Let me start off by saying that this post is rather long. If you don't have the time to put into reading and replying, I apologize for it's length, but I aim to be clear and thorough in sharing my understanding of the information I've retained during my studies on growing marijuana. I've put a lot of thought into it, and am eagerly awaiting replies. This particular forum has been the most helpful, and I am looking forward to responses from certain members whom I have been following closely.
I'm doing an indoor grow in my closet soon. I've been doing a LOT of research on soil versus hydroponics. I've uncovered an anormous amount of information in a very little amount of time, though I feel I have processed a lot of the information logically. However, for the life of me, I can't figure out the best setup to use for my closet space. There are disadvantages to using soil versus using hydroponics, and vice versa. The space I will be utilizing is 2' x 3', with about 8 feet of height space. If I'm correct, that's 6 square feet of space. The entire closet has been painted flat white to avoid the cost of mylar or panda film. I will be using a 400 watt HPS with reflector. I will be keeping the door open when available for ventilation, but to keep the air moving in the room, I will be installing 2 small shelving units for 9" oscillating fans. At some point, I intend to take the door off, and put black poly up over the door frame. Then, cover that with a throw rug for "stealth" purposes. Worked well for a buddy of mine. This will allow me to exhaust into my living space as I do not have any other option at this point in time.
I intend on growing autoflowering plants. These are small plants, that typically produce a main cola, sometimes with branching, but typically very little. I will be working with Short Term Amnesia and either Little Red Ryder Hood or Lowberry from Dutch Breed. I do not want to fill the space with so many plants in small pots that the plants cannot produce around an ounce a piece. Yield is what I am looking for without sacrificing quality of the bud. I've read numerous threads across 3 reputable marijuana growing forums that indicate autoflowering breeds typically produce higher yields in hydroponic setup. This is what has perked my interest.
Given these plants are small, and you can fit more plants in a hydroponic system than you can in pots, in this small space, it would seem beneficial to me, to go with hydroponics. However, I've also read numerous threads advising novice growers to stick to soil. I am hard headed and believe that, give the amount of time on my hands, and my already growing adoration of growing marijuana (though I haven't officially grown anything yet), I will put forth the effort in maintaining my system and will care for it religiously.
I would like the readers' thoughts on soil versus hydro. Though I've already read many a report, I would like you all to take into account that I am a novice grower who learns quickly, and am confident that any given situation, provided the right guidance, will not thwart my ability to produce healthy, sticky ladies.
Moving on, I also would like to put it out there that I intend on building my own simple hydroponics system if I opt to go hydro. I believe the system I would intend on building would be an Ebb and Flow system. I would like to build a smaller, modified version of the system used in the Mr Chronic DVD, which can be found on Youtube. Basically, I intend on purchasing an opaque, non-black 5 gallon tupperware tub to serve as a reservoir, along with tubing, a water pump, and materials essential for creating nozzles in both the reservoir and the container housing my plants. The other container I will be purchasing will be another plastic container that fits into the space, deep enough to allow my ladies' roots to grow without hindrance. I will be cutting holes in the lid to house the net pots, obviously. If I can't find opaque container meeting my needs, I will purchase clear ones and cover the outsides of them in aluminum tape. The bottom of this container will have tubes for the attachment of the reservoir intake and outtake tubing. The water intake tube will top out slightly higher than being flush with the bottom of the container. The outtake tube will be about 2" below the bottom of the net pots. Thus, as the nutrient solution rises to the roots, it will then hit the outtake tube which is raised higher than the intake tube, and will drain the water back into the reservoir so that the container housing the plants will not overflow. When the pump turns off, the water will drain back into the reservoir through the intake tube. Each tube, on the container housing the plants, will have a screen ziptied to the end, to prevent any lose medium from clogging my lines, thereby ensuring adequate drainage. This is an E&F hydroponics system, correct?
