Hello all, Just as a bit of background on myself, I'm a c5 quadrepelegic, which means I'm paralyzed from the shoulders down. No dexterity in my hands at all and I only have function in my biceps. As such, my choices and strategy are super simplistic and I leaned towards safer options(ex. Limiting heat so I don't burn myself on accident). This kinda started off as a joke, but it seemed realistic as a way to save money, get a finished product that's safe and is a strain that tailored to best help my pain management. Plus, I hate doing business with Johnny drug dealer. Doing large cash transactions with a less then savory character while disabled can be a tad nerve racking. I plan on growing strictly for personal use in my bedroom in a multi-unit building. Thick walls and separate ventilation, plus super nice people that are 99.9% more likely to hang out then complain if they suspect anything. Anyway, on to my set up: 4x2x6.5 Grow tent 60%/40% fox farms ocean forest to espoma organic perlite as a medium 4x 3 gallon "smart pot" with with drainage grid in bottom Seed starting plantable fiber pots 2x 125w 2700/6500k dual spectrum CFL in 10.5 in reflector domes and 300w sockets. 24 hour outlet timers Small fan Digital thermometer hydrometer combo As of now, I'm skipping oder control, but I will get a carbon filter or ona gel as I go based on need. I like the smell and wouldn't mind it if it doesn't get out of hand. As for seeds, I did a lot of research because there is a hugeeeeeee variety of things available. I wanted simple and reliable for my first time. Also didn't want a plant that would be too big for my space. I settled on massive midget autoflowering feminized seeds by heavyweight seeds. Heavyweight Massive Midget Autoflowering Feminised Seeds Specs Genetics:Afghani/Nepalese Auto x Hawaiian/Jamaican Auto Type:Sativa 50% Indica 50% CBD:0.7% THC:18% Harvest Time:Approximately 8 weeks from germination Height:60-80cm Indoor Yield:450g/m2 Outdoor Yield:90-180g per plant "The power of this exotic strain, is beautifully hidden beneath its mouth watering tropical flavours, a must for all discerning smokers with an eye for quality. We've taken a highly stable Afghani/Nepalese autoflowering hybrid and then crossed it with our Jamaican/Hawaiian autoflowering hybrid to produce the Massive Midget. Tested through five generations for uniformity and stability this beauty is now amazing its growers with abundant yields of compact resin covered buds. The smoke is smooth with a citrus aroma and fruity-herbal flavour, the high is calm and highly creative, and its high CBD levels make it a useful medical strain with good pain relieving qualities." This seemed like a perfect selection for a first grow. I'm really interested in recommendations for grow #2 if anyone has suggestions for a strain that can help with nerve and general pain. I don't care much for couch lock, so I'd greatly prefer a strain that's more social for a day time toke. And now for the plan.... I practiced germinating a random bag seed with the paper towel in a bag somewhere dark method. No luck as first. I suspected it wasn't warm enough since it was cold out the past few days. I then moved it and put it on my cable box. 2 days later, almost a 6 inch root. Think I figured this germination thing. I moved it to a fiber pot about a half inch under soil. Watered, then put the pot back in a ziplock on the cable box. This is where I currently am. I figure another 1-2 days then start getting it under the lights. Gives me 1-2 days to get the tent fully set up. Simple tasks take me a while, don't judge! Question I have, how many seeds is recommended for a 4x2 base area? I've seen 1 plant per 1.5 sq ft, but that seems squished to me. I was thinking to germinate 4 in hopes to get 3 plants started. Gives me 1 screw up or an extra plant to practice different lst techniques or make a clone or something fun. Suggestions? As for lighting, I currently have the 2 125w CFLs. They both produce 2700k and 6500k at 9500 lumen each. I went with the CFLs due to their lower heat output. I don't wanna end up with serious burns cause I am rather not great with precice movements. Going to run 20/4 lights for entire duration of the grow. I may add more lighting as the plants get bigger. Maybe 2x more sockets with Y splitters and 4 42w or 65w 2700k CFLs during the 2nd half of the grow. I guess the part that I might need the most help with is going to be the harvest. I think I'll know when it's ready, but if anyone knows of a good guide on what to do from harvest to consumption, I'd appreciate the reading material. Also, I'd love to use as much of the plant for edibles, anyone have experience on which parts besides the obvious are good for making butter? I'll get a few pictures when I have everything set up. This is about everything I can think of. Thanks for reading.
