So here is my secret grow room in the making. I don't have the power or venting in yet but the room is there now! Come Saturday I should have my 1st grow in the ground before I turn 40 lol. I'm sure I over spent to make it but better too much than too little. Please let me know if you see any flaws in my design.
Power is now in, just need to add my vent hole and we are off. Here are some more shot. They are in the following order, inside of the room, 2 shots of the Mylar backed insulation, door with lights on and then door with inside lights on and out side lights off. You can see I have some holes to fill.
Lookin good Phil. Are you using the full basement? Or just that back walled off section? What kind of geology work do you do?
Livin the dream bro, if only I had the space, soon as the kid moves out, couple few years, and I'm taking a 16'x14'x9' over, already stacking supplies Gonna do a grow journal on the same link? Would love to sub up and come along for the ride
Sorry west coast, did not see the reply till now. I'm just growing (4) plants. I am just using a small portion that I walled off. I use to work in oil but that was awhile ago. I'm also and engineer and that is what I do now in the auto sector.
Boomboom I do plan on a journal but not sure where I'm going to do it. I potted (4) bag seeds today. They are currently in an aquarium under some lights for heat. I use miracle grow germination soil in 4" pots.
Hi Phil. Looks like you've got a great place for a grow there. Starting your seeds out in Solo cups is a better way to go than what you're using. Limiting the area they have to root into when they're small will get the foliage back to growing faster. They also need to be in containers that aren't transparent or translucent...roots need to be in total darkness with no light penetration. They're going to do all their root work first so the larger the space they have to get rooted into, the longer it will take for the foliage to pick up and grow. Happy roots equal a happy plant equal a happy grower at harvest time, so understand the importance of their health as much as what you see of the plant above soil level. Read the new grower threads to try to pick up the basics of growing these plants in soil the right way. You need a good understanding of soil pH management, grow media, nutes, lighting, potting and correct watering technique. You can use tap water. The treatment plants don't use chlorine anymore. They've switched to chloramine and there just isn't enough of it in normal tap water to harm your plants. I've been using it straight from the tap....then pH adjusted, for 4 years now and my plants are consistently healthy. Just read up on how to do this. The more you know, the smoother your experience will be. But don't put too much pressure on yourself. There's a lot to learning how to do this and it simply takes time to figure it all out. Lots of great people on the forum here who are always glad to help so feel free to come here with questions or issues. Good luck! TWW
I don't understand the difference between the solo cup and the pots I have used. They are about the same size but just have drainage holes already. Not arguing just want to understand. My next move will be into a 5 gallon pot each with a mix of fox farm forest soil and pro-mix (50/50). I have read both schools of thought on big pots right away or stepping up to larger and larger pots. I think less is more for the 1st grow. Just need those ladies to stick their heads above the soil.
So I have the (2) sprouts under (3) 23 watt cfl with a color of 6400. They are about 6" away from the lights. I am a little leery about putting them under the light so soon but i need to keep the temps up for now. The other (2) seeds have not popped up yet. I have read somewhere that the females will sprout slower, maybe that is the case here. Please anyone feel free to give advise, information can only help.
Still nothing on 2 and (2) coming nicely. They are a little cold but are outside as I was working on my room today. I will post a picture of my room tomorrow. Should be done tonight minus the HPS and exhaust hung.
So here is the interior of the room and the door open and closed. My 2 bag seeds are happy as can be under 100 watts CFL and the lights are about 4" away. Color spectrum is 6400. Don't know if if is better to stay with the lights I have or spend an extra 50.00 for a MH bulb. My ballast is a toggle so I can run both. I can get up to 125 watts. If I need more than that I will just buy the MH. I hear the wattage needed for veg is 50 to 100 per square foot. I will flower under 400 hps if that matters. Thanks for any input.
One more seed has sprung up. Planted it last Saturday morning and it just popped over night. One more to go and I'll have a full house. Hopefully I'll have at least (2) ladies out of the (4).
Awesome man! You had me at "secret room" lol. I used Ocean Forest for years, and have since made the switch to Pro-Mix & I couldn't be happier & the same said for the plants. Being it's pretty much coco, it allows you to feed as you want (as pro-mix/coco doesn't have any nutrients in it) & also cuts out the risk of drowning your plants. For seedlings I use .5 mL p/ liter of Grow A/B, pH'd to 6.3, not 5.5-5.8 (like most suggest, simply because they're retarded). Coco/promix is classified as "passive hydroponics" & the sole purpose of hydro & passive hydro is to mimic growing in soil, so the lower pH never made much sense. (Pic below is from a pro-mix plant, at 6.3 pH & it's loving life) Another thing, if you can, move the MH to about 18" away from the very top of the plants.
Thanks Nomid. I am picking up the soil to night and was going to switch to a mix of ocean floor and pro-mix 60/40. I want to avoid ferts the 1st time to keep it simple. The light was a little high last night as I was unsure of how hot it would be. Turns out it was 84 by my plants. My exaust is not hung yet but hope to have it up tomorrow and then I can get them closer.
Shot to the store at lunch and all out of fox farm...going with Gaia Green Living Soil Blend Gaia Green Living Soil Blend is ready to use for all your planting needs. There is ample fertilizer in this specialty blend for approximately two (2) months. After applying our Living Soil you may use any of our Gaia Green fertilizer blends (at recommended rates), depending on what you are growing. Our Gaia Green All Purpose 4-4-4 is always a great choice. INGREDIENTS: Soil medium ingredients: feather meal, and fishbone meal, sphagnum peat, perlite, African night crawler worm castings, fertilizing soil conditioner. Fertilizer ingredients: Alfalfa meal, bone meal, blood meal, glacial rock dust, mined potassium sulphate, fossilized carbon complex, rock phosphate, greensand, kelp meal, gypsum, bat guano. SUGGESTED APPLICATION RATES: Garden, landscape and lawn: Use Gaia Green Living Soil Blend for all indoor and outdoor plantings when a premium soil is necessary.
So the room is 100% done (still need flex duct) and the plants are doing great. I think I need to transplant them now but not sure. The starring soil I used says it has a weeks worth of nutes in it and the seeds sprouted on Monday. I now wish I had used the solo cup with my actual soil in it (the white widow's wisdom shows thru). Please let me know if you think I should transplant tomorrow. Peace out guy and thanks in advance!