Good Day, I am Fatman. I write you all today to share a part of my current proj

[SuperCanadianFatman]

((1 month since grow start))


Good Day,

I am Fatman.

I write you all today to share a part of my current project.

I am currently working on a small crop for a horticulture experiment, inside of my closet.

It is likely I am leveled at an amateur, I have tried unsuccessfully in the past to grow. Not because of the plants failing but because of life failings, bbc(bitches be crazy) and each time i was growing if people in my life gave me a bad feeling i destroyed the plants at the first sign that I should worry about them.

Its been a few years, and in the mean time I have stretched my green thumb with actual plants such as indoor tomatoes and such using home grown techniques as oppose to professional.

I am in a new apartment that is very friendly, in an area of canada where the police are really lax, as such I decided i should try again on a project that can save me money.

First thing is first I will be growing for personal.

I am using the upgrade as I go technique as I dont need super bud just enough for me. I started out with an interesting sized closet. I have 2 in my room, both with folding doors, the smaller one is probably 5 feet in length, 2 and a half feet wide and 10 ft tall.

The greatest part is it is winter and the closet has a part of the heater built into it. Being on a lower floor it is easier to regulate the temperature and stays at a constant 73 during the day and 68 at night (f). I happend to have a digital thermometer, and a stick to a window kind.

So I have started with 4 plants, 2 of which are super and 2 of which are late bloomers. I dont know the strand, they are mixed. They have been in growth now exactly 1 month, and my two supers are nearing 1 foot tall and starting to node out, my two late bloomers are about 8 inches tall but really bushy they are also starting to node. My other super is at 11 inches tall.

When they started they were in jiffy pucks for a week, then moved to jiffy pots, as soon as roots shot out of the bottom they went into green pots. Currently they are using 2 100 w cfl lights hanging straight down (devising a plan to make them horizontal (also looking to better lighting)) as well as a cfl 13W blue party light.

They are growing in miracle-gro moisture control, at first they were set up on an upside down tote box and a computer case panel with the lights on them, but yesterday they have been upgraded to a wooden shoe rack.

as the doors are folding door and I have a ceiling fan and a window close by air circulation isnt a problem, I dont have any floor fans from my move as I sold them to my old room mate. But either way I cant keep the door open, So I have a computer fan, sadly I am using a computer power supply to run a single fan, but I am looking at investing in a few more computer fans the larger ones. The fan i have now is a 12mm muffin fan and it is just below the racks top it bounces off the wall enough to make the leaves quivers. So I am impressed, but more air is good air,

The room is equipped with 2 lazer disks on the wall, and several gift bags that are really reflective. Call me crazy but I have had excellent success with other plants using this method, I also have some tin foil which I am slowly phazing out, plus the room is a vibrant white.

I can adjust my lights easy enough.

The first while I didnt have any nutriants or rooting formula. But as in other vegetable, and flowing plants I have always found asprin has worked well, but in the last few days I purchased some plant nutrients and rooting formula.

I gave them a half the recommended dose for the first week to see how they take it, the following day I had impressive leaps of growth. My other equipment is a plastic juice jug, washed and filled daily and a plant mister that i got at the dollar store amazingly enough.

As you can tell I am just doing this as a hobby if that is not clear lol not trying to make a profit.

I hope to fit out this room, or I have another project. I would like to convert a dresser into a grow box and I just might once I can get my hands on the dresser. In the mean time anything I get for the closet room is good for the grow box, I know i need better lighting and other stuff. But in the meantime I need to get other stuff. A drill for starters, and other tools would go a long way for me. Currently duct tape, and card board is the name of the game, and some styrofoam. But hey you start somewhere.

For this first time round I hope to take a few clones in the next week or so and put them into flowering at the end of this month. But to figure out m or f, I plan to do a cutting as soon as my plants branch out enough. Ill give them 2 weeks to get established and them the best of them goes for flowering.

After wards i destroy males and best female is my mama plant. The other plants and 1 or 2 cuttings will go for flowering afterwards. I want to get a flowering room on the go.

Plus i need some minor odor control just for my own personal comfort, looking at an Epsom oil air fresher.

Could go on and on but need sleep. Please leave feed back and any ghetto fabulous ideas.

 

[Iams]

Welcome to MP.

Green mojo!

This thread needs pics!

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

Pictures will come during the light cycle, after work tomorrow.

More to know about my set up, since they have been in the green pots I have been giving them those cheap white food spikes, the first week each pot only had 1 spike then I added the second one the following week.

Infront of my wooden shoe rack I have a bissel easy vac box, the inside is lined with a blue high reflective gift bag and duct taped in place. I have 2 lazer disc in use on either side of the room.

