CFL grow in a smal grow box

[metalirock]

Well i decided to start a log for my grow as its my first ...real...attempt. i have one plant in a 2 gallon bucket at about a week and a half from sprout. the other i will transplant soon when it gets bigger... pics soon as its not letting me upload at the moment.

Grow Box: 1.5ft x 1.5ft x 3ft (walls painted flat white)

-organic MG soil
-transplant nutrients for root growth
-MG Nutes
-distilled water
-4x100 watt CFLs
-1 Agro grow bulb

I am only goin CFLs, and when the time comes, ill add more. any thoughts are appreciated

[ismokealldaylong420]

pics would be nice is there any ventalation in the box:thumbsup:

[metalirock]

Ya there is an intake fan and an exhaust.

- is linking pics from other upload sites the only way to post pics here?

http://www.geocities.com/metalirock/GrowBox.bmp

[ismokealldaylong420]

if you got a small fan and rubber cemented it to the corner pointed downward ofcourse you could go on ebay and buy a 150 watt hps or mh light the heat wont be no more that those flouros since its only 150 watts but if you cant do that which you should you will need to buy 6000k to 6500k lights for flowering and you wont get a big yield with em eather if you transplant your babies go to your local hydroponic store and get fox farms ocean forest mix its the best soil mix ive used to date other than that looks good what strain are you going to grow you could grow 7 lowryders in there in less than 90 days and if you got an hps or mh light you could yield atleast 6 ounces:thumbsup:

[metalirock]

for now...its just bag seed, but its very dank! i only plan to grow 2 plants, and ive seen some amazing grows with just cfl's... i want to get a high yielding light, but want to keep it simple... at least for this first grow.

[ismokealldaylong420]

yeah i understand you man the first time i tried to grow i spent like maybe alitle more than 1000$ on everything and screwed up very badly ive seen some real good grows with cfls too but i just like hid lighting better if you plan to have a second grow you should really try and get som lowryder seeds that is a perfect and easy strain to grow becouse it does not have a veg stage which means no more than 90 days from seed to harvest and you can still keep the lights on a 24 hour light regime now only if i wasnt scared to order seeds:( post some more pics when they start sprouting if you dont mind me asking what type of soil are you using its one of the most important things in growing your garden

[metalirock]

ya im not too sure about ordering seeds either. im using miracle grow organic soil (.10-.05-.05)

@ 2 weeks
http://gallery.cannabis.com/data/500/medium/2wks.jpg

[metalirock]

grow box update: i just purchased 2 pc fans for 13$, putting out 50cfm that i will wire to an old pc speaker power chord. i am also going to build a carbon filter tomorrow. better to be ready for the smell BEFORE it comes :wtf:

::side note:: plants are on an 18/6 light schedule

[metalirock]

well i just finished making my carbon filter; what do yall think for $20.30?

its made of:
-aluminum mesh
-carbon filter replacement
-end cap
-4" connector
-zip ties & tape

**got the idea from a DIY'er**

http://gallery.cannabis.com/data/500/carbonfilter1.jpg

[metalirock]

She's growing!! just a pic update

http://gallery.cannabis.com/data/500/thumbs/9-4-07.jpg

[metalirock]

just realised i had the wrong cfls in the whole time.... forgot to put in daylight bulbs. they are BLINDING!

[JohnHerer]

:D Should start putting more lights or higher watt lights.

3400 lumens isn't enough, only if if you just want to save money.

The recommended lumens is 10,000 for each plant.

[metalirock]

i thought lumens were established by the size of the grow room.? anyhow, theres three of them on there putting the lumens at 4900. two are daylight and one is a red spectrum 100 watt CFL. the plant is not stretching at all, and at about 2.5" is on its third shoot.

http://gallery.cannabis.com/data/500/medium/9-6-07.jpg

should i start LST'ing in about a week?

