Getting prepared for my closet grow and need some help with some stuff. Was wondering if I could buy dirt from walmart/lowes/home Depot? Does local stores like the ones I mentioned before carry any decent lighting? Also was looking for a good way to get nutrients to my plants for cheap. Looking for alot of DIY stuff because I'm on a budget n This grow is for learning purposes. I'll probably ask more questions throughout the thread so sorry for all the questions in advance lol.
Home depot should carry some dirt such as peters super soil and home depot will definitely have better lighting than walmart and i have never been to a lowes in my life so no information there sorry.
Go with a cfl grow ad make sure you have over 100 watts and if possible go for 200 or more I use 200 watts of cfl and my buds are coming along nicely check my grow could help you out :$
Try to get soil from a hydro shop if possible. Home depot,lowes, wal-mart etc store there soil out doors. Which invites bugs into your grow room. But I use a 200 watt and a 125 watt cfl for vegging right now and they work nicely. Easy to keep cool.
Okay I picked up some soil today couldn't get the good stuff but I got them to grab me a fresh bag that hadn't been put outside yet also grabbed a cfl light 125 watt grow light. Wats the best way to jump start my grow haven't planted or started on anything yet waiting for advice from u guys before I move forward.
Mix your bag of soil with 1½ cups of powdered dolomite lime ($4, homedepot) to prevent PH problems later on. You might have to add perlite too, what kind of soil did you get? Make sure that your lamp is rated for the bulb, I'd use one rated for 150w. Use party cups for seedlings so you don't overwater, and don't pack down the dirt. Just tap the pot on the floor so the dirt settles before planting. Do you have an enclosure for flowering?
save a bit more cash and get some decent soil,its very important to have a good medium.you can get some ''y'' splitters and connect three cfls into one socket or even better a 70-150w hps security light with cfl for side lighting i have used tomato feed before very cheap and good results,hope this helps
[quote name='"Not Sure"'] Mix your bag of soil with 1½ cups of powdered dolomite lime ($4, homedepot) to prevent PH problems later on. You might have to add perlite too, what kind of soil did you get? Make sure that your lamp is rated for the bulb, I'd use one rated for 150w. Use party cups for seedlings so you don't overwater, and don't pack down the dirt. Just tap the pot on the floor so the dirt settles before planting. Do you have an enclosure for flowering?[/quote] Had to grab some Scotts and ill grab the dolomite this weekend I have some small pots from home Depot they were $1. N i dont have an enclosure yet looking into building one. If u have tips they are welcome. N the light I have is a flood style it matters ill add a pic soon of the light
[quote name='"qualitypotlover"']save a bit more cash and get some decent soil,its very important to have a good medium.you can get some ''y'' splitters and connect three cfls into one socket or even better a 70-150w hps security light with cfl for side lighting i have used tomato feed before very cheap and good results,hope this helps[/quote] I know soil is important but I don't wanna go all out on something that could blow up in my face at anytime. I'll get the expensive stuff when I get my apartment on my second grow ill be alot smarter by then n u gotta explain that lighting stuff more need some pics n such lol I learn better that way lol.
I don't think ur CFL is 125w if you look under the big number is there a smaller one that says only uses: 13w or 23w or 42w? It says "Equivalent to 125w" but it doesn't actually mean 125w for the plant, only 23w
If it was cheap, like 5-10$ you need 5 of em or 10 for best results. Now you can't just get any, 6500k spectrum lights are for vegitation while 2700k lights are for flowering. Your plants wont work if you don't get the right spectrum and enough CFL's, its already cheaper then a HPS or MH.
I use Pro-Mix soil from home depot and its fairly cheap and works just fine, also when it comes to lighting i would go ahead and search on craigslist that seems to be the best option no matter were you are. I wish i had checked CL before buying anything because i found everything i bought brand new for 1/3 the price within 20 miles of my house. Just be sure to test everything you get ofc but old growers are usually pretty decent ppl.
I built my enclosures out of plywood which is easy, if that interests you I can go into detail on my design. Alternately, you can use pvc and a hacksaw to build a frame for a tent and wrap it in poly. Include crossbars at the top to support the light and fan. It cost me $50 to build the box in my sig + $25 for contact cement and mylar, and I built the CFL array myself for about $80. My large flowering box cost me a little over $100 to build. You can probably find enclosures for the same prices or less, but I prefer custom builds and I love diy. Let me know what you want to do and I'll try to help. What's your budget and how big do you want to go?
