My first grow...absolute beginner.

[LEFTHAND]

Yeah, the temp and the humidity are concerning me. I think a tent might be helpful in keeping it warm and dry enough. That would end up costing about the same as adding a dehumidifier and a space heater...

check your temp at night in the basement to see if you need a heater first.. a dehumidifire will come in handy in damp basement come summertime.. although proper venting out of the house or into the attic will inssure you lower levels of humidity.. unless your basements already humid.. there handy units .. the tent i find very handy..hehe....
LH

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I've decided to do it in the basement (picture below). There are two white walls, so I plan to build a couple short walls (5-6') on the other two sides and put mylar around the walls. I will have one large fan blowing up over the plants and out for ventilation. The guy at the hydroponic store I found said that it didn't have to be fully enclosed and that he just puts card tables up around the grow and lets it ventilate naturally.

I am going to get one 600w HPS and a 3x3 dwc hydroponic tub system. He said that was basically all I'd need to do it. He said to put 9 plants in the tub and put the bulb right over the middle of them, about 18-24" above the plants. But then again, we weren't necessarily talking about marijuana (but he did seem to understand what I was talking about).

1) Can the interior walls be shorter in the basement? Is it bad to have any of the lighting escape the room? It is completely dark in the basement during the day.

2) Do I need additional exhaust equipment other than a large fan and the shorter walls?

3) A tent is another couple hundred bucks. Is it a good investment? We have lots of space so no need to be stealth. What other benefits does the tent have? I saw they had vent holes in it, do you have to get additional exhaust equipment with those?

Below is the basement, there are 44" before we run into the hot water heater pipe.

Thanks again,

Mark

This is not a cheap "hobby" to start up. Understand that you are trying to produce a product that typically sells for $300-400 an ounce "retail" (on the street)--you are going to have to spend some money...

I have found that most of the guys that work at the hydro stores do not know what they are talking about. You cannot let your grow "ventilate naturally" (whatever that means). You need a continual supply of fresh air for your plants to thrive. This entails an intake, an exhaust, and something to circulate the air around like an oscillating fan. You seem to be balking at setting up a good ventilation system, but this is a very very important part of your grow--as important as adequate lighting. Ventilation is twofold--it supplies fresh CO2 to your plants and also keeps your space within the correct temperature parameters.

I also do not think that the 3 x 3 DWC is a good idea either, for the reasons mentioned. If you want to do DWC (and I think your wife will like it--it is so much cleaner than dirt, IMO), I would go with individual 5 gal buckets.

1. I believe that it is a good idea to have your space enclosed. When you get to flowering, you need the dark period to be absolutely dark, with no light leaks or interruptions to the dark cycle. It is hard to stress this enough. It only takes a couple of times interrupting the dark before you get hermies.

2. Yes, you will need more.

3. A tent is just a tent--it comes with not ventilation equipment. The tent will keep your ghrow contained, has reflective walls to help get the most from your lighting and makes ventilation easier. Is it aq good investment? That depends on you and how handy you are. If I had a corner in a basement and only had to build 2 walls, that is the way that I personally would go. Depends on how handy you are.

 

[legalize_freedom]

I built my space 4'x4' out of 2x4's and 1/4 OSB (particle board plywood) for around 50 bucks, thats screws, hinges for the door hooks for my light and cualk for all the seams (to be sure no light leaks, and I can control the temps and RH). And my veg area is an old amoir (sp?) 3'x1'6", that I picked up at goodwill for $10. Hemp goddess is right about ventilation, alot of people think they just need a 1000watt light and some seeds....there is so much more to it. Like I said before though at least you are planning it out first! So many new growers on this site already have plants going and then realize that they are not prepared.

 

[tastyness]

I love this video- I'm still a newbie so I'm sure that some of the talented people here have lots to share as well. I found this easy to follow and the results seem excellent. I'm actually going to try masscocobuckets for my next grow.

hXXp://documentaryheaven.com/cannabis-cultivation-i-grow-green/
tastyness

I hope it is OK to post external links- the other one I saw on a forum was done like this. So I'm copying that members lead

 

[LassChance]

My wife and I just started our first grow, which is done in a closet in our house. We've never grown plants of any kind, and we are completely dumb when it comes to anything green. I'm germinating some seeds from my personal collection now and starting them this weekend.

