I've decided to take the plunge and get started on my first grow project. I am hoping this journal helps others that are interested in giving it a go. Also, I welcome all constructive criticism as well as non-constructive provided it is funny.

Some background:

I am just trying to cultivate some MJ for personal use.. so I do not need a lot of quantity, just quality. I am looking to set up two closets which will let me veg and clone in one and flower in another. I have read on this topic for going on two years now, but have just gotten an opportunity to give this a whirl. I am not trying to do this cheap, but rather as economical as possible. In short - I have cash to spend on quality supplies if they are necessary or beneficial. So here is the plan.. tell me what you think.

The Medium:

I will most likely start out in soil, but I REALLY want to try a DWC. In fact, I bought a lot of the supplies to do so, but I am still missing some grow medium and netpots. I can't find them anywhere close by. So.. in the interest of getting started... I am going to start off in soil. I may end up cloning and flowering in Hydro though.. I like the bubbling action.

The Seeds:

Lucky for me, I have 8 seeds that I bought in Amsterdam a few years ago. I just can't remember what they are.. . I do remember buying something ideal for indoor growing.. like a Northern Lights or Haze maybe? Hopefully, we can play "Guess that Strain" later! I think they may be feminized too, but I am not 100% sure. I also have 10 Sensi Skunks from a similar excursion that a friend took. In addition to those, I have about 20 bag seeds to play with.

The Space:

I have a corner of a workshop that I will end up using. It is below grade, so temperature stays cool and consistent... around 70 or so. I am just going to set up a couple of wardrobes, which may end up behind a faux wall for further stealth.

I bought one wardrobe closet from Home Dumpster and will use that for my veg + clone chamber. It measures 72"H x 30"W x 20"D. I am going to use CFLs in the Veg chamber, and I purchased several 75w and 100w bulbs that were recommended in the sticky thread. I also have three of those light reflectors and a "bath bar" that I plan on rigging up for the lighting. I still have to get a ventilation fan for air flow and cut that in, but I am looking for something really quiet. Any suggestions? I saw some bath fans that may be what I end up with.

I plan on purchasing a similar wardrobe closet to the one above for a flowering chamber. the dimensions are the same, except for the width which is 48". I only want to have two or three plants in flower at anytime, so I figure this should be enough room. Also, I want to give the ScrOG a try.. so I may set up the flowering chamber with some screen for that. For lighting, I am going to purchase a 400w HID with a built in exhaust. I am also looking into a carbon filter to cut down on the stink, but will end up venting the whole thing out the side of the building via a dryer vent.

Things I need to get yet:

Nutrients.
Net Pots.
400W HID.
Carbon Filter.
Hydro Grow Medium.
Rockwool or similar
Misc. tubing and barbs for completing my hydro drip.

Things I have:
Two Aquarium pumps.
Lots airline, tees, etc
4" airstone
Two 5 Gallon buckets
lots of CFLs.


That's all I can think of for now..
Thanks!
GreenGoblin

Excellent! Way to go. Good luck and I will be checking back to see what you come up with. It is always such fun setting it all up. Kinda like building a house for your plants!

__________________
Life,
j-angel

aka GP purrie kittie attack cat!


My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

it's a pleasure to see a newbie that has done his homework
also, your goals are similar to mine in that quality is the watchword, not quantity (no commercial enterprise here)

it's probably a good idea to start in dirt as it is much more forgiving, if things go wrong in hydro, and you're a noob, well, it can go real bad real fast.
in dirt, you have more time to react which will give you the time to get familiar with the plant and it's needs.
once you feel comfortable, by all means, try DWC, the difference in growth has been phenomenal, for me at least

as for net pots, if you can't find them you can make them out of Dixie cups and a soldering iron, come take a look at my imaginary garden and see what i mean (there's a cloner i built there as well that gives me near 100 % rooted cuttings)

anyway, with the thought you've already put into this, i'm sure you'll do well, i've subscribed and i look forward to following your progress

rock on dude

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

^^good point bozo, if things turn ugly they do it with the speed of light in any hydro system.
But, on the other hand have several members here also grown their first green in some kind of hydro system as ClosetDWC or one of the starting members named Roseman that also never used anything besides tonnes of CFLs and his rubbermaid DWC units - so t is doable but you have to on the watch all the time as you have to do all the read before you start, so better read it twice

__________________
Keep the gun oiled and the thumb green!

I have the cabinet together and some lighting set up. I am quite happy with it for the initial set up of the veg. chamber. Right now I am running some CFLS.. here are the details.

3 x 19 Watt and 2 x 27 Watt of "daylight bulbs. 92w total and 5120 lumen.
1 x 23 Watt "Soft White". 23w total and 1600 lumen.
Total 115 Watts and 6720 lumen.

I started to germinate 2 of my "Mystery Seeds" that I can't remember the strain and 2 of the Sensi Skunk. Hopefully I will see a sprout in a few days.

I ordered the following supplies too and should see them in a week or so.

