Quote Originally Posted by drudown11
"I am aware that many growers shy away from MG - However in my experience, MG is a wonderful product as long as you use it correctly for your precious ladies. Never use it as directed, always water it down by at least 40%, and if your paying special attention to your girls, you should be able to make any corrections you need to.

I realize this is my first grow, but I also realize first and foremost that this is a weed. Too much attention, and you'll kill it, honestly, its best to sit back and do nothing than to over do it."

If this is your first grow, how do you any experience using Miracle grow on marijuana? I think its cheap and lacks the proper nutrition for a cannabis plant. Over time the plants becomes deficient in micro nutrients that Miracle grow does not provide. It also contains too much Urea Nitrogen and makes plants foxtail during flowering, decreasing yield and quality. There are many products out there that will give you better results and will only cost about 30-40 bucks if you stay cheap.Botanicare, House and Garden, Advanced, Fox farms, the list goes on and on.

As for lighting schedules, I use 18-6 because i get better growth that way. Ive also used 24/0 and 18/6 for rooting cuttings with different results. Cuttings under the 24/0 lighting don't root as fast, and don't root as vigorously. 24 hours of sunlight is not natural for marijuana, under ANY circumstances. A good motto to follow for cannabis cultivation is this.................When in doubt, Imitate nature. Your trying to create the perfect environment for this plant to thrive. Temps, humidity, light schedule, CO2 levels all need to be controlled. This basically means that your trying to create a Southeast Asia or Humboldt County in your cabinet. Easier said than done lol

Drugdown,

Your advice is great, and I've been taking most of that into consideration - I put the grow log here for people to learn, as well as for myself to learn of my mistakes, to help safeguard future grows and increase overall yields.

Heating - I flatout said (scroll up) that the plastic cabinet is no good for ventilation - And it would not be used for anything besides veg (I have the temp at a steady 74 degrees now)

yield expectations - With proper LST and FIM I know what i'm capable of producing with the strains I've picked out, realizing that there is no need to invent the wheel, i plan on using techniques that you don't see outside of disney for trellis work. Can I produce that much? It would be nice, but we'll see - In the end, I will be pulling at least that much per plant, but for now, I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed and keep experimenting and learning.

Nutes - I've never said I haven't grown MJ, I said this is my first actual grow. I've never grown more than bagseed, and that was just in MG potting soil with a few standard bulbs on it (only yielded about 30 grams dry, but considering all I did was water it, turned out pretty good) My experience with MG extends to a full veg garden that produces peppers, tomatos, herbs, corn as well as beans. That being said, if I'm noticing issues while growing that are nute related, or the yields aren't where they should be I'm more than open to something else.

Cabinet Space - Once again I had already addressed this, and i just returned from my shopping trip - is an 8 foot 2'x4' cabinet good enough for you? :P I've picked up my supplies as well as my ducting, and I'm just waiting for a free day to construct. I have also choosen my intake/exhaust fans, and I've picked up my meters :P

As far as a good yield with CFL's - That point I'll actually go toe to toe with you on. Why don't more people use halogens more for MJ? because most hologens are 5k clear, not because they aren't a good value, but there are 2700 and 6500 halogens out there that can be used (why, when it puts off almost as much heat as an HPS?) I'm sure there are people that are using halogens to produce, and getting good yields from it. Are they wrong? Nope... its their choice. As for myself, I'm using 75% power draw of a 600w HPS, and getting 2150 watts. Are my overall lumens lower? Yes indeed, but my lights are 90% closer than yours are. Every inch of my plants will be covered in light, and when I move, if its deemed I do indeed need to turn an entire room into a flowering room, I will - I'm more than dedicated to the process and have the funds to do what is best. However, there is more than 1 way to skin a cat -

So please, feel free to give extra advice, but please, respect my efforts if you haven't noticed I'm including lots of pictures and responding to questions as soon as I can, I'm here to help overall, not just take.

OH- Forgot to mention, I said earlier in the thread that I won't be using those small containers (I have no intentions of being rootbound) I have 3 containers 18"L 6"W 6"D that I'll be putting them in while they're still in this cabinet, the roots will intertangle, however they'll have more room to streatch, helping the overall end yeild. In the 2x4x8 cabinet I'm getting ready to build, I will be using the same technique with larger boxes - As far as Co2 - I will eventually be getting there, for now I want to work on everything else.

Thanks for the lighting advice on the schedule btw, I can actually see how the plant needs that darkness to work on the roots.

Thanks Again!