I wanna grow!

[Cavil]

Howdy

 

I sure you all have heard the usual many reasons for people wanting to grow .. for me mostly I want to be able to control what I'm consuming.

 

So i have made the decision, and away we go....

 

...but i'm overwhelmed with choices .. pls help me get started (or at least narrow down my research)

I have some skills with plumbing, lighting and water maintenance (I've had planted fish tanks as a hobby) and hence will be going the "grow room" hydroponics approach.

 

I plan to start small with only 1 or 2 plants at any given time, with coco-fiber substrate, cloth pots and continuous flooding with nutrients. Trying to keep it simple.

 

Recommendations needed for

 

lighting.. omg the choices!

carbon filter (to reduce smell)

Nutrients (best brand)

 

All of this info I know can get from a fellow friendly hydroponic reseller - so just any recommendation for a "friendly" one (Sydney or Newie) would be great! I'm a bit old school and wouldn't mind going into and having a chitchat in the store.

 

I plan to get seeds from Caveman ... unless there are others? The problem is I can't really see the breakdown for THC/CBD ratios. Seeing this is the reason why I'm do this I would like to know... anyone able to help me with this?

I would like to get 2 strains .. one heavy on the THC and the other focusing on the CBD.

 

Of course .. thank you in advance .. and I'm very excited

 

Cav

 

[merl1n]

Okay, so for a starter, what size is your grow space? That'll help establish what lighting you'll need and how many plants you could grow (HINT: More plants does NOT mean more bud. I grow 1 plant in a 3m x 3m room and spread her out like a starfish. Like this 7 - My 1 plant SCROG - Galleries - Cannabis Community (ozstoners.com)

 

My advice, start small and learn. I've known of people who have visions of becoming dope czars, growing pounds. They spend BIG $$$$ buying equipment, only to find they don't have the skills. No 2 systems nor environments are exactly the same, so you need to learn your system, learn your environment. There are people who make out they know it all. I call bullshit. I know my grows and I know my setup, but I do not know everything. There will always need to be adjustments for your needs. When I started I copied a mate's setup exactly, I couldn't get his quantity but then he couldn't get my quality, it really can be a balancing act sometimes.

 

Are you going to use a wardrobe/cupboard or are you going to use a tent or are you going to build a growroom? You NEED darkness. TOTAL darkness. A pin hole of light can mess with the plants cycle

Ventilation is VERY important, you NEED airflow. How are you planning your ventilation?

 

You state '...continuous flooding with nutrients...' but unless you've got a refrigeration unit (More costs and more headfucks) 'continuous flooding' is not a good idea, it'll encourage root rot. You have 2 types of roots. Air roots and fluid roots and you need to supply both,  'continuous flooding' will drown your air roots and continuous air will dry the roots out too much. You need a balance.

 

Growing mixed strains is asking for trouble. Differing strains grow at differing rates, flower at differing rates and can grow in totally differing manners. I say this because I did it, once. I grew 2 strains, one boomed early and over took the grow space. The slower growing was the better smoke but it had nowhere to grow into as there was no space, so it was dwarfed by the other plant. Don't get me wrong the other smoke was nice, it just the dwarf was better. That's why I grow one strain at a time. You're growing in a confined space, the less growth management the better. 

 

Make a plan, draw up a mudmap of your space, access for air, light and water. Work it all out before you start. Remember the "P's" Proper Preparartion Prevents Piss poor Performance As I say there will always be 'tweaks' and improvements you can make along the way but if you start with a plan you can make things much easier for yourself.

[Cavil]

Okay, so for a starter, what size is your grow space? That'll help establish what lighting you'll need and how many plants you could grow (HINT: More plants does NOT mean more bud. I grow 1 plant in a 3m x 3m room and spread her out like a starfish. Like this 7 - My 1 plant SCROG - Galleries - Cannabis Community (ozstoners.com)

 

My advice, start small and learn. I've known of people who have visions of becoming dope czars, growing pounds. They spend BIG $$$$ buying equipment, only to find they don't have the skills. No 2 systems nor environments are exactly the same, so you need to learn your system, learn your environment. There are people who make out they know it all. I call bullshit. I know my grows and I know my setup, but I do not know everything. There will always need to be adjustments for your needs. When I started I copied a mate's setup exactly, I couldn't get his quantity but then he couldn't get my quality, it really can be a balancing act sometimes.

 

Are you going to use a wardrobe/cupboard or are you going to use a tent or are you going to build a growroom? You NEED darkness. TOTAL darkness. A pin hole of light can mess with the plants cycle

Ventilation is VERY important, you NEED airflow. How are you planning your ventilation?

