Not my first grow but first grow log!

[Pedro de Pacas]

Foil is junk, flat white paint, you can do the whole cab for under $10. You need to exhaust that heat out of the cabinet, blowing it to the top won't cut it, get exhaust and passive intake, or leave the door open a little at least. You will need to change that when you go to flower though.

I might have found another alternative. Working on the temps too, this is a good starting point:

http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...g-hot-air.html

[Puffzter]

Its easy to think foil is a good thing but it eats light to a degree that even your unpainted wall will probably be as good if it is not dark.

Love to read about your op m8. A work in constant progress.

[Pedro de Pacas]

Pedro's back folks! Wanting the grow wardrobe to pass off as a regular storage space when I'm not growing presents a few challenges...but I think I found the appropriate solutions.

Frirst, the reflective surfaces: I did a bit more digging, and came across the "Ask Ed" column in the Cannabis Culture site. Turns out some Hydroponics farms use flat white cardboard for reflectors, which has the drawback of getting dirty quickly and needing frequent replacements due to moisture damage.

I don't use sprinklers and I grow from potting soil, and I found flat white cardboard at the nearest discount store. VoilÃ*: removable reflectors.

Second, the heat and air circulation or lack thereof: I drilled a hole at the bottom to let the power cord out (rather than through an un-nailed flap of the rear veneer panel), a second hole (3" in diameter) as a passive air intake and another 3" hole in the top, dead center to allow exhaust.

Using a bathroom fan (a simple 50 CFM) and a 5' long 3" diameter flexible exhaust hose the air is sucked out of the wardrobe through the top hole. When not growing, the bottom holes will be covered with boxes and the top hole with one of those push on/off cabinet lights.

Major improvement with the cabinet temps! :thumbsup:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Ugh...my DIY fixture fell apart, so I had to do some quick thinking...not the best solution but here goes:

-I've reworked the 125 watter in its old cone (Ikea) reflector, it's my main "central" fixture.

-for when the babies start taking some height, I've improvised a "Gradual fixture" for the supplemtal light (still need to figure our a reflector for that) using a 4 bulb vanity fixture.

-the cheap MIC LED panel came in a couple of days ago, I figured might as well put it to use while it lasts. Oh yeah, the seller shipped the wrong panel too, I was bidding (and won) on a mixed red & blue panel, when I got was an all blue panel...

So be it, I'm adding it to my vegging cycle. Extra blue spectrum for under $25.00, and for a cheap made in China panel it's still pretty freaking bright!

Here are a few pics of the setup as it currently is, right now I'm testing for temperatures; I have a grand total of 204 watts of mixed CFL and LED going on, if the temps stay in the 25 - 26 degrees Celsius, I'm laughing!

:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

With all of the on the spot modifications I've made to my cab it'll be no small miracle if my plants don't all turn out hermies from the stress! Anyway, after the temperature test I returned the plants to the cab, readjusted the lights to one 125 watter + one 45 watter and the blue LED panel.

I also decided to switch back to a 24/0 light schedule: with all of the moving the plants around to modify the wardrobe I wanted them to 'bathe in light' as it were.

Just came back from shopping and the cabinet temps are stable at 80 F...the air intake and exhaust fan are doing their job! :thumbsup:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Repotted the plants today ... told ya you'd get a good laugh out of the new pots! they're 8" X 8" and I kept the soil about 6" deep in them. At $1 a container it was hard to go wrong.

I doubled them: the bottom container is the drip tray and I poked holes at the bottom of the top container to allow drainage. This is what the inside of the cab looks like now, still on 24/0 lighting and trying to get the most out of the space available!

I debating whether to try a scrog or not...I mean I grow from seed, what if one of the babies turns out male?

:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

Oh, and here's a pic of the exhaust fan:

[Dyranty]

pedro i love your grow log. I've been following it and the new popcorn containers rock!

Dollar Tree? At least that's where I saw them.
Keep updating, I've been lurking around checking it out.

[Pedro de Pacas]

With all of the stress the babies had to put up with I figured it was time for a feeding...and this time I made sure I used the proper proportions to avoid a repeat of the nute burns I got 2 years ago...

My watering can holds 4 litres, the plant food needs to be diluted 4ml/litre = 16 ml of plant food for the full watering can. On a 24/0 lighting schedule and a re-pot, nutrients won't go amiss. I use a 20-20-20 plant food for vegging & diluted molasses for blooming.

:hippy:

[Pedro de Pacas]

pedro i love your grow log. I've been following it and the new popcorn containers rock!

Dollar Tree? At least that's where I saw them.
Keep updating, I've been lurking around checking it out.

Definitely a Dollar Store find! The cool thing is that once the 150 watt HPS system I got is delivered, I can pretty much use it for both vegging & blooming!

The CFL's and current fixtures aren't lost, y'see, in the event that one of the babies turns male, it allows me to seclude it, collect its pollen and selectively fertilize one bud so I can collect my own seeds for the next grow! Agreed I'll have to figure something out for the "seclusion chamber" ...