I also have a fear of not properly maintaining my system. I hear hydroponics systems sometimes have salt build-up's, and the system needs to be cleaned regularly. How do I go about maintaining my system, so that my girls aren't without water for an extended period of time? Make no mistake, I will be checking on the babes daily, if not more than once daily (come on, sometimes you guys check on em just so you can take in their beauty, admit it ). But in doing so, I will ensure that my system is working properly. But are there any tips to keeping my system running at its finest? At this current point in time, I will not be running a CO2 system. Not only is my space limited, but I don't think it would be necessary for this sytem, with the small number of plants I will be growing. Perhaps in the future I will make this investment.
My questions, in this regard, are as follows:
What medium should I use? I see a lot of people using Rockwool and Clay Balls, but have seen Perlite and Coco suggested as well. What works best at a low cost? Taking each medium into account, how often should a hydroponics timer be set to feed the plants? Should it feed once an hour for a certain period of time, or should it be for a certain period of time, less frequently? As seedlings, how do I feed them IF I'm NOT using Rockwool? I understand that, in using Rockwool, you just keep the medium moist, but other mediums don't retain moisture like Rockwool does. Should I start my seeds in Rockwool anyways, and then just bury the Rockwool cube in the medium I intend to use in the hydroponic system?
On the subject of net pots, what size should I make room for? Given the a hydro system alots for more growing space, what size pots should I use? My goal is to ultimately fit 6-8 plants in this growing space using a hydroponics system, but I am blind in making that goal. Meaning, if 8 plants is going to prevent my yields from being as big as a novice grow could be, please specify 6. If 6 is too many, please specify what you believe I could successfully fit in said space, please.
I believe these are all the questions I need to have answered. I am also very open-minded, and would appreciate any input or critique to my planned grow room. I've been lurking around the boards for a while, and only recently have become active, but have also taken in quite an abundance of information. I will be cross posting this with another forum that I am a member of as well, in hopes for a wide variety of input. Do not hesitate to please offer any information you think may be pertinent! As I said, I'm very open ears to listen to experience, and while I'm stubborn and like to make my own decisions, I take any advice I may receive into consideration! Thank you.
-getnasty-
I'm doing an indoor grow in my closet soon. I've been doing a LOT of research on soil versus hydroponics. I've uncovered an anormous amount of information in a very little amount of time, though I feel I have processed a lot of the information logically. However, for the life of me, I can't figure out the best setup to use for my closet space. There are disadvantages to using soil versus using hydroponics, and vice versa. The space I will be utilizing is 2' x 3', with about 8 feet of height space. If I'm correct, that's 6 square feet of space. The entire closet has been painted flat white to avoid the cost of mylar or panda film. I will be using a 400 watt HPS with reflector. I will be keeping the door open when available for ventilation, but to keep the air moving in the room, I will be installing 2 small shelving units for 9" oscillating fans. At some point, I intend to take the door off, and put black poly up over the door frame. Then, cover that with a throw rug for "stealth" purposes. Worked well for a buddy of mine. This will allow me to exhaust into my living space as I do not have any other option at this point in time.
I intend on growing autoflowering plants. These are small plants, that typically produce a main cola, sometimes with branching, but typically very little. I will be working with Short Term Amnesia and either Little Red Ryder Hood or Lowberry from Dutch Breed. I do not want to fill the space with so many plants in small pots that the plants cannot produce around an ounce a piece. Yield is what I am looking for without sacrificing quality of the bud. I've read numerous threads across 3 reputable marijuana growing forums that indicate autoflowering breeds typically produce higher yields in hydroponic setup. This is what has perked my interest.
Given these plants are small, and you can fit more plants in a hydroponic system than you can in pots, in this small space, it would seem beneficial to me, to go with hydroponics. However, I've also read numerous threads advising novice growers to stick to soil. I am hard headed and believe that, give the amount of time on my hands, and my already growing adoration of growing marijuana (though I haven't officially grown anything yet), I will put forth the effort in maintaining my system and will care for it religiously.
