Growing in the Aerogarden

I got an aerogarden for christmas. I want to use it to grow pot. I don't have the card to make it legal yet, I'm just in the planning stages. Being diagnosed with anxiety, ptsd, and agoraphobia, I want to grow just enough for myself. I've grown herbs in the aerogarden and they did great. It was truely dummy proof. I have killed every other plant I've tried to grow or keep alive. :)

As you can tell, I'm a complete novice. I don't know where to get seeds, anything about nutrients, anything about lights, and honestly most of the posts I've read have been too technical for me. So far, the only thing I've really been able to understand is that tomatoes grow similar to pot. I need someone to really dumb this down for me so that I can understand. I know enough to know that I want an indica strain. I got a list from some of the other posts that list the strains that might be best for my specific conditions. That faq was great.

I know I'm way behind on the learning curve. I read excerpts from Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible and that was too technical too.

Can someone help me through the whole process? I plan on putting the aerogarden in a closet and it is painted white for reflectivity. I've been running it with the herbs for a couple of months so I know the level of electricity it uses doesn't alert anyone. I'm trying to be cautious, plan well, and do well my first time around.

I know this is a slow down for most of you because you obviously know so much more than me, but please?

If for some reason I can't get a card, I think I intend to grow anyways. No medicines work for me so I'm at a do whatever I can point.

BTW, as far as my situation my husband supports me and has no problem with a few plants growing. There is no one else in our home and with my "issues" we don't have visitors so it's not an issue of being stealthy in our home. Just the rule of don't tell anybody.

Any help or advice or anything would be appreciated. I'm especially interested in ways to grow in the aerogarden instead of ways to set up another system. However if another system is required then a very simple outline and list of resources would be very welcome.

I want to be able to supply myself with enough for myself 12 months out of the year.

Once again, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Not unless youre eventually(real soon) going to buy hps lights, you shouldnt even bother with your aerogarden.

What are hps lights and where can I find them? Is there another setup (preferably low cost) that you would recommend and that you can explain to me? I'm open to options.

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Originally Posted by meandmine

What are hps lights and where can I find them? Is there another setup (preferably low cost) that you would recommend and that you can explain to me? I'm open to options.

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you can find all the info you desire, including ordering info here.

hope this helps!


-shake

I was hoping to get a recomendation of a supplier someone has used successfully, not a link to google. I know I'm new to this but would someone mind helping me out?

reasearch digital ballasts and just google around or ebay search for a good prices. dont shop high tech garden supply, well you can but dont buy there brand ballasts or hoods. some people will toss that link here but they offer cheaply made products and for 50-80 bucks you can get the quality stuff.

You might want to try to follow some of the grow logs.
Your not going to get anything from the areo , it's about like a phototron.

First is how big of a space can you use that can be light proof and still be vented for fresh air and A/C for heat. You can get fem beans if you want the short route. Decide how big a light you can handle. Decide on a system.

Do you have a hydro shop near or are you going to buy off the net ?

We could right a book but we need basics. How much can you spend ?

I will have to buy everything from the internet. From seeds to equipment... Price is important. I'd like to spend no more than 200 on a setup. Stealth is important to me because although I intend to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, we will be growing in our home and I don't want to risk anything with my husbands work.

I'm sorry I'm so green (pun intended) to this whole process. I'm sure you get these questions every day and I just can't seem to understand previous examples I've been given.

As far as space, I would prefer to use a closet. I have one that is next to our window and I was considering going from there, but I believe that a different closet in the middle of the house with more stable temperature is better. so figure 4 feet deep by 8 feet wide by 9 feet high.

The closet's contents can be moved to another closet in the guest bedroom. It is painted white. It has louvered doors.

Can we go from there? Is there any other information you require?

We do have garden stores here but they seem to have no hydro equipment or nutrients. They are more focused on selling their own plants.

What is a digital ballast? I found them but I don't know what they actually are.

Hi, I have grown in an aerogarden and love them. I also have mine set up in a closet in our guest room. Which model do you have? As far as which strain I'd sugest you stick with out flowering strains these are smaller plants that go from seed to harvest in 8-10 weeks you won't get a huge harvest about an ounce per plant. You can grow just using the aero's nutes. I also take it for anxiety.

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Originally Posted by lunarose

Which model do you have? As far as which strain I'd sugest you stick with out flowering strains these are smaller plants that go from seed to harvest in 8-10 weeks you won't get a huge harvest about an ounce per plant. You can grow just using the aero's nutes. I also take it for anxiety.

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I have the six pod classic model. Which strain do you use exactly? If you also use yours for anxiety I may be able to use the same. Where do you get your seeds? Which light setting do you use? How many pods do you fill? How long does an ounce last you? And how much is an ounce? Sorry, I know I'm exceptionally new. Thank you for your help.:)

What are out flowering strains?

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Originally Posted by jboogie

Not unless youre eventually(real soon) going to buy hps lights, you shouldnt even bother with your aerogarden.

