Hi, my name is Julian and my girlfriend and I are planning on doing our first grow together. We are both medical marijuana patients who are looking to both grow our own meds and (hopefully) make some money on the side from selling our excess to local collectives. Most of all, however, we are doing this for the passion. So, after several weeks of doing as much research as possible (watching videos, reading articles, going over grow journals, etc.), we are finally ready to get started. Despite being eager to get the show on the road, I thought it would be prudent to start a thread detailing the proposed setup so that I could make sure that I am making the optimal choices. Throughout this post I will be asking open questions that I hope some of you will have answers to. These questions will be typed in red with bold and italic so they are easier to spot. The Environment: My girlfriend and I temporarily moved in at my Father's house due to some recent financial difficulties. We are moving in January of next year so everything needs to be mostly temporary. Knowing that my Father would be less than thrilled by me growing "dope" (as he refers to it) inside the house, I offered to clean and re-organize a medium sized shed in our yard so that I may allocate a small corner to the grow. The shed measures 144" width, 85" depth, with a height of 92" at it's peak in the center and 80" at it's lowest points near the sides. After spending the last three days overhauling and sanitizing the shed, I am now ready to move forward. The walls and floors have all been cleaned thoroughly with bleach and any cracks/holes between walls have been tightly stuffed with newspaper to keep bugs and dirt out. While the front of the shed isn't insulated very well, the rear is buried into the hillside and the sides are heavily insulated by rocks and boulders. The floors are solid concrete and there are two power outlets available (one on the ceiling, one to the right of the doors in you're looking into the shed). The two front doors don't make a perfect seal and the front walls are quite thin but overall I would say that this shed is closer to a house than most sheds. The geographic location, however, is a bit more of a concern. The property is located in the city of La Crescenta, CA (a small town just north of Glendale for those who know Los Angeles County). The reason this is of note is because the average humidity around here is around 30-35 in my experience, nearly half the recommended humidity for cannabis. Furthermore, we sometimes get extremely hot, dry winds called the Santa Ana winds. They are very strong and can sometimes take the humidity down to the teens. I currently own a simple, one setting humidifier, that unfortunately lacks a humidistat. Considering the humidity of my area, do I need to buy a humidifier with a humidistat? If so, what is the least expensive one I can get that will do the job? If not, how else should I manage humidity? I have heard that hanging a couple damp towels can be useful for this, but is it really effective? I have also heard many others claim that low humidity isn't an issue. That conclusion doesn't seem to add up to me and am skeptical of such claims, but would like to hear some other opinions on the matter. Another Geographic issue is heat. Having lived all around Los Angeles throughout my life, this property is by far the coolest. The house itself is in the foothills and compared to the rest of Los Angeles, our temperatures are often cooler by 10 degrees Fahrenheit. On top of this, the property is completely covered by trees which keeps the temperature even cooler as compared to homes just across the street. That being said, it can still get damn warm around here, sometimes getting up as high as 100 during the summer. Do I have no choice but to invest in some air conditioning for my tent during the summer? If it is avoidable in any way i'd like to explore what other options I have. Electricity is 33 cents per Kw/h around here so running AC constantly would be something i'd definitely want to avoid. I know that many people grow weed outdoors around here with great results which makes me wonder how big of a difference the temperature would make. The "dope": Having to decide on which strains to grow was hard. Very, very hard. After much deliberation, however, we decided on three seeds of Royal Medic and one of Haze Berry from Royal Queen Seeds. We picked the Royal Medic for it's 12% CBD content, high yield, and low cost relative to nearly every other strains high in CBD ($150 for 10 Charlotte's Web seeds is complete insanity). The Haze Berry was chosen just for our enjoyment and should be really dank considering how its THC level is 20%. Royal Queen Seeds is also including a free seed selected at random, but I won't know what that is until it's delivered. I figured that four plants, one in each corner, would be a good use of the space but am still considering this. Is