First off, This is my first post and I am very excited to be part of the forums. I am a member of one other marijuana-topic forums and I hope to be just as active on grasscity.com! So I already in the process of getting ready for 2008's growing season. I live bit North of Chicago, Illinois. Here is what I have so far- Here is a basic over-view of my planned out 2008 growing extravaganza! Basically I plan on growing my plants indoors and then transplanting them to an outdoor environment after they reach around 10 or so inches (maximum of around 12 or 13!) For the indoor growth period I will be growing inside a cabinet. I'm at college- so I have to be covert, I guess? So the cabinet is about 16" tall 20" wide 13" back, (I posted a large post on it in the seeds and strain section not too long ago) So I am Not sure how many plants I should begin with. Here is what I was thinking- 6 Plants total. 3 different strains (2 of each) 9 Plants total 3 or 3 different strains 4- 2 different and two the same- or any mix-up Again my space is limiting, but I am only growing to a maximum of about a foot. After that-transplant to outside) My question is for that amount of room how many one foot plants do you think I could fit in? Also, I would use individual plastic pots for each plant. DO I place just one seed in each? Or two or three in the same pot? Also, for a one foot plant, about how large should the container be? How much soil is needed? I am confident that I do not need any more instruction on how to get the plants from seed- 1 foot. After the plants reach one foot- I will be transplanting them to covert (or guerrilla) locations. Depending on how many plants I end up growing in my small cabinet- I will distribute them accordingly. Example- If I have 9 plants of each a foot in height- I would grow spread the plants out in three different locations(3 plants in each spot) Also, by one foot will I be able to tell if they are males or fems? Are there some strains that take longer to determine their sex? If I had fewer plants, I would use just one location or maybe two. Ok so here are some more questions! When I first introduce the plants to the out door should they be in large pots and out of the ground? Or should I use my own soil and put it in the ground? Wow I just thought of something- is it even possible that they can be transfered from indoor- outdoor? Damn... Ok so if it is possible- one last question- at what date or what month should I begin to germinate the seeds and plant them and grow them until they are one foot each (approx.)? I am worried I will have trouble with the shock of the transplant. Is there a certain proffered temperature or climate description that would be perfect for the growth of one foot plants? I just do not want to have plants that are almost too big for the cabinet and it be too cold outside to grow! sorry for all the questions but I hope maybe Moth could give me some good answers and for sure some others! anyone also know of any good strains that would be ideal for this chaotic set-up? I will have ALL of my supplies ready on or before the last day of February.
6 plants. Use your own soil (I use fox farm). You wont be able to tell the sex by the time you move them outside. You can force flower them, but there is a risk of stunting their growth for a little bit. But honestly, it might be worth it. If you chose to force flower, veg them for a week or two once they sprout by putting them into a 18/6 light cycle (18 hours lights on, 6 hours lights off). Force flower them by putting them into 12/12 until you see pistils (white hairs) which usually show at the top nodes first, or pollen sacks (look like balls). Once they show, get rid of the males and put the females outside. Let the sun do the work from there on. Each seed should be in its own pot. Starting pots can be small. I use seed trays, and after about a week or two, depending on the size, transfer them into their final and I mean final pots. You can use superthrive for the transfer to help the plants through any shock they might have. If you do use superthrive, only one drop in the water you use. When you transfer them outdoors, are you going to be planting them into the ground outdoors or leaving them in pots? If leaving them in pots, by the time you transfer outside, put them into pretty good size pots (the more room there are for the roots, the bigger the plants can get). It wont hurt at all to move the plants from indoor to outdoor, and not sure about a strain that is "good" for doing something like that. Any strain you want, you can get. It all depends on the high you like. Sativas can get pretty tall, indicas can as well but not as close. Make sure you have adequite lighting when you start the grow indoors. Make sure to keep an eye on your plants when you move them out doors so no thieves mess with them, nothing worse than going outside in the morning to check on your babies and to see them gone, or fucked with. Make sure to feed them also. Never over water, and never over feed. Water them every 2-5 days, depending on the soil. Stick your finger about an inch or two into the soil, if moist, leave alone and if dry, give some water. Give them nutes every 2 weeks and once again, dont over-do it. Ummmmm, yeah I dont know if I missed anything but that should help you get started. Oh and CFL lights would be great for your plant when you start them out. Get 3 or 4 100w Daylight CFL bulbs and keep them as close to the plants as possible without touching, keep the lights about 1-2 inches away. CFL's are great cause they barely produce any heat so you dont have to worry about any light burns.
well thank you very much for all that great information! Are you sure that for 6 plants(growing to a maximum of twelve inches) I should use 3-4 100 watt lights? Would it be possible to use 2 200 watt bulbs? or even 1 very powerful light (300+watts) Im not even sure if that is possible =) I re-read the beginning of your reply and I am not quite sure about what you are getting at about the *force flowering* what would be the purpose of that? If I were to force flower would they begin to smell much more before they reach 12 inches?