Indoor growing

[Triolism]

Hi. I'm looking for some informed information about growing.

I am a 19 year old accountant that smokes pretty much daily so that I can actually ignore the outside world and focus on my clients when I get home. The issue with this is cost. I don't want to spend 40-80 a week on decent trees anymore.

I live in a very small apartment with 2 roommates. I do have my own room and a large enough closet for 1 to 3... 5'-7' foot plants. Howeverl, I haven't got an idea where to begin. I am not looking to sell, not looking to be harvesting and spending hours on this. I just want something that will hold me over personally on a weekly basis so that I don't have to buy anymore.

My budget is slim. If I can do this for under 300 total minus continuing expenses like fertilizer etc. that would be fantastic. Living in the US its obvious that seeds are very hard to come by. So with that, the first question is : If I can somehow obtain a cryp seed from one of my sellers, would that work? Or are there other ways of doing this in Florida?

Also: This is a closet. I understand I need lighting and drain off and all these things. But I can't afford to have an electrician in my house setting up hundreds of dollars worth of growing lamps in the same places I keep my clothes. Can this be done say...with desk lamps raised up and titled over the plants? Whats the cheapest bulb I can use to set this up?


Bottom line. Tell me how to do this with minimal expense, no huge projects involved and tops of 1-2 hours a day of actually paying attention to them.

Also, what can I expect as far as yield once the plants have reached the grow stage and how often will they reap the sweet sweet benefits?

 

[Chrisuperfly]

Check out this link. I use a similiar set-up in a storage closet just off my balcony. I too live in a small 2 bedroom condo so I don't have much space to work with. I have a 600w instead of the 400w shown with this kit.

High Tech Garden Supply

Yield is a relative question. What do you plan on using for seeds? Bagseed? I have grown some bagseed and had ~1oz per plant, I have used other bagseed and gotten much less.

 

[matt2907]

im from the uk , so i wn't know the prices over there. we have complete grow kits at affordable prices. grow room-make urself, and just by cheap fans and stuff.

 

[matt2907]

thats a gud price for that kit

 

[thegtiguy]

Just a warning to you, that it will not be as easy as plant the seeds and watch them grow over night. It takes time, patience, and a lot of love.

 

[email468]

Here's a brief description I gave on another thread - maybe you'll find it of some use...

I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt...

I would also recommend research and reading everything you can find. It ain't hard to grow a weed but getting something worthy of smoking is a different thing entirely.

But for what it is worth -- here is a synopsis of what i've learned from this site, other reading and very limited experience.....you'll need:
1) Space - it should be enclosed so you can have more control over ventilation, heat, humidty, security, etc..
2) Lights - very important. You need something that replicates sunlight as closely as possible. I'd recommend HID or High Intensity Discharge lighting (MH or Metal Halide for grow and HPS or High Pressure Sodium for flowering) but this site has a lot of proponents of CFL and other types of light. So your mileage may vary.
3) Something to put the plants in - soil or hydro? This can be a huge discussion so you have to decide if you're going with soil or hydro then go from there. The answer to this question can help determine how often to water (with hydro you are on a schedule - w/soil you check the soil and water accordingly). Soil vs. hydro can also define what nutrients you use and a few other choices you'll need to make.
4) Ventilation/Air Circulation - you'll need at least an 1) exhaust fan (to remove heat and replace CO2), an 2) air intake hole or fan (a passive air intake hole should be slighly larger than the exhaust opening to improve fan life and to avoid creating a vacuum in an airtight chamber) and a 3) circulating fan blowing on the plants (to strengthen them and keep air moving)
5) Odor control? this would include carbon filters/ozone generators

You'll also need nutrients and seeds. My opinion (and some others have recommended this also) is to start with bag seeds until you have had some success and then buy some decent seeds. As for nutrients or nutes, you can look online and find a ton of info but they usually break down into grow and bloom formula with a possible third one. For example: General Hydroponics has Flora Micro, Flora Grow, and Flora Bloom. You use all three for all growth/bloom phases but in different amounts (more grow during vegetative, more bloom during flowering). Instructions are on the packages. I think one of the easiest (and highly concentrated) choice would also be from General Hydroponics and that is the Flora Nova series. There are only two (grow and bloom). There are also a lot of supplements, foliar feeding, and other nutrients but using grow/bloom works fine. One word of caution - a little bit of nutes goes a long way!

Another thing you should know is how the plant grows. It obviously starts as a seed or cutting (clone), then enters the seedling stage. Vegetative is the next stage with flowering being the final stage before either dropping pollen (male) or generating seeds (female). Keep all the males out of your grow room and the females will not be pollinated. But instead will grow big resinous seedless buds (sinsemilla)! This is the point of getting rid of the male plants.
So it goes:
1) Cloning or seed germination
2) Seedling
3) Vegetative
4) Flowering

After the plant is done flowering and ready to harvest (a large percentage of the stigmas turn amber or brown), you cut it down, trim it, hang it in the dark (or in a paper bag) until the stems snap when broken and then you can start slowly curing it. You put the dry bud in jars or tupperware and release air daily (if mold forms get rid of the moldy bits and go back to the drying stage). Don't rush this step! the slower the dry/cure - the more tasty the smoke! Eventually the bud will not remoisten and at that point it is completely ready for storage and enjoying!

