Greetings all, So I'm a first time grower and I started outdoor. I have fought numerous battles with pests and location etc. And now I have seeds showing up. Lesson of the day is it's seems that no matter what you do it's impossible to keep the unknown wild hemp from pollinating your beautiful females. So to make a long story short I have a big building with a shop and man cave. As far as indoor grow supplies and hardware I don't have anything. I have a few different options for a grow room. I can put up a wall or two if I need to. I know I need to have air intake and exhaust. Heat and cool should be taken care of. I can run some ducting if I have to. What I would like to do is have an area for a couple mother plants. Cloning station. Veg room, flower room and a curing room. I know I say "room" for all these and in the end maybe that's what it will be but I want to be able start with some setup that will allow me to get started and eventually end up here. So that being said. I have a $1000 to spend on lights and whatever else I need to get my first grow of 2-4 plants going. I thought I would go with soil for now and as time and funds allow explore hydro. I know LED is big now and I think it makes sense but I don't think for $1000 I can get lights and some of the other stuff I need like timers and carbon filter setup etc... Is there any of the non LED lighting options that would work for a whole grow now and then be re purposed later when I upgrade to LED if that's the route I take. Also as I mentioned above this will be a multi phased project so first objective is to get a grow in some capacity going eventually moving to mother's and clones etc... Thanks a ton 4king2bee0
Hey mate Without knowing diameters of what you are working with, it's hard to give any exact advice, but for starters, your "cloning room" need only be a workbench within the room, as does your "curing room"....so if you are looking to set it all up in one room, then I would advise purchasing 2 grow tents. You aren't looking to grow more than say 16-20 plants at a time right?. If not, then a 2sqm tent for vegging and a 3sqm tent for flower would more than suffice.... $1000 will never buy you everything you need for a top quality room though, unless you buy second hand...depending on your situation, you can maybe get away with no carbon filter in the veg tent, but still, things like HID lights, ballasts, fans, tents, nutes etc etc, aren't cheap...at least not the ones that are worth buying. Even the smaller items you will require, such as thermometers, ph meters, ec meters, pots, hanging strapys for the lights, ducting, medium, clip on fans for air circulation, light timers, etc etc, they will take at least $400 from your budget, trust me...just done it! lol Good luck though mate
Google "DIY COB LED grow light" they're a more affordable option if you don't mind doing a little work. I priced out one that'd cost less than $100 (not including shipping), now that price was for one light that draws about 90w. You'll definitely need more than one for what you have planned, but check it out, might be worth it. I like your idea of phasing it out, that'll spread the cost out. If it was me, I'd get the flowering section ready first, then start your plants in there. Before you're ready to switch the light cycle, have your veg section ready, then take your cuttings and put em in there. If you plan accordingly, you could just use your veg area for your mother/clones. Just my $0.02, good luck!
$1000 seems like a pretty tight budget. That said, don't waste your budget on LEDs. I would recommend sticking with traditional HID lighting for your growing pleasure. Even eBay cheap-os will do the trick for you! In my opinion, the only reason for LED is to use as supplemental light spectrum, or if heat is a concern and you need to run some small lights that don't kick off too much heat. Note that a watt is a watt is a watt, and it would defy the laws of physics for a 240w LED light to put out the same amount of light as a 600w HID unit. So don't get too caught up in the LED thing. What I would concern myself, if I were you, is your ventilation and water in/out of the room. Ventilation is the key to maintaining proper temp/humidity in the room. Your budget doesn't really allow the option to build a sealed grow space, and even a vented area might be pushing it, but I think it can be done. You'll need a fan to exhaust the warm, humid, CO2 depleted air out the top of the grow space, and draw fresh, cool, CO2 rich air in from the bottom of the grow space constantly. Whether you choose to grow in soil or hydro, you'll need to bring water to your plants, too, so consider how you'll deliver water to the room. And finally, rather than dragging soil and all the pests that go along with it indoors, I would suggest reading about Hempy Buckets. Hempy buckets are great for dirtbags beginning hydro, because you can still water your plants, just like in soil. The best part about them is how simple and easy they are to use/maintain, and the plants will grow like gangbusters in them. They are probably the most cost effective method of growing in hydroponics available today.
I would def phase it out. Online hydro stores sell packages and you could get a 1000w 4x4 tent package for about $700. Not ideal, but with your limited budget this might be the easiest route. I am a huge fan of DIY but the danger there is it can be a money pit if you don't consider the cost of every little thing plus any problems that you may run into along the way.