"Which Tent" Setup Question

[BoneMan1000]

Goddess, I thought it was overpriced too, just wanted to get a confirmation of my suspicion. I wasn't planning on buying it, just posted it for educational purposes and hearing the feedback (especially yours). I learned that a duct booster fan is "almost useless", I didn't know that, and a temp switch and fan controller are just small investments.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to keep me on the right track and for the useful information. As always, thanks so much!

 

[BoneMan1000]

Ok, putting a tent setup together individually is definitely the way to go. It looks like I'll be spending about as much as I would for a kit but I'll have a better name-brand tent, a better light setup with an air-cooled hood, and two powerful high quality duct fans.

One thing I was wondering about is EC meters: how necessary are they or do they fall into the category as something nice to have but not really necessary? Thanks.

 

[BoneMan1000]

Ph before Ec if funds are tight, then ramp up your nutes from 1/4 recommended until you see burnt tips

Cool tip, thanks. PH meter is in the budget, non-negotiable.

 

[BoneMan1000]

I've been thinking about putting the HTG Mother's Keeper setup together individually as well. The kit comes with four 4' bulbs claiming 20,000 lumens. I was wondering if I could, or if it would be wise, to go with a SylverStar T-5 six lamp 4' bulb setup for 30,000 lumens instead?

hxxp://www.htgsupply.com/Product-SylverStar-4-Foot-6-Lamp-High-Output-T5-With-Choice-of-Bulbs.asp

The tent is 51.5" x 22.5" or approx. 8 sq. ft. The SylverStar light fixture is 18" wide so it should fit in a 22.5" deep tent, right? This six bulb setup would give me 3,750 lumens (30,000 total) per square foot as opposed to 2,500 per square foot of the four bulb kit offering. Is this doable, and is it a good idea for seedlings, clones, and vegging? Thanks.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

More light is almost always better. I think if you put together the "Mother Keeper" by yourself, you will also be able to get a little bigger or better stuff. It was priced more reasonably than any of the other packages I have seen.

If you are not doing hydro, you should be able to get away without an EC meter. Just start nutes low and work up.

If you get your vegging tent set up, this will give you a bit of time to look and get your flowering tent and all you need. I really like having separate veg and flowering spaces.

 

[BoneMan1000]

Thanks Goddess, if I can fit the six lights in that tent it sounds like the way to go then.

Speaking of soil, what soil would you recommend for seedlings? I read that some soils, like Fox Farms Ocean Forest (which I planned on using), is too hot for seedlings. Or is something like Fox Farms Happy Frog usable for both applications? Thanks again.

 

[pcduck]

I have planted my seeds directly into FFoF with no problems.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I'm a water baby, just starting out doing dirt. I put my seedlings into an organic potting mix I found at HD (one recommended by Mandala) along with a some perlite. I am making some of LC's mixture and some of NV's super soil for when they get bigger.

 

[BoneMan1000]

I have planted my seeds directly into FFoF with no problems.

Good to hear of your positive experience, thanks.

Goddess, Mandala Seed strikes me as being overly fastidious, but maybe they're just trying to leave no stone unturned in insuring success for their customers. Seems to me that taking extra precaution can't hurt though. Thanks.

 

[BoneMan1000]

Hello again, I was thinking about pots and how to best use them. My thinking is that I would start the seedlings in 12 oz. cups, then switch to 1 gallon pots to veg for around 6-8 weeks. When the plants are about 2 feet tall I would transplant them to 3 gallon pots and stick them in the flowering tent. Is this a good plan?

Also, I read somewhere that you don't want to use pots that are too big because the extra root growth will take away from plant growth. Any truth to that? Thanks.

 

[pcduck]

I have grown and still grow in 1 gallon Smart Pots and 5 gallon Smart Pots. The 5 gallon plants got bigger with more buds.

I also did a grow in a glass container and found that a lot of root growth stops when placed in flower.ime

 

[BoneMan1000]

Thanks pcduck, so when do you switch to the 5 gallon pots from the 1 gallon? In the middle of vegging? After vegging? Thanks.

 

[pcduck]

When grow from seed I wait till they show sex and/or mature then trans-plant. After that I wait til they are over the shock or about a 7 days or so, whatever comes last, then begin flowering phase.

I also have just started straight from seed in a 5 gallon Smart Pot. When I do this I do not trans-plant. Just wait to they show sex and/or they are the height I desire. I always like to have mine mature before flowering phase.

 

[BoneMan1000]

When grow from seed I wait till they show sex and/or mature then trans-plant. After that I wait til they are over the shock or about a 7 days or so, whatever comes last, then begin flowering phase.

I also have just started straight from seed in a 5 gallon Smart Pot. When I do this I do not trans-plant. Just wait to they show sex and/or they are the height I desire. I always like to have mine mature before flowering phase.

Very helpful, thankyou. Did you notice a difference in plant size or yield when starting from a 5 gallon pot as opposed to transplanting?

 

[pcduck]

When planting in 5 gallon at the start I noticed that they got bigger during veg which in turn gave me more yield. With the same veg time and flower time as the trans-planted ones.

I still trans plant 70% of the time because my veg are is not big enough for all my 5 gallons

 

[BoneMan1000]

When planting in 5 gallon at the start I noticed that they got bigger during veg which in turn gave me more yield. With the same veg time and flower time as the trans-planted ones.

I still trans plant 70% of the time because my veg are is not big enough for all my 5 gallons

Thanks, maybe I'll go from seedling straight to 3 gallon. I hear that plants grow a lot during the flowering stage too, so maybe if you're using a tent you might want to flip them before they veg too big? Thanks again.

 

[pcduck]

Most plants will double or triple in height during flower.

If my plants get to big during flower, I just bend them over.(slowly pinch stem of plant til it flops over good)

 

[Hushpuppy]

One good way to keep the plants grown from seed from getting too big before flipping them is to grow fewer plants and then when they get 3 weeks old bend them over and tie them down so that they are growing sideways. This will cause them to seriously bush out but will buy you another 2 weeks so that they will be mature when you flip the lights but not too tall by the end of the stretch.

 

[BoneMan1000]

Great minds think alike (pcduck and Hushpuppy).

I've been researching LST but I never put it together as method for allowing greater grow time. Thanks for that fellas!

One thing I'm unclear about is if LST is used during vegging AND flowering or is it mostly a vegging technique? Thanks again.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I fim virtually all my plants.

LST is mostly done in veg. You want to keep your girls as stress free as possible once they get into flowering.