Hey all! Here we go. I'm still waiting for seeds to show up, and I've almost got the tent ready to go. I have a couple questions that I'm very concerned about before I get started. Medium: I'm using the General Hydroponics farm kit single bucket. It's a unique design from what I could tell. It only has one air pump, no water pump, but apparently the air pump gets the water oxygenated and pumps it up to the ring at the top that drips that water on the plant. Has anyone ever used one of these before? Did you have good success? Should I return it and use a more conventional setup? Here's a link to the product: https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/GH4110 Germination: I've got these little biodegradable starter things that I'm going to germinate. I've been reading a lot about it because I'm really nervous about getting started. From what I can tell, it's really not that complicated--keep it moist not wet, and keep it warm. Once it's germinated I'm going to rest the whole thing in the hydro bucket and allow the holder to degrade naturally. Does that sound like a good idea? Grow height: I need to read more about this, but with a 4-foot grow tent, a 12" high bucket, and a recommended 12-18 inches of light clearance from the canopy, I'm left with 18 inches of grow space. Does that sound normal? Will I be able to keep White Widow short enough for that space? I've researched some PC grows just to learn about keeping plants short and I see guys have done it, but will I be able to get a decent yield from an 18-inch high plant? (planning to ScrOG) SMELL: This is the most important. I MUST maintain 100% stealth. I plan on having a nice Australian charcoal 4-inch filter as well as some Ona gel on hand in emergencies. I didn't know what strain to get but was thinking Northern Lights since everything says it's a very neutral sent. BUT, of course, Nirvana was running a 2 for 1 sale on White Willow and everything looked good as far as height and yield, but I got excited and forgot to read about its scent. How bad does the smell get with WW? Have I kind of screwed myself here, or will I be ok with the filter? AND, when I open the tent to check on the plants, should I have the Ona on hand to cover up the smell? Lots of questions, I know, and I'll have many more to come. I just want to make sure I get this as right as I can for my first grow! Thanks!
Allow me to answer these questions! I'm actually not being snarky--this was pretty cool to see how much I've learned in the last couple weeks. The hydro farm looks like it will work just fine. So I'm going to try it out. I found a couple people on youtube that are using it, so if it's good enough for them, it's gotta be good enough for me. I'm still nervous about germinating the seeds, but from what I've read, I should be fine with the strategy I've set forth. I've got Rapid Rooters and have done some reading on them and have figured that I'll just put the seeds in there and keep it warm and moist like everyone has instructed to do! I'm learning a little more about grow height, but until I actually grow the thing, I don't know if I'll really have a good frame of reference. I'm planning on FIMing, super cropping, and Scrogging to control the height. In the end I'll have a plant that's about 20" high from the trunk to the top of the canopy. Smell is still my biggest concern, and I ended up contacting Nirvana and they switched my order from White Widow to Northern Lights. I also hooked up my vent system today and everything is looking pretty good. I should be in the clear. I hung my lights and air filter today and I am actually very impressed with how it turned out! I'll post some pics a little later so y'all can see what I'm working with. Now all I need is for the frickin' seeds to arrive. I'm getting anxious! I'm excited to get this started!
Sounds like you are doing your homework. Keep on learning and never stop. You will only get better with knowledge and experience. Good luck.