First Grow - CFL - LST

[Sparky73]

This is my first true grow. I planted some seeds out in my woods 2 years ago, but the plants got eaten because I basically just planted the seed and watered every now and then. I have been reading a lot lately, and can hopefully produce some decent bud. I am working with a small budget since I just plan to grow enough for myself. It was just bag seed that I have gotten over time.. so I have no idea what I am getting.

I currently have 2 15w aquarium bulbs and 2 CFL's - 27w, 5500k. To start them out, we had some of those storage containers laying around, so I mounted the 24" aquarium fixure (which holds 2 bulbs) to the lid of the container. This also keeps the lid around 2" from the container so fresh air can get in. I then have the 2 CFL's mounted on the side, and am currently using the 2 bulbs for my 2 largest plants. The soil is just a mixture of dirt from our tomato garden, manure and a little peat. I have 7 plants growing inside the container right now, and another 5 just sprouting that I just have another aquarium light above them for the time being.

Starting Monday, I am going to build a small-medium box to grow in that will fit in my closet. I plan to keep 2-3 plants indoors inside the box, and the rest I will plant outside very soon when the weather gets a little nicer. I am not sure how big I should make the box, so I am open to suggestions! I have enough room to make the box about 2' wide, 1.5' deep, and 2-3' high. I am going shopping monday as well, and am going to pick up two more CFL's. They are about $10 a piece at Tractor Supply, 6300k 'White Color', 4900 Lumens and are 65w bulbs, so I will have about 184w for 2-3 plants. I also have a fan I got from walmart for $5 that I will be putting in the box for air, and possibly a 2nd smaller fan to suck the air out.

I am also picking up some Perlite for when I transplant into larger pots. How much do I use and do I just mix it up with the soil? For fert, I went cheap and am using Miracle Grow with an NGK of 12-4-8. There was a different kind I was thinking about purchasing, but didn't. I don't remember the brand, but the ratio was 5-1-1. Would this be better than the MG? I am going to wait until the plants are a little bigger until I use Fert as they are doing fine right now. I think I dilute it to 1/4 of the recommended dosage.. correct me if I'm wrong.

For watering, I am going to use 3% Hydrogen Peroxide to prevent root rot. I am planning on using 10" pots for the final container. Would this be okay when doing LST? With my limited space, I figure I would try this out as it seems pretty easy. Also.. with LST, what is the minimum box height I can get away with?

I will keep updating on all my plants, both the indoor and outdoor. Hopefully within the next few days, I will also have my new grow box built. Should I paint the inside white, or line with a reflective tape/aluminum foil? Keep checking back as I will probably have many questions as time goes on!

[Sparky73]

Picked up some of my supplies this morning, but still need a few more things. I got those 65w bulbs, but they won't work in a standard light socket! They are bigger.. meant for a "65w Floro Ballast" -- so where do I get one? Or an adapter or something? If they do not work, I'm gunna have to just puchased another 2 or 4 27w bulbs and try to work with that. 27w is still the largest I can find. So six 27w bulbs would be 162w -- which should be good for my setup that will hold 2 medium size plants.

I also got 1 computer fan, but would still like to get another.. or maybe 2. I am going to have my lights on a 'track' so I can move them up and down as the plants grow. I was going to make little pegs that I could move the lights from one to another.. but that would mean I have to move them up 1-2" at a time. With my method, I will be able to raise the lights any distance I want.

I will probably wait on the carbon scrubber, as I can't find all the supplies. What I will most likely do is build the box so I can get the plants in there with lighting and the 1 other fan to draw the hot air away from the lights. Then when I can get all the supplies for the filter, it will only require 1 more hole to be drilled, and I can install that then. I am considering sectioning off a portion of the box to 1, have the filter in a seperate space, and 2, make some type of shelf for my fan to sit on (the one that blows on the plants). Should that fan be positioned to blow directly on the plants, or angled so the air circulates around the box?

When the box is complete, it will be 36" wide, 28" high and 16" deep. My pots I plan on using are only 10" - but I figure I need the extra space since they DO grow out of the pots a little, and I needed the room for lights and such anyway.

I hope to have the box itself done tomorrow, including all holes drilled for mounting of fans and for the 'track lighting'. Not sure if I will get to paint or not yet, but thats no big deal. The outside will be painted black, and the inside white. Planned on putting aluminum foil on at least part of the inside. Would this be a problem at all? Heat issues maybe?

I hope someone is reading this.. as I would like some tips! Here is a picture of what I am planning. This is what I would do if I don't make a seperate space for the scrapper. I've got to see how much room I've got when it's all built. Should I go with just 2 fans, or 3?

Happy Growing!
-Sparky

[sneakers]

How big are the storage containers?

