My First Grow - Seeking criticism/advice!

[ST0N3Rmike]

Hello Everyone, As i had stated in my intro, I plan on sharing my first grow experience with you all. I live in maryland to give you an idea of the climate, however, the plants will be growing Indoors in an attic. All of my questions are in bold.

First a couple questions:

Do attics typically face humidity problems?

Does insulation/insulation dust have any effect on the grow? It is a large attic, essentially its another floor, just not finished off.

The first thing I did on my journey was rewiring a Lightswitch / fixture box into a receptacle so I can plug in some fans/lighting. I must say, with having no electrical experience, accomplishing this without killing myself felt fairly accomplishing.

The floorspace we have allocated to growing will be 10 x 10(plywood - Painted white), however the actual attic floorspace is probably 12x36.

I have one 400W HPS light, and I'm fairly certain I need more lighting to sustain what I am aiming to grow(8-10 plants). Unfortunately I can not afford another HPS atm. Other than HPS and MH lighting, what is the best/least expensive lighting setup I could do? CF?

The attic has one exhaust fan premounted I will have to re-wire in, and will also have two 12" oscillating fans.

Because it is still a little chilly outdoors, I started the germination process indoors, using the paper towel method in a ziploc bag, under my mattress. It has been two days and I already have sprouts. For starter pots, I have 3" diameter plastic pots.


I picked up a PH tester as well as a thermometer with a humidity indicator on it. I also picked up a 8 lb package of 15-30-20 organic nutes. ( I got a higher phosphate % b/c I read it was better for the flowering stage). At what stage should I begin applying nutrients into my watering?(timeframe) And at what frequency?

So far do you see anything wrong? I'm sure a few of my questions have already been answered, but I decided to incorporate them into my grow log.

I kinda summed up my plan for you guys, but again, currently I only have sprouts amongst a few wet paper towels hehe. I am sure this experience will not be easy, but very rewarding!

Ill upload pictures as soon as I return to the location of the grow to snap pics.

Thanks in advance everyone!

ST0N3Rmike Reviewed by ST0N3Rmike on 02-27-2009. My First Grow - Seeking criticism/advice! Hello Everyone, As i had stated in my intro, I plan on sharing my first grow experience with you all. I live in maryland to give you an idea of the climate, however, the plants will be growing Indoors in an attic. All of my questions are in bold. First a couple questions: Do attics typically face humidity problems? Does insulation/insulation dust have any effect on the grow? It is a large attic, essentially its another floor, just not finished off. The first thing I did on my Rating: 5

[ST0N3Rmike]

My portion of the seeds have germinated and I have transplanted them. I used Miracle Grow potting mix for my potting soil, in 3" diameter pots. Placed the root tip up and gave the three pots a good watering.

Note: these three will be moved to the other location along with the rest of the plants.

Heres a pic - No sprouts yet.

[bigtopsfinn]

If that Miracle Grow has ferts in it already, it may be too hot for the young seedlings, and they might die. A more neutral soil would be better to start with.

If they survive, the ferts in the MG will run out in a few weeks. Many soil users prefer a more neutral soil so that they can add the nutrients themselves without having to guess how much nutrients are in the soil. Each time you re-pot with MG, you will have fresh soil with ferts again. Once you are in the final pots, the ferts will run out in maybe 2-3 weeks, at which point you can start giving it other supplements. The amount and frequency depends on the plants, some give is fert, water, water,... and some ferts, ferts, water,...

I don't know about the attic questions...but how about odor control? You say its a 10x10, are you gonna have walls around the space? Maybe just use some pvc and white/black plastic lining and duct tape. That would help with some light reflection issues too. The 400w will cover up to 4x4, maybe 5x5. Thinking for the future, aim for 5000 lumens per square foot. So, one 400w hps puts out about 50K Lumens and could cover 10 square feet nicely.

For cheap additional lighting, get some Y socket splitters and 46w cfls from walmart.

[ST0N3Rmike]

Ya we definitely plan on adding a bit more lighting, from what i've read around so far I don't think you can go wrong with too much(assuming temp is regulated).

Is the odor that strong? It is in an attic with two outdoor air vents and one exhaust fan ( just in the ceiling) and two 12" oscillating fans. As long as the odor's won't seep down we should be fine.

[bigtopsfinn]

Yeah the odor will be quite strong. I live in a one room apartment on the second floor of an apartment building. At the end of my first grow, I could smell my ONE plant from when I walked into my building, not to mention my apartment! Really depends on your exhaust. If that exhaust fan can clear out the whole basement in 5 minutes, it might be ok. I'm just thinking that it is such a big space, and with the fan that smell with blow around all over the attic and COULD leak into the house. If your growing some real dank, you might even be able to smell it venting outside.

You know that you will need to invest in ventilation, so when you do, just get a carbon filter and you can just "plug it in" with the rest of your setup. Better safe than....

[ST0N3Rmike]

Just thought i'd give you guys an update. A recent snowstorm kinda delayed our moving of plants from one location to another. We do have sprout's and they rocketed! It seems like their growing an inch a night! I'll be sure to get some pictures soon to show you all!

[cigarettes42]

you placed the root tip up? looks like they found there way to the surface. next time its root tip down. also your going to want to put your light closer to your seedlings or its going to stretch. you may think its growing fast but infact it maybe stretching searching for more intense light. if its florescent then put it about 2-3 inches from the tops of your sprouts.

[detroitfish]

^^^^agreed^^^^^ :thumbsup:

[trinitybound]

have you checked the temps in the attic day/night? You might have to finish off that room or build a smaller one within, like a flowering room and then later a veg room or vice versa. I'm pretty sure Maryland gets cold this time of year so you'll need a heater if you want to have fast growth. at the least put up that plastic sheeting like finn said.

[ST0N3Rmike]

you placed the root tip up? looks like they found there way to the surface. next time its root tip down. also your going to want to put your light closer to your seedlings or its going to stretch. you may think its growing fast but infact it maybe stretching searching for more intense light. if its florescent then put it about 2-3 inches from the tops of your sprouts.

Ya I soon realized I placed them in wrong and I did very much luck out on my first few pots that they straightened up. Also noted and adjusted my lighting based on your comment and it's greatly appreciated.

have you checked the temps in the attic day/night? You might have to finish off that room or build a smaller one within, like a flowering room and then later a veg room or vice versa. I'm pretty sure Maryland gets cold this time of year so you'll need a heater if you want to have fast growth. at the least put up that plastic sheeting like finn said.

The temperatures do still drop down pretty low right now. The attic is fully insulated and we plan on enclosing a portion of the attic by hanging quilts from the rafters. It will kind of make a make shift room of which we can regulate the temperature a little easier. With a 400 watt HPS and quite a few CFLS we should be good. We have a thermometer and will be monitoring the temperatures, and if needed well get a space heater.


FYI: I say we because this is a team grow of a friend and mines.


Thanks for all yalls inputs!