I never realized growing was so complicated

I have to hand it to you people.Growing is a lot harder than i taugt.

But it mastered on this site.

I would love to grow a small amount form myself but i dont know where to begin.

I always taught i could just get a few seeds put them in a pot and leave nature take its course.

What is the best way to start.

I dont mind what plant it is.What equipment would i need?

I have read a lot of the posts but they seem to be geared towards people with some experience.

I live in Ireland so it would have to be grown indoors.

Thanks in advance

you need to read everything you can get your hands on i read for a good 6 months before planning on growing indoors

Thanks for the help.Just started researching

6 months of reading? Seriously?

You can get started fairly simply & cheaply with just a few of seeds, some pots & soil, some fertilizer, a fan & some lights. CFLs are cheap enough, and will certainly do for a first grow. Learn as you grow :thumbsup:

Yes, there are some things to consider. Is it safe for you to grow these plants? Is the odor going to be a problem, and if so, can you afford to get a carbon filter & exhaust fan (or some other odor control)?

I think that a lot of the information that you find on these boards, and elsewhere, is geared toward maximizing the grow. But honestly, cannabis is just a plant. If you can keep any other houseplants in good condition then growing cannabis isn't any different. The specificity of nutrient amounts and additives and all the tips and tricks add to your final yield and potency, but it isn't rocket science. Take good care of the plant and you'll do fine.

Just my :twocents:

Grow

You do need to plan, but for 6 days, not 6 months in my humble opinion. Especially if you are just starting out. I see you just want enough for yourself, but plan for a few friends occassionally. Plus, you always seem to be running out. So here's what I would do if I wanted to avoid complication while maximizing the potential of the situation.

If you can get a clone that is by far the way to go. You could eliminate several steps this way, but you said from seed so here goes.

1) Get some good potting soil (not with ferts in it), some gallon size or less pots, 2 fluorescent lights that are supposed to have a 200 watt output but only take up 40 real watts (100 watters will be fine for the beginning, and a PH meter (about $25) and a small bottle each of PH up and down (until you know), and a cheap timer.
2) Keep the potting soil warm and moist. Flood it once with water only, that is adjusted to PH 6.8 or so. 2 or 3 tenths here or there won't matter, but don't get carried away.
3) Put a little hole in the middle of the pot, about 1/2" deep, drop the seed in and cover it up, packing it very gently. You may not have to water much or at all for a few weeks, depending. Keep the soil warm and moist.
4) When the seedling emerges (a few days to a few weeks), keep the light and the fertilizers away from it. Keep the light back for a couple days, and move it closer and closer each day until it is a few inches from the plant, which by that point should be big enough to experiment wich the closest possible distance. Lights on 18 hours. Keep the ferts out for at least to weeks, then 1/4 strength for a couple weeks, then 1/2, then full.
5) After a few weeks stop keeping the soil moist and let it dry almost completly out. Watch your plant carefully though. Then water with 1/4 strength hydroponic nutrients, even though you are using dirt. You will need 2 kinds of nutrients, veg now and bloom for later.
6) We are looking for females only, so after 6 or 7 weeks go to flower mode. Lights on 12 hours, flower nutrients.
7) Search this forum for any questions along the way, including how to tell the differnce between male and female. When you see a male immeadiatly kill it, or get it away from the others if you plan on wanting seeds at some point.
8) Keep lights as close as possible through the duration of the grow.
9) Search how to harvest and enjoy.
10) Keep one or two plants after harvest for revegging so you can keep a mother plant for clones (much more bettererish). Learn this. Live it.
12) Switch to hydro the amazing yet simple way... An Emily's Garden - type settup. Search this, its DWC type hydro which truely is amzing and simple. You will be astounded at the results compared to what you will be used to in soil.

And of course read and read and search and read.

and a fan to gently move air and strengthen the branches.

Thanks all.The reason i was going to start with a seed is because i cant get my hands on a clonI dont even know that that is to be honest..

I was hoping to plant some seeds in a closet painted white.add the florescent light a fan and the correct soil along with water(ph balanced)

But again everyone thanks for the help.As its my 1st grow i wouldn't be to worried about maximizing the amounts yielded.

