Hello. This is my first post and I am planning on growing some of my own weed. I really do not know very much about getting started and i have a few questions. I am planning on ordering 10 Caramelicious seeds and 10 Big Bud seeds to get started. I don't want to grow 20 plants right away so my first questions are; how long will seeds last and how do i store them? and how many seeds should i germinate to insure 1 or 2 female plants? My next questions are about lighting. I have been researching lights to buy and I'm looking at one from buyplantlights.com: BuyPlantLights.com - Fluorescent Fixtures -- this is the link to the lamp I am looking at and I'm wondering what some of you experts think. How many plants will be able to grow under that one light? and how many bulbs should i start off with? speaking of bulbs the sight sells a few bulbs and i am wondering what kind i should get? There are four different types of bulbs which all have different qualities and there at this link: Fluorescent Light Bulb Choices ---I dont know what kind of bulb is best? My next question is about methods of growing i don't know if I should start off growing in soil or if I should us a hydroponic system. What method is best for beginners and what are the Pros and Cons of both? Those are all my questions and i appreciate anyone who helps me out. Thanks!
Store seeds in a dry air tight container in the dark and they will be good for a year. Put in freezer if you want them to last longer a year, but freezing reduces germination chances. You can count on 50% male/female ratio. I wouldn't recommend big bud, you'd be much happier with a Kush. Drchronic.com has a good selection. That light is way to expensive. You could buy a 400w hps on ebay for the same price. If you want to just use fluoros then you can go to home depot or walmart and get some daylight cfls or fluorescent tubes for much cheaper. Look for 6000k+ color spectrum but not all bulbs list this, instead they will just say daylight bulbs. They are the ones that have a blue tint to the light. Soil is easier to grow in and it produces better buds. Get an ogranic soil and add some perlite to help with drainage. Fox farms soil and nutes are reliable and make for an easy grow. Buds grown in hydro taste watery and get nute burn much easier.
Hey I appreciate you responding. When you say i could get a Fluoros, aren't those only good for the first few weeks? or are they good for an entire cycle. If i went for a Fluoros is there any brand you recamond or a link you could post? Also are there any lights at like a store like Home Depot or Lowes that i would work? Thanks again for responding
fluorescents can be used the whole veg cycle except maybe the last week of veg it would be good to have them under your flowering lights (hps). The important thing is to have enough fluoros and have them close enough to the plant (1-2 inches). You want 50 actual watts per plant and they need to be the daylight kind which have a 6000+K color temp (not all bulbls list color temp just look for daylight). Home depot will have the 4ft tube fluoros or if you want the cfl's (spiral kind) then it's best to go to walmart to find the daylight kind. Walmart.com: GE CFL Daylight Light Bulb: 15 Watt (65W Equivalent), 6-Pk: Decor Remember to ignore equivalent wattage. In the store they should have 27 actual watt bulbs. To set these bulbs up you can buy a socket adapter which is a socket that will plug into an outlet from an extension cord. http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-Socket-Outlet-Adapter-002-00061-000/dp/B000FPDKVQ These are at home depot /walmart for around 50 cents.
I personally would go with something like a DWC (deep water culture) setup for a first small grow they are very easy to maintain, a friend of mine has a 4 pot dwc system in a 1m2 cuboard its very low maintainaence and produces good yields, also there cheap to set up. He has 1 400w light 4 X 15 litre pots, pump, timers for pump and light and a fan also he pops air stones in the bottom of the buckets. Regarding strain I agree with dexorated dont go with big bud theres much better strains if your thinking of high yield the last strain I grew was Chronic and I got 78 oz from 23 plants, better quality bud than big bud and if its quality your after white widow all the way, I have grown it 3 times and is always a treat my friends last was blue cheese also very nice.
Here's my closet setup. I have 4 2 gallon waterfarm buckets (hydroponic system) a 400 watt hps light and a rotating fan. I surrounded the whole thing with mylar since foil can burn the plant sometimes. To me hydro was cleaner, easier, and more efficient. The only thing is the system itself can be kinda of expensive if you don't build it yourself. I was intimated at first but realized plants can take a lot of stress and still produce a nice yield. You'll learn a lot as you go. My vote. Indoor hydro setup. You can go a lot deeper with timers, co2 setups, different systems. But as a beginner just focus on the basics. Growing my own medicine has become a deep passion of mine. And trust me. You'll love growing.