Can you guys read my game plan and make sure I'm stacking the odds in my favor to get good plants?

I am using three 75 watt flourescent bulbs from Walmart, I attached them to the bottom of a shelf which I can move up or down in the closet (the first picture is with the lights at 4', the others at about 7'. As you can see from the pictures, the walls have been painted white and it's a fairly small room (7' deep, 3' wide and 8' tall). I am planting the seeds in soil that's designed for palm and dry-climate plants. I chose that because it had perlite and sand in it, and because it was fast-draining and enriched with Miracle-Gro. I don't know if this soil is good, but this time of year where I live I haven't found really good soil anywhere. I also will be using one small desk fan, hanging with the lights and blowing across the plants.

Is there anything I'm missing with this closet? I think the light and ventilation should be sufficient. What about my soil?

And I will be updating this as we go along and any tips along the way (the only things I know are from the guides here and a book that I have) would be really appreciated.

The thing aboput FLO's is, they are fine for vegging, but produce light, fluffy buds, not hard, heavy, dense ones. One the other hand, even light and fluffy, a good strain will still produce butt-kicking potency---just not much "weight". Still, if you're growing just for the two of you and flo's is the best you can do, you WILL get something good to smoke.

Im not too sure about your soil, tho. For one thing, any "pre fertilized" soiol is tricky. I encourage you to read up on "Hempy" style---using perlite/vermiculite (some folks JUST use the perlite and still do fine), and forget the soil altogether.
That way, you can REGULATE the exact amount of the nutes you NEED. Miracle Gro may be fine for tomatoes or garden flowers...but not necessarily the correct ratio of nutrients for MJ.

Im on my fourth grow now and havent used soil since my very first grow. Hempy is SO much easier, especially for the beginner!

Please look up "Hempy Bucket" in the archives and on Google. But to break it down, it's basically the most simple form of hydroponics. Instead of having drain holes on the bottom of the pot, you use containers (Solo cups, one liter soda bottles, one gallon plastic buckets, plastic ice tea pitchers, whatever) and drill ONE half inch hole about two inches UP from the bottom, on the SIDE. Fill the container with your PRE RINSED perlite/ verm mix (or just perlite) WHILE holding you plat in the container at the correct height. Gently add perlite until the roots are covered and the plant is secure.
Then, add your water/nute solution. The excess will run out thru the side hole and the roots will quickly grow to reach the "resevoir" at the bottom.

When vegging, you will obviously use a fert made FOR the veg stage. When you go into FLOWER, you will change to a FLOWER ratio. To make things really simple, I use two products by BOTANICARE. One is called "Pro Grow" and the other, "Pro Bloom".

Other advantages to using the Hempy method are, you can re-use the perlite over and over, it's cheap and VERY light weight. Between grows, I pit my used perlite into a tub and fill it with water and add a Tbs of Clorox. I let it stand for tewn minutes or so, then RINSE the crap outa it before using it again.

I like to use the red Solo plastic cups for seedlings, then move them to one liter soda bottles when about one month old. When Im ready to flower at about two months, I gently pull the plant from the soda bottle and hold it over the contaier it will finish in. I use a one gal plastic food storage container from Walmart because they are tall and narrow---so, I can get up to 10 under my one 600 HPS. I gradually add scoops of perlite until the plant is secure, with it's roots hanging straight down.

I love my Hempy method and swear by it. Soil (GOOD soil) is pricey, heavy and really should be used only once. Perlite is cheap, light and goes forever if sterilized between grows. Plus, being neutral, I have total control over my nutes. Ya cant beat it.

Especially, considering your flo lights, which will not create big tall plants with big root balls, anyway!

I'll go down and take a pic of my Hempys in their food storage containers and post it for ya.

Lass

 

[juggalo_smoker]

ok so my lil room is 2foot by 2foot and 8 foot tall its a lil closet and i just set it up with a 75watt grow light with a 17watt output and does not put out that much heat.i was actually thinking of adding two or three more of them. any thoughts?? my plants are doing descently well i think. its been about 4 weeks and i have three that are now between 3-4.5 inches i know my soil is pretty good cause my plants are growing somewhat steadily everyday whether it be an 8th of an inch or a lil more sometimes not much at all. so i know my lighting could use some work and im wondering if i cut a vent in the top of the closet going into my attick if that will be enough.