I plan on picking up a few more gift bags tomorrow. I also have to wrap up my light sockets with some electrical tape, I just bought it but forgot I had it.

I just thought of an excellent use for my computer and I think I will share, right now the source has travel fans for laptops on for 6 bucks, i have a few usb extension cords, I am thinking this could go a long way, if I can maximize on the computer in the room i think it would be helpful.

Ive gotten to thinking about getting a 5m led strip online and making my own usb controlled lighting system. If I wanted I could get a pc that is more then an on switch my my power supply and control an led lighting and cooling system, for both flowering and growing.

But that is a project that will have to wait, In the mean time I am leaning towards towards picking up 2 of the laptop fans. If I set one at shoulder level just inside of the folding door I can use it as an exhaust, with the lower muffin fan its pulling in air, another laptop fan angled upwards in the room would push the circulation effectively.

And with the unused power hookups on the power supply itself, a few more non lighted fans. Lots of air is the key for me so long as its not right on the babies.

I have also devised a lighting system i want to set up, a few porcelain lamp mounts (6) and 2 scrap shelves from an entertainment center, some scrap lamp cord and electrical wire, some screws, 4 looped hangers and 4 hooks to hang the loops off of.

I can daisy chain 3 to a shelf, have a 120v plug, 6 60w cfl's. then with the hooks i can hang them off the wall, and move them. I would keep 2 of the 3 lights i currently have as well, But I think i would change them out for blue, then red party lights.

I am thinking about being an awesome tenant and building a shelf system in the same closet, of course not completed while it is in use for this, but if i install a bunch of shelf hangers, and spend the 15 bucks to get the shelves I can have awesome storage space when I upgrade, and give something to the land lords when and if I move.

And with the hangers in place I can fit a sheet of plexi glass, so the plants never come in actual contact with the light. Plus if the need arises I could build a 2 story grow room with the flowering room above the vegetative.

Dreams are nice, for some reason I dont go to bed lol. This journal will likely be filled with a lot of dream contraptions that I can do but laziness is a *****.

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

some pictures, some of the gift bags slid down last night. Better pictures will come

 

[Rosebud]

welcome to MP, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but grow spikes and nuted MG is going to kill your plants. If you are serious about growing, get some soil that is designed for marijuana.

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

welcome to MP, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but grow spikes and nuted MG is going to kill your plants. If you are serious about growing, get some soil that is designed for marijuana.

Hi Rosebud,

I appreciate your feedback and will certainly take it under advisement.

----------------

Joining this forum got the brain vibrating, had a hard time falling asleep writing a journal in my head lol. Mostly I realize the huge amount of detail this is, and likely how much I forgot to include.

Timer switches are a must i tell ya, people who try to get away without them are the most anal re-tentative people out there who are successful. My plants are currently on the standard 18 hour cycle and syncing my life to doing that will not happen.

Babies are happy this morning.

Off to work I go, stay beautiful folks.

Fatman

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

Shocked, dollarama carries Mylar brand mylar sheets!

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Why are you running your lights 18 hours instead of 24?

 

[HemperFi]

You remind me of me when I first began. Damn, do you a learning curve to accomplish. All I wanted to do was grow for myself as well, but it finally occurred to me that I needed weed at least as good as I had been buying. The only way that was going to happen was to get set up correctly. I wasted a lot of money buying things I now store away -- like large CFL lights. I balked at every suggestion TheHempGoddes tried to stuff down my throat, even though I knew she had been growing for 30+ years. I made mistake after mistake until one day I realized the people in this forum know exactly what they are talking about -- every aspect of growing MJ. Listen to them. All they want to do is help you grow some quality "medicine." My first grow after "seeing the light" paid for my whole investment. Do it right. You need good lighting, good nutrients, good soil and good ventilation before you plant a seed. And your seeds need to be good genetics. Do it right and you will never look back. Oh, and tell NO ONE what you are doing.

Peace

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

You remind me of me when I first began. Damn, do you a learning curve to accomplish. All I wanted to do was grow for myself as well, but it finally occurred to me that I needed weed at least as good as I had been buying. The only way that was going to happen was to get set up correctly. I wasted a lot of money buying things I now store away -- like large CFL lights. I balked at every suggestion TheHempGoddes tried to stuff down my throat, even though I knew she had been growing for 30+ years. I made mistake after mistake until one day I realized the people in this forum know exactly what they are talking about -- every aspect of growing MJ. Listen to them. All they want to do is help you grow some quality "medicine." My first grow after "seeing the light" paid for my whole investment. Do it right. You need good lighting, good nutrients, good soil and good ventilation before you plant a seed. And your seeds need to be good genetics. Do it right and you will never look back. Oh, and tell NO ONE what you are doing.

