first grow: northern lights; advice requested

i have ordered nirvana northern lights from drchronic, and now i need to decide on equipment

my growing room is a standard closet. about 8feet tall, by 9feet wide, by 3feet deep. two sliding doors. i can hang lights from the hanger-bar (?) and remove it if they grow tall enough

the room the closet is in is a bedroom with a large window. i can put a big fan in that window to dump air into the bedroom. then i thought i'd put another big fan in the opening on one side of the closet and another for exhaust on the other side (sliding doors open a bit if you follow me)

this is to be my first grow, and i live in an appt


anyway, the big questions now are:

soil
nutrients
lighting


i need to keep costs down, so i'd appreciate budget minded suggestions. i'm definitely considering flourescent/cfl as my only lighting. the lower heat, lower electricity uses definitely appeal.

i've been reading a lot of threads and i'll continue to do so, this grow is pretty typical around here, but i thought i'd start a thread of my own


thanks

Things that you can buy at Walmart. (Only in US )

Soil: Supersoil(miracle grow) (60%) + Perlite (40%)
Nutrients: SuperThrive
Lighting: 4 ~ 6 x 26w(100w output,6500k) CFLs and get utility clip lighting fixtures.
PH: PH down, Pool test kit (Get PH Meter if possible)
Timer: Get Digital timers.
Fans: Small cheap fans that rotates.
1 x Digital Thermometer/Humidity Meter
1 x power surge protector

And get Fox Farm Big Bloom from some hydrophonic shop..

For additional help, take a look at BongHitBoy420's thread..
http://boards.cannabis.com/closet-ca...ng-thread.html

thanks very much; i'm in the usa and there's a walmart near; i appreciate the walmart advice as i imagine it will save me some cash; my current question is how i'm going to hang the cfl's, mainly what sort of hood to use

Look at BongHitBoy420's thread.. That's how it's done with
utility clip lighting fixtures(available at Walmart). They are about $5 ~ $6 each.
You also need power surge protectors so you can plug those light fixtures.

you'll have to forgive the next question, as it comes from a raw newb (i'll leave this disclaimer out from now on for brevity :) ), but i just got done watching a "how to grow cannabis indoors" vid (though it was hydroponic) and here's the question: if i...

1. soak seeds till they crack

can i then put them directly into a pot of soil? or do i need something in-between like a cube type thing?


i'm definitely considering the possibility of cloning and keeping a mother plant, making regular clones; i have the room....humm something to consider, but first i need my veg room (closet) setup; i have the whole rest of the bedroom which i just use for storage that i could potentially use as a veg room (or part of it more like, cordoned-off........ not sure if i want to grow all the time; considering the electricity costs, and needing to keep things low profile....hummm

something to consider


i bought standard seeds. 10 of them. so i'm thinking i'd probably be lucky if i got 2females from those? just to estimate. so i'd be needing perhaps 10 small pots and a few larger ones; of course i know it's possible i could get zero females, but i surely hope that's not the case



another Q: is it really reasonable to flower under ONLY cfl lights? it seems somewhat unpopular, yet possible. my main concerns are keeping temperatures and electricity costs down, temperatures mostly. it's cool now, but summer's coming and it will be warm. i'm in denver, CO


also: from germination to harvest, with NL, is 3-4months usual? that seems to be what i'm seeing

I put my cracked seeds in the dirt, no in-between step. You can use cfls for flowering. Just keep your plants short (lst scrog sog ect). Also, keep the floros VERY close to the plant, because you only have about 18 inches of penetration (meaning max), with the first four inches being the best. Your buds will be less dense using the CFLS...because of thier weak penetration.

Also, if you keep stress (temp, ph, humidity, circulation ect;) at a minimum you should expect at least fifty percent females....not twenty percent.


Good Luck in whatever you decide! :jointsmile: Bree

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by uzybear

1. soak seeds till they crack

can i then put them directly into a pot of soil? or do i need something in-between like a cube type thing?

