Newbie

If you spend $500 a month I suggest you take 4 months worth as a budget and buy the best lights and set up you can. A good LED light will cost over $1000 but it's the most important piece of equipment for good yields. A good light in a 4x4 tent should yield 1-1/2 - 2 lbs. A word of advice - do not grow autos.

 

Don't grow autos your first run,
But yeah save for some decent lights. But anything decent is hard to get your hands on. Quantum Boards are pretty great and they're about 1.70 dollar a watt .Canadian or about 1.05 usd a watt. But I also use old mars hydro and get great results. Like these babies at start of 5 weeks of flower

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Remember stealth is also a big part, and so is ventilation. Personally my ventilation is loud as fuck but that's because I live out in buttfuck nowhere with no neighbor's but even sleeping 2 rooms away from it still leaves a hum lmao.

Also you need to figure out your grow set up and medium, soil or hydro? I'm a soil grower but it all works!

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I strongly disagree about growing autos, and that's all I'll ever grow from now on. They are much easier than regular strains. My last grow was my first auto grow, and it yielded more than my regular strains grows. You need to be careful, tho, and only buy from good breeders, because there are some questionable autos. I'm also a big believer in hydro with LEDs.

 

Was growing autos your first grow? I strongly disagree with you - this is his first grow and the chances of him not having any difficulties in his first grow is slim - that's why I suggested no autos. When he becomes proficient at growing he can do autos.

 

Don't grow autos straight up, if you make a mistake which you likely will you'll have no time to recover, this is my first grow so far going awesome!


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To me, it's obvious that autos are easier than photoperiods. Photoperiods require everything autos do, plus the need to trigger flowering, remove males (if using non-feminized), prevent light leaks, and stay with yield-reducing 12-12 lighting (instead of 20-4 or 24-0). Autos were not my first grow, but I wish they had been.

 

I guess we disagree. I would hardly call changing the light schedule, or making sure there are no light leaks as difficult. Removing males is pretty much obsolete these days, and I would not call 12/12 lighting as yield reducing, considering you can veg a photoperiod plant as large as you want to increase yield, and the only reason a 20-4 light schedule is needed for autos is because they have a short life expectancy and have to grow as quick as possible. I'm glad you are successful with your autos and I personally do not dislike them - I was merely making a point that almost all new growers have problems and growing a photo is easier for them because it gives them time to correct the problem. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is aware of yours. I apologize to the OP for allowing myself to get off track.

 

If you can spend some money on the best led you can. I dropped the wad on a platinum p600 (probably what you'll need/want for that tent). I know it's more expensive then the Mars but there's a few side by side comparisons that validates better yields. You sound like you're in the same boat I was and want to do it right the first time. I did a closet grow journal on here as my first grow ever. I used the P600, general flora nutes and roots 707 soil. I documented my entire grow from start to finish. After drying I netted over 11 ounces my first grow plus some bubble hash. The weed is some of the best I've ever smoked and I'm an old guy. I little extra money now will pay for itself. My closet is only 42" wide by 2' deep. I grew 3 plants (2 white widows and 1 northern lights #5) which are great starters. The entire grow took 100 days from start to chop.

 

As far as the auto vs photos go, photo period plants are much less picky and the better starter. The idea of white Widows is spot on for ease, yield, and potency. I just completed my second grow which was 5 Autos in the same closet. My p600 was awesome to keep heat down and because of the light strength my plants stayed shorter but SUPER fat buds. With the autos they're clearly more picky which will stunt them if you have any issues since they're on a time schedule.