DAY 1 / 10-11-09 well, i've decided to get this project underway. gonna try growing my first MJ plant. i already know i've got a green thumb in the garden so hopefully i'll have good luck here! i headed out to the hardware store tonight and got a few supplies that i needed to begin my grow. I got 2 cans gloss white spray paint 6 CFL bulbs @ 23 watts/piece @ 6500K 3 Y socket splitters 3 socket to outlet adapters 1 thing of aluminum ducting for clothes dryers i'm hoping to use for my air inlet 2 power strips 2 4" fans that i saw on sale ( thought they'd work good to cool/circulate internal air) 1 padlock and lock thingy to keep curious people out This all totaled me $81.83. Not too bad i suppose but i did surpass my budget for the day. So i got the supplies and went and did a little work. First thing i did was paint the inside of the grow box (very poorly i might add, its just too cold to be painting here). After that i assembled the sockets/splitters/bulbs and tested em all and all is good. checked on the paint again, still too wet to go on and i'm running out of daylight so i put everything in the box, installed lock and locked it up and off to eat dinner i went. Hopefully i get off work in time tomorrow to do some more work then i can update this. let me know what ya'll think. any criticisim is good! oh and i got some pics attached to cause everyone love pics right!?!? #1 is the paint i used #2 my grow box, it an old cabinit you can hang clothing in it measures 24"w x 19"d x 63.5"Tall #3 pic of two of the bulbs lit up #4 the bulbs i chose #5 splitter and socket adapter #6 all the other things i got #7 grow box painted
Looking good! I wish the BEST OF LUCK! My only suggestions are: 1. Keep in mind that you're either going to have to move the lights to the plants or move the plants to the lights. I've seen TOO MANY spaces built, THEN they realize their plants are TOO FAR from the lights and the stems are "stretching"! 2. I don't know where you are or what the ambient temperature is there. You can use your intake and exhaust to your advantage in order to keep your space at the right temperature. If it's hot where you are then put your exhaust near the top of your box. (Hot air rises, therefor you will be evacuating hot air.) If it's cold, lower your exhaust. Good Luck, and I look forward to following along with you!
DAY 2 10-12-09 well i got off of work too late to work on my grow box, which sucks but oh well what can ya do? but i got home and my anxiousness over took me and i decided to see if i can get some seeds to germinate. so i decided to use the wet paper towel in a tubberware container 'program', which BTW reminds me of first grade with the beans! anyway, i've got a bunch of bagseeds, so i picked out 3 of the best ones and placed them between the wet towels, closed the container, and placed it on top of my Xbox in my entertainment center. hope this works and i really hope i get my grow box done before its too late!!! ok i've got a few questions this time that i'm hoping someone could answer for me... question(s) for the day: what are the odds/percentage/ratio (whatever ya wanna call it) of seeds becoming male/female plants from bag seeds? and what determines what the plant is gonna be? is that already genetically predetermined in the seed before it ever sprouts or does the environment, etc. determine this???
Nice set of materials you've got. My answers/opinions/advice: I'd use the ducting for your exhaust. Come stank time, it'll be convenient for adding a DIY carbon scrubber. I'm a fan of stationary lights and moving your plants up and down with stands/shelves. With bag seeds, sex is basically predetermined, however light leaks in your dark cycle will lead to a herme. And noone wants that. If you want the odds to be in your favor though, it's best to invest in feminized seeds. I hear very good things. And for 3 bucks at walmart, pick yourself up an emergency blanket in the camping department. Wayyyy more reflective than paint. Put your lumens to good use. Which leads me to my last bit, cut open aluminum cans and wrap 'em around the bases of your lights as make shift reflectors. Cheap and easy. Best of luck with everything.
randumbdude, thanks for the great advice! very good post. i've got some things to share but i won't get em posted until later this evening so stay tuned.......
ok finally got some time to updat ya'll. Day 3 10-13-09 well i checked my seeds this morning and they sprouted! all three that i put between the wet paper towels had sprouts coming out of them. buuuuuut, i destroyed them, yes sad i know but first off, i didn't expect them to sprout that fast, and second, my grow box isn't even close to being done. but at least i know that what i did will work so that's it for today! i learned that my germ. method works and that i need to get a moving on my box !!!!!!!
Day 4 10-14-09 had this morning free to work on my box, so i got up early and anxiously went to work. i started off by first taking 'randumbdude's advice and put some aluminum cans over my bulbs for reflectors. it doesn't seem like they're doing a whole lot but it sure can't hurt so i'll run with em for now. next, i got the inlet ducting ran. i painted it flat black inside and put 2 90 degree bends in it to make it light proof, seems to work well! after that, i hung the power strips and lights, plugged em in to check for brightness and it'll deffinately make ya see spots after they go off. then, i hung up my two 4" fans in the corners and that's it, i was out of supplies. so i ran to a local hardware store to get just a few more things like: weather stripping for light and draft control caulking to make things light proof and another power strip all totaling $13.80. that's all the work i have time for today, hopefully this weekend it'll be up and running but i think that'll be wishful thinking! well i had pics to share but they won't upload this time, i'll try again later i suppose!
