Equipment check

[Sir PsychoHashy]

I've generally used 290mm pots with plants at that concentration, and they seem to be about right.  You're not vegging for very long, and the plants just don't get big enough to need any extra root space.  But, in theory the bigger the better up to a point.

[sydneycoyote]

4 is a good number for that size tent if you want short veg time, any more than that and you end up with chaos at stretch time.  I generally veg them 3-4 weeks in that concentration, bend em over a bit at 2.5-3 weeks and wait for branches to start pushing out through the canopy and flip the lights then.  But you need to vary timings according to veg rates and expected stretch.  I also use 100x100mm screens to evenly spread the branches out and provide support in late flower. 

By screens do you mean a SCROG net? Do you just use one or multiple at different levels?

 

Take a look here these guys are site sponsors http://www.hydroexperts.com.au/lights/ultimate-complete-kit/

Yeah that's who I'm looking to buy from. I just got a quote for all the gear

 

I've generally used 290mm pots with plants at that concentration, and they seem to be about right.  You're not vegging for very long, and the plants just don't get big enough to need any extra root space.  But, in theory the bigger the better up to a point.

So do you think I should go for the 400mm 38L fabric pots? I read on the net you need about 2x the size pot for fabric.

 

Also, it looks like they've adjusted their prices for the fan/filter combos to price differentiate the 800mm and 1000mm filters so I'll go for the 500mm for now and if need be I can switch to a 800 or 1000mm filter later.

[BigBudSpencer]

In a tent outside it might not be a bad idea to got LEd and not HPS try and maintain the temperature.
I've just done my first grow in a hot/HUMID summer and even though the tent is under the house, with 500cfm intake and outake with a little circulating fan.
For veg it's farking great but for later in the flowering stage, bud rot, thc burning off, it's a pain in the arse having all the heat from 600w HPS.
Next summer I'll be using Led fro flowering for the that one grow.

Two thing I can tell you as a new grower( on my third) to watch out for.
The "stretch".
I heard the term thrown around on forums and thought it was the in regards to the veg.
How wrong I was.
It's relates to the first two or three weeks after turning your lights from 20 hours on 4 off( or whatever) to 12 hours on 12 hours off.
Some sativa plants can grow 3 or 4 times bigger. 
The problem here, is running out of tent room.
If you are aware of it, no problems, but I got caught last time have to bend over and tie down one particular plant 6 or 7 weeks into flower of a 9 week flowering plant.
NOT GOOD.

The other thing is nutes.
There is only a short period in veg and one in flower where you have to use full strength. Otherwise it's a smaller amount.
With suggestions from Serrated Edge initialy, I got an EC reader, not as starightforward as a PH reader but I'm learning.
I've also learnt how to "see" the different from nute burn and not enough feed through the colour of the leaves.

Hope it goes well.

[Gazza2001au]

Fabric pot information is wrong, say u run a 10 litre basic plastic pot u only need a 5 litre fabric pot because the fabric pot trims the roots

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Yep, SCROG net.  I use one to train them out, and at least 1 more higher up for support, have used a 3rd at times.  When I do 4 plants in that sized area, I don't really do a proper SCROG in technical terms, but basically the same outcome, as instead of training throughout veg until the screen is about 75-80% filled before flipping the lights, I just get them to 3-4 weeks with a little LST and flip the lights once branches start pushing out, usually placing the 1st screen at about top of the plants and use it to spread things out evenly.  You don't want them big at that concentration or the stretch will overtake your available space.

 

Air pots are meant to be half the size in theory, so I'd assume fabric pots would also be smaller rather than bigger.  I'd still want to go up towards 300mm though.

 

In a tent in an outside shed, in an environment that can only be described as brutally hot in summer, I have used 600w HPS without any dramas, just have to take a break over Summer, but I can tell you that LED wouldn't make any difference to that, when it's 40 degrees any horticultural lighting will only add heat to it.  Have started veg in late January using HPS in the hope that temps drop enough by mid flower time though.  Further to this, is that in that environment in Winter, having lights putting out a bit of heat becomes a good thing.