...

another Q: is it really reasonable to flower under ONLY cfl lights? it seems somewhat unpopular, yet possible. my main concerns are keeping temperatures and electricity costs down, temperatures mostly. it's cool now, but summer's coming and it will be warm. i'm in denver, CO

...

also: from germination to harvest, with NL, is 3-4months usual? that seems to be what i'm seeing

---

hello. thanks for comment on my thread. heres my opinion and insight, and opinions are like assholes, everyone has one :p

pics are two methods ive tried and tried perfecting for germinating seeds. everyone does things best their own way, be willing to fuck up. i've seen ppl germ seeds in paper towels, but hell if i can. ive tried. if you can get a bag of dirt weed w/ 3-4 dozen chit seeds, it might be a good investment to toss $10 on a bag just for practice seeds if you have purchased gentics. however, just a thought. typically, if you water it -- it will grow ;)

just remember that germinating seeds need moisture, warmth, and preferr dark. air/breeze stunts baby tap roots. overwatering will drown em before they wake up! you dont wanna drown babies do you?

I have seen CFL's produce qute decent buds. Its my observation CFL's also seem to add to the "sugar coating" effect when added later in flowering. Typically, CFL's produce looser buds simple because the intensity isnt that of a well, high intensity lamp. Hence 'high intensity discharge' lamp. If you use enough CFL's to componsate (match lumen/lux) even a low watt HP/MH, you are usually running at more wattage, just as warm is not warmer due to # of bulbs, and still do not have the sheer penetrating intensity of a HID fixture. However, I use CFL's in conjunction to a low watt HPS (actually i just upgraded slightly higher, ill be getting more lumens and more intensity on less wattage than my current 150+cfl setup.) For $90, it just makes sense. Plus, id rather only replace 1 bulb vs ????? bulbs @ 7-10 $ a pop. PLUS better than ive been growing, it was a brainless choice in
***MY*** situation. Again, grow to your enviroment and as conditions allow.

Oh, and yeah turnaround is usually 3-4mo. Usually ~ 1 mo veg from seed, 2 mo flower.


Good luck w/ your grows! :thumbsup:

Oh btw, this is a great link not only for you but anyone reading. Its lighting made simple. Great reference, only thing it doesnt have is the lumen chart. But honestly i was reconsidering your situation -- You can convert a home depot / lowes / wallmart 70w HPS outdoor light. Kill the dusk to dawn sensor.

48w CFL = lets say at BEST 3k lumen.

If you had two 48w CFL alone, you would have 6k lumen not to account for loss. Thats 96w. You little 70w light already has 2 CFLs beat both in wattage and output. Again, just a thought. Grow and let grow :thumbsup:

ACF Indoor Plant Grow Light Information Guide -- The link ( Lighting chart ) --

interesting article

why then do folks choose to flower under only cfl? if you don't save electricty, and it doesn't create as much light as a HPS? is it justa heat issue in small spaces?

cfl's put out waaaay less heat than a hid. cfl growers usually do so becuase of lack of funding.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 18toki

Things that you can buy at Walmart. (Only in US )

Soil: Supersoil(miracle grow) (60%) + Perlite (40%)
Nutrients: SuperThrive
Lighting: 4 ~ 6 x 26w(100w output,6500k) CFLs and get utility clip lighting fixtures.
PH: PH down, Pool test kit (Get PH Meter if possible)
Timer: Get Digital timers.
Fans: Small cheap fans that rotates.
1 x Digital Thermometer/Humidity Meter
1 x power surge protector

And get Fox Farm Big Bloom from some hydrophonic shop..