Peace

now you see I can respect the fact that yes i will need bigger and badder. But the lead up is all practice. So what if it takes me time to get up to snuff, I have an ideal location, and plenty of time to work my craft. I wont ever balk at constructive criticism such as yours and rose's and in time as i upgrade my equipment so too can i upgrade my techniques.

If my first batch is shitty, oh well ill smoke it anyways thats why your pack of rizla silver come in 100's.

The cfl's I am using are full spectrum spirally lights the same we used in horticulture studies with great success on indoor hemp (shouldn't have dropped out of college). They cost me 12$ each from my local canadian tire, and when i upgrade to my desired lighting arrangement these bulbs will happily play various suns for my herb garden in the kitchen.

I know i cheaped out on the soil, but I also know first hand from colleges and friends that the miracle grow moisture control can do what you need for as long as it needs doing with fair success, I would love the names of some soils that I can purchase within my soil budget that I am willing to spend at this time and that is 40i$h.

You see, the thing is i am cheap and I am a few hundred bucks a month away from living paycheck to paycheck painfully. My back story is important I guess, I am a farm boy, green houses were a play place as a child and in college before i left my dorm house was recognized because of the amount of produce we would cultivate inside of our house.

I realize this is a different playing field all together, lights need to be artifical, secrets need to be kept, smells need to be kept in check, and I do appreciate any constructive criticism that is out there, but if your going to make a comment give me some backing to it and links to learn, things that will work just as well, or hell just start off your post with not bad and make me feel special . Hemperfi did this quite well!

You say not to tell anyone and I am happy people still have that common sense mentality online. I see no reason for anyone to know nothing besides those who occupy the space it occurs in beyond that the knowledge is confided only in those i know can be a positive learning experiences from my home else where in the country. Seriously I applaud that someone said it its a good thing.

All my neighbors know I grow plants Ive had them over and Ive had to give several clippings away of my vines and the landlords even got half of my big aloe plant, again aspirin is your best friend in a pinch, my last apartment had alot of light and the living room here does too. My apartment looks out onto a heavily treed briar patch hill I am told there are wild roses out there but you cant tell with the greenbrier vines that are very thick even under snow.

So so long as I keep my **** under wraps and continue to be mr good tenant I wont have any problems. I have an excellent window covering and a uniquely shaped room blocking view until you are in the room and walk around a wall in the middle, I freaking love this place. In the middle of no where canada.

Essentially.... I feel secure.

((high as **** right now))

so please post your tips, is the point i am (was)half making.

I just hung the walls with the reflective mylar(like perhaps) sheets, I have to stretch them more, but **** that noise, ripping the room apart as non invasive to the plants as possible to re arrange stuff, vacuuming, sanitizing the walls, drying the walls and hanging the **** to half assed x 18 professional get'er dones and then putting the room back together is enough for tonight.

Going to get a few more fans for tomorrow, the light is very intense in there it makes the room appear hazier then the gift bags did and when I was baked the gift bags when I would check in a few times made me think **** was on fire, so that gives you an idea of the brightness

The blue party light I have isnt anything special just its common knowledge that extra blue light spectrum is only a plus during vegetative. I would like to go led for a large portion of my red and blue spectrum needs (entirely)

Ultimately I need a better space, the awkwardness of the wall is a pain. hence the aforementioned shelving in the closet as well as the grow box method.

What are peoples thoughts on a dresser grow box?

----
pictures.

picture one is my table. Should I scrap the garbage bags, I would like to get a heating mat how ever I can not find them. Considering a heating pad with a water proof cover.

Picture 2 my two tall ladies at their level. Check the lazer disk, I need to find a good position for the two of them.

Picture 3 upper over view. what are peoples feelings on hanging florescent under cabinet shop lights?

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

Why are you running your lights 18 hours instead of 24?

I just cant do it, seems wasteful even with high efficiency. plus in my set up light impacts sleep. However, I am reconsidering as i sit here not going to bed knowing there is more I need to do, I reall just need to make the room light tight, which wouldnt take much and I have the stuff on hand. In a few minutes my plants will be on 24 hour thank you!

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I am going to really try and encourage you to do a bunch more reading and studying on the correct environment for growing mj inside. It is quite a different game than other indoor plants and there is a large learning curve to this hobby.

You are ultimately going to need a light tight space, so why not do it now. When you run your lights 18/6 you are not saving money--you are simply making your veg period longer and encouraging your plants to stretch--it is false economy to believe that running lights 18/6 is "cheaper".