I want to grow 2 white widow plants,Inside a cupboard.

I am not to sure of what i need but i have an idea.I will add what i will be getting and more experienced users can advise me.

6ftCupboard which is 2ft by 2ft.

I will then paint the inside of this white to help reflect the light.

For the light source i was thinking of using 250watt HPS bulb.

To water the plants i would use rain water at the correct PH level.

As its a tight space i was thinking of using a bathroom fan to suck in clean air(Does this air have to be from outside the house)

For the soil and plant food i would buy from my local gardening center.

Should this be enough i understand white widow is not to difficult to grow

I want to grow 2 white widow plants,Inside a cupboard. White widow is excellent smoke, good choice

I am not to sure of what i need but i have an idea.I will add what i will be getting and more experienced users can advise me.

6ftCupboard which is 2ft by 2ft. About the right size for 2 plants.

I will then paint the inside of this white to help reflect the light. Good. Flat white paint or mylar.

For the light source i was thinking of using 250watt HPS bulb. Everythig was going fine until here. Of course you can use HPS, and it is the prefered light source, but it complicates matters quite a bit. You mentioned fluorescents before, and perhaps you should stick with it, unless you are prepared to spend some serious money on ventilation, and some time installing it. With HID you will need to suck cool air into the cabinet, blow it directly over your light, and have a big fan to suck all that heat to the outdoors. Better yet (and you may have no choice in the matter) is to have a cool tube, where an enclosed light has a dedicated ventilation source, in addition to the cabinet ventilation. In the small space you mention, it will quickly heat up to unacceptable levels. If you use fluorescent you can get by with one oscilating fan and that's it. A whole different (and smaller) can of worms.

To water the plants i would use rain water at the correct PH level. Fine, good. Don't forget to feed your plants, preferably with each watering, and adjust the mixture to 6.8 PH. PH meters are about $25 on the low end.

As its a tight space i was thinking of using a bathroom fan to suck in clean air(Does this air have to be from outside the house) You would only have to do this if you use HID lighting, and it would not have to be from outdoors, just someplace cool, probably close to the floor (since heat rises). With fluoros, you could put a small fan in the back, and crack the cabinet door a little. I am using fluors for some mothers in a closet and have NO fans. I just leave the door open about 3 inches, and they are doing great.

For the soil and plant food i would buy from my local gardening center. Doesn't matter where you get it, just don't get the kind that have fertilizer added. You can't control feeding with that kind. Don't forget: no ferts the first 2 weeks after sprouting, and then only 1/4 strength to start.

Should this be enough i understand white widow is not to difficult to grow It's enough for a starting point. We've scratched the surface. We have not considered lots of stuff, such as odor control, if that's important. This changes ventilation plans considerably. The best thing you can do at the beginning is read the FAQs and any other grow guides you can get your hands on. Especially do this if have a question on basic stuff. The forum search engine is real handy too. Just type the subject of your question, and you often have a bunch of answers. Overall we're glad to help, but people are not going to want to answer the same beginner questions that have been asked hundreds of times, when the answer can very easily be found by 5 minutes of searching.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by privatepile

Thanks all.The reason i was going to start with a seed is because i cant get my hands on a clonI dont even know that that is to be honest..

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Honesty, how refreshing. A clone is a branch or top that has been cut off a plant that is known to be female. The clones are then rooted via various techniques, and planted or put in hydro. With seeds, you don't know if you have males or not, and you don't want any males unless you are planning on wanting seeds in the future. Females make the smoking bud, not males. Not only is cloning faster, but it eliminates the need to cull out the males. Plus if you have one plant that seems to be better than the rest for one or more reasons, you can clone from that plant only, increasing the quality of your garden.

there are 400 watt hps systems on ebay for 150. I thought it was pretty good. anyone else think its good, bad?

Thanks for the help.For the last 2 days i have researched as much as i could.I have changed my light source and i am going to stick with this.

