Hello fellas! Looking at starting my own grow soon among the ranks of elitests shortly. I have been lurking for a while, but was scared to share much previously for obvious reasons. Although reading other journals has helped my knowledge and understanding, i feel now that the best way for me to learn more is to dive in, and reach out for help with the locals to make things successful. I have noticed a great sense of comradery on these parts, and it is so much to be thankful for. I would not have even started if this was different. I have had two prior micro grows inside a ghetto PC case....one almost made it. But being micro seemed to require almost too much of my attention. I made so many mistakes it was funny. Too small of a pot, sunshade reflector with latex adhesive im sure didnt help. And no idea woth watering my foxfarm nute trio etc was just too much. And then spidermites took over during flowering because i messed up my ventilation and it got too hot...and i had nothing to control them on top of that lol. Now that i have some extra cash, i decided to do things right (or mostly right). Trying not to ghetto rig everything, i wanted a decent setup. I have a plentiful amount of bagseed to run which i believe could be some strain from purple. I have an old friend who grows outdoors in this heat and has a decent potency, but i collected all my seeds from his. Normally outdoors his can easily reach 8-10 ft tall causing him to bend and train like crazy. I just dont think it gets cold enough here before harvest to bring out all the purple hues...just some. Anyways, i am getting prepped and would always always appreciate some guidance and advice as i go thru this again. No micro! I am currently collecting a few things: Advanced LED DS100 (11-band) Lighthouse Hydro 2.6x2.6x5 grow tent Superoots airpots All organic soil and care this time around and always now Venting and odor control is something i will need moving forward, but cash is limiting until Christmas time! I am wondering if a PC fan or three will suffice to move at least SOME air around while keeping temps optimal? Some background. I am as energy efficient as possible at my home. I used to run a hottub year round, but the additional 40+ monthly cost made me shut it down. Ideally i run my heater in the winter with my thermostat set around 70-71 inside the house so I dont want it to get cold in the tent with a ton of airflow. After trying nutes and filtered water, tap water, in these micro grows it was so hard to measure for such a small plant, it was frustrating. I have been surfing around the organics forums, i love the idea of being organic, knowing that there are no bottled chemicals going inside my plants, or myself, and being able to recycle and reuse my current soil and ferts while just adding some in when i need to reamend. My soil mixture is going to be simple while i learn the basics of organic growing, and adding newer amendments as money and christmas get closer. Already arrived: Canadian sphagnum peat moss Wiggle worm 30lb EWC bag Glacial rock dust A mixture of half perlite half diatomaceous earth On the way: Espoma product lines... Tomato tone Garden lime Kelp meal In the future i want to cycle in neem meal and crab meal if i can source it for a decent cost, but this will at least get me started . Any feedback on this equipment/soil would be great! I plan on having some primo seeds ordered soon but the bagseed will be more than sufficient to learn and test the waters of my ability. I will be following the basic organic mix thread for my mixture and amendment amounts. Thank you again for all the info posted in those threads! You may notice, i am extremely un-organized when it comes to writing...my apologies ahead of time
It will be a little bit but i want to track my progress from setup to harvest. My soil mixture should begin soon. I started this evening knowing my Espoma products will arrive tomorrow, one of which i need to begin my base soil. I have garden lime, tomato tone and kelp meal to use some basic amendments. This doesnt include lime but is most of the base soil... Will using diatomaceous earth as my aeration amend be OK as is? Another photo of my DS100....you can see the veg switch only, and then full flower, which also has UV and IR LEDs as well. Cheers!
No to the idea of using DE as an aeration amendment. It has the consistency of talc powder/flour and will do nothing for aeration. Buckwheat hulls, rice hulls, perlite. After mixing your soil moisten it all thoroughly and allow it to sit for 3-4 weeks to nutrient cycle. Your base soil should be around 50% peat, 30%-35% castings & 15% to 20% aeration. To this add 2 to 3 cups of your nutritional amendments per CF (7.5 gallons) (Epsoma & kelp meal) then add around 4 cups of rock dust per CF. Go very easy on the lime - just a few tablespoons to a quarter cup per CF of soil.