four plants too many, too few, or just about right? Considering that I am getting a 5th seed, should I grow it as well in the center of the tent? I've heard a lot of conflicting advice about putting more plants vs few, but it seems that unless I was doing a SoG I wouldn't want too many plants crammed into a space that small. That being said, should I grow the 5th seed that i'm getting for free or should I save it for the next round? The Gear: [x1][$85.99ea] 48"x48"x78" Indoor Marijuana Grow Tent [x2][$86.99ea] 300w LED Grow Light [x1][$25.95ea] 6" 240CFM Inline Fan ? [x1][$32.95ea] 8" 400CFM Inline Fan ? In regards to the Inline fans, i'm a bit lost on what the best using the least amount of power would be. I don't need to run a carbon filter and figure that I just need one good intake and exhaust to get me started. This picture details the available fan mounting holes, i'd really appreciate it if someone gave me some advice on this in particular. [x1][$9.98ea] AcuRite 00613A1 Indoor Humidity Monitor [x1][Already own] Oscilating standing fan (similar to this. I realize that this isn't what most people use but it's what I have and I figure it will get the job done) As for the rest, I just plan to run down to the local nursery to buy larger pots, fertilizer, etc as the plants mature (i'm not completely new to gardening). There are other things to consider like grow medium and such but i'm just listing the stuff I have to buy online for now as that's what I have to buy and set up first. Anyway, sorry for the really long post. I will be creating a proper grow journal once things are rolling! Thanks in advance for your time and help, it will go a long way towards creating the most optimal little garden. Cheers, -Julian and Marisol.
If you are putting a tent in a garden shed like that, then I would say yes, you will definitely need ac. As for a humidifier, any small one from walmart or whatever will work just fine, but from my experience need to be filled at least once a day. You do not need to buy an expensive one with a humistat, the humidity monitor you have a link to is perfect. If you can't afford to pay for ac, you should grow outside, or in a cool basement. 4-5 plants is about right for a 4x4 tent. Some people cram way more, but I find it best to give them proper space. The bigger exaust you have, the better off you'll be in controlling your temps. I recommend you try to set things up so your intake comes from the most shaded area outside the shed. The oscillating fan you have shown will work fine, but you might want to get the standard type as well. Air circulation is just as important as exaust.
Thank you for the quick response! I understand what you're saying about the AC and accept that I may not have a choice on whether to use one or not. That being said, I wanted to provide clarification that this is not a normal garden shed. I snapped a quick picture of the shed from the outside, which you can see below. Furthermore, our property is nearly completely covered in trees, making it quite cool. Considering that this isn't a property with a large amount of shade and the shed has natural insulation on most of it's walls, do you still think AC will be necessary if proper intake, exhaust, and internal air circulation? Furthermore, here are the temperatures routinely experienced during the warmest times of the year (remember that due to all the trees this property is cooler than average) As for exhaust, what do you think the optimal fan configuration would be with that tent I am getting. Here's a picture that shows the mounting locations for fans on the tent. What do you think would be the optimal configuration, preferably while not spending too much money? Also, in the picture it lists one hole as 7.9" and another as 9.85". Will an 8" fan fit in the 7.9" hole or should I go for a 6"? Same question applies for the 9.85". Finally, do you think that a standard clip-on 6"-9" fan (like this) would pair well with the standing fan I already own? Thanks again for all the help!
You could set everything up and run it without ac. The only way you will know for sure if you need it is to see the temps with everything running. Personally, I like to keep temps below 80 in the grow room, but a few degrees higher is okay. Once it hits 85 or more, I would really recommend the ac. Yes, the clip on fan should be ok. I use a clip on fan in my seedling/clone chamber which is a hollowed out dresser, and it's fine for that space. I had a 7x8 space last year, and used 2 x 20" wall mount fans and a box fan. You want to see good plant movement from the circulation fans. You could always add in another fan down the road if you think it needs it. As for ventilation configuration, you know intake should come from the bottom and exhaust out the top, right? I think it's best to use a good fan at the top to pull air out. You don't really NEED a second fan to push air in, as it will pull in by itself.