This was obviously a very brief overview with many missing bits of information. Please let me know if anything should be changed or corrected otherwise - good luck, have fun and happy growing!

 

[Triolism]

Just a warning to you, that it will not be as easy as plant the seeds and watch them grow over night. It takes time, patience, and a lot of love.

Absolutely agree. I am more than okay with a half hour to hour operation. 3 plans hopefully wont be taking me quite so long to pay attention to.

The question being: How often will the plant yield buds, and what can the expected amount be?

Also, do I really need everything those grow kits include?

 

[Triolism]

Very good information, Email...but keep in mind here that I'm not exactly doing this to have a selling operation. I could care less what the quality is as long as I can smoke it and get high. As far as ventilation, special lighting, etc...cant this be done (though at a lower quality Im sure) just by using a UV light, a rotating fan and an open window in the room?

 

[thegtiguy]

Absolutely agree. I am more than okay with a half hour to hour operation. 3 plans hopefully wont be taking me quite so long to pay attention to.

The question being: How often will the plant yield buds, and what can the expected amount be?

Also, do I really need everything those grow kits include?

The plant will yield buds once, then die. It is possible to re-veg then flower again, but not likely. You will need to check on your almost daily if you plan to keep them healthy, and problem free, which is nearly impossible even with daily care. My best advice to you would be READ the newbie section, and the grow faq, as it seems you are quite new to the idea of growing. There is a lot to be learned before you embark on your first grow...

 

[Triolism]

The plant will yield buds once, then most likely die. It is possible to re-veg then flower again, but not likely. My best advice to you would be READ the newbie section, and the grow faq, as it seems you are quite new to the idea of growing. There is a lot to be learned before you embark on your first grow...

What you've just said to me is the saddest thing I've ever heard.

So after the initial grow kit, I would actually need to keep buying seeds, keep buying nutrients and soil, and keep discarding dead plants?

Why oh why do they not just live and continue to give me my precious weed over and over?

 

[Chrisuperfly]

What you've just said to me is the saddest thing I've ever heard.

So after the initial grow kit, I would actually need to keep buying seeds, keep buying nutrients and soil, and keep discarding dead plants?

Why oh why do they not just live and continue to give me my precious weed over and over?

God has a sense of humor

There were a couple of plants that I had grown recently that yielded "two" harvests. I put two in quotes because I harvested the top cola's when they were ready and let the plants continue growing the smaller shoots and harvested those buds once they were ready. Granted they were not as large as the top cola's but, they were respectable in size.

 

[email468]

Very good information, Email...but keep in mind here that I'm not exactly doing this to have a selling operation. I could care less what the quality is as long as I can smoke it and get high. As far as ventilation, special lighting, etc...cant this be done (though at a lower quality Im sure) just by using a UV light, a rotating fan and an open window in the room?

Triolism - i understand your desire to grow one plant for personal consumption in perpetual yield. But if it were that simple, nearly everyone would be growing their own. And wouldn't that be awesome?

But to answer your question - there really isn't any difference in the requirements between a personal-use operation and someone planning on selling. It is just the type/kind/amount of equipment that may (or may not) be different.

So yes, a rotating (or oscillating) fan and an open window is adequate for ventilation. Did you consider the odor from the plant (which is very, very strong) wafting out the window?

and no, a UV light isn't good enough. Sun light is best but there are other options. Check the FAQs - there are a lot of ideas and cheap DIY projects that can get you growing on the cheap. But on the cheap doesn't mean doing it wrong. and the bonus is - if you do everything the right way (that doesn't mean the expensive way) you won't end up with a crappy product - you'll end up with some killer smoke!

anyway - something to consider.

 

[natmoon]

It sounds to me like you need a small flood and drain hydro setup and a couple of cfls,a 250 watt hps lamp and a fan.
This would be easy to maintain and you could easily take a harvest from it every 12 weeks.
I am a soil grower but in the city with limited time and space and the fact that you want to pay as little attention to it as possible i reckon a small flood and drain setup would suit you the best.
Dr.chronic seeds will send to the usa as far as i know anyway.

 

[soundslikethis]

Newbie here with 3 plants into flowering and have 2 new momma plants. I started growing for the same reason, just don't want to depend on my connections and never get a call back and I'm on a budget! My operation is very small and discreet. Just make sure you create 2 rooms: vegatative and flowering (they don't have to be whole rooms, just spaces. at least 3 feet high and 3 feet wide). Then you should do some studying! I read a hydroponics book for beginners and it gives you the concept. Then get one to show you how to grow smoke hydroponically. I then just looked up "closet grow rooms on the net" tons of pics and diagrams. You will read a lot of the same information as you learn, but remember to give these 3 things always...Air, Ventilation, and Water...you can't go wrong. I used the Flora Nova series and it's real simple. Don't even worry about the flowering part, it's weeks away! Get what you need to start a vegatative room first. You can get grow lights at walmart in the flourescent lighting area...they are called "grow lights" they come in 24" and 48" PH Meter...Got one on ebay for $40. Ask me anything anytime dude.