I don't grow in soil bit the lighting sounds ok for now. Just remember those things will get a lot bigger even with LST. I use CFLs too. With a bigger, better light I would get bigger quality bud faster but this works for me for now.

PS - When noone replies it many times means you are doing everything ok. Try saying you are going to water them with alcohol and see how many responses you will get. LOL

good luck.

[Sparky73]

Hey Sneakers;

Thanks for the kind words! I understand about not getting any replies. As I've read through the forums, I've noticed a lot of people posting messages just to get recognition. Don't matter to me if anyone reads this, as it will actually help me further down the road for future grows.

I'm just getting a little pissed here as I cannot find the correct CFL's and no store around me sells the correct potting soil. Suprisingly, Walmart had the best selection.. BUT about 90% of them were "Garden Soil" and said right on the back, "Not for use with indoor pots". The other 10% either fed for 3-6 or 9 months, or had the stuff in it so you didn't have to water as often. The closest thing I found was Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil, but was only in 7 lb bags and still had time release Nitrogen in it. Would that be okay or should I keep looking? I was hoping to find the brand "Kellogg" as I seen in another post.. but no luck. With the lights, I now have 4 27w bulbs, and those 65w - but couldn't find any 'ballast' for them! I will probably just go with the 4 for now, and see what I can find as time goes on. 108w for 5-10 plants in Veg, or 1-2 plants in Flower.

I actually found everything for the carbon scrubber, just have to figure out how to hook the fan up to it. Also found a fan (about 6") that was only $5 that I plan on using as an exhaust. Would like to hook up to the scrubber, but not sure how I would make the actual scrubber fit the fan. Lots more to come tomorrow.. as I hope to at least get the box finished. My plants are needing those extra bulbs right about now! My largest plant just got it's 4th leaf set!

As always, post any comments and/or tips you may have.

-Sparky

[dadoc420]

wazzup i ge my cfl's from walmart they got 27w 2 for 5$ & 40w 1 for 10$ i got 4 27w & 3 40w & one 2ft fluro for 4plants .

[Sparky73]

dadoc420;

I have 2 Walmart Supercenters within 20 minutes of my house, and neither of them have the right lights. I'm in the Veg Stage right now, so I'm needing the 6500k. I think they had a 42? watt in the 2700k, but that isn't needed until flowing . Unless I find a 'fixture' for my 65w bulb, I am going to have to go with 4-6 of the 27w.

[Sparky73]

Well after about 5 trips to different stores, I think I finally have everything I need. I lost track of how much I have spent, but I figure if I can even grow an ounce.. I'll make my money back. Everything I purchased either came from Walmart or Home Depot. The closest store that sells the high end soil is located about an hour away.. not worth it to me. Anyways, here is everything I went with for my box (not really stealth anymore lol)

Box: 32"x28"x16". Made with 3/8" plywood, hinged top and will be painting Inside/Out with white paint. I also have a 'sunshield' that I will be wrapping along the inside walls to act as a reflector.

Soil: Cheap 'Earthgro' from Home Depot. It was like $3 for a 40 lb bag. No nutrients or anything added.. just plain soil. Also picked up some Perlite and will be adding around 20% to the soil. My seedlings seem to like this for sprouting as it contains nothing, and with my larger plants, I can just add my own fert.

Lights: Currently have four 27w CFL's, two 42w CFL's, and another two 65w CFL's incase I want to add more. The 27w are 5500k and the 42w/65w are both 6500k.

Exhaust Fan: For right now, it's just a 3" 'Magic' computer fan mounted in the top left corner. Will possibly upgrade if it doesn't work well.

Carbon Scrubber: Homemade with Pencil cups and carbon matting. Got the idea from this thread, but couldn't find carbon 'pellets', so I used carbon matting designed for the HEPA Air Purifiers. Fan being used is a 6" o2 Cool brand from Walmart. Only cost 5 bucks, and works quite well.

Other: Like I said before, I designed this to fit 2 medium size plants comfortably. I mounted a surge protector on the back so I don't have to have a bunch of cords running out of the closet. I also have got my 'track lighting' almost done. I really hope it works okay!

I will be posting pictures soon here of what I have got done. Tomorrow I will be putting 2-3 coats of white paint on it, so it SHOULD be done within 24 hours or so.

Comments, suggestions, tips.. feel free!

Happy Growing!
-Sparky

[blobbio]

Originally Posted by sneakers

PS - When noone replies it many times means you are doing everything ok. Try saying you are going to water them with alcohol and see how many responses you will get. LOL.

LMAO

[Sparky73]

I spent the whole day yesterday working on my box. I woke up at 7 am and didn't get done with everything until late last night. I even got my plants re-potted so hopefully their okay now. I've got to run back to Walmart and pick up a few more pots though. Here are some pictures of how far I was yesterday morning when I started working. I had the box built, but it needed a little sanding due to my cooked cuts in the wood lol. I had the corners and edges filled so no light gets through. The fan was mounted, but had to remove it to paint the inside.