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There are so many different kinds of HPS lights. Can you explain more about them? How many do I need? Where do you recommend getting them?

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Originally Posted by meandmine

What are out flowering strains?

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I think they ment autoflowering strains like lowryder. They start flowering rightfrom seedlimg no veg time.

4 x 8 x 9 that could be a good size grow. 200 is not much to spend but I know how that goes. I don't know how to put a link up but have found a 250 watt switchable mini high pressure sodium for flower and you could put a metal halide in it for veg if needed. hxxp://xxx.discount-hydro.com/productdisp.php?pid=336&navid=41

Put the t's and w's where they should go. One of my bro's has a 250 and does very well for himself. You will not get an once a plant on the light from an areogarden, if so I would like to see proof. Most of us have a hard time getting that from Hps. general rules are 0.5 grams per watt of light.

Meatl halide or compact clf's or flouresence are good for veggation. They put out the blue spectrum.
High pressure sodium are for flower. they put out more red spactrum.

Small hydroponics can be setup cheap but it's the things you need to go with it. Like PH pen and TDS pen and nutrients and PH up and down that cost.

If the light comes off the top of the areo I would flower that first under a 250 HPS and see how it goes. Ventilation is a must to keep the temps down. Cool air in hot air out. a small fan blowing across the tops of the plants.

In that room I would have a 1000 watt light and about 18 plants hydro system of your choice. end results would be about 3 foot plants, start flowering about 18 inches and they double size in flower. A good harvest of well over a pound maybe 2. enough for a year in one grow.

An once of chronic buds last me about a month as meds, depends on the strain.

Hi, Here is a link to an aerogarden grow which should help Growing in an Aerogarden - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums
Yes I meant auto flowering ;) I get my seeds from Seedboutique, and Dopeseeds and have grown Diesel ryder, auto ak-47, white dwarf, snowryder(in progress) and a strain that will soon be available (I got it as a test strain) sour bubbleryder. I won't grow more then 4 plants and suggest the dieselryder since it is a very small plant and easy to grow. I need an ounce a month for my anxiety I make them into cannacaps because I am not much of a smoker. For your first attempt I won't go out an buy supplemental lighting or nutes you can grow just fine with the aero and its nutes. I set mine at the salad setting the lights are on 17 hours as you can see I did put some supplemental CFL's lights with mine but you can wait on that.

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Originally Posted by lunarose

dieselryder since it is a very small plant and easy to grow.

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Do you know anywhere that sells dieselryder and ships to the us? I've been searching for a couple hours with no luck.

plantlightinghydroponics.com

htgsupply.com

hidhut.com

http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...-dankness.html

Basic Growing - Cannabis Forums Message Boards - Medical Marijuana, Cannabis Club, Dispensary, News

the basic growing section has a bunch of threads on setups and seed banks.

read, read, read some more, and then re-read. We can't exactly hold your hand. For a hobby to be able to last, you need to first be interested in growing your own Meds. Then be interested in how the cannabis plant works, what conditions are suitable and so on.

beSafe

beSafe

has them so does dope-seeds Loowryder is out right now but they usually have them in stock too. Actually any of the lowryders would work for you.

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Originally Posted by BeFree

We can't exactly hold your hand. For a hobby to be able to last, you need to first be interested in growing your own Meds. Then be interested in how the cannabis plant works, what conditions are suitable and so on.

beSafe

beSafe

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I wasn't asking for anyone to hold my hand. I thought since rose is familiar both with my condition and the strain she recommends she might know a good source that ships to the usa. I guess it was more a direct question for her than for the list but I don't know how to send a private message.

You're fine don't worry about it. They don't allow PMs here they don't want anyone selling and buying off this site.

This is probably a stupid question and I'm almost positive someone will tell me so... but I've read a lot about feminized v/s non feminized plants. I was wondering what the downside is to letting plants get pollinated? Are polinated plants not good for smoking or is it just the pain of taking the seeds out of the final product? Are male plants not good for smoking? Why kill them? I don't understand the posts I've read so if someone could dumb it down for me :)

males don't live long enough to produce trichomes. The crystals on buds, so not much good for smoking. Polinating a plant tells it to stop growing buds it's mabe babies, that's seeds. so you get way less bud. It can be very good bud just full of seeds. If you grow inside and you don't kill the males soon enough pollen can hang aroud for many grows. A very good cleaning is in order.

What I do if I want seeds to keep for a long time is wait for the male to just barely start to open the nuts or pods. I usually have them separated at this point. Find a few busted nuts and cut them off and use tweezers to carefully polinate the lower branch buds so they are the only ones that have seeds to save the strain. The big cola and top buds are seed free.

Be careful a fan blowing can polinate the whole room.

So my choice is to either get a lot of seeds and not a lot of pot or get a lot of pot and have to continue buying seeds? Did I get it? Plus I guess you can't know how many female plants you'll get out of a batch of ten seeds unless you get feminized ones. I think I'm starting to catch on. Maybe I should get another aerogarden and keep the ones I want to seed in there and put it in a different space? Or maybe look at another setup. It would be nice to only have to buy seeds one time. I'm uncomfortable with ordering online. Just in case. Things going through customs seems like it could be possibly risky.