Your going to want to invest in more or better lights within a few weeks. Two cfls isn't going to cut it. They are 125w equivalent. I have some 100w and they are 23 actual watts. I also use a 135w LED. Highly recommend investing in an led, especially if you don't want to deal with heat. I can rest my hand directly onto the bulbs without burning myself. Honestly it gives off less heat than my cfls do. Feel free to check out my journal. I'm on my first grow and this site has really helped me out along the way. My grow journal http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1323166-another-noob-his-first-grow.html
"Small fan" Getting growing plants plenty of fresh air is important. A clip fan is good for air movement in the tent. You'll need a good extractor fan to give plenty of airflow from the start. It's one of the commonest mistakes beginners make. Get a good carbon filter and fan set up from the start, you will need it or you'll stink out the building and your plants will not grow to their best. Plants "feed" on air,water, and light. Make sure you get an extractor fan of the mixed flow type. Best of luck...
They are not 125w equivalent, they are 125w. I got some huge bulbs hehe. Wanted to minimize the no# of bulbs, so I went big. Edit: I actually read your grow journal during my research hehe. Keep up your good work.
Thanks for the feed back, it's a 4inch fan for the upper vent on the tent. Was going to angle it so it hits the plants. Don't think that's good enough for few weeks? Was waiting on a carbon filter for two reasons...... One being need.... I think I'd rather use Ona Gel if that'd be enough for my small operation. People seem to swear by it in small grow situations. The other being to just space out the hit on my CC... This project added up quick hehe.
I have the same size grow space and also started with the same light set up, I would suggest a small oscillating fan I know you mentioned the incline fan but you will need something that you could direct at the lights because those 125watt cfl's tend to make things hot. Each light comes with the hood correct? Other than that it seems you've done some serious research which by the way is awesome to see! Best of luck on your grow. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Get rid of those plantable pots for your seedlings they dry up in minutes. No good for seeds, or anything IMO. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Ok, thanks for the tip, I only grabbed them cause they looked interesting and I wanted a smaller pot to start the germinated seeds in. Should I just go right into the bigger pots to start? Transplanting might do a lot of harm cause I'm not very coordinated, so I don't want to kill the plants by getting too fancy. . Ok, I'll start looking into a proper ventilation system. Any quiet running systems people will recommend?
just get some solo cups and poke holes in the bottom. you would be surprised at what people around here do with a solo cup.
OP it's great to see a new grower first of all and kudos to you for doing your research beforehand because it looks like your gonna run a tight ship with your grow. My 2 cents are this....I'm a strictly CFL grower in my small grow cab which is only 1'x1' with only 3' of vertical height. My only gripe with the one big 100w cfl is that I feel they wont "cover" the plant as well as say 4x 42 watters which you can put on a Y-splitter. By no means am I saying that you won't be able to grow good pot with your bulbs but use a reflector of some sort to get the side lighting out of your bulb transferred to your plant. Hell, when I first started out I used a coke can for ghetto reflectors for my bulbs and it got me about 3 oz on my one 2 1/2 foot plant. dried. I'm gonna stay tuned in. All the best.
Auto flowers are best planted straight into the main pot that you're going to grow in, just don't let them dry out or over water them.
http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-grow-journals/1341643-bees-organic-indoor-1st-grow-autoflower.html?p=20876558 Posted a log in the correct section, follow along if ya got the time