Idea for a 2-Computer case system. Comments please!

[mspofford032579]

I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately about so called 'PC case growing.'

Most of what I can find are hyrdoponics systems available online for an arm and a leg. My reading suggests that because hydro plants mature faster that they can be started on a 12/12 light cycle within a week and a half, and finish an entire micro grow in a month. Since Hydro is definitely not for a beginner, most of what I am seeing others doing is making small, inefficient soil based systems which run into space constraints and thermal issues.

Many people have described better success using a SCROG system with LST and/or clones, but this requires having a mother plant somewhere to take clones from. If someone had the kind of space to grow a full sized mother plant, they wouldn't need a micro grow case in the first place...

So I thought- why not find a way to 'micro grow' the mother plant too? According to Greg Green's grow bible, plants grown in soil aren't ready to be put on a 12/12 light cycle for flowering until they are about 6-8 weeks old (unlike the hydro systems described above).

So here's my idea (finally I get to the POINT... I realize I'm rambling a little here)- Keep one pc case set up to flower a patch of clones (once the clones are old enough to go in there that is) and use the other case to propoagte the clones. I was thinking you could set up the flowering case with 2700K CFL bulbs and a12/12 light timer, then set it aside until it is needed. With the other case you could set up 6500K CFL bulbs with no timer for vegging. Then I figure you could start seedlings in the 6500K vegging case, but as soon as they are large enough to take cuttings from, take cuttings as clones, and THROW THE ORIGINAL PLANT MATERIAL AWAY. Then, keep growing those clones until they can be cloned and do the same thing, throwing away the original material. The result would be tiny clones which have the same age as the original plant right? If you repeated this process wouldn't you, in theory, eventually end up with clones that were the same size as a fresh cutting, but technically still be "old enough" to flower? Then couldn't you just lay a bunch of these in a pan of soil in the 2700K 12/12 case and grow it together into a thick bed of top colas?

mspofford032579 Reviewed by mspofford032579 on 04-06-2008. Idea for a 2-Computer case system. Comments please! I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately about so called 'PC case growing.' Most of what I can find are hyrdoponics systems available online for an arm and a leg. My reading suggests that because hydro plants mature faster that they can be started on a 12/12 light cycle within a week and a half, and finish an entire micro grow in a month. Since Hydro is definitely not for a beginner, most of what I am seeing others doing is making small, inefficient soil based systems which run into Rating: 5

[daihashi]

If you're going through all that trouble why don't you do a larger setup. I'm assuming stealth is important hence your reason behind a computer case, but at the same time you're trying to keep a constant production of bud; which I don't mean to be rude but you'd be producing next to no bud for your troubles.

I've never understood PC case grow setups. For all your effort you get about 1 oz of bud 3-4 months later from starting.

Also I don't see the point in taking multiple clones when you can really only grow 1 plant per case all the way through flowering.

With all that said, yes what you described would work. Though honestly I don't know how you would fit a hydro setup inside a PC case. They tend to take up at least a little room which would already be a very costly/valuable commodity for you to lose.

[mspofford032579]

I don't know how you would fit a hydro setup inside a PC case.

I'm not. The idea is to do this using soil. As I was saying, many people who try to build these seem to be using soil instead of hydro for simplicity and economy.

What I'm trying to say is I think the best way to maximize yield from such a small enclosure would be a SCROG configuration. I've seen a few pics online of other people successfully doing this, but they all start from seed in the same box, and run into space problems as the plants try to reach up to the lights before they are ready to flower. They LST the hell out of them and hope for the best, but in the end their yield suffers because there's just NO friggin' room left. So why not start the PC case full of clones that are old enough to start flowering so that every last square inch of that case could be occupied by a delicious canopy of flowers. I figured the answer to this would be to start with a case full of clones ready to go, hence the second case with cuttings that keep getting cut.

In a way I suppose you have answered my question though, because from what you're telling me; the concept of cloning clones over and over again (Starting new clones from old clones and throwing the old clones away every time) to keep them aging without getting any bigger will work. You can see my point though- it sounds like a great way to have a bunch of clones on-hand and ready, without actually having a full grown mother plant... Has anyone here done what I'm describing before?

