First growers club

[Jett54]

Hi guys,

This is my first post here and hope to get a bit of a club going. I’m going to give as brief a run down as possible on what I have learned from my experience so far, where I am at…..what I’ve done wrong………ect. I plan to have the discussion “grow†so if you know something please add!! And keep coming back and adding moreïŠ)

I will only touch on a few points so please ask for more detail on anything……..believe me, I and probably anyone else reading wants as much info as possible. I have spent years planning and pondering and searching the net till I finally plucked the courage and just started so advice number one……do your home work, but just start. I’m no pro…..have not yet finished my first try (4 weeks to go), and I am no green thumb-for those like me have hope-I am a city boy with no previous knowledge at all, seriously I did not even know what horticulture, or secateurs (sacletouls as I called them until embarrassingly put in my place) meant! So please correct me where I have or am misinformed!

I found that you need more stuff as you go along so get what you need and to start it’s not much! Stagger your purchases as you go and it not expensive. How much are you paying a week/month now? A good Thermometer- go digital with a max min reading. And get a good one, do not go cheap, it cost more when you have to buy the good one any way as I learned. Measuring cup in ml. A couple of rock wool cubes, some seeds and a germ box from any garden shop-I put mine on my foxtel box and its perfect to create the right climate-mine crack in about 3 days and by 5 They are ready to veg.

The first hurdle is DON’T TALK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean it don’t. And its gets harder the further you get into it, the prouder you become the more questions you have………… the harder it gets, trust me

Read up on seeds and strains. This is the begging. There are plenty of sites for this, but it is soooo important. I went with Herbies head shop. I found there happy to talk to you if you call. The site is low tips and info, but their product is good and so is the shipping-for me at least.

If you’re a chicken like I was, at the same time (depending on the time of year) start with a tomato plant. I know it may sound funny, but do it, watch it grow, learned loads and most important it really helped me to understand what I was reading, much sounded logical but I did not REALLY understand until I saw it myself. You need one pot a bit of good dirt, and a plant (start from seed it’s more fun) and some water every day (in the morning)!

My set up:

I have a 1.2x1.2x2 tent. I wish I had not tried to save on this. The tent is ok, but the frame is not as sturdy as the $200 more one at the local shop, but its frame is so much stronger. I say this as I tried placing a carbon filter on it and it changed the shape, slightly-too much weight. I solved this by using a light carbon sock. And I now have to spend time and money coming up with some kind of internal frame solution…hassle!

I am using perlite as a medium and I have my pot sitting in a tray and it is gravity fed from a tank 30L. This seemed the easiest set up and at this stage takes the pressure off feeding as it’s simple. You can’t over or under water you plants. The tank is higher (milk crate) then the tray-small pipe runs from the bottom of the tank to a regulator (can’t remember the name cost $45) maintain the water level in the tray. I refill the tank every 2-3 days. I plan to become more sophisticated down the track but this has worked for now. You will need something to measure your nutrients in. Oh almost forgot, I have a small air pump and air stone in the tank to keep the water fresh . I replanted from Coco to perlite before putting them into 12/12….do not do this, I managed not to damage the main roots too much , but the roots and plants were healthy and it took about a week to recover. Also do not wait once your seeds pop too long. As soon as there are true leaves (the first little set you see that do not have smooth edges) or they will stretch…search for light, in my case towards the window they got spindly and finally collapsed!

2xfans 6 inch 400 cfm inline fans

Just up graded from 400hps cool tubes to 600hps cool tube. I did a lot of reading, the pros the cons, but I found the cool tube for me and my climate (coastal Sydney) seemed the best compromise. I was using 400 with just a reflector, but the heat was a problem , the cool tube and ducting fixed this. I swapped from an intake and exhaust set up to an exhaust set up (creating negative pressure) and an exhaust for the cool tubes. Also if you deflect the heat directly under the cool tube with a fan, you can let you plant get so close it touches (mine has, on the side where it’s a bit cooler and its ok). Main down side I found to the cool tube is light spread is lowered drastically so I think I’m going with 2x600 for the next cycle.

Since I started with the 600hps the heat has risen to 38. Its been cool the last few days (22-25), but it will get hotter and 38 it way to hot. And my final aim is 2 x 600 cool tubes. So I plan to buy another fan, not sure what, but something so powerful….it will blow the house down…sorry being silly, but something powerful. Currently one 400 is on the exhaust end sucking air through the cool tube (Cool tube has its own intake and exhaust hole’s). And the other fan is extracting from an exhaust hole in the roof into a carbon sock.

