Need help making some decisions...

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by Fluorescence, Jul 26, 2012.

  1. I'm debating weather i should use soil, or make 5 gallon bubble buckets. I'm not sure which one would be better, for an absolute beginner. I herd soil makes the yield taste better?

    Also what nutrients should i get, there are so many brands and different values, I'm not exactly sure.

    I was planning on getting 600 watt lights, how many buckets could i put under that per light? Some people are telling me i shouldn't use 600w lights i should go with 400w or 1000w instead...
     
  2. This is for a 5 gallon container

    One bag = 1.5cf of organic soil(Roots Organic preferred)

    3.5 lbs earth worm castings
    1 1/4 c blood meal
    1 1/4 c fish bone meal
    1 1/4 c alfalfa meal
    1 1/4 c kelp meal
    1 1/4 c bat guano
    1.0 c xtreme myco(optional)
    1/4 c azomite
    6 tsp lime
    4 tsp epsom salt
    2 tsp humic acid
    10% xtra perlite/pumice(optional)


    I would say between 1-1 1/4 cups of amendments depending on the pre mix soil you use. Better soils go lighter and lesser soil go higher amount.

    Put this mix at the bottom 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket then blend with some base soil. The rest filled with your organic base soil. All you need to do is water like normal. Ph is barely ever an issue. And you'll be growing some of the best organic buds.

    I use a mix of peat moss/earth worm castings/perlite for the planting pot(1st container)
     
  3. Make it easy on yourself. Get yourself some quality soil and get the Fox Farm Trio and follow the chart...done and done. Dont overthink your first grow. Learn the basics and then go from there. Good luck
     
  4. Yup....soil can be way more forgiving for initial grow. Get it right there then think bout hydro.
    600 watt light are fine and GH has simple nute systems to use
    G/L
     
  5. #5 Olde School, Jul 27, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 27, 2012
    Second the motion for 600W lighting, it is the most cost effective "size" of the three listed. 400W's make a great starter system. 1000 will grow more than a 600, but heat is up as well. 600's hit that sweet spot that is hard to beat. And two 600's will beat a single 1000 any month of the year, plus greatly increase your flexibility for future grows. Like staggered harvests each 4-5 weeks? Sound appealing?

    But the real answer to this question should come from the size of your grow area. Generally, 400W will cover a 3X3 sq.ft. area and grow quality bud.
    600W is good for 14-15 sq.ft, and a 1000 will cover 20 to 25sq.ft.
    You can decrease the grow area footprint as you get more experience, and the density of your buds will improve. Go much larger than these sizes and the buds will tend to fluff up on you.
    In a perfect world, your grow footprint should be approximately square. For example, 600W lights work very well in in 3.5X4" area.
    Conversely, you could use a 1000 for a 3X7 area if that's what you have, but you would need a light mover to even out the plants' exposure at each end of the... uhhhh... closet. Yeah, that's it. (And a 1000W gets HOT in a closet, requires excellent ventilation).

    How many buckets? Your best gauge is, what is legal in your state? Or how many would still be a misdemeanor instead of a felony? If this is not a concern, then a good starter recommendation would be one plant per 100W of light. Not that a plant needs 100W of HID lighting - this is just a good general starting point. You can decrease the number of plants and increase your veg time and to fill the same area; or increase the number of plants and shorten your total veg time. SCROG and SOG growing techniques are examples of the extremes of this ratio.
    SO - for 400W I'd recommend 4 plants; 6 for 600, etc.
    You'll be happy with the results, Bestaluck to ya.


    So, think about your space & what you want to do. THEN buy the light(s) to fit your environment.
    Bestaluck to ya.
     
  6. Its a big investment..Im still adding on to my station:)
     
  7. I would say get a 600w cool tube with an adjustable ballast so you can turn it down to 400 if needed..they're cheap on eBay and come with both bulbs..don't do bubble buckets unless you know your water won't be too warm..look into hempy bucks they're easy like soil with the speed of hydro and use the lucas formula with liquid karma and pro tekt added..make sure to get a good ph/ec tester also
     
  8. I'm guessing one 5g bucket is a foot, so, i would put 6 buckets under my 600 watt light, 3 across and 2 rows?

    i was intending to go with soil first time, but some people on this forum are saying bubble buckets are the way to go the first time. soil is too hard to manage with pH etc, and with buckets you can just add the nutes and be done.
    I'm good with either one, i just want to get my first grow right, and have it top quality.

    My grow area is really hot, judging by feel. Im probably going to have to find a way to cool it down.

    think im going to go with this, i spent a ton of time studying this subject before starting, So i would probably be good with any hydroponics if i wanted to get into that straight up.

    That guy earlier was talking about growing organically, it seems very interesting and i could get into this in the future.

    Are all nutes the same for every plant? like if i was growing an indica strain and a sativa strain they would both be on the same nutrient schedules? How do i use this trio pack?

    For soil, i would produce a seedling/clone in a rockwool cube OR a small cup, then transfer it to the 5 gallon bucket when its ready, right? Or should i transfer it to a 3 gallon bucket first?
     
  9. I'm new to this also and I've found that Dynagro has a really good line of nutrients that are really light and help you keep the plant healthy. For me, it kept me from overfeeding since it's not overkill like some others. Just my $0.02
     
  10. i've grown in both and if i had to choose between only those two i'd go with soil for your first grow. much easier and more forgiving than hydro.

    that being said, i recommend hempy buckets. you get the ease of a soil grow with a little added speed of hydro. best of both worlds imho.
     



  11. Soil most def. With buckets or hydro you can kill a plant very fast. You can get all sorts of issues that you cant get rid of easily. Yields are crazy though. Soil is very easy to grow in almost set it and forget it.

    For Nutes. I used to use Fox Farms Nute Trio. You will find that recommended on here alot. Stuff is easy works well. Last year or so been using Advanced Nutrients. Love the stuff.

    I would stick with 400 or 600s. HID lights put off insane heat and a 1000w puts out even more insane heat.
     
  12. Don't start off with 5 gallon buckets, progress from smaller pots. More root balls means more yield :hello:
     
  13. So what, cups>3gallon pots>5 gallon pots? That would be better then cup>5g pot? I thought less transplanting would be better.

    Thank you all for your replies! :) They have helped a lot.
     
  14. If you dont want to worry about root bound issues Smart Pots or Super Roots Air Pots. As for a 600 watt set up out of the selection of diffrent digital ballasts the 600 watt one is the most efficient when it comes to watts of electrcity used per lumen of light generated. The few drawbacks to Super Roots Air Pots is they tend to be a little bit bigger then your average grow pot. Example a 3 gallon pot will be a little smaller then a 3 gallon Air Pot also they tend to need to be watered or fed about 1/2 day sooner then your average grow pot or bag. I grew a 4 foot plant in a 2 gallon Air Pot with no problems to the plant, most plants would be getting rootbound by then and growth would have suffered. I start out in Solo party cups then go to a 1 liter Air Pot then to their final Air Pot.
     

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