For additional help, take a look at BongHitBoy420's thread..
http://boards.cannabis.com/closet-ca...ng-thread.html

---

superthrive is not a fertilizer, it's a supplement, to be added to nutes. it doesn't contain npk, just hormones and vitamins.

i think heat could be an issue as summer is coming, cfl is certainly attractive that way

my first indoor grow was all cfl. i did very well, the only differences between cfl and hid in my experience, is yeild. i got more than four times more with hps than with cfl.

i haven't been able to pin down an answer on the electricity issue, but would it actually be MORE efficient to have one HPS for flowering than a number of cfl's? (per light produced?)

i'm concerned about heat. it can get pretty warm here. i shouldn't have much problem pulling in air. i can have one or two big box fans in the window, and run air-tubing (what do you call that silver accordion stuff?) into the closet, but it may not be very cool air


another q: should i run fans all the time or just when lights are on?

i run an oscillating fan 24/7

as for the power consumption and all, hps is waaaaay better. especially if you consider yeild. you'd have to do two to four cfl grows to add up to one harvest from hps.

as for temps, you can make a cool tube... and the silver stuff is called flex ducting

well, that idea definitely appeals. cfl (or heck, considering the shape of the closet, just regular flourescent tube, say a few warm and cool t-5's) might be right for veg. then one hps for flowering. if i have say two plants, in a closet what would be a hps i could get away with for flowering? could i get buy with 200w or so?

the hps seem pretty cheap too. i definitely like that way. i just need to make sure things don't get too hot. i can take the doors off the closet and just use black vinyl, or heck, i could forget teh closet all together and just cordon-off a section of the room right next to the window. now that's an idea. i'm on the second floor and get quite a lot of air. with that window open and fans running it might be excellent. in fact with a couple box fans in the window blowing fresh air directly on my plants i wouldn't need an oscilator either necessarily


i'm definitely concerned about things looking suspicious though. this is however a VERY pot friendly town, and the maintenance folks are stoners, and i'll put a lock on the bedroom door, but still :)


if i just draped black vinyl (mylar inside) for a grow-space it'd also give me the ability of making it larger or smaller depending on the plant growth.... no reason to use the closet perhaps....

i personally would go with no less than a 400w hps, but with two plants, if short, can be well lit by a 250...

remember, safety first. there's no such thing as pot freindly in our government's eyes. i just dismantled my op this morning; i'm being ivestigated for power consumption... boo hiss.

just hang some screws in the celing and hang a single flouro array for veg, and a single hps-hood for flower. simple....... oh the wheels are turning!

i use two double 48" flouro fixtures and four ge daylight bulbs for veg in summer.

the cat's ass, great lights for the money. one double fixture and two bulbs runs 20$

as far as power consumption:

1. how much would i expect my electric bill to go up during veg? (with flourescent 18hr)

2. flower? (250w hps 12hr perhaps?)

that seems little enough to go undetected. of course, there's danger. frustrating.

less than ten dollars a month. my power consumption prob is not due to my grow, but to appliances, and possibly a bad meter. i use the flouro's, two 400w mh, and a 1000w hps, fans (including one 750w) and air/water pumps, and it runs me about 50 a month or less

well that's encouraging.

i'm also moving from a desktop to a laptop, i don't run ac, microwave, and keep lights off as much as possible.

my main concern right now is keeping a low profile. i'm asking myself how it would look to have my window almost fully curtained off except for one big fan.....i gotta work on planning on keeping things on the down low

another q: will the hps make much noise? my appt building doesn't have particularly thin walls, but i do have neighbors on each side, and above and below

the hps will not make noise. the ballast may have a slight hum, but nothing noticable from more than a few feet away.

now the balast, does that regulate the flow of electricity to the hps?

yes, your hps consists of a bulb and socket, an ignitor, a capacitor, and a transformer. the transformer boosts the power, the cap regulates voltage, and the ignitor ignites the sodium.

my current leaning is definitely toward having both a veg and flower room and cloning a female so i can harvest every couple months. using flouro or cfl for veg room would be essential as it might be harder to get airflow to the veg room if i had only one big fan in the window. two fans would fit but i'm concerned it would look suspicious.

