Hello all. My dad used to grow when he was younger and enjoyed it immensely and he is cool with me doing it in our basement. I have a section in the basement about 6 feet long and 3 feet wide where I plan to set everything up. I have read through the "Buds for less" grow book and am going to have my first grow resemble that. I just have a few questions which can probably be found elsewhere, but I thought it would be alright for me to make a topic and hopefully get them all answered in the same place. My first question is what would be an ideal strain to start growing first? I was planning on ordering the same seeds the "Buds for Less" book used which are mango, but perhaps there are others that I should look into as a first time grower. Also I am confused by the use of fans...do you only need them if the lights you are using create so much heat that you need air circulation to cool the area down? My basement is also cold so would a small space heater around the area be fine when the lights are off? Thanks
Hi steezemachinee, glad you've decided to become a grower! I'd reccomend Northern Lights #5 as a beginner's grow, it's a vary resilient strain that is easy to manage and gives decent yields. There are two types of fans that you will need to think about: Firstly a ventilation fan, to draw fresh air into the room and exhaust the stale air. Generally speaking this should have a CFM (cubic feet/minute) rating high enough to exchange all the air in the room every five minutes. For a small area, PC fans work well. Secondly a circulation fan, to circulate the air in the room. It's no use having good air exchange if the freshest air can't reach the plants. The circulation fan will also make the plants sway slightly and this strengthens the stem. Whether or not you will want either of these depends on your own circumstances, so do a bit more research and I'm sure you'll find the best solution. As to the temperatures, that will depend a lot on the type of lights you use, so when you have them, set up everything and run it (according to the time schedule you would be using if you already had plants) for at least 48hrs to see if you need a heater. I hope this helps a little, I'm a new grower myself and I know how exciting and yet confusing getting set up can be.Best of luck with it.
Tim gave you great advice, op. I would also like to raise the fact, since it is a basement, rh could be higher than nominal. This will be more of a factor when you are flowering, a dehumidifyer would take care of this, optimally you want your rh down to about 30-40 during the last half of flowering. Over 60 or 70 and you start running into the level of humidity that mold needs, the last thing anyone wants for their buds.