Okay got it, this should help a lot. Are you not sure about the whole fan mounting size issue though? The issue is i'm not sure if an 8" fan is supposed to fit snugly in that 7.9" mounting hole or if you're supposed to fit a 6" (although I worry that there would be too much wiggle room with the latter option). Also, just so I understand you correctly, are you saying that a single 10" fan wouldn't have enough force to circulate the air inside the tent often enough? Bear in mind that the exhaust will be traveling through about 5'-8' of ducting (kept mostly straight without any large bends and turns).
Being that the 7.9" hole is at the bottom, you don't need a fan there. If you want to add some dryer vent hose to bring in air from outside of the shed, 6" will be big enough. As for the top 9.85" hole, if you want to put a 10" exhaust fan there, you probably could, but also might need to cut something to make it fit. I personally think a good 6" inline fan will be enough for that space, but an 8" will be even better for air flow. And yes, I am saying I don't think a single 10" fan is enough for a 4x4 space. Lack of circulation is one of the main reasons for bug problems.
Okay, got it. I didn't think that a single 10" fan at the top would be enough either, I just want to make sure we're on the same page as for what the other fan I get should be. Should I get a 10" for the top exhaust (which will be venting out of the shed through ducting) and an 8" at bottom intake? Or, should I have the 10" in the top exhausting (still with the ducting) and another 4" at the top exhausting (without ducting)?
Also, one final question before I buy. Will the kind of fan I linked be usable for this setup or will I need to get one of the high velocity ones. I'm aware that the inline fans that i've linked previously don't put out nearly the CFM's that they advertise when they are in a real-world scenario, as opposed to higher powered blower fans. So, should I get a blower like this (which will run me about $60 for a 6" and $80 for an 8") or should I get a cheaper one like these (which cost around $40)? I realize that the cheaper fans are supposed to be used for simply boosting air within ducting but have seen many growers with small tents using them and claiming that they work. I realize that doesn't actually mean that they are a good option, so perhaps you could provide some clarification on that? I don't want to spend a ton of money here but I also don't want to half ass things. So maybe a single 8" high CFM blower for exhaust?
Okay, we're not on the same page here... I got mixed up when I answered your question about if a 10" fan is enough. I thought you were talking about a fan for circulation, not exaust. A 10" fan for exhaust is more than enough for a 4x4 space. You only really need a good 6" inline fan, but if you can spring for an 8" then the better for you. You should buy a carbon filter with it, and hang the carbon filter on the ceiling at the back of your tent and have the fan suck from the filter, out your vent hole. You won't need a fan on the bottom to send fresh air in. Are you buying your stuff online? If so, tell me where so I can look at what you're thinking of buying. I will give you my opinion on it. lol
Okay. I am at about an [8.5] right now as I type this after a really long day so i'll keep this short and sweet. Should I get a 6" high velocity blower inline fan (353 CFM) or an 8" high velocity blower inline fan (559 CFM) (such as these). I figured that simply going with one of the booster style inline fans from earlier (such as this) wouldn't produce enough airflow under a realistic load. Also, I will likely need to carbon-scrub my exhaust at some point even though I don't currently, so that should be taken into account as well. Furthermore, I would like to get a larger grow tent and more, high powered LED lights after this first grow so room to grow should be taken account as well. If I get a 96x48x72" tent to replace this one would the 8" one be able to move enough air or would I have to upgrade anyway? Alternatively, could I get away with having just a cheap $30 one in there for now and should keep it to be used as an intake when I upgrade next time (saving money now is obviously something i'm interested in doing as long as it won't be detrimental to the grow and not be a throw-away for the next grow).
