faulkn22
08-02-2007, 11:38 PM
First off, let me say thank you to everyone on this forum, as there is a library full of great information here at your finger tips. I decided to set up a home garden, at first for my girlfriend to grow some small herbs, etc. Since then, I have upgraded it somewhat into a growing cabinet.
I am a first timer here, so I would like discuss my cabinet and see what I can do to improve my setup. Thank you in advance to anyone with some input.
For the cabinet, I got a Sterilite utility storage cabinet measuring approximately 2.5"x3"x6.5". I cut out one hole on the side and one hole on the top for ventilation holes. To move air into and out of the holes, I got two small 8" R/V fans. The temperature during the day is 80F-85F and 75F-80F at night. Humidity goes from 45-60. To measure the temperature and humidity, I purchased a digital thermometer that reads them. I havent' been able to find the material that most people purchase to reflect light, so for now I have went cheap and used aluminum foil around the interior of the cabinet.
For lighting, I wanted to go as cheap as I could while producing enough vegetation to carry me into flowering. At flowering, I plan to purchase another bulb in the red spectrum. I ended up going with a 125W CFL Full Spectrum Hood/Bulb combo. I figure that this will give me anywhere from 1' to 2' of vegetation during that light cycle.
Since I'm still learning and whatnot, I went with some bagseed to get my feet wet. I germinated 10 seeds by tossing them in a clean shot glass with a coffee cup turned upside down over it for two days until the root burst the seeds open. I've heard of other methods, but this seemed the easiest/most convenient way to go. I ended up getting 9 out of 10 to germinate, which isn't too horrible I guess.
After germination, I purchased a heated mat and used some 8oz. Dixie cups as my starting pots. I've heard lots of bad things about Miracle Gro but that is all I had access to, so I went with it as my medium. The pots went under the CFL for 24 hour cycles and did well. They stayed for a few days. I think one of the youngun's got a little sun burned, so I adjusted the light and there haven't been any other issues with that.
Since then, I would say they have begun their vegetation cycle, and I have moved them to 18/6 photoperiod. I also transplanted them into 5" pots. Almost all of the plants are starting to form their third set of leaves. It is pretty exciting to watch the plants change and grow.
So now that I have went over everything that I have done so far with my setup, I will talk about what I am unsure about, what I plan to do in the future with this grow, and then ask for any and all advice from everyone here in the community.
One thing I haven't messed with yet is the pH. I know that this is a very important thing. I need to get a meter and something to adjust it up/down. Any recommendations on this?
Another thing is medium. I started off using Miracle Grow, and I know that at a bare minimum, I need to add some more nutrients/minerals/etc. What should I do about this?
After veg, which I'm guess will be 2 to 4 months, I need to switch out this bulb for the red spectrum CFL bulb. This should be fine shouldn't it?
In the future, I plan to take one of the shelves from the cabinet (there were four and I'm not using any of them) and cut the cabinet in half horizontally. Then I want to get another grow hood/ballast and have a simulaneous veg/flowering cabinet. I will cut some holes in the shelves so that the venting still works properly, but be able to keep it air tight covering them for when the flowering portion needs to be completely dark. I also wouldn't mind getting into hydroponics eventually, but baby steps here right? Lol.
Anyways, I am now one week from seed into this grow, and I hope to get lots of input on what I am doing right and wrong, as well as advice on how to improve what I've got going on here. There are photos of the cabinet and youngun's below. I will update with photos maybe once per week so that we can get some kind of slide show going on. It'll be helpful to have so that I can learn from my first grow :)
Thanks a lot all
I am a first timer here, so I would like discuss my cabinet and see what I can do to improve my setup. Thank you in advance to anyone with some input.
For the cabinet, I got a Sterilite utility storage cabinet measuring approximately 2.5"x3"x6.5". I cut out one hole on the side and one hole on the top for ventilation holes. To move air into and out of the holes, I got two small 8" R/V fans. The temperature during the day is 80F-85F and 75F-80F at night. Humidity goes from 45-60. To measure the temperature and humidity, I purchased a digital thermometer that reads them. I havent' been able to find the material that most people purchase to reflect light, so for now I have went cheap and used aluminum foil around the interior of the cabinet.
For lighting, I wanted to go as cheap as I could while producing enough vegetation to carry me into flowering. At flowering, I plan to purchase another bulb in the red spectrum. I ended up going with a 125W CFL Full Spectrum Hood/Bulb combo. I figure that this will give me anywhere from 1' to 2' of vegetation during that light cycle.
Since I'm still learning and whatnot, I went with some bagseed to get my feet wet. I germinated 10 seeds by tossing them in a clean shot glass with a coffee cup turned upside down over it for two days until the root burst the seeds open. I've heard of other methods, but this seemed the easiest/most convenient way to go. I ended up getting 9 out of 10 to germinate, which isn't too horrible I guess.
After germination, I purchased a heated mat and used some 8oz. Dixie cups as my starting pots. I've heard lots of bad things about Miracle Gro but that is all I had access to, so I went with it as my medium. The pots went under the CFL for 24 hour cycles and did well. They stayed for a few days. I think one of the youngun's got a little sun burned, so I adjusted the light and there haven't been any other issues with that.
Since then, I would say they have begun their vegetation cycle, and I have moved them to 18/6 photoperiod. I also transplanted them into 5" pots. Almost all of the plants are starting to form their third set of leaves. It is pretty exciting to watch the plants change and grow.
So now that I have went over everything that I have done so far with my setup, I will talk about what I am unsure about, what I plan to do in the future with this grow, and then ask for any and all advice from everyone here in the community.
One thing I haven't messed with yet is the pH. I know that this is a very important thing. I need to get a meter and something to adjust it up/down. Any recommendations on this?
Another thing is medium. I started off using Miracle Grow, and I know that at a bare minimum, I need to add some more nutrients/minerals/etc. What should I do about this?
After veg, which I'm guess will be 2 to 4 months, I need to switch out this bulb for the red spectrum CFL bulb. This should be fine shouldn't it?
In the future, I plan to take one of the shelves from the cabinet (there were four and I'm not using any of them) and cut the cabinet in half horizontally. Then I want to get another grow hood/ballast and have a simulaneous veg/flowering cabinet. I will cut some holes in the shelves so that the venting still works properly, but be able to keep it air tight covering them for when the flowering portion needs to be completely dark. I also wouldn't mind getting into hydroponics eventually, but baby steps here right? Lol.
Anyways, I am now one week from seed into this grow, and I hope to get lots of input on what I am doing right and wrong, as well as advice on how to improve what I've got going on here. There are photos of the cabinet and youngun's below. I will update with photos maybe once per week so that we can get some kind of slide show going on. It'll be helpful to have so that I can learn from my first grow :)
Thanks a lot all