[quote name='"jerry111165"']No to the idea of using DE as an aeration amendment. It has the consistency of talc powder/flour and will do nothing for aeration. Buckwheat hulls, rice hulls, perlite. After mixing your soil moisten it all thoroughly and allow it to sit for 3-4 weeks to nutrient cycle. Your base soil should be around 50% peat, 30%-35% castings & 15% to 20% aeration. To this add 2 to 3 cups of your nutritional amendments per CF (7.5 gallons) (Epsoma & kelp meal) then add around 4 cups of rock dust per CF. Go very easy on the lime - just a few tablespoons to a quarter cup per CF of soil.[/quote] Doh! I had added the DE as per the soil for beginners because it was easy to source. It seems perlite is only available here in HUGE bags...but i may have no choice. Have i messed up my base already? Last night i mixed 1 cu ft of base soil, but used DE in place of perlite. Can i just add perlite or rice hulls to this mixture, or did i eff it all up lol I have miracle grow perlite but i refused to use it seeing it had ferts added.
Don't use MG products. I really can't comment on the DE. I've never used it. I know some folks do, but in smaller amounts. How much was added? How doesn't the soil consistency seem? You should be able to squeeze the soil, while moist and have it still crumble apart easily. J
[quote name='"jerry111165"']Don't use MG products. I really can't comment on the DE. I've never used it. I know some folks do, but in smaller amounts. How much was added? How doesn't the soil consistency seem? You should be able to squeeze the soil, while moist and have it still crumble apart easily. J[/quote] I added the amounts from ITGs threads so i did a 3 part mix...approx 2.5gal of peat moss, EWC, and DE in equal parts. So 2.5 gal of each measured in a bucket. I need to add lime and moisten properly but it seemed to clump a little when wet, but still fell apart when i touched it
[quote name='"jerry111165"']No to the idea of using DE as an aeration amendment. It has the consistency of talc powder/flour and will do nothing for aeration. Buckwheat hulls, rice hulls, perlite. After mixing your soil moisten it all thoroughly and allow it to sit for 3-4 weeks to nutrient cycle. Your base soil should be around 50% peat, 30%-35% castings & 15% to 20% aeration. To this add 2 to 3 cups of your nutritional amendments per CF (7.5 gallons) (Epsoma & kelp meal) then add around 4 cups of rock dust per CF. Go very easy on the lime - just a few tablespoons to a quarter cup per CF of soil.[/quote] Also. Not sure if the photo is viewable Jerry but this DE i added is pellets sorta. It almost looks like cat litter lol. Not very powdery. All those specs are the DE in the photo
[quote name='"UrbanFarmer2010"']Subbed. Good to see LED grows, I love them. Could you tell me the dimensions of your DS100?[/quote] Hey good to see ya! I am at home today eagerly awaiting my tent and fertilizers to be delivered. Knowing UPS theyll be here at like 6 tonight. The ds100 seems to look quality. I like the fit and finish of it. I wish their site had measurements because i was skeptical at first from buying it. It measures 18 1/4Lx5Wand 2 3/4" deep. I think down the road i could easily fit another one inside the tent i got
Woo! Now comes the hard part...more waiting :-(. My Espoma products arrived today, mixed in the kelp meal and tomato tone to start er up! Well, along with lime and rock dust. Now time to sit..... I got my tent all setup and light is hanging ready for a little seedling. Hopefully around Christmas time i can start. Or a little before. Sorry for the sideways pic haha
Thanks dude! I love LED's and the Diamond series seems pretty promising based on their stats and reviews I might look into one in the future - check out www.HydroGrowLED.com I got my first LED from there and their products are INSANE!! I did months of LED researching before finally choosing this company and I don't regret a thing! I think you'll find the 84x pretty appealing! I have a 21x PRO and grew a fantastic girl very healthy and strong! I may get a second one because the coverage area is pretty small - or look into investing in a Diamond series. Can't wait to see what the results are bro make a journal and let me know bro! Hey dude I forgot to ask if you know the actual power draw of your DS100 (Edit)
Heck yeah man! I had really looked into quite a few companies. Blackdog, hydrogrow, blackstar...you name it lol. I sorta just pulled the trigger on one because all the grows i kept seeing with a majority were all huge like 500w ones that i couldnt afford either lol. I got the advanced LED DS from TG42s journal...i liked the results for a 1-2 plant grow. Im pretty sure it pulls like 92 watts of power as it has 50 3w chips I started an "official" grow journal in the right area just now...check it out!