Hi there folks, I was wondering if I could ask some advice? I've been in severe and acute neck pain from a nasty case of osteoarthritis in my spine c4 (neck) for the last 3 years. Recently a friend gave me a little something to help with the pain and it was a godsend. Not only did the pain recede but I'm generally more happy and capable on it. I'm also not poisoning my kidneys with toxic painkillers. Then something terrible happened. I ran out. Now I'm a bit of a hippy, buy organics etc and I figure the only way I can get a constant supply and make sure what I'm getting is clean and organic is to grow it myself. I've been reading up, making a list of what I need and I think I'm nearly ready to start but I still have a few questions and I wanted to run it past experienced growers like your good selves I had been planning on converting a grow box out of an old chest of drawers but when I visited the garage today to get it out it was coated in green mould. As I was thinking about picking another one up second hand it occurred to me, I live in my house with my wife she knows I'm planning on growing a few plants she's ok with it as it's 'medicinal'. So do I really need a grow box? Are there any advantages in having one other than discretion? So assuming I'm correct about that here's my revised plan. 4 plants in an area 1metre squared, I don't need much, I only get through about 2-3 grams a month and I'm going for easy to grow, adaptable plants that do well indoors Separate ceramic plant pots for each seed filled with humboldt organic soil I won't start adding nutrients until 3rd week when I will mix with distilled water and add: maxicrop seaweed extract black strap molasses earthworm casting seabird guano During grow i will check moisture of soil every day and keep damp but not wet using a sprayer I had planned on using diamond reflector sheeting in the grow box but I will now place the reflector sheeting on the floor (under the plants) thereby reflecting the light back up to the plants and hopefully giving them more rays. I'll place the plants near the window so they get sunlight as well as grow lights for 12 hours a day on a timer so they always get the same amount of light. As they are no longer in an enclosed space I won't use a fan but I'll make sure I keep the door open to allow the air to circulate. I'm a little unsure about lamps (as in the lamp itself not the bulb) to use, I'm on a budget of about £80 for all of this and I don't want to spend too much, will 1 lamp be enough for 4 plants or should I get 2? Does anyone know what bulbs I should use? I also know I'm supposed to use different lights for seeding and flowering but I don't think I can afford that. If I'm being honest the light issue is the one I'm still most confused about. I had been going to get 2 of these: E40 Grow Light Hanger + E27 Adaptor Screw Socket Holder for all size of CFL Lamp | eBay and just hang them over the plants but now I'm looking at ballasts, different bulbs and all sorts. I just want the best lights I can afford that will do the job. Help! I'm hoping it won't take more than 2 months for this to come to fruition and until then I'm back on the ibuprofen. Sorry if I seem totally clueless, any help advice or suggestions, and anything you think I should be aware of would be most gratefully received. Thanks, D
Not trying to be a dick just trying to help. If your only smoking a couple grams a month, just buy it. Even a half ass plant should produce an oz or 28 grams that enough to last you almost two years. The cost to grow your weed will well outweigh you need. Growing can be expensive, and takes up a lot of your time.
No thats ok I totally hear you, I've been aware that my grow will vastly outweigh my needs but it's the only way I can retain quality control. My cousin is a professional smoker so I know a bit about the way the plants are forced into early flowering, sprayed with pesticides and given chemical nutrients which is not something I want in my system. I'm only growing as many as 3 plants so I can try 3 very different strains, indica/sativa and a mix. When I figure out what works best for me I'll probably only do this once a year, and jar up the surpulus. I do sincerely apprecite your thoughts though, thanks for taking the time to reply. Best D
Your cousin is an idiot.no offense. 99% of med growers want the best shit to sell. And as per put into flowrr early....LMAO. You'll find out if you do start to grow this is bullshit
I think you're coming off unnecessarily abrasive, I understood his response about pesticides and early flowering as a stigma that is attributed to regular growers without medicinal intentions- he wants to grow (and know exactly where and how his bud is handled) and the questions were directly related to that. Maybe some helpful information instead of attacking his post? EDIT: not saying all growers do the above, but there are probably some growers out there.
Plants are forced into flowering, simply by changing a bulb and setting a timer on your lights to 12 on 12 off. I have never used any such chemicals or heard of them.
