Help_Needed's first grow - second attempt

[Help_Needed]

Originally Posted by Mr.GoodStuff

Ya right LOL you know you were a stoner in your former life, I mean damn you skipped the whole bullshit process of getting ripped off and ran around and went straight to the top of the food chain. If I wasn't up here with you, I'd wish I was.

haha...Well, it's not like I actually had a choice, ya know? It's not like I'm in highschool and can find a hookup just by asking a couple of friends. At my age, any stoners I might know are closet stoners, and they're not likely to admit to their pastimes in public, right? lol

Besides, this way I didn't have to worry about some asshole selling me an eighth of oregano, or maybe buying my very first bag from the local PD . And I KNOW I'm getting good stuff heh.

Getting the HID up is expensive- not only the hut but the hood and the inline fan to cool it all, ballast and bulb

Right now I've got a line on an HPS system from someone on Ebay for about $120. He's gotten a couple of positive posts on other forums, which is a good sign. I'll be checking out all his feedback and Googling his store before I make the actual purpose. Cooling won't be too much of a problem. That closet gets damned cold during the winter, especially at night. In fact even with the HPS in there, I might need to add a small space heater to keep it warm enough. And I've already got the odor containment system in place. So hopefully I won't have to shell out too much to get it all up and running.

[Mr.GoodStuff]

Sounds good man, your plants are going to grow so much faster with that HPS installed! Hope you get to snag that $120 setup, sounds like quite the deal- does it come with the hood?

[Help_Needed]

Yeah, that's bulb, balast, and hood. It's just a standard hood, but you can upgrade to an cool tube on for an extra $70. I checked him out. He's got a couple of good recommendations on another forum, and he's got a 100% satisfaction rating on Ebay. That Ebay rating is amazing since I know from experience, Ebay buyers are more than happy to bitch about even the slightest thing lol.

I ordered the light this morning. System, plus an extra bulb, plus shipping was $160.

Oh, and got an early payday from one of my photog customers, so I'll be buying the hydro hut this afternoon . I'm so excited.

[Mr.GoodStuff]

Awesome man! Movin on up! To the deluxe Hydro Hut in the closet!

Great deal!

Great journal, great reading (really...especially the first tries at getting stoned, just superb stuff) and many congratulations at your first success.

Thank you Help_Needed.

**Give the man some positive rep, he deserves it!**

[Help_Needed]

Well, the Help_Needed curse has struck one last vicious blow. I got a bad case of mold.

It's partly my fault, but mostly just due to inexperience. In my excitement at finally having my crop harvested I didn't give the buds enough time to dry before I jarred them. In my defense, since I've never smoked before I had no idea what the buds should have looked or felt like. But the end result is, that I lost 3/4 of my crop .

I'm left with about 1/2 oz. Fortunately, my smoking habits are running very similar to my drinking habits - light, occasional use - mostly on weekends. So I'll probably have enough to last me until my next crop comes in. And my next grow is well under way. If I wanted I could switch my lighting over to 12/12 today and harvest my next crop in about 8 weeks. But I think I'm going to learn my lesson instead, and practice patience.

[Mr.GoodStuff]

OMG WTF BBQ

Dude... That's just horrible. I don't know what to say... It's great you don't smoke that much but I mean damn... Wow that's a big loss.

[Help_Needed]

Yeah, it's a bit discouraging. I've just got to remember that this is all a learning experience and things will get better with future grows. I'm just glad I split the crop up into four different jars, so I didn't loose everything.

[Atom]

I want a damn hydro hut. great grow and nice lookin buds, I cruised through the last few pages and couldnt find a final weight? Was there one or do you not have a scale?

[Help_Needed]

Final weight was a hair over 2oz. That was before the mold took over, though . I ended up with a bit under 1/2 oz that survived the mold.

Damn good thing I only smoke 1-2 times a week and 4 hits gets me pretty ripped. I've barely put a dent in the bud I've got left, even after 6 weeks.

[toke_tons]

those buds look awesome looks like your effort paid off. And for choosing a lesser known strain that looks pretty bomb

[Help_Needed]

Thanks. Although if you think those buds look nice, you ought to look at my most recent crop (the bottom link in my siggy). Those buds make the one from this grow look rather puny lol.

[mordgrow]

I noticed you grow with a roomate who doesnt know. and i'm SURE this has been answered before somewhere, but here i go anyway :

How do you handle ventiliation, and how do you deal with smell?

[Help_Needed]

Hey Mord,

Funny thing is, this was my old grow. Not sure why this log got ressurrected, actually lol.

As far as smell went, it wasn't really a problem with the first grow. I had a small ozone generator in the closet to deal with smell, and the closet was large enough that leaving the door open provided addequate ventilation since I was growing under CFL's.

The second grow was where things got interesting. I bought a hydrohut, and added an HPS. Heat, ventillation, and odor all were problematic. Eventually, tho I got everything worked out. The heat was taken care of by the change of seasons...cold outside temps make for a cold closet. Ventillation was dealt with by punching a whole in the wall next to the closet and ducting air in from the master bath. Exhaust was vented out of a whole in the other closet wall, directly into the bedroom. Odor was (after much trial and error) solved by introducing a Can-filter in the hydro hut. I tried a couple of homemade options, including a homemade scrubber, and even a budget level carbon filter. Only thing that acually worked was the full sized Can-filter. White widow is one stinky girl, that's for sure .