I’m thinking of getting a Y shaped piece of ducting for the intake hole. Blow in with one of my 400’s into the Y shape, with 1 nozzel blowing fresh air in and the other connected to the cool tube. The question then becomes use the second 400 fan on the other end of the cool tube (keeping in mind there will be 2 cool tubes) and the more powerful new fan in the exhaust vent creating a greater negative pressure? Or do I leave the exhaust for the tent and put the big sucker on the end of the cool tube ducting (with the 400 still blowing in the intake into the Y)? Or is ther another option I have not thought of?

[Pleb Scrubber]

You want a kick ass fan?, I would recommend a 250mm or 300mm centrifugal fan and use it for your output.

And one of your 6inch for intake to the tent.

Get a Y duct joiner and use it to have your big fan extracting air from the room (via a filter) as well as your cooltube.

 

I wouldnt use an intake fan for the cooltube.

 

I had a 6inch inline fan feeding my cool tube, and a 250mm centrigugal on the output of the cooltube, the air flow was too much, the bulb rattles under the wind force...

 

I removed the input fan and there was no increase in temp...

[Jett54]

You want a kick ass fan?, I would recommend a 250mm or 300mm centrifugal fan and use it for your output.

And one of your 6inch for intake to the tent.

Get a Y duct joiner and use it to have your big fan extracting air from the room (via a filter) as well as your cooltube.

 

I wouldnt use an intake fan for the cooltube.

 

I had a 6inch inline fan feeding my cool tube, and a 250mm centrigugal on the output of the cooltube, the air flow was too much, the bulb rattles under the wind force...

 

I removed the input fan and there was no increase in temp...

 

Hey Pleb Scrubber,

 

I am skinning up in honor of not just your advise, but my first response:) Hurray....

I did by the 250mm and was busy playing around today. Your right about the wobbling/shaking of the bulb, its not rattling, but it is shaking. But its not too bad. Did not yet buy the Y shape ducting, so did you mean that the Y goes up top for extraction? I will get one tomorrow:)

 

Cheers

[Pleb Scrubber]

The Y duct is so you can use one fan to extract air through 2 ducts.

 

One duct for your cool tube, and one duct for the grow tent.

 

Your 250mm fan will be strong enough to do both.

 

 

If you prefer you could suck the hot air out of the room directly in to the cooltube and then thru a duct to the fan. This would save you the cost of the Y join and extra duct, but probably not run as cool.

 

Oh and if you want to upgrade to 2 x cooltubes, you can duct them together so the air runs thru one, then a duct, then thru the second cooltube, then thru a duct to the out-take fan... rather than getting another small fan for the new cooltube...

 

Do you have a carbon filter? Or odour sock? I would recommend filtering your out-take air, because at flowering time, ur plants are gunna generate quite a strong smell that can give away your secret project...

Edited January 10, 2011 by Pleb Scrubber

[Jett54]

The Y duct is so you can use one fan to extract air through 2 ducts.

 

One duct for your cool tube, and one duct for the grow tent.

 

Your 250mm fan will be strong enough to do both.

 

 

If you prefer you could suck the hot air out of the room directly in to the cooltube and then thru a duct to the fan. This would save you the cost of the Y join and extra duct, but probably not run as cool.

 

Oh and if you want to upgrade to 2 x cooltubes, you can duct them together so the air runs thru one, then a duct, then thru the second cooltube, then thru a duct to the out-take fan... rather than getting another small fan for the new cooltube...

 

Do you have a carbon filter? Or odour sock? I would recommend filtering your out-take air, because at flowering time, ur plants are gunna generate quite a strong smell that can give away your secret project...

 

 

 

Thanks.....I will adding a second tube next cycle which will be soon:) Currently I have a the tips of the bud hairs are starting to show little brown tips, so assume I am only a week or two away at most. Set some seeds (AK48 and Wonder-woman) and the little buggers cracked open on day 2 and were upright with the monocote leaves on day 3 not 5-10 like I planed. I then put them under my fluros for 72 hrs and the tap root has shot out the bottom of my rockwool cube-much faster than anticipated or last time....shows how doing it right makes all the difference:)

 

I have both the sock and the carbon filter. The sock is great. Tried using the heavier and bigger carbon filter. The frame was not strong enough to hang it from the inside so clever me tried just setting on the roof......big mistake as I warped the shape of the tent, so I went back to the sock:)

 

And you are spot on. The first week or so of flowering and the smell was fine..no need for a sock, and then one afternoon, walked in and the smell was there. Decided to go get a filter for the next day (not realizing it was the weekend) so finally 3 days later went back, and the smell was POWERFUL and getting worse by the day! Only saving grace was that my neighbors were away that weekend!!