I would be getting hoods that you can air cool. These will be more than $200/ea., but I do not believe that you will be able to cool the space otherwise. Also, if you can afford it, look at digital ballasts. Do you plan on vegging with the HPS?

If you have no vents in the room, you are going to have to make some. You need more than just exhaust. You need an intake or 2 and maybe more than 1 exhaust. I have 2 holes in my ceiling that vent through the attic to the outside. I have one vent in the side wall that vents to/from the outside and one that vents into/out of the master bathroom. I also have 2 holes that vent to/from the crawl space. How this is all run depends on the time of year. My ventilation runs different in the winter than in the summer. Correct ventilation can be one of the hardest things to set up. It is probably going to take a min of $1000 for lights, fans, ducting...

 

[MisterZ]

So I've had people suggest dwc and ebb and flow, andit seems that ebb and flow is easier. What are the pros and cons of using the 3x3 tub as opposed to a system with individual pots?

What size pots should I use? There are some 2 and 3 gallon pots, is 2 enough?

Are there any ventilation "systems" that come preassembled andeasy to install. I am NOT a do-it-yourselfer...at all.

I have my first list of items that I need. What am I missing other than ventilation? This has a total cost of about $1000.

An ebb and flow system - either a tub or individual pots.
Ballast, cord, and 600w hps lamp (90k lumens)
reflector for lamp and Mylar paper to cover the interior
rockwool cubes
ph tester and controller
ferts/nutes
temp/humidity meter
timer

So any exhaust ideas for someone who is all thumbs and is there anything that is missing from this list?

And I don't even realize how hydro works, do these systems do most of the work for you?



Here is my

 

[nouvellechef]

Dude I am horrible at home repair/upgrades. It is really easy. If you are the homeowner, watch a DiY video or go to the Depot and have the guy set you up. Order the fans from somewhere else.

 

[tastyness]

Look forward to seeing the pics

I'll go down and take a pic of my Hempys in their food storage containers and post it for ya.

Lass

 

[141820]

9 plants in a dwc is going to get unruly...especially if they bush out... I tried just 4 and was going crazy...also the thing I hated most about the dwc with multi net pots was 2 out of the 4 wound up male and by the time they showed all the roots in the dwc were tangled and there was no way to to just pull the males... I wound up just cutting them down and leaving their roots. You might want to consider cutting down the number of plants and maybe getting fem beans...

Or he could just start with one soil female and keep it as a mother and then DWC with 4 plants in a 20 gal tote and just use clones that way u know they r female so u don't have to try and untagle them cuz none will be male. and he could also put 2 totes in that space to give yourself 8 plants at one time but 12/12 them a couple weeks apart to make it continuous cycle of good bud!

 

[MisterZ]

Also, can I partition the other two walls with a dropcloth and attach 2ml Mylar to it? I'm lost as to how to build the other two walls, and I want something that I can move if I expand. The tent would do it, but if I could spend that two hundred bucks on some exhaust equip, I think I'd be better off.

 

[MisterZ]

Based on the advice of hemp goddess (thanks for your help btw) I've found a system that has 8 separate sites and everything included, we just add the perilite rocks and the bud. I will start the seed in soil for about 2-3 weeks Under my flouros in the closet, and then transplant it. I found a guide that says I can veg with this hps light if it's about 24" above the plant, and lower the light about an inch a day until it is about 16" above the plants.

As far as the partitioning, I was going to skip the tent so I can expand it in the future. I was just going to put up a white painters cloth on the other two sides and tack the Mylar all around the insides, and I found a makeshift "tent" door in my catalog which has a zipper entrance. I can also easily cut holes in this for my ventilation. As I mentioned, my basement allows no light, even in daytime. This should do just as good as a particle board wall or anything like that. Good enough to work anyways.

I've only found hood ventilation systems, so I'm still looking for an easy diy exhaust if there are any step-by-steps.

I'm just using my own seeds, not sure about the male-female stuff, cloning, etc. When I read Bout it it makes no sense to me. But I will learn as I get this first batch going. I plan to make the trip tomorrow to get the equip.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Based on the advice of hemp goddess (thanks for your help btw) I've found a system that has 8 separate sites and everything included, we just add the perilite rocks and the bud. I will start the seed in soil for about 2-3 weeks Under my flouros in the closet, and then transplant it. I found a guide that says I can veg with this hps light if it's about 24" above the plant, and lower the light about an inch a day until it is about 16" above the plants.

