Hi there, I'm new to the growing community and want to run some things by the experts on here to get advice before I start anything,as well as get some questions answered. First, I'm doing my grow in a shed but inside a growing tent. Does the shed have to be insulated? I assume not, since inside the shed will be the growing tent, but hey that's why I'm here. The temp doesn't get too cold, i'm in the Bay Area (CA). The grow tent im planning on using is from htgsupply,com, with 55"x55"x79" dimensions Getting a digital ballast because I heard those are way better, has fans, carbon filters, duct work, 1,000 watt HPS bulb, and the nutrients it coems with are "Roots: natural organic soil (3x1.5 cubic ft bags)" and "Buddah Bloom and Grow 1.5 LT bottles". Are those good? The containers it comes with are 6x 7gallon grow bags(felt) and 6 site seed starters, but I wont be using the seed starters because I have clones. I wanted to do an ebb system for the convenience, what are your opinions on this? They look very easy to setup and use but I read a post that said hydroponics have a high learning curve. Is that just in reference to making sure the water has the right nutrient balance? And I'm assuming that those 7 gallon grow bags aren't going to be used if I do in fact get an ebb system, because I'll be using the buckets they provide, correct? Next question, I know i'm going to get a lot of shit for this but what is a medium? I'm fairly certain it's just whatever i surround my plants roots with, but obviously i want to make sure I know everything correctly. Do certain mediums work better with an ebb system? I read in Ed Rosenthals "How to grow marijuana" that the ideal pH for my growing medium is between 5.8 and 6.5, or maybe that pH was referring to the water that im putting in my soil. Also it recommended i use loams, silts, or sands because they work best. Is this accurate? Next question, when I first take a clone and plant it, how big should that pot be? Or should i use the same ebb pot from start to finish? Do i start using the ebb system from clone all the way through flowering, or do i start at a certain time? Is it possible to flood my roots with an ebb system? How do i know the right amount of water to put? How do i know my water has the right nutrient solution? Should my solution of N-P-K change from veg to flowering? How do I measure the solution? What are the best tips to make your plants avoid turning into hermaphrodites? I know theres a lot of questions on here but I hope someone out there can help me out with this. Feel free to ask me anything that might help answer some questions or leave any advice+tips! Thanks grasscity!
It's decent soil, for a pre-mix. Is it the pre-fertilized ("has nutrients for X days"), or "plain"? If pre-nuted, be careful when adding nutes and minerals...you'll have to tinker to find the right balance, and over time, it will continue to need adjustment. You not only don't need, you don't WANT insulation, in that part of the country, if you're legal. Going to be hard enough to control inside the tent temps, as is, out there. If you're growing legal, only purpose for a carbon filter is to avoid annoying the neighbors...if you don't need it, don't waste the money. Digital ballasts aren't so much "better" as easier to do your own repairs on and more efficient on electricity...but the use difference is small enough it's really not worth the difference in price...what you're buying is the fact it breaks down less (solid state), is easier to fix (solid state), and requires no "warm up" to start the light. That said, I use a digital myself. But I'm also capable of doing those repairs. Your clone...well, I start my clones in hydro-cloner trays until they get some roots going, then move them to solo cups for a couple weeks, then straight into the 5 gallon buckets. You can find my grow pics pretty easily, to see how this works. If growing ILLEGALLY, you'll need the carbon filter, and a way to insulate so neither light NOT heat show up during a flyover by LEO. But this means heating issues. Though someone showed me an interesting trick when I was down in AZ....they exhausted their fan through a duct they ran through a hand-made "fish pond" to cool the air, then pushed through the carbon filter....thermal signature (former Army buddy of mine, hijacked military grade sight tested this)...next to no heat signature from the exhausted air, no bubbling, and not obvious....but the shed itself still showed abnormal heat levels.
Thanks, I was just reading a blog that said when using an ebb system you want to use fiber or stone, not a soil. This is accurate I assume?