I would like the readers' thoughts on soil versus hydro. Though I've already read many a report, I would like you all to take into account that I am a novice grower who learns quickly, and am confident that any given situation, provided the right guidance, will not thwart my ability to produce healthy, sticky ladies.
Moving on, I also would like to put it out there that I intend on building my own simple hydroponics system if I opt to go hydro. I believe the system I would intend on building would be an Ebb and Flow system. I would like to build a smaller, modified version of the system used in the Mr Chronic DVD, which can be found on Youtube. Basically, I intend on purchasing an opaque, non-black 5 gallon tupperware tub to serve as a reservoir, along with tubing, a water pump, and materials essential for creating nozzles in both the reservoir and the container housing my plants. The other container I will be purchasing will be another plastic container that fits into the space, deep enough to allow my ladies' roots to grow without hindrance. I will be cutting holes in the lid to house the net pots, obviously. If I can't find opaque container meeting my needs, I will purchase clear ones and cover the outsides of them in aluminum tape. The bottom of this container will have tubes for the attachment of the reservoir intake and outtake tubing. The water intake tube will top out slightly higher than being flush with the bottom of the container. The outtake tube will be about 2" below the bottom of the net pots. Thus, as the nutrient solution rises to the roots, it will then hit the outtake tube which is raised higher than the intake tube, and will drain the water back into the reservoir so that the container housing the plants will not overflow. When the pump turns off, the water will drain back into the reservoir through the intake tube. Each tube, on the container housing the plants, will have a screen ziptied to the end, to prevent any lose medium from clogging my lines, thereby ensuring adequate drainage. This is an E&F hydroponics system, correct?
I also have a fear of not properly maintaining my system. I hear hydroponics systems sometimes have salt build-up's, and the system needs to be cleaned regularly. How do I go about maintaining my system, so that my girls aren't without water for an extended period of time? Make no mistake, I will be checking on the babes daily, if not more than once daily (come on, sometimes you guys check on em just so you can take in their beauty, admit it ). But in doing so, I will ensure that my system is working properly. But are there any tips to keeping my system running at its finest? At this current point in time, I will not be running a CO2 system. Not only is my space limited, but I don't think it would be necessary for this sytem, with the small number of plants I will be growing. Perhaps in the future I will make this investment.
My questions, in this regard, are as follows:
What medium should I use? I see a lot of people using Rockwool and Clay Balls, but have seen Perlite and Coco suggested as well. What works best at a low cost? Taking each medium into account, how often should a hydroponics timer be set to feed the plants? Should it feed once an hour for a certain period of time, or should it be for a certain period of time, less frequently? As seedlings, how do I feed them IF I'm NOT using Rockwool? I understand that, in using Rockwool, you just keep the medium moist, but other mediums don't retain moisture like Rockwool does. Should I start my seeds in Rockwool anyways, and then just bury the Rockwool cube in the medium I intend to use in the hydroponic system?
On the subject of net pots, what size should I make room for? Given the a hydro system alots for more growing space, what size pots should I use? My goal is to ultimately fit 6-8 plants in this growing space using a hydroponics system, but I am blind in making that goal. Meaning, if 8 plants is going to prevent my yields from being as big as a novice grow could be, please specify 6. If 6 is too many, please specify what you believe I could successfully fit in said space, please.
I believe these are all the questions I need to have answered. I am also very open-minded, and would appreciate any input or critique to my planned grow room. I've been lurking around the boards for a while, and only recently have become active, but have also taken in quite an abundance of information. I will be cross posting this with another forum that I am a member of as well, in hopes for a wide variety of input. Do not hesitate to please offer any information you think may be pertinent! As I said, I'm very open ears to listen to experience, and while I'm stubborn and like to make my own decisions, I take any advice I may receive into consideration! Thank you.
-getnasty-