Some quick noob Qs

[HighRising]

Alright.

 

Well, I'm still in the stages of planning my first grow. I won't be sure of what I'm growing until I have the seeds in my hands, but they are on their way, or so I've been led to believe But I should have Bubblegun and M60 here soon. I am not averse to buying more beans if it really will make a difference. I was just looking for some kind of advice on my plan and answers to some probably retarded questions. I don't know anyone who grows and you guys are the only people I can ask.

 

Here are the definates:

 

- Definately no more than two plants, probably only one.

- Will be in soil (criminal charges in WA for hydro).

- The ceiling will be roughly 1.8m

- 1 x 600 HPS, but haven't decided yet.

 

And I plan on doing all this in a cupboard - super stealth is the key for this one. This is for my smoking pleasure only, and I am not a heavy smoker. An ounce would last me 6 months upwards. I don't need a massive plant or lots of them. I am only looking to yield an ounce or two, I just want it to be good stuff. And I want it grown quickly, not because I am impatient, just to reduce the risk.

 

I see you guys vegging plants out to be big, having 9-10 ounce upwards dry yields, which is really beyond my need, and I don't want to run the risk associated with having lots of weed I'm not going to smoke sitting around. Can I quickly veg a plant out to be smallish and then flower it? Or does the plant need to be big to actually make good buds? Obviously a bigger, healthier plant is going to yield bigger, healthier buds, but will they be markedly more potent?

 

I guess I've never seen anyone grow to produce anything other than maximum yield. I'm looking for like... bonzai buds, small and perfectly formed Is it possible?

 

Thanks guys,

HR

Edited November 29, 2005 by HighRising

[dsyfer]

Mate it is more than possible.

 

For the situation you described:

 

I would personally (listen to everyone's reply then choose what suits you best) sprout 3 beans of each strain, odds are you will get a female of each, 600 might be too fierce for newly sprouted plants (but could be wrong maybe if light is as far away as poss it might be ok) other wise I would put them under compact fluros till strong enough.

 

Now I believe you should wait till at lease 6 weeks from sprouting b4 flowering I think the plants is mature enough then. Use quality soil, I recommend Dynamic Lifter potting mix, seasol, and maxicrop fert, You will find that with a 600watter you would only need to flower probably one plant to get the yield you are after, but who wouldn't want to try both strains

 

Good luck and just remember the first rule of grow club and you will be just fine.

[HighRising]

CFs are no issue, my bro is a sparky and he can be trusted to get me things with no questions asked and no questions answered

But for vegging/budding I think a 600 will suit my purposes, without drawing *too* much power. But hey, what do I know?

Edited November 29, 2005 by HighRising

[Mushaman]

the first rule of grow club and you will be just fine.

 

what he said ::

 

its true ... and you're gonna have to get a few growing to be sure of gettin a girl .. guess you'll be sweating it for a few weeks - once again... what he said !!

 

dont know about soil grows so cant help at all there

 

re sexing them ... if you can ... an option could be (and I'm about to do this) take a cutting from a 6" seedling and flower it ... meanwhile the 'mamas' grow on ... make sure you label carefully (i am not good at this to date :: )

 

when you have them sexed .. go back and make your final decision on which to keep .. based on vigour of growth to date ... obviously you exclude the boys .. choose the best girl to keep ... ditch the rest?

 

to bad you can't find a piece of national land to throw em in .... I have my eye on a piece of ground that runs right next to a road .. quite busy .. but there is a walking track paralell to that ... and a nice piece of 'no-mans' land between the two .... chuck em in one 3.30am ... come back xmonths later .... :reallyexcited:

 

anyway, good luck with your grow ... sounds like you don't wanna Mango Satti like mine in yer grow

[Ozzy420]

IMO if you are going to do 2 plants max, use a 400w hps with a sun-t-argo would be enough and u would save a little bit on power as well, and you would be able to use the 400w to start your plants off, you just need to keep the light a fair bit above them until thay get use to it, but u are better off starting them off under a cf.

 

I only use a 400w my self in a wardrobe with 4 plants and on avridge off each plant up to 3oz dry, i could get more if i only had 2 plants in there, but i dont let them get to big and am happy with i end up with in the end...