 

Food for thought...I am planning on having a clone/mother tent (to be built in the next week or so) the clone will be taken and left under fluros that I have for cloning. I believe that the mother should be ok under the fluros! They clones will be under

-24hr fluros for about 1-2 week.

-about 2-3 weeks under 18/24 2x 400w

Considering if I need the 1.2x1.2x2 for the veg stage, could use a smaller set up? Some advantages to having to full size tents though!

-about 8-9 weeks under 12/12 under 2 600w cooltubes.

 

My logic is that this way I can have fresh fruit every 8-9 weeks. If its not enough for me I can always (as not sure how much I'm going to end up with) as another flower tent later and reduce it to every 4-6 weeks

 

I plan to have 5 babies at a time, 4 in each corner and one on the middle:

X X

. X .

X X.

And I plan to lolly pop prune them, cleaning out the bottom 1/3 of the plant. This time (second attempt) I am adding two AK48 to the mix..they are both similar Indica Sativa crosses (30/70)and (35/65) so I imagine the will grow around the same rate.

Edited January 11, 2011 by Jett54

[Chato]

One idea not grow related, and even though you have started to do it now, is to better space your paragraphs or ideas.

 

It's late here and i'm pretty brain fried after long day but i couldn't begin to tackle your first post, it was just an assault of information.

 

Good luck with your growing escapades i;ll have a look in tomorrow and try and better digest the info.

 

peace

c

[Jett54]

One idea not grow related, and even though you have started to do it now, is to better space your paragraphs or ideas.

 

It's late here and i'm pretty brain fried after long day but i couldn't begin to tackle your first post, it was just an assault of information.

 

Good luck with your growing escapades i;ll have a look in tomorrow and try and better digest the info.

 

peace

c

 

 

Hey Chato,

 

Your 100% spot on. They were my first and second post so a bit over enthusiastic. But looking back on it, I would skip this page myself with too much reading............

 

From now on short and concise-

 

Thanks for pulling me up...I think I thought I suddenly became an author...

[Chato]

No worries mate your thread is actually not a bad idea and could be very useful for a lot of new growers. I'm sure almost all growers can remember popping their cherry and would have interesting tid bits to pass on.

 

Probaby already know this but just in case... When you use "add reply" or "full editor" as opposed to the fast reply box you'll get a preview post option. This will show the post as it will appear on the forum and show you any pics you might be adding into your post.

 

peace

c

[Jett54]

Have some issues...any one with answers?

 

-First, I accidentally flicked the timmer switch so the plants have been on 24hrs and missed 2 dark periods. They are in wk 7 of flower. I fixed it, is this really a big deal? Bad I know, but they will survive right?

 

-My carbon filter is too heavy for the frame of my tent- are there any clever ideas for a cheap or DIY solution? I was thinking of using wood and making a triangle shaped frame. Any better ideas?

 

-My roots from my clones have grown through my first rock wool cube(small) and the larger rock wool cubes I placed them in. I'm planning as I already have perlite on putting them into perlite. My question is, is it ok to leave the roots growing out of the bottom? They are in a tray (Humidity dome set) which has water in the bottom...the water is not touching the rock wool so its not a wick situation, rather the roots hang through the bottom of the tray which is in another larger tray?

 

-They pots I have are too large for my veg chamber, and I don't know if you can repot with perlite from small pot to large.

Edited January 16, 2011 by Jett54

[Olly]

Hey Jett.

 

48hrs of light at this late stage wont kill them. It might've confused them a bit but keep an eye & I can't see any real big damage being done.

 

I've got a growlush tent... yes I skimped on my tent too... & because the frame isn't the sturdiest, I've used a 10" ceiling fan & cable tied it inside the top vent. It draws in enough air to suck the sides of the tent in in about 30secs.

 

The filter I've hung from the ceiling. I know this doesn't sound really good when you rent but it's only 2 screw holes & a few loops of chain to hang it then just position the tent vent to suit.

 

As soon as I see the roots coming through I put them into their final grow container. (I use a 12ltr foot bath & expanded clay.) I stress when it comes to roots but don't know if I have to or not.

 

As for repotting... I know nothing about repotting.

Hope this helps you out.

Olly