So, my friends and I have been smoking for about 6 years now. And were tired of spending tons of money on bud, so we have seeds in wet paper towels right now. We're growing for our own use. We were wondering if you could grow without a box. You know, just putting the little guys and gals into pots and putting fluorescent lights over them. We're not looking to get like 10 ounces out of one plant. We're merely trying to grow descent bud and enough to get us through the summer. It will be no more than 2-3 female plants we are keeping. It will also be in his bedroom so it will allow some open space, but we could grow in the closet as well if it's best. Constructive criticism is gladly observed!
Welcome. When I was a begginer, I grew similar to this. Will be gald to help you. However; You may not like all I tell you. If you want to grow enough weed to keep you guys going for the Summer; You will need more lighting than fluorescents for 3 plants. UNder Fluoros; You will be lucky to get more than a 1/4-1/2oz from each. That amount barely last me 7-10 days; So do your calculations. Invest in this lamp, and it will allow you to come closer to your goal. http://www.ebay.com/itm/180877784621?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&var=480131408512&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT For the most part, you can do as planned. If i grow in an open space; I make some white plastic walls to better reflect my lamps creating a more efficient use of lamp power. This might help. You can download a free grow bible at thsi site to help you better plan your grow. It will answer a lot of questions. http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/1572.html Good Luck. I will look for your reply. Hope this helps. Peace
You can grow without a box, but a lot of the light will not be reflected back to the plants, affecting quality and quantity, I believe.
Thanks man, what I think we will do is grow it in the closet, and put aluminum foil on the walls, and it's a small closer so it will reflect well. It's in a small duplex so it's going to be difficult to conceal.
Ganja stinks even if it is a small plant. You need to realize how bad the smell of a fully ripened ganja plant is going to fill the entire area. An enclosure has multiple purposes. Reflecting light is the most obvious, but pest and odor control is another big aspect of them. IMO you should spend a couple hundred bucks and do it right. I realize budget is always a factor, but if you don't at least get a reasonable light and a tent, you are wasting your time.
Aluminum foil is a conductor of heat, and gives really poor light reflectivity also. Be better off with Flat White walls to reflect the light
The walls are brown, I'm wondering if I could make a grow box and paint the inside white if that would help any.
Like the guy above said, mylar is usually the way to go if you want a reflective surface. And its relatively cheap
Of course you can grow out a plant from seed to maturity with just flouro lights...even ambient sunlight from aan open window is enough...BUT...and its a huge but...just growing one out to maturity doesnt mean you will get quality bud...if your plants dont get the proper amount of PAR light from either a HPS, MH or LED then all you will end up with is a stunted, very low quality leafy plant with barely any bud and certainly not many trichs....like the Mad Professor and Old School said, get yourself more light, better reflectivity and remember,certain strains iin flower can stink up an entire city block...no shit....
Tin foil creates hot spots. All the reflective material in the world will not make up for inadequate lighting. I don't know how you all smoke, but since I have quanity I smoke quanity. You're going to need to step it up if you want bud for the whole summer for several people. Especially your 1st grow.
Mylar's an excellent reflector...but it was INVENTED to reflect and conserve heat. Only use it if you know you've got heat under control, and even then, you're best making stretched panels...some wood dowels, a bit of glue, and your mylar, turn them into "panes"...then you can move one or more as desired, and, being stretched flat, no funky reflections to potentially cause hot spots. From there...plants are, effectively, solar powered. Not enough light energy, they don't have the energy to grow, or to yield much, much less to yield quality. CFL/fluoros are about the WORST possible choice. They work, but not well. Sunlight's 128,000 lux, while a CFL "100 watt" 23 watt bulb is 1600 lumens at emitter, and loses more than 20% of that at 1 meter, due to light diffusing. Yeah, this is somewhat aided by the fact you can hang one within 2-3 inches of the main plant...but how much light are the leaves 6-8 inches away getting, then? At the same time, EVERY lighting system falls short in some way...you're doing a stealth grow, I would suggest something along the lines of a 300 "true watt" LED system backed up by a pair of "200 watt" CFLs in the grow area....cover your whole spectrum, instead of leaving the "frequency gaps" an LED only system leaves, while providing high intensity light in the major PAR freqs that a CFL doesn't, without the heat or electrical consumption of an HID of comparable abilities. And even then...an ounce or two per plant is far more likely than a summer's worth for multiple smokers. Takes me 6 months, front to back, to turn a plant into a 4 foot monster that will yield 6-8 ounces inside a tent with good lighting (hopefully, since I am now running a ridiculous light setup, this new crop will actually perform as well as true pro growers claim it will...quality's always been good, but there's a huge difference between 2.5 pounds and nearly 6.5 in a single crop).