New to growing, Info overload- Need help!

Im fairly new to this too but I pick up things real quick so I will add my insight to keep this post towards the top. I know nothing about coco coir so I cant answer either of those questions. As far as cab size Im not sure about that either but I would look into grow tents and Im sure that they tell you how many plants will fit per size of tent. Yes you can use the same cab/tent for all 3 stages. For 2 plants CFLs would a good cheap way to go. Rule of thumb there is 50 to 100 actual watts per plant. Obviously the higher the better. As far as planters 5 gallons would probably be what I would do no worries about transplanting if you start them in there.

 

I do a 2 plant grow in a tent w/ bubble buckets. I germ, veg and flower in the tent. I run a 400w mh/hps which can be had for around $200 w/ the cooled reflector and all.

I think my setup is pretty simple. I just need a ph kit and 2 bottles of nutes. Keep browsing around this site and you'll find what you're looking for. One suggestion is to search grow journals until you find one that's a success and that you feel like you could copy. Save yourself the experimentation phase and just go w/ what you can see works.

Best of luck and happy growing!

 

First bit of advice woudl be to not try coco on your first grow, getting the nutrians just right has a learning curve, AND you have to water every day .

I grow in a 4ft by 6ft area, using a 400w MH/HPS light.
They don't produce too much heat and gives you a great grow.

Get a good soil and your nute issues are less important. FF makes a good supplement nutrient.

 

Good to see my advice is being used. I like to teach others what I know even if what I know isnt that much. Just a tip search for photo lights. Like what pro photographers use in there big setups. I lucked out and found a site that had 6 65 actual watt bulbs for $67. At lowes its 11 for a 45. Photographers are also VERY keen on Kelvin ratings because it throws the colors off, got a friend that a pro photographer, so on those sites they will be listed. I will try to find that site and let you know

 

1) I read a lot about coco coir, and think I will go that route. From what Ive read that seems to be pretty noobie friendly and full proof. Thoughts?

My first grow here, been vegging for around 3-4 months - 5 of em roughly 25cm's in height- due to huge amounts of LSTing(far far wider than high)

Im using Coco Coir, and recommend it to anyone learning to grow. But, use a good amount of perlite- i like to use a 50/50 mix so it drys out a bit quicker(Most people use 3/4Coco + 1/4Perlite) I like to water mine more often rather than having a good 3-5 days gap. (This is because they grow at a faster rate with more often feeds) I flush every 2 weeks(Good flush) this keeps my Coco wet for around 3 days.
Every single nute def ive had was due to not flushing enough or frequently. Every since ive applied a 2 week heavy flush rule, all my Cal-Mag def's are gone.
So good drainage(Hard to over water)
Good Air flow to the roots = Great for first time growers.

2) I am only looking to grow 2 plants at a time, nothing huge. If I build my own grow box, how big should I make it to house at least 2 plants + lights + a fan? I realize that may be hard to judge, but maybe a rough estimate?[/B]

How much are you looking to yield from each plant? This depends on how long you want to veg, remembering you can LST/SuperCrop/Top to keep plants using maximum space and giving good light penetration while keeping it as small as possible.

3) That brings me to lights, I have no idea which way to go on this...Im on a pretty tight budget, so I cant really afford to get any of those super powerful ones, and again probably only need enough for 2 plants.

Awesome- You want about 100watts for the first plant, and 50-75 per extra plant. This also depends on space. Please keep in mind, two plants next to each other are going to pretty much share a bulk of the light, therefore 150 Actual watts Minimum 200 to be safe

4) Can use the same box to germ/veg/flower? Like I said, only 2 plants most likely(of the same strain, have fem seeds), so can I germ in the box then move onto veg and flower as well? As long as I change the lighting times, I can do that right?

Sure can, an extra box for flowering, will allow you to clone your fem seed's just before you put them into flower(move them into extra box) then you can get your cuttings going the vegging box (Create a cycle)

5) If im planning on just doing 2 in the same box, what size of planter should i use?

(Not sure about these one, but if its a short veg+flower its fairly small.)

6) I am out of town 3 days every week, and home for 4. Will I be able to get away with watering the plants by hand and leaving for those 3 days without having problems?

This all depends on how well your medium drains and what humidity/temps you have. Only time will tell . You could setup a pump on a timer to water once while your away in the 3 day period, fairly cheap if living in US to build. Or like me, im able to do a heavy flush and it'll still have a bit of moisture by the time i return.

7) Last one! I read in the coco coir sub forum in the stickied guide thread that the OP planted his seed in a 6 inch container and went straight to 12/12 and yieled 30g. Can you do this with any plant(assuming it is infact female)? Do you only veg for as long as it takes for the plant to get to the size you want?

Correct, alot of other factors (as you have prolly seen in the books etc) Giving the idea conditions are applied, then yes, also things like strains come into play with yields.

Remember you generally veg till its 1/3 of the height you have allowed. When you flip the switch to flower you'll notice it will double and often tripple in size within a short time frame

Apologies for the slack spelling- to cut to care today lol.

 

if im not mistaken, you ran into the Ed's thread on coco...that white widow i believe was a clone that went straight into 12/12.....the Ed's are pro's.... a result like that first go around would be outstanding and extremely difficult to achieve (size of container and flowering light source...they flowered under 600 watts of hps)...not saying that you cannot do it...but it also does depend on the genetics....