Grow set up?

I'm thinking about growing two or three plants for my own use. I've done a lot of reading lately, and while I've learned a lot I'm also a bit unsure of things. I was wondering if someone would tell me what they think of my planned set up, and offer any recommendations. I don't want to spend more than 150$ US to set this up, and less is better. :cool:

I'm more concerned with potency than yield in this grow, as well as learning since this would be my first time. I would, however, like to net at least 2oz. I only have some bagseed right now, but some of it was pretty decent mid-grade schwag, so I'm hoping it will produce some good buds. The high felt like a 50/50 Sativa/Indica, so I'm hoping the plants won't grow too big.

Small cabinet, about 31" high, 48" long and 18" deep, painted matte white inside. Is this big enough? What would be the best way to make this thing lightproof? Do I need to worry about scrubbing the smell with 2 or 3 plants? How much ventilation will this need? I was going to put a small fan inside the cabinet to keep the air moving so the plants would not be weak.

For lighting I was going to get a bunch of those spiral looking CFL light fixtures and lights from a hardware store. How many would I need for decent flowering? I was thinking maybe 8 for 2 plants. I also have a 4" 2x40w T12 fixture I could use too if it will fit in the cabinet. Any bulb recommendations here?

I was going to use 5 gallon buckets with some holes in the bottom for draining. I'd prefer smaller buckets but can't find any.

I was going to LST the plants until there was nowhere to tie them down, then force them into flowering. Is this good? Also, should I still top all of the colas as they grow?

I live in a small town and there are NO dedicated gardening shops at all within a 100 mile drive. We do have a Lowe's and Home Depot, and obviously a WalMart. So, I'm rather limited as to my soil options. I found some 100% organic humus at the hardware store. Would this be good to use? The only ferts available to me are Miracle Gro and Scott's and some other brands typical to Wal Mart and hardware stores. Any suggestions?

Thanks for any advice!

can u use the internet to order a decent light and nute's a hps or mh would really help u out alot but u would need an extractor fan as the heat gets quite bad with them lights www.insidesun.com do a gd 250w hps for $95 plus u can also stick a few cfl's in there the more light the more bud and lst'ing will help alot with potency have you done lst'ing befor. pic's wen u start please i would love to see what set up you go for in the end. laters i hope it all goes ok for you peace!

space sounds to small but maybe go for 1 plant and a 400hps,and a 4in extracter,if looked after you could yield 5/6 oz ,more if you put love in.

31 inches is kind of small. I'd go with no more than 250 watts if u get the HPS. If not the spiral cfls work great for veg , minimal heating issues, just be careful with the humidity in the room . I have known somebody that shorted 1 lamp out before because the copper winding on the cfls popped. As for the T12s ,4 footers are excellent for vegging ! Get soft white bulbs if you cant find T5 fixtures. Also , you can go from seedling to buds with T12s or T5s, so if you're on a budget , go CFL your first grow. Good luck ,peace out !

Cool thanks for all the great input.

Will the spiral CFLs work ok for flowering too?

400whps $120 www.insidesun.com

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Originally Posted by Villui

400whps $120 www.insidesun.com

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villui have you set up a grow yet?
i'm gonna build a small room in my crawlspace I think.
I might start with soil, hydro seems complex. how bout you?