If you get the 4x8' tent, definitely get the 8" inline. If you are using a 4x4' tent, the 6" inline is plenty. If budget is not an issue
Okay so I bought all the stuff! I really appreciated your help with this as I feel that it definitely helped me to make the most of my available budget. I ended up going with the 4x4 tent, a 600w led light (was only slightly more expensive than the 2x 300W but will lead to less clutter), an 8" inline blower fan + 8inx25ft aluminum ducting, a small 6" clip on fan, and all the other assorted tools that I need. Furthermore, I changed which seeds I am going to buy because RQS is a pain (along with most other good seed sites) if you're in the US. I went with The Single Seed Center instead and am getting x2 Royal Medic, Ladyburn 1974, Tangerine Dream, and two seeds picked at random. We are both extremely excited to get started and really appreciate the help. I did have one last thing that I wanted to ask you about though. You may not be the right person to ask on this and if so, no problem, i'll start a new thread about it. I want to do an organic grow but obviously have not had enough time in advance to compost my own super soil. I 100% plan on starting a compost to have ready for my next grow, but in the meantime I have to rely upon what I can buy. I did as much research as I could (this are the best instructions I found http://www.growweedeasy.com/organic-super-soil) but was still a bit confused about what I needed to do specifically. The article mentions that "pre-made" super soils were available from some sources, and after a quick search I came upon this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPER-SOIL-BAT-GUANO-BONE-MEAL-BLOOD-MEAL-AZOMITE-MYCORRHIZAL-HUMIC-ACID-/320849076661). Does this super soil look like it's up to snuff? If so, what else should I buy to go along with it. I'm aware that it needs to be mixed with regular potting soil, but the question is which potting soil? The article lists this (http://www.amazon.com/2-Cubic-Feet-FoxFarm-Happy-Potting/dp/B0032JPA2E/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=growwcom07-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=R5GBIJPGH6ITK46S&creativeASIN=B0032JPA2E) as a good option but i'm sure it's not the only one. Is $43 a lot for that quantity of potting soil? If so i'll pick it up. If not, what should I look for when selecting soil if I were to run down to my local nursery? Also, the ebay page for the super soil says that it should be mixed with Myco and Worm Casings, but again the instructions are somewhat ambiguous. "Just add one scoop of the mix to every gallon of potting soil in your container of use. Mix the potting soil and nutrients up and just add water for the remainder of the grow cycle. If you need to top dress just add 1/2-1 scoop to the top soil, mix, and water. This mix is great for established plants too. This is what my clients have been using locally for the last 5 years. All questions about specific growing needs can be addressed to the e-mail address on the label. You want to use Myco, I like Pumpkin Pro Brand, add one heaping tablespoon per transplant. Make a hole and add the Myco to the hole and place the roots of the clone on top of the Myco then fill in with your top soil. This way when you transplant to your grow container your Myco is activated and ready to go. I have found this to be the best method for enhanced growth using Myco. Use Worm Castings at a 3:1 ratio. So 3 gallons of soil to 1 gallon of worm castings. Your plants need to be fully rooted before transplanting to the grow container for maximum yields." So, for example, when it says "Use Worm Castings at a 3:1 ratio. SO 3 gallons of soil to 1 gallon of worm castings" is it referring to 3 gallons of POTTING soil or SUPER soil? Or, considering where this line is located in the instructions, is it referring to 3 gallons of the super soil/potting soil mix? I realize that may be a dumb question but I am honestly a bit confused. Anyway, I really cannot thank you enough for all the help. It's so wonderful that there is a community of folks with the knowledge and willingness to help others!
That one from ebay looks great. I recommend adding extra perlite to any fox farm soil you buy. Also keep in mind that these soils were developed for veggies and will have a high level of nutrients... possibly too much for a new seedling... so you might want to sprout your seeds in peat pucks, and let them grow for a week before putting into that soil. Personally, I prefer to use pro-mix as a medium, because I can control every single bit of nutrients I feed my plants.
Okay, I think i'm going to need just a little bit more clarification on the potting soil if you wouldn't mind as i'm a bit lost here. I found some Pro-Mix at my local Lowe's at a significantly cheaper price than the fox farms. Would this work? (http://www.lowes.com/pd_383916-1803-383916_0__?productId=3745337&Ntt=potting+soil&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Dpotting%2Bsoil&facetInfo=) Also, if you could explain what I should look for in potting soils and why I would really appreciate it, as that would be very helpful going forward. Finally, the ebay page for that super soil lists worm castings and myco. If I were going to get the Pro-Mix listed above would I not need to buy additional myco because it already has it in it? Also, how soil and worm castings will I need for about 4 plants in 3-5 gallon pots? Will the worm castings or super soil go bad after a certain period of time? If so, how long? I found this 30lb bag of worm castings (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wiggle-Worm-Earthworm-Worm-Castings-Organic-Fertilizer-Pick-your-Size-4-5lb-60lb-/141338094885?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item20e8682d25), would this be a good amount to accompany my super soil and potting soil? Other than all that, I think i'm good! Most of my equipment has arrived and the seeds are on the way. Is there anything else i'm missing before I get started?