[Crazed]

hey man ... congrats on your grow so far... was just wondering out of curiousity ...How far do you have the lights from the plant?? and i have heard of people using nothing but 6000-6500 k cfl lights from start to finish, and they actually got a pretty good yield... but i would still add about 2 more lights to help it out..remember the more light the better... if you would like i can draw a pic of a light fixture you can make for about $25. and it is a nice fixture for using with cfl's... What type of ferts are you feeding it now??

[metalirock]

just a low dose of MG. i used a rooting hormone when i transplanted, but should i be using it more frequently like when i feed the MG? (one a week)

-the lights are about 2 inches away

-and yes id appreciate a fixture idea as they are just hanging right now.

[Crazed]

ok from my experience with growing (of course i have grown outside and am converting to growing inside this winter) i would not use the root hormone anymore ... your plant seems to be doing good but just seems very short to me ... just my opinion... and before i tell you how to build the fixture are you familiar with electrical wiring?? how many light bulbs would u like me to design the fixture for??? and also try backing the lights up to about 4" and see if that will make the plant stretch or are you going to lst ???

[metalirock]

i am going to lst and keep it as short as possible.

right now i have 5 100 watt cfls
-2 daylight
-3 3000K

should i get more daylight or red spectrum?

[Crazed]

from what people have told me there is nothing wrong with using the 6500 k lights throughout the entire grow cycle... in fact someone had a growlog of the one that they did with only 6500 k lights. .. if i were you i would change all of the cfl's to 6500 k and just use those for the entire grow... but that is just my opinion.... hope it helps ... and good luck on the grow .... ohhh and for the fixture go to lowes or home depot or somewhere like that they have round electrical boxes with places in the side to screw in light adapters ... then but the light adapters and you can also buy a cover plate for the box that has 3 more places to add lights on it... the light adapters look like the ones you would see on the outside of a house...most people use them for motion lights ... as soon as i figure out how to upload pics i will post a pic of what i am talking about... i built one that can hold anywhere from one to seven bulbs ... let me know if u want a pic of it and i will try to see if i can upload it... once again good luck and keep us posted on the grow

[metalirock]

well she did have a kinda slow, but steady growth until i added the daylight bulbs...she seems to like it much better in that the leaves are producing quickly and perking up. however, i will be adding all the lights i have a probably getting 2 or 3 more making the total to 7 - 8 CFLS. the grow box is small so i dont want it to get too hot.

remember im down to one plant as the others died when i was gone for a few days, so 7-8 bulbs should be plenty...right?

[Stealth331]

6500K for veg.

3500 for bloom

is recommended.

Will produce max yield w/ CFL

You will notice a difference.

[metalirock]

ya, ever since i switched them to daylights, they picked up right away. startin to really pull for the light.

[metalirock]

need more light?

http://gallery.cannabis.com/data/500/medium/morelight.jpg

[metalirock]

Some light LST action
-watered about 13 hours prior, for plant flexibility

[PopaBean]

Looking good...

I am the former buckwheat you see above...
Same great poster...different name..lol

Keep up the good work.

[metalirock]

hmm....it doesnt seem to be growing, but only stretched the stem a littlel. any comments? been a week.

[metalirock]

meant to say "its been 2 days" ..is it just recovering from the bend?

[metalirock]

kinda slow goin...but here's an update: had some yellowing so i gave her some root treatment and she looks better...as for the heat being too high, im stumped

[ProGroWannabe]

What do ya mean by "stumped"? What are your temps running? And a word to the wise---before you end up having trouble ---find a different soil for your girl there. MG is known for adding "some" ferts, although you almost never know which ones or how much. To "maximize" a plant like we do with MJ, you really need a medium to grow in that is either inert (no nutes to begin with) or one you create using a known good recipe. That way, when you get further along, you'll know what is already there, and what you need to add. MJ will grow in MG soil, as your finding out now, however the further along you get in your grow, the more of a crap-shoot it becomes when adding ferts.

That's all the preachin I'm doin for now---lol.
Good luck with your grow, bro.