I still can't figure out what to do with the lid. I've got it on hinges with some of that foam with the adhesive backing on the box to hopefully seal it off, but light still gets through. Any idea's on what to do about this?

I will also get some pictures in a little while of the finished product. It barely fit in my closet since my dresser is in there.. I started to get a little worried LOL.

Here they are, enjoy!
Sparky

[Sparky73]

Well here is the finished product. From the outside, it's not very pretty, but it's functional. I still have to hide a few wires and stuff, but I had to get the plants moved in. The reflective material is one of those Sun Screens for the windshield for a car, cut down to size. The computer fan is junk, so that's got to be replaced. I've also got to figure out something to fix the adjustable lighting. The one side won't stay in track, but it still works.

The bottom has rollers on it so it's easier to roll it in and out of my closet. Tell ya what though, I'm glad I put those on! I wouldn't be able to move it if I didn't. Once again, I still need to figure out the lid and how to keep all the light out.

The fan won't be staying on the top like that, I've just got it hung there because there is no room at the moment. I've got to plant a few of these outside so I can concentrate on a few plants at a time. Hopefully I can get 2 females out of these plants. I wish I had a little more room so I could sex them before sticking any outside, but like I said.. I need the room so I will have to just hope for the best.

Do males or females tend to grow faster? Making I could make my chances better by taking the largest or smallest plant. Those were all planted at the same time.. weird how the two grew so much faster.

Anyways, enjoy the pictures!
Sparky

[DenialTwist]

Set up looks quite good. I'm not sure about having 4 plants in there. You might be better off putting them in bigger pots and only keeping 2 of them.

If you are doing LST you should really start bending them right now! Check my sig for my journal. I've been doing some LST and have some tips on page 3 or 4 that could be quite handy for you.

[Sparky73]

There is only going to be 2 plants in there, the other 5 are going to get planted outside. It was rainy today so I couldn't get to it. Probably tomorrow morning they will get planted so I can just have the 2 plants to watch.

LST is going to be started in the next couple of days. I just re-potted them, so I wanted them to get settled before I start. Plus my larger plant started to get really droopy due to lack of space in the old container and over watering once. I want to make sure it survives before I go any further.

One quick question, do you let some water drain out everytime you water, or is that just for removing nutes? I know you only water every 3 days or so, which is what I do, but I'm really unsure on the amount of water to use. Don't want to over-water and have a mess in the bottom of my box LOL.

[sneakers]

Originally Posted by Sparky73

dadoc420;

I have 2 Walmart Supercenters within 20 minutes of my house, and neither of them have the right lights. I'm in the Veg Stage right now, so I'm needing the 6500k. I think they had a 42? watt in the 2700k, but that isn't needed until flowing . Unless I find a 'fixture' for my 65w bulb, I am going to have to go with 4-6 of the 27w.

You can check with Home Depot also. I used to have to get the other colored lights from there.

I read somewhere that that cheapest soil Walmart has works good but remember, I'm not a soil grower.

[sneakers]

You can wait awhile before removing a couple of them. Wait and see if you have females.

Try this with the light...

Stick the foam strip on the inside of the box where it comes past the top. Sometimes that helps hide light better doing it that way. It is worth a try.

Everything is looking good.

[DenialTwist]

I can't tell from the pics if you have these in place or not, but a couple of saucers under the plants will catch any extra water, well, within reason. You definetly need something because of the amount of electrical equipment in such a small area.

When it comes to watering the idea is to stick a finger in the soil and see if there is any moisture or not. Forget about watering every 2-3 days, stick your finger in it and respong accordingly.

Getting the feel for it is not that hard, just takes a little practice. The plants will tell you what they need, all you have to do is listen. Over watering is the easiest mistake to do. If you are unsure grab a cup and give it a little bit of water...wait a bit...give it another bit of water...wait...and keep doing this until some water is coming out at the bottom. At this point stop. Remember, just a little at a time to learn.

Once water comes out from the bottom that is pretty much your limit. No harm done. Now if you watered the plants with just a little gulp at a time then there should be little water coming out from the bottom. If you just poured it on be prepared for a small flood. Ideally you want to stop just before water starts dripping out.

This will give you a feel for how much water to give, as the plant grows you will learn to give it just the right amount of water without any pouring out from the bottom.

About the LST. I really would start bending now. I know it is a new grow and you are trying to understand the watering first, and you are concerned about the plants getting used to the new pots, but really, the sooner you start bending them down the easier it will be.

Also, if you are keeping 2 plants I would look for square pots as it will maximise your area, when I look at the pics and see empty space just can't think that there is wasted space, and in such a small area space is precious.

Enjoy the grow.