My First Grow - Northern Lights CFL Grow

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by CANandProud420, Nov 17, 2014.

  1. Hey everybody, first timer and I think its going fairly well for a first attempt. I dream of growing my own bud and never having to pay for it again. 
     
    Ill provide pics of the setup and progress im having below.
     
     
    I currently have 2 plants in veg and a seedling, 25 days old, 21 days old and 1 1/2 
     
    My grow box is 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 2 1/2 depth. Enough for 4 plants for sure.
     
    My lights are CFLs, 2 26 w, 2 30w, 2 13 w for each plants. Seedling has only 46 watts but it seems to work regardless but gonna add as she needs it.
     
    The strain is Northern Lights. (Easy to grow I heard).
     
    Temperature not sure but they like the environment dont know the ph either. Got a household fan that gives them wind. 
     
    Soil im using is premier potting soil mixed with like 15% Miracle Grow, bought it before I planned so trying it out, no nutes yet they seem expensive online with shipping.
     
    Using 2 something gallons as pots until my 5 gallons arrive by mail.
     
    Light are 18/6 and I just topped and lst for first time couple hours ago.
     
     
    If I forgot anything ask me, so Id really to get everyones opinions, concerns, ideas to improve.
     
     

     

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  2. 5 gallon pots in a 4x4x2 space is too big.. You aren't going to be able to grow the plants very big in there so no need. The 2 gallon pots are fine.
     
  3. lol ffs i just paid 30$ earlier for 4, thanks for the tip but i was planning on growing them to 2 feet for veg than by the time flower ends should be around 4 foot i got an extra 4 inches its tech 4 foot 4 inches 2 gallons pot can make 4 foot plants?
     
  4. Maybe im not understanding something here but... 5 gallon pots are gonna be atleast 24 inches off the ground so now you only have two feet... I consistently harvest 32-40 inch plants out of two gallon pots in my org soil tent. Hydro they get a bit bigger. In my opinion and its just mine, "3 gallon pots are the max size you will ever need for MOST indoor growing".
     
  5. ahh i get it well didnt realise they were 2 feet high hopefully i can remove the charge for 5 gals and switch to 3 galls
     
  6. how long do you usually veg for?
     
  7. #7 Guest, Nov 17, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2014
    Depends on what strain and whether it's seed or clone.. for seed it's about six to eight weeks usually. Clones about two weeks.

    Plants generally do around 2/3 of their upward growth in flowering.
     
  8. Oh ok so depends well i was planning 6 weeks or around 20 inches so that be the case would they grow to 40 inches come harvest or 60 inches approx? Id be so damn pumped to get 1.5 to 2 ounces per plant. Thanks again Berenger oh and btw switched my 5 gall order to some 3 gallons you replied right on time haha 
     
  9. Hey there, and looks good.  I agree with the 3gallons for finishing flowering.  I have only 1 grow under my belt, but that 2 foot plant was in a 1 gallon! and I transplanted late in flower.  I used a tent like yours and heres a link.  http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-grow-journals/1340886-illustrated-closet-grow-journal.html now on 2nd grow and there 2 gallon and 3 gallon in my flower tent and it seems fine.  Very similar set, so check out my grow^
     
    other thing I wanted to say is make sure drainage is good, I hadn't at first and caused an issue
     
  10.  greenthumb412 thanks appreciate that and yeah makes sense to me now to not use 5 gallons unless i had 7 foot setup lol getting 4 3 gallons should be able to have 4 going at a time in my box, yeah about drainage i didnt add anything to my soil so good to remind me for next seedlings but my pots usually dry around 4 days.
     
    thanks for checking the girls out curious to see yours dude
     
  11. Uhhh...dude, put the blunt down, and break out the tape measure. A 6 gallon brew bucket for beer, or a 5.5 gallon paint bucket (same size construction workers often use to carry tools) is only 14 inches, bottom to top.12 inch diameter, 14 inch height.

    As for what size you should use...it depends more on how long you intend to let them grow and how big you want them to grow. I veg for four months at a shot, trim, bend, top, and manicure, on my fully indoor grows, and flower them when they get to 2 feet diameter and 24-30 inches in height over the soil....and when I go to take out the soil, root development is such that the dirt comes out in one whole chunk that takes a LOT of chopping with a hoe to break up to where I can use it again.

    Keeping the plants that small, I only get between an ounce to an ounce and a half, but giving the roots that much space, it's REALLY high quality.
     
  12. How many lights did u say u were going to use? I was averaging 10 - 26w bulbs at 1600 lumens each for 2 plants in 3 gal smart pots in a 30x30x84 tent, and achieved 2.5oz a 20week seed to harvest grow. That was my 3rd grow.