I'll try to answer your question, without droning on and on too much.. But since it's the weekend and its a stoner site... No guarantees lol.. FWIW i'm flowering in a 4x4 tent with a 600 hps, so kind of a similar setup. Fox farm comes with all the "goodies" already inside like castings and guano. And I love it. Pro mix comes with the Myco stuff also, but doesn't have all the other stuff. (From what I've been told). Happy frog has the Myco and I think Ocean forest does too. I use ffof mixed 25-30% with coarse perlite and don't feed for the first 3-4 weeks of planting in it, except watering with 1/4 to 1/2 dose of bio root. The two main FF soils are happy frog and ocean forest, some also use light warrior. HF & OF are both "hot" from what I've read.. Meaning they have so much going on in there you'll burn your girls if you feed too early. Happy frog is better for tender stuff I guess, with OF for the rest. Never used happy frog. Some have said you can't start seeds in the FF or that you can burn clones. Never had that issue, I've been using rapid rooters for clones and seeds and put them right in the FF once rooted. Fox farm soil's not good for clones, my clones in FFOF took, but took forever to root and then were pretty stunted and took awhile to start growing again. Some will use happy frog in the pot between pod and final pot, with the OF in the final pot, but I keep it simple. Rapid rooter + FFOF til the end. Pro mix is what my buddy uses because he doesn't want all that "stuff" in there, he likes to add it himself. Buys a big bag and soaks it in "pete's" fertilizer he swears by, and uses that from seed up till flush, says he's old school and isn't changing now. I just take a toke and smile. (great guy, wealth of knowledge, just set in his ways lol) But with some rooting hormone you could clone into straight pro mix no problem unlike fox farms, which also works but takes for EVER and not as successful... His clones take 6 days in soil. Mine take about 10 in plugs with no rooting hormone or anything but the plug. Honestly I'm not sure if that's because the plugs are denser and take longer for the roots to poke through or if they actually go faster in soil. Lastly there's the MiracleGro soil... looks great, works great, just listen to their commercials!! But DON'T Do it. Lol.. IMO if you're dead set on making your own mix, get pro mix and add your stuff to that. My local shop has their own pro mix for less than the name brands and works just fine as well.. I use it for my food/flowers and move them to fox farms. Prefer it over the other stuff because it comes DRY and in a sealed container they make on site and is stored inside. Commercially prepped stuff has vent holes poked in the bag (I'm weird, I know) I'm using the General Organics GO nutes line and if you're wanting the stinky, nasty organic fertilizer thing going on, I can assure you if you brew your stuff up until it gets a good foam you'll get what you're looking for. I've never brewed anything but the ferts in my GO box but I can tell you the plants love it. For coverage: I buy one bag of fox farms 1.5 cf in town for $14-15/bag + about $7 for a bag of perlite to mix in. I want to say that's enough to fill about 4, 5 gallon pots with some left over. Hard to say for sure at this point but that's my best guess since it all goes in a bin I scoop out of for potting. Finally, watch where they store your soil when you buy it. I only buy if it's been INSIDE when purchased. I know I have no idea where it sat before it got into the store, but I lost my first crop to critters (spider mites) long ago, and a bag I got from "outside" came with fungus gnats so I am much more vigilant now. The difference in cost here is about $1, from the store that keeps it out back vs the one where it's piled up inside but worth my peace of mind even if nothings wrong with the stuff sitting outside. Looking forward to seeing your setup and what you get growing.
Both me and my girlfriend would like to thank you both for all of the help! It was incredibly helpful and I hope our grow goes well (look out for a grow journal coming shortly)! I started another thread regarding the soil issue seeing as this thread was starting to get a little bit off topic. You can check out the thread here.