I have been looking into starting a grow for awhile and before I give it a try I have a few questions to ask the experienced people. I'm planning on Northern Lights and PPP from drchronic. 1. What is the usual female percentage in a 10-pack of Northern Lights and PPP? 2. What soil should I use for Northern Lights and PPP? 3. What are good vegetative fertilizers for each? 4. What are good flowering fertilizers for each? 5. I am planning on a space that is 4 ft tall, 1.5-2 ft deep, and no more than 3 ft wide. How many plants should be able to fit in here? (I am guessing 4 at most) 6. If 4 is the max, should I start by germinating only 4 seeds, or do more as some may be male? 7. I plan on using two 4" diameter exhaust fans. Are two 4 diameter passive intakes sufficient? 8. Anybody know a good store to get a cabinet that is 4'x 2' x 3' or close to these dimensions or should I just build it myself? (I have no power tools sadly) 9. I am planning on a 150 <st1 ="">W HPS</st1> to do my lighting. I have found bulbs at Home depot, but not the other needed parts. I was thinking of buying one from insidesun.com http://www.insidesun.com/index.php/action/item/id/747/prevaction/category/previd/2/prevstart/0/ If I ordered this, would it have all the necessary parts to work, and would installation be difficult? 10. Finally, I am wondering what the time for vegetation is and the time for flowering for these strains. Drchronic.com says 8-9 weeks. Is that from germination until harvest? Thanks for all the help in advance, I know it's a bunch of random questions but I'd like to be certain before I start up.
1. Odds of any seed being female are 50/50. No way to predict what you will get in any given 10-pak (flip a coin 10 times -- you might get 5 heads, or 3, or 9, etc). 2. Any organic potting soil that does not have fertilizers added is fine. My mix: 40% organic potting soil 30% sphagnum moss 20% worm castings 10% perlite 3. Any fertilizer that has the first number (nitrogen) equal or higher than the others is good for vegging. If you are getting a chemical fertilizer make sure it has micronutrients as well. 4. Any fertilizer that has the second number (phosphorous) higher than the others is good for flowering. 5. 4 plants max sounds right for that space. 6. Your odds of germinating 4 seeds and getting 4 females are only 1 in 16. Why not get feminized seeds? 7. Generally you want passive intakes to be twice the size of your exhaust. Note: doubling two 4" holes is not two 8" holes -- it's more like two 5.5" holes or else four 4" holes. 8. Check the pre-fab closet set-ups at Home Depot, WalMart, Value City, Target, etc. 9. You should be able to find all the lighting parts at Home Depot except for a decent grow reflector, but if you are not electrically inclined I would get a complete kit. Your post says you are getting 150w but the link is to a 250w. I advise the 250w for your size space. 10. When seedbanks give maturity time they are referring to flowering time only. Vegging is as long as you want -- the longer you veg the more bud sites you will develop. I recommend 6-8 weeks of vegging.
Thanks for all the advice! You pretty much answered everything I asked. I was thinking of feminized seeds originally, but the cost is a bit too much for me. I am only looking for a couple of ounces for myself so I don't really need 4 females per grow. If I had the money, I sure would go for them tho. Also, for the soil, any particular examples of some brands?
I used promix for my first grow and it seems pretty common. You'll want to add some lime to it to raise the pH tho as it tests at 5.5. Hmmm drawing a blank on what else I have used...sunset harvest #4?...something like that which is a better mix and is also is pretty common. The really good stuff like foxfarm I can only find at hydro stores...anyway get some perlite and worm castings if you can find it. For ferts, I prefer organic stuff which you never need to flush. Just to check it out, search for guano on ebay Peruvian Seabird is good for veg and Indonesian Bat is good for flower. Good questions and smart move on planning as much as you can before starting. Good luck!
Thanks for the help Lucian. I'll check out the local stores and see what I can find. I am also wondering whether it is better to go with a refurbished 250 W HPS system or with a brand new system. The refurbished is $85 and the new is $125. If refurbished is accetable I will go with that, but if they tned to have issues, I am willing to pay more.
it took me a while to find bat guano but if you do find that it helps so much in vegging and your yield will be amazing.