Hey man. I'm doing a similiar grow to you using CFL's also. I'm only a couple days ahead of you. Our sprouts were planted yesterday and I already have little green plants! Check out my journal if you want, its in my sig. Good luck to you and I'll be watching 8).
heres a link to make those can reflectors. http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/174565-how-cheap-cfl-soda-can-reflectors.html hope it helps. great lookin setup so far. how are you gonna move your plants from the light?with the set up you have i think id would go to a 250 watt hid set up.you gotta lot of vertical height. lol randumb been awhile since i seen that pic,she was just a baby.not that lil no more to[they grow up so fast wipes a tear lmao]
well, that's deff. looking like its more effective! i'll change them over once i get my box done. b/c my reflectors don't seem like they're doing a whole lot...too much light goin around the slits. but ya gotta admit, mine was original too!!!
Day 5 10-15-09 Today i put the supplies i got yesterday to good use. i weather stripped around the doors and caulked around the cracks on the back panel and around the intakes. turned lights on and checked for light leaks...successful, no leaks! i also drilled a tiny hole in the side of the box to put a probe type thermometer. now all i need to do is get the exhaust done and re-do the reflectors then the grow can begin to take place. Questions for today: how big do indoor plants typically get? i'm used to seeing ditch weed all the time and its not unusual for those plants to get over 10 feet tall so that's what image i have stuck in my head! and will my plant outgrow this space? if so, what to do? also, what the heck should i do for exhaust? i just can't come up with what i need, i'm having a hell of a time with this part for some reason...please help! sorry guys no pics for today!
ya i figured i'd rig up some sort of stand or stack a bunch of five gallon buckets on top of one another to start the plant out and move away from the light as she grows. also i plan on getting a few more lights (clamp style) to light the bottom of the plant
Day 6 10-17-09 Today i got the box done...close enough anyway. i finally came up with the exhaust after browsing the threads for awhile. i just took two 4" duct 90 degree elbows with an inline duct fan between them. this will make it easy to add a carbon scrubber come stank time. then i got the power routed into the box via the intake. and that's all the work for today! could anyone possibly answer my question i posted above on day 5 regarding plant size?!??! pics here are of my exhaust before its installed in the box, the fan, coming out the back and inside the box.
Day 7 10-18-09 didn't do a whole lot today. i got the aluminum can reflectors done up the right way. installed the timer and got it set for the 18/6 light cycle for when the time comes. i rigged up some chains and S-hooks to move my pot up and down. also flushed the soil a bunch, i don't have a Ph meter yet so i just ran a bunch of tap water through the soil to remove any build up. and i started the germ. process on one seed. oh and i did some test runs on the temperature, too! Question for today: how crucial is it that the temp. stay between 75-78? if its above or below by 10 degrees or so will it do any harm? pic is of my box basically done to give ya'll a general idea what i'm working with. its missing 5 of the 6 can reflectors and the pot is in the down most position at the moment and i haven't 'organized' the wires yet either so don't mind those what ya think?
I'm loving it. I'm really envious of that height and space you have to work with. To address some of your concerns: Size - Size varies based on seed strain, light placement, and pruning/trimming. The reason ditch weed is so freakin tall is because it is free to grow wild just like a weed would. Unrestrained, a weed plant can almost look like a tree. With an indoor grow, keep your lights 2 to 4 inches from seedlings at germination, then 4 to 6 during veg, and 6 to 12 during flower. The numbers you choose determine the length of your plant respectively. Keep your plants 12 inches from your plants the whole time, and you'll end up with a big ol bush that defeats the purpose of your "stealth" grow. As well, Topping and FIMing can assist with undergrowth and deter top growth. Temp - Temperature and humidity suggestions are for optimum growth environments. High temps and too low a humidity can leave the plant unable to assimilate water fast enough. Foliage will dry up and brown out. If your temp is gonna be a lil higher, as you said yours seems to be, maintaining humidity is your main issue. Just make sure that the humidity is high relative to the ambient temp in the box. (But avoid the 90s) Looks like this will be quite the adventure. Have fun and take notes. (just not legally incriminating, overly detailed notes)
wow that is crazy, it almost looks like a sex dungeon haha. pretty nice setup so far, it looks a bit overdone though... u have a box setup to handle a HID but ur only working with CFLs, overkill. since ur working with CFLs heat isnt a terrible issue and simply opening ur box once day is enough to regulate too much heat build up. however, employing a passive ventilation system is enough for ur proposes, ie: drilling air holes. also ur lights are WAY to high for ur plant. CFL's only have a penetration of 6" max. keeping ur lights where they are at will make the plant stretch out and be spindly, decreasing ur yield. i recommend moving them down to about 5" from the top of ur plant and adjusting accordingly to growth. at that height distance the plant will remain small and compact, what u should be aiming for. good luck on ur growing and keep us updated and take lots of pics, haha. btw, what kind of CFLs are u using? (watts, Kevlin...?)
Thanks for the props on the cabinet.. Looks like you and i were on the same design idea when building.. I like your set up as well... Good luck and will keep checking your updates on progress..
randumbdude, thank for addressing my concerns. i really appreciate your helpful advice and you've answered my questions very well! SM0K3TR33Z, thanks for the compliments! as far as the lights go. i have it set up so i can raise and lower my plant while the lights remain stationary. that's what the chains and s-hooks are for and in the pic the pot is in the lowest position. and my bulbs are 23 watts actual and 6500K