 

You state '...continuous flooding with nutrients...' but unless you've got a refrigeration unit (More costs and more headfucks) 'continuous flooding' is not a good idea, it'll encourage root rot. You have 2 types of roots. Air roots and fluid roots and you need to supply both,  'continuous flooding' will drown your air roots and continuous air will dry the roots out too much. You need a balance.

 

Growing mixed strains is asking for trouble. Differing strains grow at differing rates, flower at differing rates and can grow in totally differing manners. I say this because I did it, once. I grew 2 strains, one boomed early and over took the grow space. The slower growing was the better smoke but it had nowhere to grow into as there was no space, so it was dwarfed by the other plant. Don't get me wrong the other smoke was nice, it just the dwarf was better. That's why I grow one strain at a time. You're growing in a confined space, the less growth management the better. 

 

Make a plan, draw up a mudmap of your space, access for air, light and water. Work it all out before you start. Remember the "P's" Proper Preparartion Prevents Piss poor Performance As I say there will always be 'tweaks' and improvements you can make along the way but if you start with a plan you can make things much easier for yourself.

Hi and ty for responding :D

Some clarification.. I have a choice between a cupboard (1.8 m x 0.9 m floor space and a height of almost 2 m) which i can make light tight - the advantage of this space is I can intake and vent directly from and to the roof cavity (thinking carbon filter here to minimize smell). The other space is the roof cavity itself - foot space is over 3 m square but height is restricted to 1.5 meters - and i would need a tent to make light tight. I'm leaning towards the cupboard. oh and yeah, the cupboard has a drain and is right next to the bathroom.

 

Right now I plan to go with one plant at a time .. I have a vision .. But yes i know baby steps. I still am at the research stage. I feel overwhelmed by choice so reached out I agree with you with all that you said, this is my first setup i want it to be a learning experience and to has to be simple.

 

"Ventilation is VERY important, you NEED airflow. How are you planning your ventilation?"

 

Lots of little fans in the cupboard for movement, and intake and outtake from roof space. I'm aware that i need good ventilation .. Planing for it :D .. I hope.

 

"You state '...continuous flooding with nutrients...' but unless you've got a refrigeration unit (More costs and more head fucks) 'continuous flooding' is not a good idea, it'll encourage root rot. You have 2 types of roots. Air roots and fluid roots and you need to supply both, 'continuous flooding' will drown your air roots and continuous air will dry the roots out too much. You need a balance."

 

mmm maybe wrong choice of words. What i was thinking is, cloth pots with coco fiber that are up off the ground (ie feet not in water) with a halo of drip irrigation around the trunk of the plant. Just let it drip and recycle from bottom to top. that way you I can easily do a water flush or change nutrients. Of course this is for an adult plant not a baby . I would love to hear your input into my thoughts. Maybe i don't drip all the time and have a cycle like the lights? .. and chillers .. no i didn't think of that all. Just one pump and gravity feed. mmm may have to rethink this (and I thought i had that bit sorted )

 

"Growing mixed strains is asking for trouble."

 

I plan only to grow one strain (only one plant initially) at a time. I asked about the 2 strains because I want to grow 2 types (again not at the same time). I would like to place one order for both types at the same time.

 

oh and more information. I have decided on led lighting. And I have been having fun getting the pens out and drawing - getting things out of my head is a good start :P

 

Great advice .. Bring it .. i wanna grow. i need it and more to come :D .. Just a little excited.

 

Thanks again .. Cav

[merl1n]

One strain at a time.... Drip feed...Good plan. An issue with drippers I'll make you aware of is blockages. With hydro you're using high salt nutrients, those salts can build up and cause blockages, so be aware of that with drippers.

 

"The other space is the roof cavity itself..." Okay, just remember the heat in the roof cavity. You've gotta manage that heat. I'm in a shed and in the summer, that heat, it's a pain in the arse, so much so I only grow in the autumn now. Pulling air from the roof cavity is not a good idea, the air will be super hot. Blowing that air at your plant will evaporate the leaf fluid real quick and you'll end up with crunch leaves. The freshest, coolest air is from down low to the ground, for this reason your intake should be down low. You plant will excrete hot used air and hot air rises, so you want your exhaust up high. Now I put my intake on one side of my space, down low and my exhaust on the opposite side, up high. This way the airflow has to pass thru the plant canopy to get from down low to up high. 

[daniel3112]

Hello, I advise you to try growing bubble gum strain , I can say that the product is worth it, I will leave an article in which you can read about it and how to grow it in general. From the message you can learn not only about how to grow it, but also about what it tastes like, the effect and composition of this strain, so good luck with your cultivation