skunk seeds (hardwearing, big harvest etc) so if anybody has any advice on how to get the most out of them then please let me know!!

i live in essex in the south east of england so ive been told to plant them inside and keep them somewhere in the sunlight (this is ok indoors i was told as indoors the plant is protected from UV rays which it wouldnt be outdoors), and when the weather warms up, put it outside for a little while then take it in when it gets colder and gradually increase the amount of time they spend outdoors until they are strong enough and its warm enough to leave outisde... (is this a good idea or is it a schoolboy error?!)

other than this little bit of info im pretty clueless!!

my idea was plant them, put them on the window ledge during the day to get as much sunlight as possible, then at night move them into a cupboard with a wee little UV light, and then taker out during day etc.

what kind of pot would be best to put it in and what kind of earth also (should i get a bit of compost for example?) and is there any supplements that would make overall growth and harvest or is plenty of water enough to do this?!

so yeah... any advice from non first time growers would be very much appreciated!!

well im going to get a few pics once they are planted and growing away! apparently early skunk is more hardy and resisant than some and is suitable for outdoor growing but the wether in england is so shit was going to use combination of indoor and outdoor growing to hopefully get the best i can out of it!

Early Skunk will grow well outdoors in your climate.

As the other posters have said, moving plants between indoors and out should be avoided. It will not help the plants and will become difficult after a while.

UV is not a problem for plants (especially the amount of it that hits Britain), so don't worry about outdoor plants being exposed to UV - they'll benefit from it.

On the other hand, don't use a UV light indoors, as they're dangerous to humans. Growing indoors requires a good, bright lamp that emits light in the visible spectrum - fluorescent or HID lamps are the most common. Halogen and incandescent are no use for indoor growing.

See the FAQ [http://forum.sensiseeds.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=27] for instructions on how to germinate seeds. Basically, they should be left between layers of moist tissue, between two plates, until the first millimetres of root emerge from the shell (usually within 72hrs), then planted in soil. Don't plant ungerminated seeds directly in soil or soak them in water.



 



Use small pots at first, and sow one seed per pot.
A day or two later, seedlings will emerge from the soil.

The pots can be kept on the windowsill (choose one with the best combination of sunlight and privacy) while the seedlings grow. It's a good idea to open the window just a fraction or put a small oscillating fan nearby in order to give seedlings a gentle breeze that will strengthen their stems.

When seedlings have grown a 2-3 sets of true leaves (not including the rounded cotyledons that the seedling starts out with), they can start being put outside to get used to exterior conditions.
Choose as sunny a spot as possible and leave the small plants outside for, say, four hours on the first day. Increase this by an hour every day or so, until plants are outside from morning till dark. This will probably be near the end of April and plants should be quite a bit bigger. Repot them (using 5-10lt containers), assuming they haven't had to be repotted already.

Now they're ready to stay outside permanently.

They should thrive after this point, even in am unfavourable UK summer. They can be given bigger pots in about June/July, if large plants are not a problem.

Growing inside gives more control, can give more security (if the indoor grower is careful) and, with some experience, can produce more potent plants and is usually faster.

Outdoor growing is easier and requires much less equipment. Get some basic steps right, use good soil, a small amount of nutrient and put plants in a spot with as much direct sunlight as possible, and they'll mostly take care of themselves.