    Its easy to do, but personally I would add more lights, mylar the box, and ditch the miracle grow. There are many other affordable options out there besides miracle grow. And correct me if I am wrong, but aren't buckets cheap at any hardware store. Why $30 5gal buckets? And on lights I would upgrade to t5s... Way brighter for the same power
     
  13. Damn dude 4 months, you got mad patience. As its my first grow I plan on going 6 or 7 weeks/ or 20 inches. But I think your right you can have large quantity of lower quality stuff but it wont match a couple gs of quality bud but since im not so used to growing and techniques ill just try and make it live till harvest haha what you say does make sense ill take your idea on the next one maybe get a few clones at the same time but i def have reading to do first. Thanks Indie-Kah!
     
  14. dude thats impressive! i use 2 30 w cfl daylight 2 26 w daylight and 2 13 w cool white for each plant and dude ive been wondering about T5 do i need to wire them (No clue how) or can i plug it into the wall? yeah dont know where to find mylar but i taught of painting my box whi as good or no? yeah miracle grow haha i baught 2 huge ass bags before really planning the grow plus premier soil no npk in it i mix em but with like 15 % miracle grow is that still a big nono? lol i actually started with reg bulbs haha dumbass me but anyway about the buckets they got these 20$ PLUS pots but waste of cash both stores i check out are not in season with grow shit until winters over. Thanks for sharing your time breweryblues and everyone else too really making me think of improvements i need to do more help than you can imagine the unknown art of growing is very intimidating for me.
     
    Look at my setup when started lol fail or what.
     

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  15. No probs. If you're a B.C. Canukian, drop me a PM if you decide to come south, I'm in Bellingham, WA...could probably..."help" a bit with..you get it.
     
  16. Oh, and if the lights question was aimed at me...I ran a CLW SOlar Flare 220 (400 watts intensity), 20 20 watt UVA/UVB reptile lights, and a four bulb daylight fluorescent setup in the 4X4 inside.

    New tent's a 5 by 10, 10 feet tall, in garage, so I'm taking 'em up to just shy of natural full growth under 2 1000 watt HIDs, the LED booster, 80 watts of reptile bulb.

    Light meter read that as about 75% of today's light intensity at 11:47 (completely clear day).
     
  17. I appreciate that dude, def gonna let you know if i get that chance im in Ont actually and my mind cant even comprehend all those lights your using haha need lotsa learning
     
  18. Its only been a day but i want to add pics, im a shity lst lol
     
    26 days old, 23 days old and almost 2 weeks
     

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  19. When do you guys think nutes should be added?
     
  20. Depends on the nutes you use. If using a liquid system, normal rule is every other watering during veg, water only when the leaves tell you the plant needs it, but soak the soil when you do (to where it leaks from the drain holes a bit), but that's not my pattern, and I get results.

    My pattern, despite not being "by the book" was 2 cups of water a day during vegging in a 5 gallon bucket, every third day they got nutrients at the directions-prescribed balance (4ml/gal with Fox Farm), and blooming nute every day at half dose with 3 cups of water per plant per day.

    But again...that is MY pattern, and it works for me. Others will give you different advice based on what works for them.

    "Slow release" and dried nutes are dangerous, though, because you don't know how much water precisely comes into contact with them, at what rate they dissolve, naturally, the strength of solution from dissolving them is strongest next to the source, and less further away, so you are in danger of burning roots closest to it, and making the farthest reaching ones useless (which WILL make them die).

    Whole point of an indoor grow, really, is so you are able to precisely control everything to get the best possible results out of the least ideal conditions. You'll never MATCH natural sunlight. Very few people have the ROOM to let them grow to full natural outdoor growth sizes, no matter what you do, your soil is NEVER going to be "natural soil" (though that one's a lot easier to get very close to), your gas balances won't be what they would be outdoors, ever....so you do your best to control each of these in such a way as to come as close as you can, or you give it "advantages" in one area to make up for disadvantages where you CAN'T give it what it naturally wants. This means you want as much control over each aspect as you can get. Dry or slow release nutes, soil pre-impregnated with nutes...these don't give you control.

    They give fat and sassy housewives the ability to ignore their houseplants except for watering for months at a time...because they don't give a rat's ass if the flowers are the best possible, the biggest possible, the prettiest possible or the most possible...they just want the plant to add a pretty accent to their home.

    Your goals aren't the same as the goals of someone raising a tea rose or a hanging plant in their living room. So don't act like that's what you're raising, and don't buy stuff DESIGNED to make it "easier" to raise them that way.

    Some people would disagree with me on that (not many, I hope), so I'll use a non-gardening related analogy...if you own a Honda Civic, and you want it to compete on the track with cars built for speed originally, like the Charger or Mustang....do you go to "Pick and Pull" and yank a stock injection system when you blow your fuel injectors....or do you order one from a specialty shop that's 100% configurable and controllable so you can adjust it precisely and easily on the fly? Do you dump low quality fuel in it from a corner store generic gas station, or do you buy top of the line racing fuel manufactured for your style engine?
     

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