Any input appreciated - The grow space isnt complete yet. I am thinking about making a tent like thing to go over the top so i can attach my outake fan. Does this sound like a good idea?
Looks like a small wattage HPS in there too? Okay, first of all, I'd suggest getting some panda plastic and building a tent around it. It'll contain the light and keep it light-proof when its flowering, which is absolutely necessary. It'd also require a smaller fan for ventilating the area. You're going to need some odor control at some point - look into DIY carbon filters. I'd really suggest a reflector on that HPS. You're running it vertically - but not running a vertical garden. If you don't want a reflector, space those two plants out a little and drop the bulb directly in the middle of them - raise it as they grow taller. That's actually probably the best thing you can do - let the CFL's light the canopy as you have them, and then use the HPS to light the the plants from inside - that'll give it the extra penetration kick the CFL's lack in. You'll need a fan like the gray one there (preferably a little bigger - Walmart has some "clip on" 6" fans that are similar for about $10) blowing straight up over the HPS.
Thanks for the reply, where would i get the panda plastic? I dont think home depot or lowes have it. And thats kind of what i was planning with the hps (its a 70 watt i got from a friend) Im gonna run it either inbetween or next to the plants. Thanks a lot though im open to any ideas on how to improve the space(without spending much money)
Panda isn't cheap for plastic and you won't be able to find it at lowes or anything. Look into some emergency blankets - they're lined with mylar and that's an even better reflective material - and they're cheap. Few bucks per blanket. Basically, you need some type of reflective walls to reflect the light back to your plants. It's not necessary, but it'll improve your yield noticeably.
You should go to lowes or home depot and buy the utility clamp lights w/ the round reflectors. They make them in like 6 and 8 inch sizes. Put your bulbs into those and hang the clamp off of a piece of cord from your closet rod there. That way you can get individual lights closer when the plants are bigger and different sizes. That way you can also hang lights on the outsides of the plants as well. High on the Hill is right about the filter as well. Before too long that little closet will be stinking pretty good, but when you harvest-trim-dry your stuff is when the filter is worth its weight in gold. The only other suggestion I have is to make sure that you have the biggest cfls that you can afford/safely run in your closet. If you take the time to look really hard through out several hardware stores worth of cfls you can actually find some decent sized ones for not very much loot. The bigger the hotter, but I started last fall with somthing so eerily similar to this its not funny. Don't worry if you take care of them everything will work out fine.
I do have a six inch ductfan in the corner, im not sure you can see it in the pics. Im gonna mount it to the wall and run it through a carbon filter. Ill also be making the tent around the top with something. Where can i get emergency blankets by the way?
alright thanks im gonna get one of them, im guessing their in the camping area. If anyone wants i can keep updating the progress? If im not too lazy
Should be in the camping area, yeah. And keep it updated - I'm subscribed and will continue to watch it.
Alright thanks man i dont know how often i will update but i defintiely will at least a few times. And ill probly have more questions too.
Update! Have an important question. Two of my plants are doing well in the red cups. The other two that i transplanted to the larger pots are growing very very slow. I feel like they may have stopped growing all together. Is this a ph problem? How should i fix this?
They could be stunted due to a rough transplant, or just some shock that they'll bounce back from quick enough. How long has it been since the transplant?
Its been a while after the transplant now im pretty sure the problem was i used to much compost in my soil mixture. The leaves were crisp and curly and some had burns on them. I moved them to smaller cups with some different soil and flushed them out. One seems to be recovering the other isnt yet...but its only been two days.
HTG Supply - 10 Foot by 25 Foot sheet of Black & White Poly - 6 mil heres a link to some black/white poly. i would suggest spending the money on this than the emergency blankets. the emergency blankets are a pain to use imo, they are all creased up since they are folded so small and very very flimsy material. the poly is much easier use and clean.
I'll to side with the poly suggestion if you're willing to order online. That's some solid stuff - what I prefer to use myself. I like the clean look of the white as opposed to the shiny mylar surface. That's just preference though - mylar IS more reflective, but the difference isn't really even worth noting.
i dunno if someone has said this, i scrolled down once i saw the pics, but you really shouldnt start you plants in a big pot like that, even if u just transplanted them, they are too small for that pot, it is much more efficient to have them start in a very small pot and repot one before u repot again to the final pot, this helps the roots develop to be thicker since they dont have to travel and stretch as far right away, trust me, you wont regret it when u do it
Alright thanks that makes sense. They are in smaller cups now and still recovering from the nute burn. They are looking better though so things are not all lost. Ill probably post pics soon.
Alright heres the update. Things arent going that great... you can see the ones that got nute burn. The biggest one was doing well but growth has slowed a lot after transplant. The ph of my water is between 6 - 7. Also im looking for a better soil combo. I already have top soil, garden compost, vermiculite, miracle grow starter soil, sphagnum moss, and miracle grow perlite. What would be the best combination of these things?