the real cost of your grow

[pipeman]

thought it'd be good to look at how much it actually costs to grow your own

 

the main cost is electricity I think. assuming you're paying an average of 15c per kWhour, multiply your wattage by .00015 to work out the cost per hour of running your light. eg a 400watter would cost 6c per hour.

 

water would be bugger all, assume thats free.

 

This is my estimate for my little setup:

 

I run two 430Watters, so my cost would be 2 x 430 x 18 x 7 x .00015 = $16/week

as for the other stuff, I reckon my cabinets/fans/timers/pots etc would all be worth $500. Replace on average every 3 years thats works out to say $5/week.

Nutes & mediums & sundries, say $50 per grow - $5/week

2 Ballasts - $200 every 3 years - say $1/week

2 Globes - $160 every year - $3/week

 

So all that adds up to about $30/week. If my yield is a little under 0.5 grams per watt (thats a BIG if) I'll get say 10 ounces. So if I turn that around every 12 weeks my cost would be 12x$30 - $360 or $36/ounce.

 

I also run an airconditioner, 800W and costs about $1000 to buy. So that costs $20/week to run and if replaced every 5 years say $3/week for replacement. So just that adds $23/week, $276 per grow which puts up my per ounce cost to say $60 per ounce. Almost doubles the cost of my grow to run that damn A/C!

 

I'd be interested to see other members estimates as to what their personal grow costs, or if anyone can see a fault in my assumptions...

[Guest bacchus]

hey pipeman..

 

i'm not growing indoors. as i'm lucky enough to be able to grow outdoors i thought that i would help represent both sides...

 

 

[*]seeds - well i was lucky to have mine given to me

 

[*]seed raising mix - $5 approx.

 

[*]plastic pots - mine were free, ask your local nursery

 

[*]seasol liquid plant food - $7 approx.

 

[*]compost - free

 

[*]sugar cane mulch - $12 a bale, leftover mulch used in veggie patch

 

[*]water - free

 

my total $24

 

where i grow, i am lucky enought to be able to put plants in the ground and in pots....

if you can't plant in the ground or find free pots, you can buy 30-40cm plastic pots at woolies for a couple of bucks each....

if your soil isn't that great, you can buy compost and orgainc matter by the bag at nurseries and hardware shops for $6- $7 a bag to mix through your soil....

i choose to use organic plant foods on my grows, but you can buy plenty of ferts like ozmocote, miralce gro etc for a few bucks which will last you your entire grow and maybe your next...

so even if you can't get free pots and don't have great soil, it is always going to be cheaper outdoors if you are prepared to be patient....

there can be additional costs, depends on how creative you want to get...but this is for a basic grow..

 

but then again maybe it isn't cheaper, depends on how worried you might get about visibility and how many cones/pills you need to keep yourself calm.....add this to your total.....he he he ::

Edited February 26, 2003 by bacchus

[Tom]

Hey Pipe, I run two 430w's myself with 5' x 4' floor space, my best crop to date from the lights is 27 ounces and the costs came to a little over $10 per ounce, my new grow room will be larger and equipped with a light mover so I hope to produce around 40 ounces per crop from my two 430w's.

 

http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/ruinkai/coolgleamA.gif http://64.207.13.28/mysmilies/otn/glasses/smokin.gif

[pipeman]

Hey Pipe, I run two 430w's myself with 5' x 4' floor space, my best crop to date from the lights is 27 ounces and the costs came to a little over $10 per ounce, my new grow room will be larger and equipped with a light mover so I hope to produce around 40 ounces per crop from my two 430w's.

 

http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/ruinkai/coolgleamA.gif http://64.207.13.28/mysmilies/otn/glasses/smokin.gif

yeah my cupboards are too small to take advantage of the full potential of my lights. maybe when I move into a new place later this year.....

[Aussie_Smoker]

Hey guys

Its not cheap to set up ! I run 2x 1000w hps, one on a mover, numerous pots, timers, pumps, airators, nutrients, insecticides, plant hormone, growth stimulators, fans etc. I use about 1 litre nutrients every 2 weeks. And yes, i smoke like a chimny & I LOVE IT!

[sols]

g'day; grow is cheap.... canna nutes 5ltr bottles for veg and flower $200 for 2 years.

power use for 400mh and 600hps approx $50 per month, new bulbs each 12 months at $80- $100 each.

 

perlite vermiculite x 100litre bag $40. use 3 times then replace.

1 box of rockwool cubes, 3" square X 345 pieces, $150.

pots at $1, 20 pots ,last for years, 8 years sofar.

 

ballast cost $280, 6 years ago, ballast can last indefinately.

watering container from k-mart, $3.

timers $10 each.

negative ion generator $50 (cuts out most odours).

oscilating fan 24" approx. $30, good for 12months to 2yrs if running 24/7.

average yearly water bill of $7. (not typo).

grolux fluoro tubes, 8 X $20 each, good for 18 months to 2 years.

average 4 harvests per year with yield average of 5oz per harvest from 10 plants.(sometimes higher sometimes less, depending on plant size).

Edited February 27, 2003 by sols

[white_cluster]

Aussie Smoker, how can you use 1Ltr of Nutrients in 2 weeks?????? do you have a run to waste setup?

[Aussie_Smoker]

Aussie Smoker, how can you use 1Ltr of Nutrients in 2 weeks?????? do you have a run to waste setup?

WC - You seem to question me alot,.

 

I flush, drain and replenish my system (DWC) every two weeks. Works best for me. I have 2 rooms and around 15 pots each room (around 350 litres). I actually use around 5 litres of nutrients every 2 weeks (2.5 litres per room), not 1 as mentioned before, but I use Plantastic nut's which is far cheaper than canna, I am quite happy with Plantastic, yeild an average of around 2 oz per plant.

Edited February 27, 2003 by Aussie_Smoker

[Guest sabator]

SOLS.

 

 

 

5 oz of 10 plants??????

 

That seems very very small???????

 

 

How do u justify such a small yeild??

 

I must admit i get low yeilds much the same as you but i am extrermly new to this.

 

c ya

 

Sab

[sols]

g'day; if growing SOG, i veg plants to about 8" - 12" tall then flower, i get approx average of 0.5oz dry buds from 14" plant, some strains i get more yield.

if i grow from seed, and veg for my preferred 12weeks, i average 3oz per plant at 3' tall at finish.

so average is likely closer to 1oz per plant..."average".

if growing seedcrop, i may yield far less, in buds.

i normally have about 50 plants rotating at all times between 3 setups, 1 seedling/clone setup, 1 veg/mother setup and 1 flower setup.so up to 5oz per month or every 2months is good in area of 16 square feet. 4' X 4' X 5' high.