There are no dumb questions so ask away. You only need to pollinate a single plant to get enough seeds for several grows. I don't like ordering seeds either so I like to pollinate one female per grow per strain. They usually average a 50/50 ratio of male/female. Depending on your situation you can take a couple of the males (You only need one but a back up just in case won't hurt) transplant them in a small 1 g pot and either put it outside or set something up inside and collect the pollen and pollinate manually. It takes about 4 weeks for the seeds to develop and mature. Have you ever grown anything? A house plant? veggies?

I grew the herbs that came with my aerogarden. Other than that I've killed every plant I've tried to grow, cared for or tried to keep alive. :) Maybe that's why everything seems so complicated on the other posts. I really am a complete newbie except for one aerogarden grow.

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Originally Posted by LOC NAR on probation

If the light comes off the top of the areo I would flower that first under a 250 HPS and see how it goes. Ventilation is a must to keep the temps down. Cool air in hot air out. a small fan blowing across the tops of the plants.

In that room I would have a 1000 watt light and about 18 plants hydro system of your choice. end results would be about 3 foot plants, start flowering about 18 inches and they double size in flower. A good harvest of well over a pound maybe 2. enough for a year in one grow.

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How would I set up an 18 plant hydro system? Is it something I would have to buy or make? What do you think the approximate cost of the setup would be?

Hi, You can get a rubbermaid hydro set up around $50 on ebay or if you and your DH are handy then you can make your own for next to nothing (check the cannabis FAQs I believe there are instructions on how to build one). Personally I don't think anyone just starting out with growing should go out and spend a lot of money its kind of like buying high end exercise equipment and nothing is more discouraging then spending a lot and have one mistake ruin a whole grow.

Has anyone ever bought anything from sensible seeds? They have the strain I want and I was wondering about quality, shipping, problems, all that stuff. Anyone with experience?

Hi, I have never ordered from them personally so I can't say. You might try doing a search for "sensible seeds" and see if they are mentioned on any of the forums.

I ordered autoflowering seeds, an indica mix from dr. chronic. I can't wait to get them. I can't wait to start growing my own medicine. While I'm waiting to get them i'M going to work on getting my medical card. Then I'll be totally legal when they come in. My doctor is willing to try it and I just have to fill out the small mountain of paperwork and cross my fingers.

Great! Indicas work best for me and my anxiety. I have ordered from Dr Chronic and got both orders with no problems. I hope getting your rec goes smoothly.

Do I use the papertowel method to start the seeds or do I just pop them in the aerogarden like the seeds they come with? Do you have any other tips to get me started? I am so excited to get my order.

Hi, Germinating is where I tend to run into trouble. I switch back and forth between using the paper towel method and using the aero both work equally well so whatever you feel comfortable with. I like to add a drop of Green Light liquid root stimulator/starter to the water I put in the aero or in 2 cups of water that I use to wet the paper towel. You'll want to use water that is slightly lukewarm. Do you have softened water? If you do then you will need to use an alternate water source because softened water will kill your plants. Also I like to use an aquarium air pump with a bubble stone in the aero I just put it in through the opening where you add water that way if your roots gets into the aero's pump and clog it your plants will be just fine I lost several plants on my first aero grow because of it. And once you seedlings get big enough that their roots reach the water in the bowl you'll want to check your water daily you do not want to wait until the water level light triggers there will be a point where you will need to add water daily. As far as nutes I'd stick with the ones that came with your aero and follow their guideline. Set it on salad setting. Also you will want to cover the pods you aren't going to use I use the caps that come with gallon milk jugs but you can use just about anything you just don't want the light in there because it will promote algae growth.

I just found out that Dr. Chronic doesn't accept credit cards from the US right now. I have to send them a money order or order from somewhere else. Suggestions? I want an autoflowering strain. Primarily indica. Ships stealty to the US. Or should I just send the money order? Oh and rose I finally figured out how to give you rep :) Apparently my opinion isn't worth much yet but every little bit helps :).

Where do you get your root starter?

Hi, That must be new with Dr Chronic. Using a money order is safer I rarely use a cc with my orders. You can get one for 46 cents at Walmart. dope-seeds dot com does take cc and has a large selection of AF's The majority of the auto flowering strains are indica so you are pretty safe there no matter which you order. I think I got the root starter at lowes but it could have been Walmart.

The DR. has had problems with charge backs from credit cards. But I think they will fix it. I have never ordered from anyone else.

For most of us we buy a unit and then see how cheap we can make it. It depends and what type of unit you want but they can be made cheap.

I'm going to go ahead and send in my mail order instead of going with someone else.

Good you'll get them in no time I think I got mine from them to cali within 2 weeks from when I mailed the MO so it isn't too bad. I'm real bad about ordering them because every time I think to myself I have more then enough I find a strain I want to try ;)