What's good city members? I'm embarking on my first indoor grow. I've been doing tons of research over the past 4-5 months and am finally getting around to ordering my set-up. I'm still debating whether to go with 8 plants (soil) under 2 600w's, in an 8x4 tent (32sq ft). Or the other option I've been leaning more towards as of late is 10-12 plants (soil) under 3 600w's, in a 78"x78"x78" tent (roughly 42 sq ft). I was basing my plant numbers off of giving each plant 150w of light. 8 plants is 1200w (2 600's). 10 plants would be 1500w, which makes me feel like I'd have too much light for my babies. That's why I think 12 plants in 42 sq ft with 1800w's of light would be the most efficient. But I'm a noob so this all of speculation and internet/book research. I intend to start some Big Bud from seed. Planned on vegging for 5-6 weeks. I'm obv trying to maximize my yield, like every gardener ever. Any input would be greatly appreciated. One love.
What kind of lighting are u planning on using....and my advice as far as first grow goes is to plant 2 at a time (probably 1 will be male unless using Fem seeds) ...reason being is that it's easier to look after 1 or 2 plants than it is to look after 10 or 12....u will make mistakes, we all did and still do lol.....get comfortable and familiar with the strain and then gradually increase the amount u grow....add a couple every 2 weeks then u have a perpetual grow where u can pull out 2 plants every couple weeks....just my 2 cents
It's not watts per plant, it's watts per square foot. If you want very good lighting you're looking at around 40-50 watts per square foot. So you'd want around 1600-2000 watts for 42 sq feet. Ok..so your estimate was pretty good lol.. I would consider growing less plants than what you were thinking, unless you're possibly going for a SOG..
600 w MH/HPS for lights. I definitely had thought about keeping my garden small originally, but my buddy that was living in Northern Cali for the past five years just moved back home, a month ago. Sucks for him, but great timing for me. He said he'd be down to come over and give me some advice and wisdom during my growing pains, whenever. So having him around should help mitigate some of the stress of having so many plants to tend to. I know I'm gonna fuck up, even with him around lol, but I really want to try and get at least a pound or two with the space I'm working with. I certainly appreciate the response though, any advice from people with experience is helpful.
I was thinking about getting a Scrog going. Grabbed some feminized Ice Bomb, LSD, and Great White Shark seeds. Tried to find strains that grew to similar heights and that bushed out. I know it's gonna be a shit ton of work, but I won't be going at it alone. Got a friend that's got 5+ years experience growing, he'll be around to help out whenever. So having him around will be super beneficial. I intended to start with soil, but I've been reading up on Coco more and more. And every article I read is compelling me to try that out. Is hydro too difficult for beginners you think?
Hahhah.. I thought I would lose at least 1 plant out of 4 I started.. The ladies had different ideas..All survived and went to harvest! My poor 3x3x6 tent was overwhelmed..LOL Picture was before the Harvest w/LST and Scrog: Note: I used 2x Meizhi 450s (probably 200-225 actual watts each) + a DIY side light thingy.
Those are some pretty young thangs. Your grow is keeping me optimistic lol. I went all out with air out and intake. Carbon scrubber. Air cooled hoods. The environment has the potential to be perfect. I'm more worried about my gardening skills though. Did you go with soil or hydro?
I went with soil (FFOF w/ 25% additional perlite mixed in) Used Canna nutes + ginormous Bud Enhancer during flower + Backstrap Molasses ). BTW: My own gardening skills suck! I just followed the advise of a few members here (+ my bible..Growweedeasy.com) and studied my ass off.. Just did a dry weight (trimmed) on three of them (dried for 5-7 days) and it came out to a bit over ONE POUND!! Still have 1 large yielder to go! The potency of this stuff kills anything I have purchased in the Nevada dispensarys. You will be fine..just keep asking questions here!
Your gardening skills will come through doing. But, research a step before you jump at it. Too many noobs, post Did I top this right? Am I over watering? Etc. Pick a high quality soil or mix your own. I personally am using both. And plan to go all organic and mixing my own with my own compost and ewc. All in time though. You have a friend that knows how to grow, you will have a step ahead of most. And if you make a mistake, these plants are very resilient and can take some serious abuse and mistakes. Trust me. Look at my journal and you will see some issues that I ran into. Mostly heat issues but you can see how fast and vigorously these plants can come back. 12 plants can be a lot but you don't know til you try. My first grow is 7 and I recently introduced an auto. For a total of 8. I think that i could easily handle double that if i had the room. But that's during the veg phase. The flowering stage is another story and will flipping to 12/12 soon. I say go for it if you feel comfortable enough.
Good That's a great yield for a tent that size. Big ups for that. Are the bud enhancer and molasses considered "sweeteners?" Been seeing that term quite a bit lately, but never really figured out what they were.
Molasses feeds the microbes in the soil, not feeding the plant itself..Great stuff and VERY cheap as well! Since I use Canna Nutes, I was going to use their Bud enhancer , until I saw the price...way out of line imho. Went with the Ginormous and I am pleased I have nothing to compare it to though and I have no idea what it is..All I know is that whatever the reason, the buds are rock hard..Things went so well for me, I will not be changing much (except strains), for the next grow. just starting now.. BTW: I only buy feminized seeds..Have no desire to put in all that time and work to only get a male ..
Appreciate the input man. My main concern is not over watering. I think I'm gonna stick with the 6.5x6.5 tent and 3 600w hps. Probably gonna roll the dice and just accept the headache that's gonna come with 12 plants for my first grow. There's just so much shit to learn, it seems daunting, but I've been eat, sleeping, and breathing bud gardening these past few months. I can't get enough, so I think I'm up to the challenge. Gonna get a nice journal going for this grow, let everyone know how it goes.
Haha yeah I'm on the same page as you when it comes to buying feminized. Don't feel like waiting around or wasting the space in my tent for some seeds. I'm gonna look into the bud enhancer though, definitely want my nugs hardened the fuck up. Thanks for the words of wisdom my man.
Meant to ask this in my last response, what specific Canna Nute products were you using? I've heard only good things about Canna.
Over watering is a big noob error. But you are aware of that so, you'll be prepared not to do it. Remember to make sure that the pot feels empty before you water. Then water slowly so that the soil absorbs the water. Water till you get about 10% runoff. Let the soil dry completely before you rewater. You did months of research. That's good. Keep reading and asking questions. Listen to your plants. They will tell you what they need.
I use tiger bloom during flowering....first grow without tiger bloom was decent....but my next run I used the tiger bloom, with much more dense nugs....could have been that I learned and just grew nicer plants, but the one thing I know for sure is the tiger bloom worked well for me
I used Canna Terra Vega and Flora..I like them and have never burned my plants..(1st timer I am) Also used Ginormous bud enhancer since the Canna Boost is way out of line! Picture taken just before the final flush, with FloraKleen, last month 4 ladies (only 3 fully harvested and dried) yielded 1.04 POUNDS Again, weight is WITHOUT the last plant!!
Don't grow big bud. It's a great old school breeder strain but jeez it's old man. There's much better strains around these days. White Widow kicks the crap out of big bud. How about some Girl Scout Cookies? Step into the 2000's. Are you all in on HPS or just running a tight budget for the space? With the amount of space you are talking you're going to need some serious wattage. Anything over 5x5 is multiple 600's or 1000's. What are your yield goals? I'm getting 20-24oz's out of a 4x4 every two months. The cool thing about small scale is it's way cheaper. My electric bill went up $100 a month max. You go big room with 3-4 600 watters you'll be in the $500 a month range with your electric bill. What about led? Down to $1 a watt now. Cheaper to run, cooler running, no new bulbs every year, ect, ect. 260W QB LED Kit