Ok I am new to the forum and new to the growing scene. I recently got my medical marijuana recommendation, so did my girlfriend. A long while ago I tried a less than half ass attempt to grow some bud in a tiny box in my garage and I never even got a sprout. Now since I have my mmj recommendation I am more serious about growing. I am willing to use my spare room as a grow room. Like title says its 10x11x8 and also has a 2.5'x6' closest space. I have a notebook half full of info I have been gathering and ideas for the room. On paper everything seems good but I still need some advice and questions answered on my specific set up. First of all I plant to use closet for seed/seedlings, with the humidity domes and heat pads. Probably 2 125w flourwing for lighting. Then a 2.5ft x 4ft area for veg stage with T5s for light and some sort of undecided hydroponic system. Then a fully enclosed 6'x8' area for flowering. I was thinking 2 400w to 600w hps/mh lights and a recirculating top drip hydroponic system for the plants. So now for my questions... Is 2.5'x4' too small for the veg stage for 12 plants? Is 2 400w or 600w hps/mh lights enough to flower 12 plants in a 6'x8' area? Also should I add cfl/t5s to supplement? How soon do plants begin to smell? Since its very dry where I live can I effectively use a evaporative cooler to cool room and add humidity? I plan to use a vent system that has some sort of pre filter at intake, which will be in flowering area, flows threw the lights with maybe a couple inline fans, up to a duct leading to my attic, where a vortex fan will be drawing the air from the room. Then it will force air into a canister charcoal filter and finally released into my attic space where air will just seep out my attic vents. The question is will this work? I heard its best to pull air out of room but will the filter still work fine being at end of the air flow? I am trying not to rush into this and I am also trying not to go broke with this hobby. I plan to get compensation at my local dispensaries as well as have my personnel supply. I have years of experience with aquariums and building stuff from dog houses, to turtle docks outta pvc so this is a really exciting and fun project for me. Any and all input is greatly appreciated. Thanks
Plants can smell as soon as three weeks from sprouting. Depends on strain. A 4 x 8 or two 4 x 4 tents would do great for flowering. 2 600 could light them. 2 1000 would light them better. You might want to try organic soil growing. Easier to start work your way up to hydro. And yes your filter will work at they end.
Cool thanks a lot. I am gonna try hydroponics first mainly because I am more familiar with aquatics then soil and adjustments seem easier. Also I like the challenge and I have already build a top feed system capable of growing 4 full sized plants. If I can figure out how to post pics I will post some. Again thanks for the input.
As long as you know what youre doing. What strains you starting with? Your going have a lot of heat from your lights. Hydro could be extremely difficult. Water has to stay under 68. Do you have a watter chiller?
I am still figuring stuff out, but yeah I need to think about those things before I get too far in. Summer time is most likely gonna make things more difficult since it gets 120 degrees here and its the hottest room in the house. Water chillers are expensive but if necessary I will get one or how ever many I need. Maybe some sort of air duct to cover water buckets with a portable Ac or evap cooler will work, idk. I am still in the research phase though. I know first thing I need to do is remove the dirt carpet from room and cover the window. Thanks for giving more stuff to consider. As far as the strain I am not sure yet from the brief reading I done on it I am thinking master kush. I prefer indicas but I not super picky, hybrids with dominate indica would also be something I would consider. I am mostly figuring out the room set up right now and will probably decide on strain when I get close to finishing room. I just got my medical recently so I got a lot to learn about the different strains through taste testing, lol. Also I need to figure out exactly how the "compensation" for plants works through dispensaries.
Look for a strain that's resistant to mold and disease. The better the make your odds the better you will do. Organic soil might be the way to start just to 1 run temps 2 more forgiving 3 your learning take it slow. Hydro a lot can go wrong at once.