You are going to need substantially more/better light. Those light appear to be 100W equivalent, not actual 100W (need to use real wattages when talking about CFLs). However, lighting needs are not figured by wattage, but rather by lumens per sq ft. For vegging you want a min of 3000 lumens per sq ft and for flowering, 5000 lumens per sq ft. CFLs are the least efficient and costiest of all the lights we use to grow. If you are serious about this, you should look into T5 fluoro tubes for vegging and HPS for flowering. The facts are (and they are not in dispute) that CFLs will run hotter, produce substantially less bud, and cost twice as much to run in electrical costs as a HPS.

You need to get a space set up that you can control the environment--you are not going to be able to build a fort out of boxes and have that be an adequate home for your plants. Then you need to get adequate lighting for your space. Then you need to get some ventilation in there and start checking your humidity and temps. Flat white paint will work as well as those reflective blankets you are buying. In fact, unless mylar is hung straight without wrinkles, it is less efficient than flat white paint.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

love the Laser disks Man:aok:

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

I am going to really try and encourage you to do a bunch more reading and studying on the correct environment for growing mj inside. It is quite a different game than other indoor plants and there is a large learning curve to this hobby.

You are ultimately going to need a light tight space, so why not do it now. When you run your lights 18/6 you are not saving money--you are simply making your veg period longer and encouraging your plants to stretch--it is false economy to believe that running lights 18/6 is "cheaper".

You are going to need substantially more/better light. Those light appear to be 100W equivalent, not actual 100W (need to use real wattages when talking about CFLs). However, lighting needs are not figured by wattage, but rather by lumens per sq ft. For vegging you want a min of 3000 lumens per sq ft and for flowering, 5000 lumens per sq ft. CFLs are the least efficient and costiest of all the lights we use to grow. If you are serious about this, you should look into T5 fluoro tubes for vegging and HPS for flowering. The facts are (and they are not in dispute) that CFLs will run hotter, produce substantially less bud, and cost twice as much to run in electrical costs as a HPS.

You need to get a space set up that you can control the environment--you are not going to be able to build a fort out of boxes and have that be an adequate home for your plants. Then you need to get adequate lighting for your space. Then you need to get some ventilation in there and start checking your humidity and temps. Flat white paint will work as well as those reflective blankets you are buying. In fact, unless mylar is hung straight without wrinkles, it is less efficient than flat white paint.

see i like that I appreciate your input, I have been looking into an hps.

I have studied growing and I know i need the proper equipment and I will be building up to it. The mylar is now properly cut and stretched all cardboard has been taken out of the scenario, and last night I made the space as light tight as possible, you can only see a bit of light at the bottom from where I have a blade less fan providing air intake.

I picked up a few fans today also, and I was looking at a digital thermometer with a humidity check in it today. (room stayed at 75 today )

I am considering Sea Soil for a potting mix.

At this point I need some ideas on a way to set up this space.

Should I lay down some tile? might be better then carpet and easier to clean without needing to vacuum, and if I do it right I can lay it right over the carpet and fit it in so I can pull it up without damaging the existing floor in any way.

 

[Dr. Robertsozki]

nice plants they look about the same size as some of mines let's see who can smoke their own bud sooner. Good luck my friend

have you looked at growing tents
they come ready with water proof double tray
a place to hang to light from
windows and holes to connect your ducting
and they got good reflectors

 

[Dr. Robertsozki]

i think you oshould get the lights closer they look a lil stretchy

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

nice plants they look about the same size as some of mines let's see who can smoke their own bud sooner. Good luck my friend

have you looked at growing tents
they come ready with water proof double tray
a place to hang to light from
windows and holes to connect your ducting
and they got good reflectors

last night i was looking at a grow closet online. simular i imagine but i shall research this as well



----------------

A down side to the mylar mirror finish I am unwilling to take pictures at the minute because no matter what angle I always seem to get a pic of my pretty face in an unremoveable area or atleat my easily identifiable tattoos.

Ladies are happy and as the good dr said I have moved the lights closer.

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

found an old solid tv stand last night, has no door is the only thing, but thats a small problem, spent 4 hours last night lining lining it with flat white card stock after cleaning and drying.

Working out how to hang the lights. I ran wires for the fans, and ive ensured the backing is light tight.

going to put the pots in a rubber tray so i can slide them out for easy tending.

anyways gotta work have a good day

 

[WeedHopper]

Replace Mylar with Flat White Paint,,you will never look back,,,and I did the samething yur doen. Didnt take me long to figure out,,if its worth doing,,its worth doing right,,,especially when it takes so long to grow GOOD WEED. Green Mojo to ya Bro.

 

[SuperCanadianFatman]

Replace Mylar with Flat White Paint,,you will never look back,,,and I did the samething yur doen. Didnt take me long to figure out,,if its worth doing,,its worth doing right,,,especially when it takes so long to grow GOOD WEED. Green Mojo to ya Bro.

Ya i am on board with the flat white as well thank you