Hey guys, I've decided I want to grow, but I have some questions. Mostly pertaining on how to start up. I'm wanting to do a grow of about 2 to 4 plants. They will be in a closet so ways of which to keep the plant small and producing more bud would be greatly apprecated. I'm mostly not sure about lighting. what kind of light would I need for this small grow? And how much would it cost? And how would I support the light over it? Mostly What I'm asking is how I should set this grow up in a closet. It's a failry big closet, plenty of space. Thanks
Look under this sentence and you will see in my signature a link for beginners. Go there and give it a read. It should answer all your questions.
I shall give it a go. But just as a quick answer, about how much do you think it would cost for a cheap, low key grow?
Depends on which style or type of grow you wish. You would need to figure out.... Lights Soil / Hydro Nutes / Ferts Misc electronics Testers Air filtration / Ventilation. Cheap set ups could be free if you have all the stuff on hand. Otherwise you can look at spending atleast 150-200 bucks. All the way up to 500-750 for a "Novice" set up.
There is such a huge range the price could be within. I am just starting, I wanted to start with somethin basic but ended up spending about $800 just trying to get the best for my money haha. But you will need a light, CFL is the cheapest but the least desirable. HID lights are the most desirable but more expensive because you will need a hood and ballast. Then you will need ventilation. Again the least desirable would be a simple fan inside the grow room, the most desirable would be a inline fan pulling air through a carbon filter (if smell is a issue) and then out of your grow room through some ducting. To make the most of your lights, it would be best to line your closet with mylar (a reflective material), or to ssave $20 or so on mylar if your walls are already a matt white that will reflect light also. I suggest reading some grow journals here on GC to learn about grow room setup. I myself have learned so much by watching what other people did and seeing their results. Good luck!
Best part was just look at what's been done then replicate. Once you have living plants experiment to find your happy place. No one set up is alike, some are similar in design but for cost, space, or security reasons all our grows are different. Find what's best for you without going over budget.
[quote name='"WeaveAndWish"'] Would you suggest HPS lights?[/quote] Yeah definitely! From what I understand they are the most powerful and have the best kind or light for flowering your plants. With my setup I payed a extra $35 for a MH conversion bulb I can use in my HPS setup, that MH bulb is better for veg but a HPS would still do fine if you want to save the extra $35
Get you like 4 cfl's in the 5500k-6500k spectrum. Perfect for veg. This is all cheap method by the way. Get you some decent soil and some decent nutes. Get a couple of fans. One blowing in one blowng out. PH testers and a humidity/temp gauge. That's about all you will need for a very simple grow. And to increase your yield you could scrog but if you are a beginner I would suggest trying to get through a normal grow all the way through first.
Well I'll probably get HPS lights seeing as they're pretty inexpensive as well. But what soil and nute brand would you suggest? Something you could get from a department store would be preferred.
Well now you have a choice to go synthetic or organic with your soil and nutes. Its not a good idea to mix them because the organic doesnt react well with synthetic so just pick one or the other. Synthetic will probably give you a better yield, while organic will probably give you a better flavor and smoke. I say probably because it has a lot to do with the grower and the equipment also. Like i said in a earlier post, Im on my first grow right now. So i cant give you first had experience comparing the two. But I chose to go organic and am having good results with Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil and BioBiz nutes. Together the bag of soil, grow nute, and bloom nutes cost me about $55
Would rec a 150W or 250W HPS or MH lamp with ballast and oscillating fan as well as some ferts, nutes, and a timer. As basic as one can get imo.
Well here's a 150 watt HPS setup for under $70, thats not bad. Im sure its not that high quality but hey its only $70. Amazon.com: Sun System® HPS 150 Grow Light Fixture: Home Improvement OP, whats your budget setting up this grow? thats gonna be a big factor in how you design your grow area.
honestly, not much. I found a site for cheap 400watt HPS kits for about $80. But I'll probably end up going cfl. I only have about $200 or maybe more if a friend chips in.
CFL's would work fine for veg. But I would invest in an HPS for flowering. She'll soak that shit up and be happy as hell
I would definitely recommend making the initial investment and buy proper equipment. I learned this the hard way by trying to do it cheap, but you're probably going to end up spending more than you intended to. There's a HUGE difference between HID lighting and CFLs. If you can afford it, go with an HID setup. Check craigslist too, I've seen some really good deals on growing supplies. Just the other day I saw a 400w HPS ballast with bulb for $60. You can get good stuff for cheap or sometimes even free, you just have to look around. Another option is to use industrial equipment. I've also seen a lot of HID lights that are used for warehouse lighting on craigslist; these can easily be used for grow lights, they're just a little bigger and may require some simple re-wiring. And to answer your above question, any HID light will need a ballast. Even if it has the standard medium base, do NOT put it in a regular household socket.