And like I said 99% of med growers don't use chem pestacides.. organics yes..not chem As per chem nutes, yup used in lots of hydro. With a proper flush, you can't tell from organic( least the folks here in 100$ per dank ounce land can't) So look kids..fuck ofg
We actually don't have much in the way of med growers here (UK) which is why I have to grow it myself. Although legal action against posession and supply of marijuana is massively and considerably more tolerant than most US states getting it from your doctor is a near impossible mission. If you are unlucky enough to have a stage 5 terminal cancer you might convince them to refer you to a pain clinic who you then have to convince to prescribe you with pharmacom manufactured oil. As far as my cousin goes, yeah it's fair to call him an idiot but he does actually know a bit about this having worked for a time in a large commercial underground grow. This is where a lot of UK mj comes from, mass produced flowered as early as possible, protected with chemical pesticides and as far as nutrients go, you just dont know but many of them are concerned with big yields at the smallest cost possible, it's a business and that attitude doesn't go hand in hand with taking time to find natural organic nutrients that cost a little more but at no greater fiscal benefit. Best, D Just to be clear I wasn't suggesting that chemicals were used to force early flowering, just that the plants weren't given quite as much time as they possibly needed before switching to 12 on 12 off.
All the other bullshit aside and getting back to your grow space, I would not just have it out and open in a room. You really do want to have complete control over the environment growing indoors. Since you arent shooting for huge yields, you can skimp on some of the extra cost of big lights/fans/filters, etc. Thats not to say you dont need them, but typically thats where most of the extra cost comes in on building a grow space because people want to maximize their yield. Since your wife is okay with what you want to do, then I'd still put everything in a grow box/tent/etc and have it off to the side in the bedroom or a spare room, etc. Not necessarily hidden, but just 'out of the way' and completely contained. As has been mentioned, your quantity needs are VERY small. So, you can get away with a very small organic grow using CFL bulbs in mo more than a 2x2x3 tent and easily achieve your goals. Get the ventilation set up well and you'll be set for years... and for cheap.
No worries guy, I do appreciate the input. I am now veering towards a small tent. Do you mind if I run some kit past you guys? Tent: New Quality Portable Grow Tent Silver Mylar Green Room Hydroponic Bud Room Dark Room 165cm x 65cm x 180cm for Gardening Hydroponics: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors Lighting: https://www.hytechydroponics.co.uk/lighting-equipment/lighting-kits/lumii-compacta-maxii-600w I'm going to seed and veg with the front tent flap open in front of the big window so it's getting natural sunlight but I'm planning on using the HPS light as well to supplement an 18 hours on 6 hours off cycle. When I go to flower I'll prob still supplement with daylight but switch to 12 on 12 off. You mentioned good ventilation, would one of these be enough just poking in? And do I have to run the fans during the sleep/dark phase? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hydroponics..._1_1?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1359396560&sr=1-1 Does that all look/sound ok? Thanks again for the help and support. D
I would not try and supplement any part of the process with actual daylight. Thats just me, though. Just adding unnecessary work that is unlikely to enhance anything about your grow and will likely result in more work since your environment will effectively be changing every time you open the flaps/close them etc to mess with the 'extra' daylight. I would simply get a tent, get it all set up with the lights/ventilation and let it run for a day or two with the lights on a timer and note the high/low for air and relative humidity. Then you can dial it in over time. Once it runs all on its own and stays within spec, I wouldnt touch it. Just do your plant maintenance/watering/feeding and leave the environment alone. To expand on the flaps being open changing your environment. For example, the fan you linked to does not indicate how many cfm/cmm it is, but we'll say its 50cfm for the sake of argument. The tent you linked is ~72 cubic feet. We'll call it 75cf for easier math. So... Tent = 75cf Fan = 50cfm Knowing this, you can assume that the air inside of your tent will be completely exchanged every 1.5 minutes which is more than enough for that space. However, with the tent flaps open your vent fan inside the tent needs to effectively move the entire air volume of the entire room to exchange the air that is circulating through the tent. Additionally, the temp and humidity inside of the rest of the room will play a factor, among other things. Its certainly not the end of the world, here... but... See where we are going with this? By simply setting it up once, you dont need to touch it and the plants will thrive. By opening/closing flaps to try and get extra sunlight etc is only going to complicate things. Then, if something goes awry, you have more variables to think about. Overall, youre on the right track... I just dont want to see you make it out to be more work than is necessary for little to no better results
Thanks cdphalanx that really makes a lot of sense. Ok I can see why setting it up right and leaving it alone makes more sense, I was just thinking the actual daylight might give the plant something extra. I think for now I'll do it your way maximise my chances of getting a half decent crop in, I can always experiment later down the line. Did those lights look ok? Cheers bru!
Yeah, I dont mean to make it sound like its this success or failure kind of thing... just extra work and more variables for something to go wrong is all. I think you get it, though That light should be plenty for that space for what youre doing. You might need a way too cool the light, though, if the tent gets too hot. You'll be able to figure that out later down the line, though.