 

Mould control comes down to air exchange, and air movement within the environment.  So a good exhaust fan, and a fan or 2 blowing air around in the tent, and you're good to go.  If you're in a high humidity location you can add a dehumidifier into the mix I suppose, but LED lights won't help prevent mould.  If anything, the heat from HPS should dry the air out a little.

 

Best advice I can give you BigBud is don't try to flower plants during high summer, it can be done but it's not a good idea.  Most indoor growers choose discretion over valour and take a break.

[DrBlueThumb]

Yep, SCROG net. I use one to train them out, and at least 1 more higher up for support, have used a 3rd at times. When I do 4 plants in that sized area, I don't really do a proper SCROG in technical terms, but basically the same outcome, as instead of training throughout veg until the screen is about 75-80% filled before flipping the lights, I just get them to 3-4 weeks with a little LST and flip the lights once branches start pushing out, usually placing the 1st screen at about top of the plants and use it to spread things out evenly. You don't want them big at that concentration or the stretch will overtake your available space.

 

Air pots are meant to be half the size in theory, so I'd assume fabric pots would also be smaller rather than bigger. I'd still want to go up towards 300mm though.

 

In a tent in an outside shed, in an environment that can only be described as brutally hot in summer, I have used 600w HPS without any dramas, just have to take a break over Summer, but I can tell you that LED wouldn't make any difference to that, when it's 40 degrees any horticultural lighting will only add heat to it. Have started veg in late January using HPS in the hope that temps drop enough by mid flower time though. Further to this, is that in that environment in Winter, having lights putting out a bit of heat becomes a good thing.

 

Mould control comes down to air exchange, and air movement within the environment. So a good exhaust fan, and a fan or 2 blowing air around in the tent, and you're good to go. If you're in a high humidity location you can add a dehumidifier into the mix I suppose, but LED lights won't help prevent mould. If anything, the heat from HPS should dry the air out a little.

 

Best advice I can give you BigBud is don't try to flower plants during high summer, it can be done but it's not a good idea. Most indoor growers choose discretion over valour and take a break.

Everything Hashy says here is spot on. You can also veg through summer and then move them outside to induce flowering and you wont have to worry about the problems surrounding budding indoors through summer.

[Gazza2001au]

I have grown in a shed and have to agree u can't cool outdoor temp's unless u use a air conditioner but there is no point going this route if u don't properly insulate the shed but if i went this far i would just build a closed off grow room with air conditioner and a small Co2 bottle for aquariums from ebay

 

i have grown inside a house through out summer with 2 600w HPS and only a bathroom fan for ventilation the grow was pretty good i hit just under 2lb than my second run i got ripped about 2-3lb estimate but i have to say my thermometer was off the scale well over 50c during the day in the grow room, you loose more weight than Michelle Bridges just watering the girls in this temperature!

 

as mentioned before I'm using fabric pots and i mentioned the size of my pots, 1 plant is just over 1 meter tall and she is drinking so much or the fabric pots are just airing out to much moisture i need to water every second day

[pedro de pacas]

My indoor plants go outside to play in summer, back in for a 12hr sleep, never once had a problem

Avoid a tin garden shed if you can, inside the house or the garage is the go, or get fit moving plants

[sydneycoyote]

In a tent outside it might not be a bad idea to got LEd and not HPS try and maintain the temperature.

I've just done my first grow in a hot/HUMID summer and even though the tent is under the house, with 500cfm intake and outake with a little circulating fan.

For veg it's farking great but for later in the flowering stage, bud rot, thc burning off, it's a pain in the arse having all the heat from 600w HPS.

Next summer I'll be using Led fro flowering for the that one grow.

 

Two thing I can tell you as a new grower( on my third) to watch out for.

The "stretch".

I heard the term thrown around on forums and thought it was the in regards to the veg.

How wrong I was.

It's relates to the first two or three weeks after turning your lights from 20 hours on 4 off( or whatever) to 12 hours on 12 hours off.

Some sativa plants can grow 3 or 4 times bigger. 

The problem here, is running out of tent room.

If you are aware of it, no problems, but I got caught last time have to bend over and tie down one particular plant 6 or 7 weeks into flower of a 9 week flowering plant.

NOT GOOD.