Sun Systems 400W HPS HID Light. (For the soon to come flower cabinet)
2 400W HPS bulbs. (Always have a spare!)
Some net pots.
A few liters of Green Lightnin.
A bunch of 2mil Mylar for lining the cabinets.
Dip 'n Grow.
Ready grow super plugs
Another Airstone.

Here are a few pics of veg cabinet. Tell me what you think.. I still have to add some ventilation. I put a few of those directional clamp lights in as well, and have them mounted on screws that are attached to the shelf. I plan on adding more lights in either the top or bottom cabinet for a clone chamber. Most likely the top..

GreenGoblin

Attached Images

	IMG_1518 (Medium).JPG (38.5 KB, 50 views)
	IMG_1519 (Medium).JPG (32.6 KB, 21 views)
	IMG_1520 (Medium).jpg (30.8 KB, 21 views)
	IMG_1521 (Medium).jpg (34.6 KB, 16 views)
	IMG_1516 (Medium).jpg (20.0 KB, 30 views)
	IMG_1517 (Medium).jpg (26.2 KB, 41 views)

And thanks to for everyones advice so far. I think I am going to do a soil grow to start, but I am really tempted to try both. I'm crazy like that!

Bozo - I am going to check out your clone chamber for sure.. thanks for the heads up.

And thanks Green_Nobody.. I have read a bunch of your threads and posts. You you have been a big help already.

GreenGoblin

very nice GG, i like the cab, and i think you're right, the top is perfect for a cloning area
the bottom shelf you should make adjustable if it isn't already, you'll need the virtical space (although, with mommas, you can keep them pretty damned short)

another thing you might consider is some y splitters for each light socket(you can get them at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes etc..., for under $2.00) that way you can double your lights (CFL's are just fine for vegging)

anyway, here's a pic of a splitter so you know what they look like (they come in black too)

Attached Images

P5040008.JPG (476.7 KB, 21 views)

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

Hi GG. I was just wondering about the range of light you have with you cfl's. I also use cfl's for part of my setup inside of course. It looks to me like those bulbs might be better for flowering your babies. For veg you want 5000K to 6500k lumens. For flowering it is 2700K.

Here is a link to the CFL club with lots of info on lumens and light colour you
The CFL Club - Dedicated to Cannabis Education. Medicinal, Recreational, and Cultivation.
need.Here is a turorial about the light size etc.
CFL Tutorial

Now I might be wrong but it looks like those are smaller bulbs. If interested take a look at my contrapition I made up for cfl's in my indoor log. It works great and holds the bulbs sideways which makes the max amount of light available to the plants, as more comes from the sides versus the ends. The link is in my signature.

Your set up looks boss! What kind of venting and cold air return do you have in that beauty? (sorry I went and read it again, make sure you have that set up before you put your plants in there or you could kill them quickly, temps can climb quickly with cfl's.) Good luck and happy growing. Hope this info helped you.

__________________
Life,
j-angel

aka GP purrie kittie attack cat!


My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

Hey GreenGoblin,

Welcome to GP. Some great people with lots of info, here.

If you are starting a grow in soil, I recommend Hyponex-$1.66 @ Wal Mart. Add about 40% perlite, some bone meal, a little blood meal. That's it. I have used expensive mixes from Fox Farms, etc., but simple and cheap really works. Videoman has a thread somewhere with his recipe. I have seen awesome results, using this mix.

Good luck and remember, it's only a weed.

Pappy

Thanks everyone. My two mystery seeds have sprouted so it's time to get moving!

Bozo - The bottom shelf is adjustable, and I just moved it way up closer to the lights. I will probably grab a few of those y splitters. I have one or two around here somewhere. I need a few more bulbs anyway. Speaking of bulbs...

jangel - I am runninng mostly Daylight bulbs. There is one 1600 lumen 2700k "Soft White" bulb in there right now. I am going to swap that for another daylight bulb when I pick some up later today. I read through those two posts a few days ago and it looks like I need between 1,000 - 2,000 lumen per square foot. Right now I have roughly 7.5 square feet of area in that chamber, so I need between 7500 --> 15000 of lumen. I currently have 5120 lumen in Daylight bulbs.

Pappy - Thanks for the recipe. I just popped two of my germinated seeds into some potting soil I had handy. It was a Miracle Grow organic. I am going to pick up some of the Hyponex, pearlite, etc for when I need to re-pot.

I added a small fan to the cabinet today and will be running out later to get an exhaust fan and some vents. I also moved some stuff around to better suit the grow and keep stuff out of the way.

I appreciate everyones input so far.
GreenGoblin

i'm sure you already know that the plants need both red and blue light throughout it's life cycle, just heavy in the blue for vegging (about 4 to 1, watt for watt) and heavy in the red for flowering (which is what HPS is, heavy in the red)
which is the long way of saying, don't take that 'warm' bulb out, just add more blue

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

Alright. I spent lots of time this evening on the veg box and wanted to post some updates. The box was indeed running hot, so I added a bathroom fan for exhaust and a vent to draw in cool air. The box still ran around 82 degrees. So.. I ripped out the vent, lowered the shelf and installed a window fan. I really like this set up so far. The fan has an "exchange" mode, so it will pull air in one fan an out the other. I can also have in draw in air only, or exhaust only. Also, there is a thermastat to boot.. so I *could* have it shut off at low temp. I also added a ton more lights. I am currently running the following CFLs.