Trade Hydro - Envirolite Two Lamp 200W Reflector Kit

I will use 2x200watt veg bulbs for veg and 2x200watt flower bulbs for flower.I will also add CFLs or Flouro for the sides of the plant.

The main reason is because off all the ventilation and cooling that is associated with HPS.

I am also interested in getting feminised white widow seeds.There seems to be 2 schools of taught on this.

(1) Its great because you dont have to weed out them males and it saves time.Some people swear by it
(2)Using feminised seeds causes Hermaphrodite plants and people should not use them.

Agagin thanks for all the help

I think it depends on how much of a hurry your in. Personally, I think they're way overpriced. I'd never forgive myself, if one hermie went unnoticed and pollinated my garden. I'm usually VERY attentive, so this prolly wouldn't happen, then again--once its full, my garden will have 40 plants in it. It's just a chance I'm not gonna take.

I'll take my regular "cheap" seeds any day. You only have wait once....then you can clone from there.

Be careful of the dimensions of lights you buy. Your area is 2ft and the reflector you linked is 1m. You may be better with 2 single ones beside each other.
My thoughts on the feminized seeds. Only use them if you are sure you will not stress them as they can turn hermie on you. Provided you have a good enviroment and good skills the feminized seeds can be useful in small spaces. {i use them}
I wish you the best of luck with whatever seeds/lights/method you choose. :)

Ya i have decided to change my grow space to accommodate these lights.

i have good lighting and i have read a lot about watering feeding and light cycles.I will be using a fan and i will not interrupt the plant while it is sleeping.

i hope that this will be enough to keep the seeds female and not hermies.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by johngrander123

there are 400 watt hps systems on ebay for 150. I thought it was pretty good. anyone else think its good, bad?

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Sounds about right for the good deals available, but 400 is too much for his space. I would stick with 200.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by privatepile

Thanks for the help.For the last 2 days i have researched as much as i could.I have changed my light source and i am going to stick with this.

Trade Hydro - Envirolite Two Lamp 200W Reflector Kit

I will use 2x200watt veg bulbs for veg and 2x200watt flower bulbs for flower.I will also add CFLs or Flouro for the sides of the plant.

The main reason is because off all the ventilation and cooling that is associated with HPS.

I am also interested in getting feminised white widow seeds.There seems to be 2 schools of taught on this.

(1) Its great because you dont have to weed out them males and it saves time.Some people swear by it
(2)Using feminised seeds causes Hermaphrodite plants and people should not use them.

Agagin thanks for all the help

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Good choice on the light, I think. I couldn't really tell if you get 2 each 200 watt blue and 2 each red, or 150 watters, or 1 each, but then I'm a little tipsy. I normally don't advocate fluoros, but just starting out, or for low budgets, or tight spaces, I tend to lean that way.

Don't get too hyped up about feminized seeds. It just means they are more likely to be female, and many people don't believe in such things. Also they cost 2 or 3 times as much. Anyway when you buy the non-feminized seeds, seems like 3/4 or more are usually female. I'ld just start a few extra, then reveg the best female for cloning.

a 400 hps would be a nice place to start. 150 has done well ,though....

I was going to use a hps but a lot of waork for a 1st grow.

Maybe 2nd 3rd grown

Fluoros are a great light for begginers. However, depending on how confident you are with your planning and building skills, you may want to do it right the first time. You will need to totally redesign you grow room when you switch to HID lighting. Just don't forget to completely read up on the ventilation required, then plan on fixing things several times before you get it dialed in.

400 watts with a good size fan blowing in between the bulb and the plants usually doesnt produce much heat. as long as there is a air cooled hood. but for the space probably not economical. no small closet to cut a hole in the top of by an chance?

I have decided on this light,any views on it.

Not to sure if i can use it to veg?

400w Complete CoolTube Grow Light Fan Kit : Hydroponics - eBay Plants Seeds Bulbs, Garden Plants, Home Garden (end time 08-Oct-07 18:57:00 BST)

That should work nice, troop....veg and flower.

yes you can use hps to veg and flower, it works. if you only have one space and one light its ok, but if you have another little space to veg even with flourescents, it helps.

