Quote Originally Posted by polishpollack
Black out any windows so you can control the lighting inside the building. Buy sodium lights and cheap flouros, like shop lights. Build a wooden frame that is pretty tall, one that you can reach the top of with a six foot ladder (so say make the frame about 9 feet tall). Hang the lightbulbs from the frame with skinny chains. You can avoid getting reflectors for the sodium lightbulbs. Just hang the wires from the frame in such a way that the lightbulbs hang in the middle of the plants. You might have to build more than one frame because it would be good to hang flouro lights, 4 footers, to add some white light, giving plants a mix of white and yellow. 600 watt sodiums should be fine. Make sure wooden frame is stable. For soil, get large Rubbermaid style tubs one to two plants in each one. Use good soil, Promix, foxfarm ocean forest or happy frog, roots brand stuff. Not miracle grow. Get a bag or box of foxfarm's fruit and flower fert or whitney farms all purpose or dr. earth all purpose fertilizer, just one container only is all you need, don't buy more than one, don't buy several ferts and mix them together. No proof that will help any. Just one container and you pick which one. Fill containers about 3/4 way with soil, whichever you chose, and add one heaping cup of the fert you picked (solid measure, not liquid). mix well into soil. Fill the rest of containers with soil. Also get Alaska brand micro nutes in green bottle if you can find it. Sold at some big hardware stores or search web. Put a couple tablespoons into the soil and mix well. These ferts will cost you about $20. Make sure you get just enough soil to fill containers. Don't waste money on too much soil you can't use. Make sure electricity in building is good with no risk of fire damage. Get good quality timers. Lights won't be cheap but then what is? Get good genectics. Water preferably with distilled water if you can. Don't water too much, let soil dry out some. You shouldn't have to add any fert. You should be able to let grow go for a while without having to check on it every day. best of luck. hope this helps. just my suggestion. you could go hydro but this method doesn't need to be watched so closely. got to put of fan on them to knock them around a little too.
There is no natural light at all in the building only the lights lighting the unit. I have plenty of wood available to build a frame, so you would recommend building the frame 9 ft tall and x in length only to hang the lights on and use tubs instead of building a base frame to plant in? I'm not too sure on water systems etc and until get used to growing a bit I prob would like to avoid that direction if it's possible, but whatever is recommended best I'll give a try!