As far as the partitioning, I was going to skip the tent so I can expand it in the future. I was just going to put up a white painters cloth on the other two sides and tack the Mylar all around the insides, and I found a makeshift "tent" door in my catalog which has a zipper entrance. I can also easily cut holes in this for my ventilation. As I mentioned, my basement allows no light, even in daytime. This should do just as good as a particle board wall or anything like that. Good enough to work anyways.

I've only found hood ventilation systems, so I'm still looking for an easy diy exhaust if there are any step-by-steps.

I'm just using my own seeds, not sure about the male-female stuff, cloning, etc. When I read Bout it it makes no sense to me. But I will learn as I get this first batch going. I plan to make the trip tomorrow to get the equip.

I do not think it is a good idea to start your seeds in soil and then try to transplant to a hydro system. Start your seeds in rockwool or something like Rapid Rooters that can be put right into pots with hydrotron (perlite rocks ?????) Do you have a link to the system you purchased?

 

[Locked]

Yeah you don't want to go from soil to hydro...I hve had better success with rock wool over rapid rooter cubes as far as starting seeds....

 

[legalize_freedom]

I agree with Ham, rapid rooters are great for clones, but I don't like them for germing seeds.

 

[MisterZ]

Lots of updates, I decided to go with the "Hempy Bucket" method for my 6 plants, which was a great, simple suggestion I found in this thread. I bought 1 600W HPS lamp/reflector, and am going to enclose my room in black landscaping plastic. Then I'm going to put mylar around the walls. I have a box fan and a 238 cfm 6" vent fan and some ductwork. I still don't know how I'm going to do intake/exhaust quite yet, but I'm sure it will work itself out.

Even with me rigging up the enclosure and the hempy buckets on the cheap (less than $100 for all materials on the structure and buckets), I still spent $1000...jesus! I just bought some Northern Lights off of Nirvana, so when they get here I will be ready! Gonna try to grow some batch seeds in the meantime.

I am starting the construction tonight and will post pictures of my progress, than



One Question - When I put my seed in the rockwool, it says to put it in the dark for a day or two and then give it as much light as possible....should I use my 3 75W flouros for this, or should I leave it on a windowsill? Or should I windowsill it during the day and move it to the flouro closet at night? Thanks!

 

[Locked]

I use cfl's...make sure you keep the cubes in a warm area...

 

[legalize_freedom]

don't try to use the window sills, you will end up with stretched out stems and seedlings laying over. go with the flouros, and when they have a couple true sets of leaves put them under the HID, but start out with it at least 2 to 2 1/2 ft away, and slowly bring it closer so you don't shock your plants. Put a fan on them so that they just barely move in the breeze to help bulk up your stems.

 

[DRGREENTHUMB951]

:holysheep: You can always get a 1000 watt MH/HPS ballast. 1000 watts will give you approx 150,000 lumens using hps and around 100,000 with metal halide for vegging.forget flouresents they are allright if youre on a budget.But you can get really good prices on grow equipment at propertyroom.com just have it shipped to a friends house. As far as a soil/medium. Try going to a hydro store or a store that deals in organic soils. I use Foxfarm Happy Frog from humboldt county.Its so far the best I've ran Across and they also have feeding program that you can print out. Its a really easy program to follow just make your ferts for the week and water. foxfarm.com
Another thing is potting i use these pots called smart pots that are made out of fabric instead of plastic pots.They work so much better because they air prune the roots for you and allows the soil to dry and breath.treebag.com If you cant get ahold of any good soil the pots will at least make up for it. You prob might wanna get a small portable a/c unit depending on how hot the room runs.because when the lights go off the plants need to be cooler than when the lights are on. Remember when youre budding them on 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness .. when the lights go off you have to simulate a night time inviroment which means dropping the temp in the room to around 60-65. you will get a great harvest i pretty much gauantee ya..Well Good Luck to You will get the hang of it...Dr G

 

[MisterZ]

I finished my new grow room which addresses all the serious vent/light concerns that I had, and should be primed and ready to grow good bud.

I can't post urls yet, and I can't post the same pics in separate threads, so you'll have to go to the Grow Room Setup and Design forum under "First Grow Room - Advice Welcomed" to see it. But let me know what you think.