beginner looking for help

size box varies tremendously...if you only want one plant- id say 2x2x4. but of course you can use low stress training and keep it low. if heights an issue.
cfl lighting will work but is not recommended for best results-h.i.d. lighting is best indoors which is metal halide for veg and high pressure sodium for flowering.
and fyi cfl for veg u want 6500k and for flowering 2700k

organic i dont know too much about but if you use just straight water youll still get bud.

best strain theres no answer for you. indacas usually stay smaller so they are mostly used indoors. of course you can buy an autoflowering strain and those are usually small and stay on one light cycle.

id say 1 plant aint gonna keep your supply so full that you can completely cut out the dealer.
and cfls never yeild as much as hid lighting

 

I'd say 2.5'x2.5'x5' should work nicely. I used CFLs for my first grow. They surely aren't as effective as HID, but they can definitely grow a plant. 100 actual watts for one plant (not the incandescent equivalent). The more light the better. Fully ammended organic soil is worth it for sure, but can be easily overwhelming to the beginner. There is no best strain to grow, but many strains great for beginners. A popular beginner strain seems to be Northern Lights. I went with White Widow, which was a hardy strain.

 

some of those questions are quite subjective, the answers will depend on personal views. so I'll answer to how they apply to myself

the box size will depend on how much room you have spare, what lamps your planning to use and how much your harvest would need to be if indeed there was a minimum amount

CFL lighting works really well up until about 250watts. I believe once you hit this amount you are better off going hps unless your grow area is very low height and has a canopy area larger than 2x2 feet. but anything over 400w and your definitely better off going hps

for me growing strictly organic is indeed more trouble than its worth. I grow in soil and will opt for organic products some of the time. however I don't like the idea of mixing all of your nutrients in at the start and not being able to stay in control and I believe flushing the plants is very important.. I'm currently using biobizz bottled formula, it's organic but is simple as chemical formula. it works well for me

the best strain will depend on what you like. grow what you like to smoke, the difference in strains as far as growing requirements are extremely small. a favorite of mine is ak47 but may not be for you. stick to popular strains, they are popular for a reason. New strains are often pot luck. old strains have their genetic traits firmly locked down and are more predictable. northern lights and skunk being great oldies

a good starter box if your new and want to keep things small would be a 1.5x1.5x3ft box with a full hinged front door. a 125w CFL with decent reflector. a small 3-4" extractor fan. you will need a carbon filter when flowering. a few 3" computer fans to keep the air moving. a screen to train a few plants to to maximize the canopy to gather as much light as possible. you should get an oz or two from this pretty easily. if you wish to have more bud than this or indeed have more room then step up the size

 

Quality bagged soils such as Roots Organic and Foxfarm Ocean Forest work very well. Look into Topping/FIMing, and SCROGing as well. All are great ways to keep your canopy low and uniform. The WW was very tasty and potent, I can definitely recommend it!

 

Not a pain whatsoever, this is what we're here for!

Topping/Fimming sticky:
http://forum.grasscity.com/plant-training/122559-how-fimming-topping-made-easy.html

LSTing sticky:
http://forum.grasscity.com/plant-training/122936-how-lst-low-stress-training.html

SCROG sticky:
http://forum.grasscity.com/plant-training/48363-scrog-method.html

Helpful links for beginners sticky:
http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute...olute-beginners-compendium-helpful-links.html

 

google pc grow box, plus it already has a fan, PLUS it wont look suspicious when plugged in. you can build your own.

 

I'm in the uk aswell. they sell 125w cfls in any hydro store, plus eBay there are a few sellers. a 125w is about £20, a reflector will also be about £20. you can use a few 20-25watt bulbs if that's all you can get. I have grown bud with just 2x 20w bulbs in the past, it works but you will need to put more effort in. low light gardens definitely need to use the ScrOG system to maximize the light used.

I use west+ compost. it's the best we have in the uk and its awesome. you will need additional nutes. get bottled ones veg and bud type that have been designed around the needs of marijuana. again there is plenty on eBay or hydroponic shops.

oh yeah almost forgot, mix in perlite with your soil at about 2:1 ratio, it makes a big difference

 

its unlikely that your temperature will drop too low. where are you planning to grow? is it in an outbuilding perhaps?
i tried using leds about 10 years ago, its was useless but leds have come on a long way since then, or at least im led to believe. i wouldnt bother with them myself personally. if you havent got the room for HIDs then CFLs do the job quite perfectly, i think if you went the LED route you need a very high watt system that would cost a fortune. compared to a few £1 25watt CFLs they just dont cut it

 

possibly but I have no faith in LEDs unless your using large wattage fixtures, like several hundred watts per square foot.

you would be better off just using your cfls arranged in a flat even canopy. then training your plants to a mesh screen that is just inch or so away from the lights. keeping them 1 inch from the plants or 6 inches is the difference between success and failure. seriously, it's that big of a difference.

 

yeah LEDs are very expensive. this is why I don't see them as suitable grow lights unless in very particular circumstances