Yeah, you can pretty much use anything to veg. You'll get varying results from varying lights, but most anything will make the plant grow. You really want to concentrate on flowering lighting.

Here are some pics.I apologize for the picture quality my digital camera seems to be having problems taking pics close up.I will fix this problem for the next pics.

The main plant is 8 days old.Its 5 days since it broke through the soil.

I would like to hear what you guys think and any suggestions you may have.

I have ordered 2x125 watt envirolite (Flowering spectrum)At the moment there is 3x20watt cfls(100 watt equiv)i think its time to add another cfl.
I hope 4 cfls is enough???

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...02_1139_00.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...02_1137_00.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...02_1136_00.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...02_1133_00.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...02_1130_00.jpg

The more light you can use the better. More light = more weed, especially during flowering. However, I would not add more light until they are 4 or 5 inches tall. The babies don't like it.

Lookin good so far.

NOOoooooo

Just took a close look at my plants and i have a problem.The stem on 1 plant is think and sturdy.But the other stem is thin and weak.It has tipped over and doesnt seem to be able to support itself

Anyone know a remedy?

2 things put a toothpick next to it or give it 3 more days and it will more then likly pick its self up
and listen to opie he knows whats up he will save u alot of reading lol
good luck on ur grow dude i have one i just put into flowering and another one i ma going to put in flowering in a couple of days
oh and get something that will tell u the temp inside

I added more soil and that seems to be helping.The pots were only half full.

I also added a fan this should strengthen the stem.

As you can see its a very basis grow but a grow none the less.I taught it would be better to start small as opposed to shooting straight in with a 600HPS system.

I will use this method 3/4/ times and then change lighting and set up/

Thanks for all you help./

On the toppled over one, is the stem smaller and squishy-looking right where it touches the dirt? If so this is probably over watering, and the stem is rotting where it meets the soil. I soak the soil once at the beggining, then don't water for a week or two. You want the soil to almost dry out between waterings, but at your stage you need to try to keep the soil and plants warm and moist. I said moist not wet.

Wow bang on.

I placed some dirt around it and it can support itself now.Is the plant doomed.Should i chuck it out?

Ok More pics.The plants are 10 days old now.I think they are a bit small maybe 4 inches.Here is a few pics.

I have started to water less and they are on a 18/6 light cycle.I will buy a proper fan on Wed the fans i have now have to have there batteries change 2 a day.

There name are weedy and dubey

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1146.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1145.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1144.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1143.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1142.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1141.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/102_1140.jpg

Thanks for the photos, looks like there doing fine for 10 days. Just be patient, keep up on the basics, and they will one day take off and you'll be suprised. Be careful though, it looks like the light is almost touching one of the plants. At this point you should not have the light real close to the babies. The lights should be about 1 foot back until they start to show some real signs of growth. Then move the lights as close as possible without causing heat stress. Touching the plants is too close.

I just found out the bulbs are the wrong spectrum.They are 2700K.

I will order some daylight bulbs tomorrow.Im a bit annoyed really.Because i researched until my eyes were sore from reading and i over looked the bulbs.

When i saw CFL i presumed they were all the same.

i HAVE NOW SWITCHED TO A 20/4 LIGHT CYCLE UNTIL THE NEW BULBS ARRIVE.

What effect do you think this will have on the plants?

Would you consider them ruined.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Opie Yutts

. Be careful though, it looks like the light is almost touching one of the plants. At this point you should not have the light real close to the babies. The lights should be about 1 foot back until they start to show some real signs of growth. Then move the lights as close as possible without causing heat stress. Touching the plants is too close.

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I was thinking of doing this but i am worried that it will stretch the plant looking considering i have the wrong bulbs at the moment.2700K

try this game called O-GROW its pretty good growing guide... see if you can keep a fake plant alive then you shouldn't been so scared of the real thing

Why the sarcasm?

You need to smoke a dubey and chill.

How far awayshould the fan be.I bought a desktop oscillating fan today and have it on a low setting a few inches from the plants.

They are still young and the stems seem to movewith the air.