Oh air cooled hoods instead of just cool tubes. Hoods cool better and reflect more light. I have a 1000 watt in a hood 13" away from my plants. 62 or so in that room.
yeah I may consider soil since its been advised by a few people now to start that way. I just was hoping to get best product possible as soon as possible but like you say it will be a great learning experience to help future grows. I also was wondering with the charcoal canister filter is the odor pretty much eliminated once air passes through or just lessens the strength? Smell is my second biggest concern about being discrete, the first is my girls loud mouth, lol. I am more worried about crooks than cops since I am legally allowed by state law to grow 12 plants to maturity.
So after more reading and thinking I am thinking of trying to do a half hydro half soil grow. I have read its good to keep mothers in soil and its debatable on which way gets better yields. So if I try both my first time I can see the differences immediately. Also I may be able to set up sooner because I have an uncle who might be willing to invest in my project. Also I realized outdoor stuff/low grade get $500 per lb in compensation, and indoor high grade gets $3,000. From what I heard outdoor low yields are around 2lbs, indoor low yields are around 2oz. I will be growing 12 plants once I get rolling good. So 12 out door low yields 2x12x500=$12,000 indoor top shelf low yields 2oz x 12=1.5lbsx 3000=$4500. So my point is I need to learn any and every way to grow. Summer time can be my break from indoor growing once a year.
Let me know if I am off on that info, lol. I am trying to be a sponge right now and soak up all the info I can so when I am ready the grows go well.
just a little tips here. dont mix hydro and soil toghether in the same room. hydroponics = need a very clean room without any pest or spider mites etc soil= need to water them and water will run out of the pots, mites, insects etc....soil make lot of dust and lot of thing on the floor that you dont want in your hydroponics never mix hydry and soil in the same room,,, otherwise you will probably have pest came from soil and they will go on your hydro system etc... maybe not is you use good pesticides but anyway its a recommandation only...
Ok yeah I was kinda worried about that. That's also why I was kinda shying away from using soil. My friend told be about a guy who set up a whole apartment for growing and some how flys or some sort of gnats infested the whole crop. He said they came from the soil. On another note I planted some veggies just to mess around. I planted 12 seeds 6 types(all for salsa) and I got 9 sprouts in 8 days =). Its pretty exciting even though its not the good stuff. Thanks for the info newgreenthumb
well if your sprout are in the soil , you can keep them, veg them, and take some clone on them if you know they are female you know and when you take the clone of them just put the clone in rockwhool that the best way to go. so like that you can save on money i mean, soil dosent worth a lot and pots, so like this you can afford 2 system, the one in soil for your main plants mother that you will cut clone of them and put them in rockwhool, then your ready for hydroponics. and of course by this way your sure that you take plants that are already female, you dont need to worry anymore about male etc. just keep your plants in soil very very very very very very healty and without pest and mite. that the soluce in good clone plants. if you take a main plan seeed, and veg her until big enough to take clone of her , we gonna call this plants a F-1( of course you already know its a female ) this mother have grow in certain condition, so when you take a clone of her, this clone will be a hybrid f-1 of this, he will be more powerfull, and resistant to everything your mother plan have accomplish, train your mother plan like you train your girlfriend, and you will be like the arabic guys with plenty of nice young female for free hahahahahah
Here's my veggies/fruit if you consider tomatoes fruit(if pic works, lol) Also am I suppose to remove the silver wrap? Lol. I figured it didn't matter since I am just messing with veggies, but I guess it could change the way it breathes.
Now that I figured out how to post pics...Here are my ideas for the layout of the room and it will probably have to change because I will need bigger reservoirs. Draining the 5 bucket system late night was a bitch, I am not sure how I am gonna fix it yet. Also a most recent pic of the veggies.
This is my four plant hydroponic set up I came up with but its needs a better way to drain. I was thinking of just putting it on a platform about 4 inches high and attaching a drain valve at bottom of center bucket. Then I could run a hose outside to drain. Would I still need a bigger reservoir if I did that? It pumps water from center bucket to each outside bucket at about 7 oz per min. The return lines go back to center bucket. I have air stones in each bucket as well.