 

And as dsyfer said do 3 of each as if u only do one of each thay could be males, so do 3 of each and the odds are u will get one female of each and as dsyfer said as well get a good potting mix and u should do ok...

[Frazz]

Myself, i would use the 600w as you can never have too much light, though 600w would use more 'tricity, generate more heat and require more head-room compared with 400w

So as ozmade said 400w would be adequate

 

Don't overlook ventilation, both intake and exhaust are most important

keep in mind that during the later stage of flowering they may give off a strong odour

 

best of luck :thumbsup

[HighRising]

anyway, good luck with your grow ... sounds like you don't wanna Mango Satti like mine in yer grow 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hah, looking at your photos, I think any honest conehound would want a Mango Satti like yours! Check your PMs.

 

As for ventilation, intend to have a constant duty exh. fan at the top, and perhaps a filtered passive intake or two at the bottom. I was thinking maybe the filtration might hinder the intake, so perhaps might put up a few PC case sized fans to help it along.

 

Odour control, I'm only just starting to look into, I think I will try and make a carbon filter up for the exhaust, failing that, I will have to move into trying to mask it.

 

I was also in touch with that guy selling the Cool Tubes, if he gets back to me that will help alleviate the heat problems associated with a 600. Thanks for the great answers to my stupid questions guys

 

So this all sounds like a workable plan with an achievable goal to you guys?

Edited November 29, 2005 by HighRising

[sydneyguy]

Alright.

 

 

I see you guys vegging plants out to be big, having 9-10 ounce upwards dry yields, which is really beyond my need, and I don't want to run the risk associated with having lots of weed I'm not going to smoke sitting around. Can I quickly veg a plant out to be smallish and then flower it? Or does the plant need to be big to actually make good buds? Obviously a bigger, healthier plant is going to yield bigger, healthier buds, but will they be markedly more potent?

 

I guess I've never seen anyone grow to produce anything other than maximum yield. I'm looking for like... bonzai buds, small and perfectly formed Is it possible?

 

HR

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Good to see that you attempted to research your situation before asking others. I havnt started from seeds for years as I had a bad internet experience years ago so I just clone and swap plants with other mates. With my clones at times I will go straight to 12hrs once they have developed roots. The plant may be no more than 15-20 cm in height but it's easy to achieve the 'bonsai' type growth that you are after. By this method (cloning) and going straight to 12hrs than its possible to finish the whole crop within a 8 week period. However this technique is based on the 'sea of green method' that aims for 'numerous' small high quality plants. By avoiding the long vegetative growth technique that some growers will use (there's nothing wrong with that either-each to his own...) you can finish the plants off quickly this way and still get excellent buds without growing a jungle in your grow space!

 

Stick to using the soil (quality Canna Coco etc) as your only going for a few plants so you want the best possible results from the plant(s). I find that for new growers you cant beat going past using a quality medium that actually contains nutrients. A advatage of using soil over rockwool, perlite or any other inert medium is that if the nutrient delivery system fails then your plants will suffer less as the soil still contains nutrients and holds more water/nutes than perlite or a cube of rockwool. Just avoid overwatering in soil as that will lead to root rot and other diseases.

 

With your light I would go with the 600w as more light=better and bigger buds. Plus with a 600w light you can use a Sunmaster 600w Metal Halide Conversion lamp on a HPS ballast ! This way you can avoid buying a separate MH ballast sytem plus have 'true' vegetative growth under the correct colour spetrum- how cool is that :smoke ! Some growers will use only a HPS globe for vegetative growth and flower and that is more than adequate. But to get the 'real' blue colour spetrum that is required for maxium vegetative growth I believe no HPS globe (no matter what the manufacturer says or dude behind counter) will truly compete with a MH lamp in the vegetative growth stage.

 

All the best :yingyang .

[everest]

well said sydney guy :smoke

 

pick up a second hand mh 400w for the veg stage , i've found this light up the arse of your seedling for 3\4 wks produces more buds , more bud sites , harder nugs and overall a healthier plant , you can tip it, chop it ,bend it .... christ i've even broke a plant in half , fixed it up with plumbing tape .... stuck it under the 400 w and she recovered . :smoke