Hello, Like the topic title says, I am considering attempting my first grow. The best area I can come up with in my house is under the basement stairs. The space is about 4' high x 8' deep x 4' wide. Here is a picture. The downsides to this being the height the lack of ventilation, and no electrical outlets. The electrical part I can get around with an extension cord I think. How much will the limited height limit my yield? Im sure some, but hopefully I can get by. here is a rough sketch of what I have in my head. I apologize, art isn't a talent I possess. For the lights I was thinking these, with each fixture containing 1 cool and 1 warm bulb. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cooper-Lighting-48-Two-Lamp-Residential-Ballast-with-Shoplight/17181758 The fan is just any old box fan to sit at the far end, and the walls/floor/ceiling will be covered in Mylar. The last piece would be a piece of plywood to cover the entrance to the area with a circular hole cut in to it, and a length of dryer vent tube connecting it to a window. Would this be a decent setup for a newbie looking to grow about 4 clones with enogh yield for personal use? I would be happy with an oz off each plant, but obviously the more the better.
in my opinion i'd stick all the lights together and place above plants, so theyre all growing towards the light source ;-) creating a nice canopy then between the plants and lights have fans blowing around air I'd also consider drywalling it and painting white or puting mylar reflection on the walls, i think you're good for using cement floor, keep the medium cooler...
Mylar walls, ceiling, and floor were in the plans. With the limited height I was thinking maybe doing 1/2 the lights on the walls would encourage them to grow out rather than up, but that was just a thought.
They wont grow out, the colas will just lean over towards the light and you dont want that. You can top them to keep them from growing too tall and increase your yield at the same time. If you dont want to do that you can lst them and also increase your yeild. The only issue i see you having with that area isnt the height, but it might be the low temps. Id imagine its already a cold area, but perhaps your lights can heat it up.
good to know! thank you! Its not too bad in there, probably 65-70 stable, however the lights would heat it a bit I would think. Also, the dryer is in that room and is only vented through an indoor lint trap, so whenever the laundr is done it ups the heat and the humidity in there quite a bit. (perhaps too much?)
you could get a dehumidifier if thats the concern, Can you pull cold air inside any way to cool the area down?
The dryer only gets ran once or twice a week, so I don't think it would be an issue with making it too humid or hot, but I could run it more if it was too cold/dry
You have 4 foot by 8 to work with...easily enough for all equipment plus 4 clones, if you short-cycle them (clones, I assume photos, then (light triggered)). Ventilation will be an issue, but with 4 clones in a stealth like that, I'd go CFL rather than bar fluoros...fluoros, either way, are the absolute worst typical lighting system you can use, but they DO work. More light's good light, obviously...rig yourself a set of CFL fixtures with splitters, drop 2 or 3 23/100's over each plant, go nuts LST and SCROGing when they hit 12 inches, so you spread your canopy as widely as possible, you'll get decent, if not stellar, yield even on your first crop, assuming none of your inevitable first-timer fuckups are serious. For ventilation, a few hours a day during light cycle with the tent open handles air exchange satisfactorily, if not perfectly, but you have to watch heat/humidity issues....so if there's any ability to drill a couple holes in the walls, it'd be a good idea to consider it. Don't forget to use SOME form of reflective coating in there...only use mylar stretched flat so there are no creases or folds to create focus points on plants that can, not necessarily will, cause heat issues, but consider flat white latex wall paint. For electrical...running a circuit pull-off from the nearest wall receptacle is simplicity itself...used to do it for a living, so if you want to do so, and need instructions, PM me. Other than that, as said, looks like you have a good space. You may want to consider going LED rather than CFL, though, even though it's more expensive...easier to get sufficient light for a bigger yield, yet not the heat issues an HID will definitely cause in such an enclosed area with ventilation issues. By the way...healthy clones will hit 12 inches in 4-6 weeks, treated right, another 4 weeks being tucked and re-tucked into your net during SCROGing will spread each canopy to between a square foot per to 18 inch on a side squares per plant, and you can intermingle them (weave them so your plants are effectively intertwined in the net/screen), and SCROG leaves all sorts of plant matter open, causing side branches to become legitimate colas during flower, increasing yield. There are some great guides on how to do this on here. So you can easily get a photo to yield 2-3 ounces in a 2 or 2.5 month veg, and the typical 60 day flower that photos need. in SCROG. A couple runs down the line, you'll be able to get more than that, and increase quality, as you learn what you're doing.