[quote name='"Cold Play"']I don't think ur CFL is 125w if you look under the big number is there a smaller one that says only uses: 13w or 23w or 42w? It says "Equivalent to 125w" but it doesn't actually mean 125w for the plant, only 23w[/quote] All I see is philips plant light 120 v and energy used 120 watts but I'm taking it back gonna get something different. Cause it blew already after 30 min of testing lol glad I did the test
[quote name='"Not Sure"'] I built my enclosures out of plywood which is easy, if that interests you I can go into detail on my design. Alternately, you can use pvc and a hacksaw to build a frame for a tent and wrap it in poly. Include crossbars at the top to support the light and fan. It cost me $50 to build the box in my sig + $25 for contact cement and mylar, and I built the CFL array myself for about $80. My large flowering box cost me a little over $100 to build. You can probably find enclosures for the same prices or less, but I prefer custom builds and I love diy. Let me know what you want to do and I'll try to help. What's your budget and how big do you want to go?[/quote] Please elaborate lol with pictures if possible.
No prob This is a veg cab, so I didn't add a door, but I did cut passive vent holes in case I feel like closing it off in the future. To add a door, I'd cut a piece of plywood to size, throw up some 2x2 on the edges of the open side of the box and use 2x2 to frame out a rectangle on the door that closes into the larger frame to seal out light. I'd also relocate the power strip to the inside of the closet. Tools I used... circular saw jigsaw drill combo square measuring tape Materials... 2 sheets ½" plywood $30 (3) 2x2x96" $5 (4) caster wheels $12 contact cement $10 Mylar $15 scrap 2x6 and screws that I already have = free Exterior dimensions of my box are 27"x27"x4½' I started with a base, some scrap 2x6 cut to size. I used 2x2 to frame out my floor, and ½" plywood for panels. I cut my 2x2 to account for the ½" plywood panels, and cut 2" vent holes into my floor. I glued mylar to my panels before attaching them and I used corner brackets on the outside of the box to hold the sides together. If you're interested in building a cfl rig (I'd recommend a MH light instead) there's a wiring tutorial in my first blog. I assume you're handy with tools, but if not don't worry about it, neither am I After a few practice cuts, you can follow a line with any of these tools without a fence and get a straight cut. I prefer wood for the stability, my flower box is basically a larger version of this (4x4x6½') with a window a/c and 400w hps. (and more framework) Hope this helps, I'm sure there are better ways, but this is how I did it. Any questions fire away
hey man,nice d.i.y! im a carpenter myself,it doesnt look like it but out of interest did you use any joints to structure the frame or just good old glue and nails? looks well planned out i like it
Thanks for the comments I used no joints or glue, just screws. My builds aren't permanent, I didn't epoxy the connections on my cfl array because I know it will be re-purposed to my flower box.
[quote name='"Not Sure"'] No prob This is a veg cab, so I didn't add a door, but I did cut passive vent holes in case I feel like closing it off in the future. To add a door, I'd cut a piece of plywood to size, throw up some 2x2 on the edges of the open side of the box and use 2x2 to frame out a rectangle on the door that closes into the larger frame to seal out light. I'd also relocate the power strip to the inside of the closet. Tools I used... circular saw jigsaw drill combo square measuring tape Materials... 2 sheets ½" plywood $30 (3) 2x2x96" $5 (4) caster wheels $12 contact cement $10 Mylar $15 scrap 2x6 and screws that I already have = free Exterior dimensions of my box are 27"x27"x4½' I started with a base, some scrap 2x6 cut to size. I used 2x2 to frame out my floor, and ½" plywood for panels. I cut my 2x2 to account for the ½" plywood panels, and cut 2" vent holes into my floor. I glued mylar to my panels before attaching them and I used corner brackets on the outside of the box to hold the sides together. If you're interested in building a cfl rig (I'd recommend a MH light instead) there's a wiring tutorial in my first blog. I assume you're handy with tools, but if not don't worry about it, neither am I After a few practice cuts, you can follow a line with any of these tools without a fence and get a straight cut. I prefer wood for the stability, my flower box is basically a larger version of this (4x4x6½') with a window a/c and 400w hps. (and more framework) Hope this helps, I'm sure there are better ways, but this is how I did it. Any questions fire away [/quote] Thanks ill definitely be making this when I get my apartment.