[metalirock]

i know...next time i will have some perlite but it is too late for this round. as for the heat, i have an intake and exhaust fan, but there isnt too much "fresh air" circulating. the grow box is in an enclosed closet. i dont have a thermometer but im guessing the slight folding upwards she does sometimes is an indicator. i will also begin fox farm nutes next week.

[HighTillIDie]

get your temps down, air circulated... i have the best sucess with about 6, 23w, cfls for a one plant grow... but you have to get that hot air out of there. i always run 5x6k, and 1x3k; for veg...
and 2/4 for bloom

and bending the plant some does not stress it like that... i can train a plant, and later that day it is growing towards the light.

[ProGroWannabe]

Yeah, like High said, you gotta keep temps down. I didn't realized just how important it was my first time around-----now I know! Go to a store like walmart or home depot and get a cheap temp/humidity gauge. Mine cost me seven or eight bucks.

Then you can start to really "dial-in" your environment.

[metalirock]

Thanks A LOT for the replies...i think that was the one thing ive been overlooking... will possibly be getting some duct work goin. thanks again

[metalirock]

well ive been trying to get the plants to stretch by pullin the cfls up more, but its not too effective. its goin on its 6th shoot and is about 4.5 inches tall. Theres only about a half an inch inbetween the nodes.

--ps i do have her tied down, and am goin for the circle around the pot :P

[metalirock]

starting Grow Big and Big Bloom nutes tonight, and will start tiger bloom in a couple weeks when flowering. new pics on friday :)

[Cannabis476]

this is kind of like mine...

MY GROW
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/133980-second-grow-first-log.html

[metalirock]

alright well i have some picture updates: she is growing very short and bushy, at only about 3-4 in tall. what yall think?

the second pic is where i tried to get a shot at her stem, but the node sites are filling it up with leaves.

**the burn spots are not from nutes, but from the 2 cfls that fell on top of them :P

[Cannabis476]

nice man i hope they stay bushy! alot of light up close prevents tall growth... at least thats what works for me... Am I right??

[metalirock]

ya, but i think its controlled the height growth a little too much.. the nodes are very close and doesnt seem to stretch any. by the time i make it around the pot it'll have like 48 nodes! will take another month it seems..

[ProGroWannabe]

Well, there is one other option....once you start flowering her, she'll definitely put on at least a little stretch. Everything I've grown stretches pretty hard at the beginning of flower. But I don't grow many indicas. Sativa dominants are my mainstay. So I really can't say what indica dominant plants will do. I've read they stretch as well. Seems all cannabis does it to "some" degree.

[metalirock]

so could i start flowering and continue to lst? she's at about a month and a week (5 weeks).

[ProGroWannabe]

Yup! It's all up to you, but she WILL grow during flower. It's all up to you though. If you really couldn't care less when you get her finished, you could keep vegging. I'd flower the girl now though if it were me. Did I mention its all up to you?--lol

[metalirock]

thanks for the advice. i think ill induce flowering the first week in october :D

*should i FIM...or keep it easy? will have 2 weeks to recover..

[ProGroWannabe]

There's a lot of controversy surrounding fimming. And I have never fimmed any plant, so I'm no authority on it. All I can tell you is to do searches in the grow forums about fimming and read, read, read. Then decide for your self. Otherwise, "I think" most opinions you get are gonna be different, because of all the controversy I mentioned earlier.

[metalirock]

Decided to FIM... cut is clean and straight across the new plant growth, while leaving 10-15% remaining. How's it look?

[ProGroWannabe]

Cool, keep us informed on her progress!

[metalirock]

well a couple days after the fim, it was given to a friend to flower. it was put in a box while being transfered, and was accidently left in the box for about a week.... by the time i came back accross the plant it had 6 more shoots and started to show female pistils!! while having only darkness lol. sadly, having no where to finish, i had to kill :( next time it will be much better and will have a better log. thanks to everyone who helped!

[gt420z]

lol

[killerweed420]

walmart has a nice temp and humidity meter for about $9.It records the last 24 hours for highs and lows.It really helps knowing what is going on.

[SmokeyTokey]

ah, bummer...I was looking forward to this one.