My first real grow. Nirvanas' auto fem northern lights. I am going to attempt my first real grow. I got five seeds from johndoeseeds which is part of Nirvana seed bank. I put two seeds in wet paper towels and the tap root pipes after about two days. Then I placed the seeds in solo cups with the dirt mixture I made from: https://www.autoflower.net/forums/f44/new-growers-guide-grow-@-lowes-[easy-dirt-guide-]-16495.html So I'm waiting for them to sprout. I built a box for them to grow in. It is 27.5*27.5*55 inches. I wired up two lights on each wall and put a tee in each one of those, and I currently have one hanging light. So a total of 17 cfls. 12 are 23w(100w equivalent) 1 is 120w equivalent and 4 are random ones. They are all 5000k-6500k. So 17 cfls for two plants. I currently have a 4" fan ordered and its on its way. I have my box in my basement. There is a 3" vent already into a chimney next to my box so I will reduce it to 3" and vent out the roof. Hope the neighbors don't smell. They aren't right on top of us so that's good. At least 150 yards away. I am hoping for at least an ounce per plant. Hopefully my expectations aren't too high. One sprouted since I wrote this.
Those cfls up top aren't doing anything for your plants, they're too far away. You'd be better off constructing an array of some type that can be moved as the plants get bigger. Here's one of my old builds <- a scrog type of grow would be best suited for this type of array, but there are a lot of options. No matter how you do it, keep the bulbs as close to the plant as possible. Any plans on painting the inside? It's a nice box I'm growing a northern lights auto as well, different breeder though. Easy to grow, she's almost finished and looks beautiful. Good luck!!
it makes no sense at all to mount so many bulbs so far away from the plants. CFLs need to be kept as close as possible without burning the plants at any time, which means moving them several times a week as long as the plants grow rapidly. also you need ventilation. an oscillating fan for air movement inside the box, an exhaust fan at the top and a passive intake (aka hole) toward the bottom. northern lights should be a rather low odor strain from what I hear, but autos always differ from the photo strains theyre named after. of they do smell, carbon filters work best and ONA blocks and gel are also popular among small scale growers. mylar or white paint helps by reflecting light. whats that soil youre using? one thing I already see is that it doesnt contain perlite, which it should. perlite makes for much healthier and faster growth by aerating the soil.
It's part of the fun, spending hours building something only to find several critical flaws. Tearing it apart and rebuilding it 4 or 5 times till you get it right. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll never actually be "finished" modding my 2x2 box, it'll always be a work in progress.
Thanks for the suggestions. There is perlite in the soil. I added the 4 quarts it called for. I am planning on painting the interior white once my exhaust fan gets here and I can vent the box outside. Not sure if I should paint it semi-gloss or flat. I will figure out how to build an array for my purposes. I thought if I threw enough light in the box distance from the plants wouldn't matter as much.
Flat white from everything I've ever seen. An like baumiester said you need to move those lights 3 inches max from the top of the plants.
Ok good. I have a can of flat white ceiling paint. I'll do that once I hook up my exhaust. Second plant sprouted overnight. So hoping I will be harvesting in 85-90 days.
thats a reasonable timespan. but be aware that nirvana autos are known to often not be autos at all, you may need to flip to 12/12. actually it would have made a lot more sense to get a good photoperiodic strain, since you can fully control the lighting, theyre usually better and a controlled veg stage offers several advantages, including cloning and making up for mistakes with longer veg instead of losing yield, not worrying as much about root space and training methods other than LST.
As I have read more up on the differences I agree. Next time I order seeds I will get just regular female seeds instead of autos. I thought the autos would be easier for a first grow. Timeframe isn't a problem since I have a good supply for already grown premium stuff. I'll grow my 5 seeds and then move on. Maybe try a different strain.
check out seedfinder.eu, I like it a lot to get some ideas... look for strains with several good reviews and then google them for more reviews, never believe the breeder description.
If all of your bulbs aren't in id move your sockets about 2 an a half to 3 feet from the bottom to get some light on the sides of the plants since cfl's aren't the best for light penetration.
I have some at about that level. I will utilize them when the plants get a lot bigger. They can be seen in one of the pictures. They are about 2 feet from the bottom.
I just received my exhaust fan. It is 100 cfm. I figured my box is less than 20 ft3. Is that a good fan speed? Also one of my seedlings looks kinda droopy. She sprouted within the last 24 hours. I have attached a pic. Any ideas? Or is that normal?
thats overwatering aka lack of oxygen to the roots. water less frequently (I guess you havent watered yet since planting? anyways let them dry out) and add perlite when you transplant.
Ok I'll water less. I've only watered once this morning. I put my finger in about two inches and it was dry so I gave it a little water. I'll wait a few days and see what happens. There is some perlite in the soil but I can add more. Thank you very much.
I currently have 4 quarts added to 32 quarts of soil. Sounds like I need at least another 6-8 quarts of perlite. I will be sure to add that before I transplant. What about my exhaust fan speed. 100 cfm for a <20 cubic feet box.
So as I sit here reading other people's posts I have noticed that a lot of people have both 2700 and 5000+. I only have 5000k+ lights right now on my plants. What is the benefit of both and should I do both?
The 2700k are more for flowering a plant mixing them balances out the spectrum more or less, i only mic lights during flower ill have one 6500K for every 2 2700s