My biggest concern would be that so much cutting and cloning on a younger plant would stress it to develop as a male. In that instance I suppose you wouldn't know because the cuttings (which would technically be 8 weeks old or so) would be too small to show sex parts...

[anbesol]

yo bro. seriously buy like a home box XS or something for a grow. computer boxes are cheap ways to go and your plants need to grow at least 2-3 feet to get to minimum yield. i was going to go that way along time ago and relised it was a bad idea. what one person's signature on this forum is and its true " you go cheap, your grow cheap"

[daihashi]

I'm not. The idea is to do this using soil. As I was saying, many people who try to build these seem to be using soil instead of hydro for simplicity and economy.

What I'm trying to say is I think the best way to maximize yield from such a small enclosure would be a SCROG configuration. I've seen a few pics online of other people successfully doing this, but they all start from seed in the same box, and run into space problems as the plants try to reach up to the lights before they are ready to flower. They LST the hell out of them and hope for the best, but in the end their yield suffers because there's just NO friggin' room left. So why not start the PC case full of clones that are old enough to start flowering so that every last square inch of that case could be occupied by a delicious canopy of flowers. I figured the answer to this would be to start with a case full of clones ready to go, hence the second case with cuttings that keep getting cut.

In a way I suppose you have answered my question though, because from what you're telling me; the concept of cloning clones over and over again (Starting new clones from old clones and throwing the old clones away every time) to keep them aging without getting any bigger will work. You can see my point though- it sounds like a great way to have a bunch of clones on-hand and ready, without actually having a full grown mother plant... Has anyone here done what I'm describing before?

My biggest concern would be that so much cutting and cloning on a younger plant would stress it to develop as a male. In that instance I suppose you wouldn't know because the cuttings (which would technically be 8 weeks old or so) would be too small to show sex parts...

Is 4 months of your time really worth yielding 1 oz of bud. It won't be near the same quality since you'll be growing under minimum lighting, cooling, ventilation etc etc.

Yes a scrog would be the best way to maximize your yields.

Clones have a head start on plants started from seed, so typically, your clones will be bigger than seeded plants.

PC cases only have room for about 1 plant inside of them, how many clones are you planning on trying to do. See the problem here is that plants grow. Eventually you'll have to take out clone after clone until you have no room left and only one plant.

It's totally counter productive in the way you are trying to do this.

IF you want to go for it then go for it. I'm not advocating for you to not do it. Simply trying to show you that results from growing in a PC case would be more than disappointing for all the effort that goes into it.

Why are you so set on a micro grow? If you're set on compact and stealth then why don't you get a couple of rubbermaid tubs and set them up in your closet.

They just look like storage containers, you can fit more lights inside of them, have better ventilation, don't take up much room (you can toss them in a corner), allows you more vertical and horizontal space for growing, and they're still stealthy.

If you decide to go your route I'm sure you'll see what I was talking about when I Said you'd just end up having to remove all the clones anyway until there was only 1 left.

[daihashi]

I first vegged in a 24" x 24" x 32" cardboard box with 200 watts (actual wattage) of cfls inside.

It was stealthy, and an adequate space for my initial setup.

Just to give you other ideas on what you can use for stealthy grows.

[daihashi]

Just to give you other ideas on what you can use for stealthy grows.

Here are some links to other people's threads who have some very nice Stealthy setups that have (somewhat) adequate space for growing, better ventilation and light setup than what you woul dhave in a PC Case.

http://boards.cannabis.com/closet-ca...ce-please.html

VERY nice speaker box setup. I love it.

Another Speaker box setup

Awesome TV Stand grow. VERY nice. Click the links on the post

Awesome Stealth Dresser HYDRO setup

Very clean, although small, Cardboard grow box. Cleaner setup than mine was.

Home Box XS anbesol was talking about. Pretty nice

One of the best rubbermaid setups I've seen.

These are just some of the options available to you if stealth and space are of concern to you.