lupeka
New Member
So I wanted to get advice/suggestions on my summer project.
I built the box from particleboard of varying thickness. I chose particleboard because I wanted the end product to be light enough to move if I need to
Its 2'X2' and 4 feet tall. I used reflective insulate for the inner liner, (just the rolls from home depot) and I got a roll of metallic foil tape to secure the pieces to the box.
Because I will have to leave my babies periodically over the summer, I devised a reservoir system (with some help from the internet, to be sure) with self-watering planters. I bought these four square plastic pots because they were 12" wide, unfortunately they ended up not quite fitting, so I trimmed the tops a bit, and voila! More details to follow on the automatic watering system...
For cooling and ventilation, I bought a temp controlled three fan system, mounted two of the fans as intakes on the back wall, and the third on the exhaust vent, to help pull air through a carbon filter. I set it to turn on above 74F and auto shut off at 71F. It has been hot out, and my temps have been running a bit high (you can see todays highs and lows below). I also have an exhaust blower fan at the top (you can only see the edge of the grate in this pic) that I picked up for $15. Its 50cfm. The three fan system I got is 148cfm, which theoretically puts me at 198cfm, for a 2x2x4ft (16 sq ft) box, so I guess my high temps are just because its been hot out. I live in Southern California, and the summer should be hot, should I be worried about temps getting too high?
How am I looking in terms of temp and humidity?
Here is a view of the underside of the reservoir/soil divider. I'll be filling that grate (standard 4" drain grate from home depot) with peat moss, and then making a base layer of it for drainage. I have a soilless potting mix, and I picked up some Perlite as well. My worst nightmare would be these plants drowning in their pots. What ratio of perlite to mix should I use?
This is the reservoir without the lid on. (AKA the bottom of the pot). All the pots are interconnected so the water level remains equal, and I've placed them in a plastic wrapped metal screen basket I made to catch any water that might drip. The pots are connected to another small reservoir outside of the box, which has a toilet valve on its input, regulating the flow so the water level stays where it should (should rest just under the lid, but not quite touching it.
Here is the basket I made to catch any leaks. I had extra material left over from the ScroG screen so I fashioned this to fit under the pots. A little peace of mind that my house wont flood (or at least not as badly) when I'm out of town.
There's one outlet on either side of the sides, so I can get the lights a bit closer when the plants are still small. Since I'm using CFLs, (both 6500K and 3500K bulbs) I am concerned about not having the bulbs close enough to the plants. I have more bulbs and sockets than what I have installed in there now, so I can definitely bump up the light level (and I will when they're actually in there), but do you guys think I'll be okay with around 8 26watt (100W equiv.) bulbs? Do I need to make an effort to keep the bulbs closer to the tops of the plants, or will the reflective siding be enough to provide enough light?
I might order some socket extender bendy arms (http://www.amazon.com/Amico-Flexibl...-1-catcorr&keywords=socket+extender+light+arm)
-advice needed here.
The hot air was collecting in the area under the acrylic shelf right where my temp sensor was, so I added a 6" clip fan that I picked up on amazon for $14ish to help circulate the air and make sure there's adequate airflow over the canopy.
Above you have a better view of the blower fan and shelf. (The powerade bottle has a little hole in the lid, I find it convenient to just leave it in there, that way I remember to keep the seedlings moist when I check on them. Having that in there is probably the only reason those sunflower seeds didnt die
I'm growing 4 plants, all "Jock Horror" from Nirvana. (The seedlings you see in the box are sunflowers. Its a hybrid, should I be nervous about it getting too tall? I've read its sativa dominant, and sativas generally grow taller, right? I'll be using the ScroG method. I mounted my screen at around 24" above the floor of the box, which is about 16" above the soil level. Is this correct?
So what do you guys think? How am I doing? Will my plants thrive? I've been obsessing over this for too long haha
I built the box from particleboard of varying thickness. I chose particleboard because I wanted the end product to be light enough to move if I need to
Its 2'X2' and 4 feet tall. I used reflective insulate for the inner liner, (just the rolls from home depot) and I got a roll of metallic foil tape to secure the pieces to the box. Because I will have to leave my babies periodically over the summer, I devised a reservoir system (with some help from the internet, to be sure) with self-watering planters. I bought these four square plastic pots because they were 12" wide, unfortunately they ended up not quite fitting, so I trimmed the tops a bit, and voila! More details to follow on the automatic watering system... For cooling and ventilation, I bought a temp controlled three fan system, mounted two of the fans as intakes on the back wall, and the third on the exhaust vent, to help pull air through a carbon filter. I set it to turn on above 74F and auto shut off at 71F. It has been hot out, and my temps have been running a bit high (you can see todays highs and lows below). I also have an exhaust blower fan at the top (you can only see the edge of the grate in this pic) that I picked up for $15. Its 50cfm. The three fan system I got is 148cfm, which theoretically puts me at 198cfm, for a 2x2x4ft (16 sq ft) box, so I guess my high temps are just because its been hot out. I live in Southern California, and the summer should be hot, should I be worried about temps getting too high? How am I looking in terms of temp and humidity?Here is a view of the underside of the reservoir/soil divider. I'll be filling that grate (standard 4" drain grate from home depot) with peat moss, and then making a base layer of it for drainage. I have a soilless potting mix, and I picked up some Perlite as well. My worst nightmare would be these plants drowning in their pots. What ratio of perlite to mix should I use?
This is the reservoir without the lid on. (AKA the bottom of the pot). All the pots are interconnected so the water level remains equal, and I've placed them in a plastic wrapped metal screen basket I made to catch any water that might drip. The pots are connected to another small reservoir outside of the box, which has a toilet valve on its input, regulating the flow so the water level stays where it should (should rest just under the lid, but not quite touching it. Here is the basket I made to catch any leaks. I had extra material left over from the ScroG screen so I fashioned this to fit under the pots. A little peace of mind that my house wont flood (or at least not as badly) when I'm out of town. There's one outlet on either side of the sides, so I can get the lights a bit closer when the plants are still small. Since I'm using CFLs, (both 6500K and 3500K bulbs) I am concerned about not having the bulbs close enough to the plants. I have more bulbs and sockets than what I have installed in there now, so I can definitely bump up the light level (and I will when they're actually in there), but do you guys think I'll be okay with around 8 26watt (100W equiv.) bulbs? Do I need to make an effort to keep the bulbs closer to the tops of the plants, or will the reflective siding be enough to provide enough light? I might order some socket extender bendy arms (http://www.amazon.com/Amico-Flexibl...-1-catcorr&keywords=socket+extender+light+arm)
-advice needed here.
The hot air was collecting in the area under the acrylic shelf right where my temp sensor was, so I added a 6" clip fan that I picked up on amazon for $14ish to help circulate the air and make sure there's adequate airflow over the canopy.Above you have a better view of the blower fan and shelf. (The powerade bottle has a little hole in the lid, I find it convenient to just leave it in there, that way I remember to keep the seedlings moist when I check on them. Having that in there is probably the only reason those sunflower seeds didnt die
I'm growing 4 plants, all "Jock Horror" from Nirvana. (The seedlings you see in the box are sunflowers. Its a hybrid, should I be nervous about it getting too tall? I've read its sativa dominant, and sativas generally grow taller, right? I'll be using the ScroG method. I mounted my screen at around 24" above the floor of the box, which is about 16" above the soil level. Is this correct?
So what do you guys think? How am I doing? Will my plants thrive? I've been obsessing over this for too long haha
