Newbie w/ Aerogarden and Lots of Questions....

Howdy. Greetings from Alabama.


So, I'm totally new to this. Never tried growing before. Just want to do something small, see how it turns out. My buddy gave me one of the old-school, three pod Aerogardens. I've looked around on YouTube and seen them used with some degree of success, so I'm going to see if I can at least start out some plants that way. But, oh my goodness, do I have some questions. I've got some experience with bonsai trees and ball pythons which both require relatively intricate settings for optimum livelihood and health, so I'm hoping this will be similar.

Obviously, they're going to outgrow the little Aerogarden. I'd like to pull the light off of there and hang it in some sort of a wooden box and line the box with mylar. So, first question, what sort of lighting that I could readily find at Lowe's would you folks recommend to put in a box that's say.... 36' tall, 18' wide and 18' deep. Would that work as the size for a box? Naturally, I'm not trying to grow a pound (or even an ounce) of reefer here, but after drying, what sort of yields could I expect? Is this actually even going to be cost-effective? One side will remain open so that I can set up an oscillating fan and move the air around. How do I tell male plants from female plants (something about little hairs (pistils) on females vs actual balls on males)? At this point, I don't want to invest the money for seeds when I've got some from a little grab bag to practice on. We'll see how that works and then maybe advance once I learn what I'm doing. I intend to put a little air stone (what exactly are those, only heard of them) and another little water pump in the Aerogarden to increase O2 (?) levels and help out the roots. I'm assuming that I'll have the grow last about 10 weeks. However, I need to know the light cycle. Starts at 12 hours on and 12 off for how long, then 16 and 8 for how long, and do I have those hours correct and in the right order? The old Aerogardens don't have a timer, so is there some sort of timer that I could get to turn the lights on/off? What do I want the temperature and humidity to be like? Is there a way to induce the blooming stage, after vegetation, that I need to know about, and if so at what point will I do this? When should I start pruning and at what nodule (remember, I want this thing to be as compact and dense as possible)? At what point will the little booger (hopefully) start to stink? What other questions should I be asking and do you have any tips? I'll be adding nutrients, and I'm not talking about Aerogarden nutrients, so any advice on nutrients and at what times/stages I'll want to do that? Um.... I hope that's about it, and a big thank you to the poor soul that's willing to answer all of these questions. I'm going to check out the newbie guides and see if I can't find some of the answers myself.

 

Answered a lot of my own questions.


Temperature: 75-78F for veg, 80-83 for bloom.
Humidity: 50-70% veg (any more specific recommendations?), 40% or lower for bloom (again, any more specific recommendations).
PH: Approx 5.8
Nutrients: 20-20-20 will suit for veg, 15-30-15 will suit for bloom.
Stages: 18/6 for veg, 12/12 for flowering. Grow lasts approx 10 weeks. Still need to know at what point I switch from one stage to the other and if I need to induce this or if the plant will do it itself.
Flushing: Get rid of chemicals and use distilled water for the last week.
Odor: Carbon Filter (how much do these cost) or boxer of dryer sheets (literally full boxes, or just sheets?)
Lighting: Still got a few questions here. Approx 5000 lumens. But I want and 55-6500 kelvin, full-spectrum for veg and 22-2700, warm-white for bloom. I'm thinking I just want an HPS bulb so that I can run it for both stages. But, is there some sort of difference between a lumen and a kelvin? Are they two totally different units of measurement (IE. one for light and one for energy (electricity))? I'd imagine it says on the device, but any idea what type of light the Aerogarden uses - I assume it's a CFL?

Sexing: The pictures on the guide that I looked at didn't show up, but I think I'm good there. A couple that illustrate the difference wouldn't hurt though.
Pruning: So, it'll come in with 2 stems at a 180 from each other in the beginning, then they'll start to space out more. When do I start pruning and how, and where? I'd assume there are probably some guides around here for that, which I'll attempt to look into.
Timer: Still need to know if I can do anything there or if I should look into a newer model of Aerogarden, perhaps.
Other stuff: Well, you tell me and I'll say thanks.... so, thanks.

 

Nobody. =(


Checked out Lowe's today and got some PVC piping and fittings, a hygrometer, and some organic soil. Gonna' try for something 40 by 20 by 20, I think.


Any ideas on where I can find some mylar sheet? They've got aluminum, but no mylar.


Also didn't find the sort of lighting that I was looking for. I think the closest that I found were 2500 lumens, 250 watts. I didn't see anything labelled HPS though, and I looked in the garden section, the lighting section, and the light-bulb section. I guess, maybe I should be considering the size of the fixtures for the light(s) before building my box, as well? But, is 2500 lumens enough for 1/2 plants, or do I need to make sure that I'm running at 5000?


Still wondering where I'd find a carbon filter. Forgot to ask about that at Lowe's.