 

The other thing is nutes.

There is only a short period in veg and one in flower where you have to use full strength. Otherwise it's a smaller amount.

With suggestions from Serrated Edge initialy, I got an EC reader, not as starightforward as a PH reader but I'm learning.

I've also learnt how to "see" the different from nute burn and not enough feed through the colour of the leaves.

 

Hope it goes well.

Yeah I'll definitely look out for "stretch". I've got lots to learn about training, etc. Also have lots to learn re nutrition. It's actually funny to see the parallels between the grow industry and fitness industry with all of these supplements, etc. I think it all comes down to basic horticulture/botany, so I'm going to try and avoid a lot of these commercial products and just get a feel for the plants. It was interesting to learn about "flushing" plants today, explains a lot about why sometimes weed can make me cough my lungs up...

 

Fabric pot information is wrong, say u run a 10 litre basic plastic pot u only need a 5 litre fabric pot because the fabric pot trims the roots

Yeah I'm not sure. Found the site where I got my info from (http://www.growweedeasy.com/choose-right-pot#general-guide). They say it's to do with the soil drying out.

 

Yep, SCROG net.  I use one to train them out, and at least 1 more higher up for support, have used a 3rd at times.  When I do 4 plants in that sized area, I don't really do a proper SCROG in technical terms, but basically the same outcome, as instead of training throughout veg until the screen is about 75-80% filled before flipping the lights, I just get them to 3-4 weeks with a little LST and flip the lights once branches start pushing out, usually placing the 1st screen at about top of the plants and use it to spread things out evenly.  You don't want them big at that concentration or the stretch will overtake your available space.

 

Air pots are meant to be half the size in theory, so I'd assume fabric pots would also be smaller rather than bigger.  I'd still want to go up towards 300mm though.

 

In a tent in an outside shed, in an environment that can only be described as brutally hot in summer, I have used 600w HPS without any dramas, just have to take a break over Summer, but I can tell you that LED wouldn't make any difference to that, when it's 40 degrees any horticultural lighting will only add heat to it.  Have started veg in late January using HPS in the hope that temps drop enough by mid flower time though.  Further to this, is that in that environment in Winter, having lights putting out a bit of heat becomes a good thing.

 

Mould control comes down to air exchange, and air movement within the environment.  So a good exhaust fan, and a fan or 2 blowing air around in the tent, and you're good to go.  If you're in a high humidity location you can add a dehumidifier into the mix I suppose, but LED lights won't help prevent mould.  If anything, the heat from HPS should dry the air out a little.

 

Best advice I can give you BigBud is don't try to flower plants during high summer, it can be done but it's not a good idea.  Most indoor growers choose discretion over valour and take a break.

Thanks PsychoHashy. Will definitely get 2 SCROG nets. When you measure veg times, when do you start it from? From the day of planting the seed, cloning, hitting a certain height? I like the idea of vegging at 4 weeks, would keep the grow nice and short I'm tempted to flower mine quicker than usual on the first grow so that I can get some bud... It's actually amazing how flexible marijuana is solely based on lighting: you can keep it in veg for years or send it into flower after a week.

[BigBudSpencer]

 

 

In a tent in an outside shed, in an environment that can only be described as brutally hot in summer, I have used 600w HPS without any dramas, just have to take a break over Summer, but I can tell you that LED wouldn't make any difference to that, when it's 40 degrees any horticultural lighting will only add heat to it.  Have started veg in late January using HPS in the hope that temps drop enough by mid flower time though.  Further to this, is that in that environment in Winter, having lights putting out a bit of heat becomes a good thing.

 

Mould control comes down to air exchange, and air movement within the environment.  So a good exhaust fan, and a fan or 2 blowing air around in the tent, and you're good to go.  If you're in a high humidity location you can add a dehumidifier into the mix I suppose, but LED lights won't help prevent mould.  If anything, the heat from HPS should dry the air out a little.

 

Best advice I can give you BigBud is don't try to flower plants during high summer, it can be done but it's not a good idea.  Most indoor growers choose discretion over valour and take a break.

Yeah I'm an idiot, of course more heat will lower humidity.

however I am in it for the glory