First ever grow: White Widow CFL

Discussion in 'Indoor Grow Journals' started by Cplusplusminus, May 26, 2015.

  1. Hey guys!
    First of all, I'd like to thank you all for providing me with more knowledge than I can learn about growing marijuana. I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster.
    So after waiting for what seems like forever, I finally got my seeds, which are White Widow Feminized. My grow space is an old closet I salvaged from the local recycling plant. It had no door, so I had to nail two pieces of plywood together to make one. As for the ceiling, you'll see that for attaching wires for the lights, I hammered in a bunch of nails and twisted them a bit, to make a noose.
    I decided to go with soil for the medium. It was supposed to be some super-nutrient-rich soil or whatever. Cost a lot though. Let me just point out now, that I'm on a SERIOUSLY tight budget, which will be clear on the photos. 
    Anyways, I'll get to the setup now:
    Lights: Two 30W 2700k CFL's and two 26 (or was it 23? don't remember) W 2700k CFL's (they were out of the stronger (and cheaper) ones in the store [​IMG] ) I'll be getting up to 8 CFL's as soon as possible, but don't have the luxury of using lots of 6500k for veg and 2700k for flowering, so I'll just be using 2700's all the way. 
    Growing medium: As mentioned above, soil.
    Grow space: A small closet. (height: 90cm/3ft, width 60cm/2ft, depth(or length): 30cm/1ft). So basically a 1x2x3ft closet.
    As a reflective surface I'll be using regular tin foil, since mylar isn't that available here. I do think foil does the trick.
    I have 5 70W HPS lights, but no ballast or igniter to get it working. Purchasing an entire set complete with a reflector and everything else needed is entirely out of question, since it costs around 100 dollars. (I'll be using dollars from now on, since they're nearly interchangeable with the euro nowadays). I might be able to get a small ballast and wire it all together myself though.
    Any help or tips will be greatly appreciated.
    Here are some pics of it all:
    build.jpg   build2.jpg   setup.jpg   room1.jpg
    grow2.jpg   grow3.jpg

     
  2. Forgot to mention some details.
    I've got 2 computer fans working in there, one is taking air in and the other is just circulating it. I think I'll be getting a few more of those from the local recycling plant. It's full of old PC's.
    Also, the final container for each plant will be around a gallon, perhaps a bit more.
    How many CFL's do you think I'll need to flower these girls? Would a total of 8 be enough? (About 200 actual watts)
     
  3. Your grow seems awesome. Lots of light going on there.
    Unfortunately "finding" a ballast or two that would suit my lights is next to impossible. Garages tend to use incandescent or CFL bulbs instead of the bright HPS ones. I think it costs around 20 bucks, so I'll probably get one or two if I happen to win the lottery or find a treasure.
    I've read about foil creating hot spots and it isn't there to stay. I'll be transplanting them into their bigger and final containers in the end of this week. Hopefully I'll get a CFL or two more to add here.
    Any other tips on this next-to-nothing/actually-nothing budget grow? How could I maximize yield and quality without any money? Are there any possibilities at all?
     
  4. If you got any spare lamps around the house just dismantle them and adds as many CFLs as your can I'd say 3 per plant minimum for flowering and make sure only a couple of the bulbs are the 5-6.5k daylights the rest need to be the 2700k and make sure u get some fertilizer for growth and bloom if you can't afford that I can research some no cost feet recipes to help u through this
     
  5. Thanks for the advice! 
    Getting desklamps and whatever's left over seems like a great idea, though I think adding more hanging lights from the ceilings is a better option, since I can adjust them however needed and wires & sockets tend to be cheap. If I can afford another CFL, I think I have enough left over for a few feet of cable and a socket.
    I've got to go fishing and perhaps sell a few larger ones for nutrient and lamp money. Nutrients aren't that expensive, but do I really need them? The 5 gallon (20L) bag of soil cost me around 7 bucks and was supposed to be filled to the brim with all sorts of nutes and whatnot. The lady at the store confirmed that no nutes would be necessary. I also added a half-gallon (2L) bag of worm castings to the soil, just to be safe.
    If I'd veg them a few more weeks and then flower, could I expect around 1-2 oz of final product total, off of 4 plants? Keep in mind I'll add more lights as soon and often as possible.
    Thanks in advance, man!
     
  6. Def possible man ... Just make sure u take good care of em
    Just like humans they thrive on food water light and entertainment.. Yes entertainment they love TV and music
     
  7. I don't think I'll let them veg too long. Trying to keep them relatively short.
    I'll switch the light probably some time in June, when they're a couple weeks old. Damn, I honestly thought they'd grow faster, but hey - experience is the best teacher. 
    When do you think is the right time to transplant from the solo cups, though?
     
  8. Wait tillbu got roots at the bottom then transplant
     
  9. I ran into some droopy leaves. What's that about?
    I've treated all my girls the same so far and this is the only one with this issue. Is this an issue at all or just a quirk? Can't be overwatering. I don't water them at all in the solo cups, just moisten thoroughly twice a day.
    plant.jpg   plant1.jpg
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.
     
  10. I had this happen before with a couple seedlings don't think I did anything special just kinda let it pull itself thru
     
  11. Yup, it's a goner.
    damn.jpg
    Not much I can do about it now, I guess.
     

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