8 x 1300 Lumen 23w "Daylight" bulbs
2 x 1600 Lumen 27w "Soft White"bulbs


So.. that should be 13,600 Lumen total for the veg room. Hopefully the temp stays down. I have to deal with the light bleeding from the cabinet. It's like ET is hiding in there!

Some pics:

Attached Images

	IMG_1526 (Medium).JPG (34.3 KB, 43 views)
	IMG_1527 (Medium).JPG (70.9 KB, 15 views)
	IMG_1533 (Medium).JPG (36.0 KB, 22 views)

hey greengoblin looking like you've done your home work hrers my 2 cents , i use cfls for early veg about 3 weeks then i go right to the 400hps i,ve been doing this for years and i always get awesome harvests and beautiful veg cycle it is important to give the plants a variety of reds and blues but i find that as soon as i put my babies my babies under the awesome radiant power of the 400hps they just grow like crazy! while your babies are still small the cfls are great but to get the equal amount of lumens as a hid u need approx the same wattage of cfls and that gets expensive, i reccomed getting those bad boys under your 400 as soon as they get to be 6-8" tall and youll be able to cut more clones sooner and start flower sooner aswell, dont get me wrong i,ve seen a ton of people have great success with cfls but there such a pain with all the extra power bars and fixtures if you got the hid take advantage anyways thats my 2 cents looks like your on the right track

Green, nice to see clean, detailed work. Very cool...it makes a place ...

Suggestion: Those 2 CFL's in the hoods on the floor are useless right now in terms of lighting the plants. Also, you want to get those plants up, or the lights down. Last thing you want to do is stretch those babies out by them having to reach for that light up there.

Better yet, get the 400 installed once you figure a way to air cool it from outside the cab though the light and back out again, keeping all the heat outside the box.

Gonne be some sweet bud grown in that box...I can smell it already!

ISO

__________________

Thanks Folks! I raised the seedlings up closer to the lights and moved the reflector light up higher. I couldn't fit both reflector lights up high, so I am just going to grab another one of those "y splitters" and put two bulbs in one reflector light. Temperature has been a steady 78.

I am waiting for the two seedlings in dirt to break ground, but the other two sensi seeds don't seem to be germinating. I am not sure on the history on how these were stored, so it is possible they are no good.

GreenGoblin

Hey, greengoblin, looks like a good setup, mate!
I am curious though, what are the dimensions for the cab?
If you already posted that and I missed it, I apologize

__________________

Hey Fatman - Thanks for the interest in my make believe grow! The cabinet, if it existed, would measure 72"H x 30"W x 20"D. It was roughly $100. H-depot has another that is the same dimensions, except 48" wide. I would hypothetically use one of those for flowering in a few weeks and try my hand at a ScrOG.

i have a few DIY tutorials on how to build your own hydroponic systems, one for top feed and 2 others for ebb and flow. they have links and pictures for all the materials you need, you can get all the supplies your looking for from our sponsors at HID hut.

__________________

MEDICATE \m/ >¿< \m/

www.greenlightnin.com - The best in Hydroponic Nutrients.

My Current Grow Journal...
http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/hobo...-welcome-2641/


PS i am a pathological liar, and have illusions of grandeur. I post pictures of pot plants i found on the internet and i have never nor will i ever consider the cultivation of marijuana, as it is illegal.

Thanks Hobo - I am looking to do a hydro system, and am heavily considering a DWC for a first go. That being said, I really wanted to do a drip system, so I may have to look up that DIY tutorial of yours.

GreenGoblin

hey GreenG, the cab is coming along very nicely and i'm glad you decided to leave some red light in there.

and do yourself a favor and go read through those threads of Hobo's, he really knows his stuff, i've learned from him myself, that's the beautiful thing about these boards, we learn from each other.

personally, i chose DWC for 2 main reasons, first because this is only my second grow overall (my first was in dirt) so i'm no expert.
which leads me to my second reason, simplicity. DWC is the simplest form of hydroponics there is (with the possible exception of the wick method).

i've been using DWC for some months now and i can say that i love it.
unless i decide to put something outside, i'll never go back.

that being said, you should check out my cloner, it's basically a shallow DWC so it is simple as shit and it works like a dream, i'm getting near 100% success with it and it cost me less than $20.00 to make it. here's a link to it so you can take a look.
http://www.greenpassion.org/f15/chea...-results-5593/
i built it to have 18 stations but you could scale it up or down to fit your particular needs (you could even build one that is much more elaborate, with mister heads and plumbing or a fogger instead of an air-pump, which, to my way of thinking just adds more things that can go wrong)

anyway, keep up the good work, there is no bud as sweet as the one you grew yourself!

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch