Hey there! I'm new to the site, still getting used to scrolling around on it, but Grass City seems awesome! For the past 4 days Ive been doing constant research for an auto-flower indoor closet grow. I have absolutely no supplies but a couple grounded extension cords and a 36" 60 watt fish tank light that I'm thinking wont be useful. So I'm looking for a list of stuff to pick up from stores, but first need to sort stuff out like do I even have enough space in that weird shaped closet to grow some auto flower plants first, then later on some harder strains with more yield? I attached pictures of one of the biggest closets I have. Closet height is 4-5ft high (Not an estimate, check the pictures!), 4ft by 3ft of usable work space across because of the weird angle/wall I have in this closet. I don't know anything about electricity and the bulb specs and all that, so I had some questions on that and fixtures with reflectors that I can just buy a 200w High Pressure Sodium bulb for and get the set up going. I am not trying to spend much on a light, but noticed quite a few kinds on Craigslist in my city. What kind of Soil or fertilizer from Home Depot/Menards? What about nutrients? Which type of auto-flower indoor seeds should I get that will yield a lot but maybe not as tall? Where can I find those small yet powerful and silent fans? Is it shady to order supplies and shit online especially seeds shipped to home (I thought so)? So many more questions, just trying to remember.. Was even thinking about an AeroGarden but all the posts Ive read end up yielding only a half O for 60-90 days of work. Didn't seem like the light on those is powerful enough, and the light fixture doesn't raise too high. Good price though I guess considering the big nice lights and fixtures are $150-200 then you need nutrients/soil-fertilizer/pots/grow-bags/watering..etc. so it may be good for the money. Main goal: Order 6-10 seeds so I can have extras in case a couple pops up Male or if a couple break during shipping. Out of the 6-10 grow 2-4 at once (whatever can fit and grow good in my closet). APPRECIATE THE HELP IN ADVANCE!
Hey. Welcome to GC. Im new here to, but I'll just put out my opinion first. Since your grow space is limited and you want auto flowering plants, maybe you should consider lowryders. They're auto flowering and they grow up to 2-3'. I was reading on someone's thread, I think by littlegreenman1, he yeilded 2 oz. I think from one plant. Im working on a lowryder myself, it's been 31 days and its about to start flowering soon. Here's littlegreenman1 grow journal. You might find it helpful. http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-g...ryder-purple-lady-red-dragon-closet-grow.html
I'm thinking more and more about an Aerogarden considering my weird angled closet. But I don't think they work well as far as the height of the light and yield of seeds. If it wasn't shaped so dumb, I could probably grow 4-5 plants. 4.5-5 ft high x 4 ft x 4.5 ft, BUT only 4ft x 3ft of usable work space and space that the light would even reach to/grow well with a 250 HPS light, Mylar, 2 computer fans, 1 larger fan up top, odor eliminator machine..etc. Im not sure, but need to get the ideas flowing. Ideas/Help anyone? Have a lamp for sale? Thank you GC
Sativas generally grow bigger than Indicas. Lowryder as mentioned is an auto flowering plant that I believe is Indica dominant. Either way it's very small and takes little time to grow. Great starter plant. Getting a lot of yield off an autoflower isn't easy, but you could try topping them early off, like after the second or third node to make some more bud sites. Go to Home Depot or Menards and grab some Fox Farm or something, if you can't find anything with a low level of nutes than make your own soil mixture, a million good recipes on this site. As far as nutes, nitrogen while it's vegging, phosphorus for flowering. Look all over the site to see what people have to say about their favorites. For those "little powerful fans" you were talking about, most people use computer fans, silent but powerful. Try those. I don't know about your seed condition. I would go for it. Only way your gunna get the genetics you want. Good luck, happy growing.
I'm also pushing a Lowryder#2 closet grow. I'm happy to hear the 2 oz yield I wasn't expecting that. As for you my man I'm new but for nutrients u want a npk ratio of 6-4-4 for vegging & I'm not sure but I've seen nutes for flowering that are 2-4-3 as for lights if you wanna go cheap, buy cfl's ( compact fluorescent lights ) 40w and above or 150 w a plant is a rule of thumb I've read. If I'm wrong please correct me people. I'm new to the site & growing & have a lot to learn still.
Probably will be getting a 150w or a 250w HPS set up (MH maybe in the future), ozone generator and maybe a mini outlet plug-in ozone generator just to be safe, digital Temp/Humidity meter, small and large fans with different speeds, Four 2 or 3 gallon pots with drain holes (Wont use all 4 in my dumb closet at once, just to have an extra pot or 2 to have laying around). As far as Mylar, I was reading a lot of threads talking about just painting your closet white/using printer paper/tin foil will reflect a lot of light. I don't know the truth to White's reflection vs tin foil vs Mylar vs poly, but whats workable on a budget? What do you guys think about testing the pH level (is it needed?) and which way/product do you use to test? As far as supplies, what else will I need besides the 6-8 indoor feminized autoflower seeds? I've been thinking about the following: Joint Doctor Highbred seeds - Lowrider 2, Dieselryder. Low Life Seeds - Automatic AK-47 , Automatic Blueberry, Automatic Lemon Skunk. Main question: Which autoflower strain is good for beginner growers and genetically produce good yield? Whats a good medium-short indoor autoflower that can be purchased by quantity of 1? (I want to have 6-8 seeds in which they're all different) 3-4 of the 6-8 I want to be autoflower seeds, the other 3-4 normal 12/12 plants. THANKSSS! PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR INPUT ON SEED TYPE, CLOSET SPACE, 2 OR 3 GAL POTS (Get the taller pot instead of the wider I read right?) And for the nutes: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are in all plant nutrients they sell? Sorry, Ive never ever ever grown anything. Not even a flower. Explanation on known good soil and nutes for autoflower indoor grow that I can buy at Home Depot or garden stores? THANKSSS! PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR INPUT ON SEED TYPE, CLOSET SPACE, 2 OR 3 GAL POTS (Get the taller pot instead of the wider I read right?) GC, Appreciate it.
No one...??? And for the nutes: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are in all plant nutrients they sell? Sorry, Ive never ever ever grown anything. Not even a flower. Explanation on known good soil and nutes for autoflower indoor grow that I can buy at Home Depot or garden stores?
N-P-K are the main nutes plants need out of the soil (besides oxygen). These are known as macronutes. Generally mosts nutes have all of them except for some organic nutes (like bat guano which is 12-0-0 I believe) and things like worm castings but any nutes you see at Home Depot will probably have all three. If you want to know what each specific nutrient does, refer to this guide. However, if you just want a working knowledge of what nutes to get, for veg you want higher N and K than P and for flower you want nutes with higher K than P with little to no N. Then there are the micronutrients like Calcium and Magnesium, just to name 2 of the 70 some. They are not included in some cheaper nutes like Miracle Grow but unless you show a deficiency, they are not 100% essential. If you do see a deficiency you can get supplements (like Cal-mag) or just go for the higher end stuff to begin with (might have to order online). As for soil, you don't want anything with time release ferts. I can't stress enough how that can fuck you over if you aren't careful. I like to start my plants in no added nutrient top soil that's really cheap and add the nutes myself. As for the pots, yes taller is better. And as little as lowryders get, you could probably fit around 8 plants in that space. They won't grow tall enough for that slope to affect them. As for strain choice, I don't buy my seeds and I tend to think of auto's as a novelty but they are good set it and forget it plants that are great for getting your hands dirty for the first time.
Akhans, YOU ARE THE BEST. I saw you on a lot of others threads, and thought to myself "I should ask that dude a question or two, he knows his shit!" Thanks for the info, I really really appreciate it. I can now start purchasing supplies to get the closet in running order. As far as the slope and size of the closet: What HPS wattage would you go with? Either 150-250-400w HPS, What do you think? If money wasnt an issue, I would get a 400w HPS/MH set up without thinking about it, but Its my first time and with the AF strains Im thinking a 150-250w would for sure reach all plants considering space is limitied yet height is alright for AFs. When I read I could fit 8 plants in my closet, I almost got an errection. 6-8 plants in 2 gallon pots with draining holes or what? Thanks bud, you should recieve an award for your help. APPRECIATE It.
Haha, thanks. I help because I enjoy it, not because I want an award HPS lighting produces awesome buds and very few lights can match it in terms of light penetration, but they do have their drawbacks. You will need a good ventilation system to get rid of the heat or else you cook your plants. If you think you can keep your temps in check though, I would definitely get a HPS for that space. If you want something affordable, check out High Tech Garden Supply . You can get MH conversion lamps for it too so you don't need another ballast just for MH. Oh, and the 400w ballast is only 2 dollars more than the 250. I know that's a splurge, but if you can handle the heat, I think it's a wise investment 2-3 gallon pots would be great for Lowryders.
Ventilating the light is a problem in my closet with no windows/openings besides the sliding door that has to be closed because of smell and the bright light for about 12 hours a day while Im out/sleeping. I was planning on having quite a few small fans, one or two directly on the 250w or 400w lamp, but that wont be enough will it? How bad is the temp you think coming from the 250w bulbs? I do have a somewhat big window Air Conditioner in the same room that the closets in. Ventilation on the light and odor eliminator are my issues now. So you think 400w for 8 plants? Im thinking 4-5 plants maybe a 250w if I can solve the light ventilation issue. Thanks
Well, with an addition of a carbon scrubber, ventilation will help with the odor issue. Fans are great to have in the room because without wind blowing over the plant's leaves, it can't breathe and it also helps build strong stalks. But moving air doesn't cool it.You need to vent the hot air out and bring cool air in. In general, you want all of your air replaced every few minutes. Most fans have a rated CFM or Cubic Foot per Minute. Simply put, a fan that is measured at 60 CFM would recycle your air every minute (since 4x3x5=60). You can get computer fans that put out that many. If you're willing to spend the extra money, you can also hook up a cool tube for your light which will make dealing with your temps even easier as well as let you get your light closer to the plants (the closer the better since light is less intense further away from the lamp). If you need to, you can buy a whole new door for your closet that you can put as many holes in as you want and if you should have to move out/stop growing, you can put the old door back up.
I attached a picture I did in Paint on the computer. Surprisingly, that took me quite some time. I'm not good at stuff like that, but I tried give or take a couple inches, and hopefully to help in plastic pot size/quantity of plants at once & maybe other stuff as far as ventilation. Any one know how hot the 250w HPS bulb tends to give off or what I can expect temperature raise wise? I'm leaning towards 250w HPS with 4-6 plants if I can figure out ventilation. I'm trying to keep it under $275, after first harvest then possibly splurge a little more as far as a MH set up and better circulation/ventilation. What can I get by on? You guys tell me. I made a cart on HTG, and they charge out the ass, but for almost everything will be about $300-400!!! Dont get me wrong, HTG is good especialy with EVERYTHING you need on their one web site, but its prices are nuts. Still would need a thing or 2 after $300-400 also.. As far as getting a new door and putting holes in it followed by later on putting the sliding door back is a genius idea, but at the moment I live with my mother. So the holes and shit in doors, and leaving the sliding door open probably wont work out. I never thought the 250w would have such heat/ventilation issues.. GIVE ME YOUR INPUT! Appreciate it.
No one can point me in a direction? Long 36" 40w Natural Daylight fish tank light? Cfls? 150-250w HPS? Aerogarden or 2? Ventilation/height/keeping steady temp are the issues with my closet. Leaning towards short autoflower strains, but would like to try 12/12 after getting the hang of it.
How are these compared to HPS wattage/lumen? Better or worse elecricity bill than a 250w HPS running 20-4 or 18-6? Hows the heat on these things for a 4foot I think it was? Thanks Akhans, youre the only one helpin'!
Im really bad with electricity and bulbs and their models, but I had a fish tank and ended up selling it, keeping the light. Its a long 36" 40-60w Natural Daylight fluro I think? It even has reflectors and shit like that. Will this help at all to be added to the side/bottoms where the bigger light wont reach and help growth or no? I remember it getting kind of hot. Thanks
Thanks..... Any one else?? Im really bad with electricity and bulbs and their models, but I had a fish tank and ended up selling it, keeping the light. Its a long 36" 40or60w Natural Daylight fluro I think made by Eclipse? It even has reflectors and shit like that. Will this help at all to be added to the side/bottoms where the bigger light wont reach and help growth? or Can this be used when the seeds sprout in a party cup until I transplant them to the 2-3gal pots under a 250w HPS? Is this fish tank fluro capable of vegging them until 1-3 weeks? THANKS GC..