i'm talking out loud here, hope y'all don't mind :)


but if i had the flower room close to the window with direct constant blowing air, and the veg room farther away (and have to rig some air for that as well)


.......hummm


cloning seems quite simple. if i understand right, all i need is rooting compound and perhaps some rockwool cubes? or can i dip cutting in rooting compound and put directly in soil? the vids i've been watching have been predominantly hydro, and i'm sure i don't want to do that because of flooding risk

yes you can put cuttings directly in dirt.

thanks your help is greatly appreciated; thanks for taking the time

about time to start shopping :) exciting

and another soldier joins our side in the war on drugs :D

you betcha; it's a messed up world

that it is, but it seems the tides are turning. 12 states and counting...

i'm wondering: if it's 85F outside (and it will be when these are flowering) and i have one window fan on the flower room, will that be enough to cool a hps system? i'm wondering if i'll just have to much heat to deal with...


definitely reconsidering the closet. would be more stealth as well... humm

question: for a first timer, do you have a suggestions/preference? should i just do one grow from veg to flower, and no clones, or should i go for two grow rooms, one veg one flower?

i'm asking myself if i'd want to do NL again, or another strain....

considering i might only get one female out of my seeds, cloning is certainly appealing. and given my situation, NL certainly seems the star given ease of growth, low height, low odor

encouraging thing: looked at the mean temps for this region and through the hottest summer months the average temps seem to be 70f-75f so it seems i overestimated that. july being the hottest regularly.

what i really have to decide is my level of risk. do i want to use a big chunk of the bedroom, or just the closet. teh rest of the bedroom will just be storage anyway, and i'll have a lock on the main bedroom door. the closet isn't much more stealth than the bedroom...................tough choice.....as a first timer the threat of prosecution is weighing down on me. damn it

the more i look at doing an entire grow under flouro, the more it seems that flowering under hps is just a better way to go. less electricity, one bulb. even lest cost of equipment over a bunch of flouro, and of course better results. and it would be so nice to have a mother so i could be harvesting fresh herb every couple months....more thinking needed, but i need to start buying soon.

1000bulbs seems a good site. reccommend others?

Whats up usybear. I grow in a closet 5x2x8 and it works well. Have an air cooled 400 and a carbon air filter. Struggle with temps a bit especially cuss of my bunkk A/C. Nonetheless can run it without any probs with the door closed. In a small apt those lights are bright as shit. Good luck and keep us posted. Oh yeah and I had to cut a few holes hear and there for flex duct but just gonna patch em up when i'm done. Hang my exhaust fans with bungee cords and it cuts down on vibration. Have my ballast outside of clos, less heat in room sits on a thick rubber mat make little noise. Good Luck.

for two plants, what would be a good size hps? 200w? 250w?

yeah, the only AC in the house is on the other side of the building (luckily i have windows on both sides so with the bedroom shut up i'll still have lots of fresh air from the livingroom, and i have my windows open ALL the time); oh, and i never ever run the AC, ever


and now i'm leaning back to using a good chunk of my bedroom :)


thanks for commenting; so i assume you rent? i am and i know that that means added danger, but, well, i want to grow :) luckily i don't think there's a more pot-friendly place in the country; i live in boulder, colorado (screw it, no need to hide that :) )


.....

check out my clos grow in indoor growing. "Did I start my 12/12 to early". Oh yeah I rent and live in Tex. Not so pot friendly my friend and hotter than hell. Peace.

ah, it worked; here's a mad sketch of what i'm thinking

i'm glad to hear i'm not the only one dumb enough to try growing in a rented appt :) it's comforting. thanks a lot for commenting; i'm just reading everything i can now


i was thinking i could just duct-tape trash bags together for the partitions :) but that seems pretty silly, i'd just need to find some thick black vinyl. perhaps home depot? if i just maybe staple-gun to the ceiling (using bits of cardboard for support)....