cheap flowering cultivation?

[Potsmoker42O]

Hey everyone I have two girls currently starting their 5th week of flowering. There in a 2 by 2 by 4 box with two t5 soft white bulbs sitting vertically on opposing walls then I have two 10 inch domes with two 23 watt soft white bulbs over both plants and I have a bottle of yeast sugar and water in there too is there something else I can do to to get larger buds I don't have very much cash to spend on this its a work in progress. So cheap idea please enless its just to sweet to leave out. Thanks oh one plant is topped and has 4 main colas and is 18 inches tall

 

[FireCoral]

how big are ur T5 lights? The 45"? If so you've got about 10,000 lumens total. Which is sufficient. But if you want bigger buds, step up your lumen output however you can. If you can add 2 more of those lights, then go for it.

If you're using smaller T5s then you're gonna have to get a whole mess of lights. The 12" T5 only output 410 lumens and you need a MINIMUM of 2,000 lumens per sq ft. You have 4sq ft so you need a minimum of 8,000 lumens. Basically, you're at minimum. Recommended amount of lumens is 3,000-5,000 per sq ft. The more lumens, the bigger the buds. Try and get a total of 20,000 by having a total of four 45" T5s and you'd be doing a lot better.

 

[newbie grow420]

people say molasses helps to bulk up a little I have to get some myself the store was sold out though. They were also sold out of light hoods and y sockets and emergency blankets man there must be alot of growers in my town they stripped the wal mart bastards lol

 

[Potsmoker42O]

I have the 3 foot t5's. So I should get one on each wall. Plus the 23 watt bulbs on the tops of each plant. And I am using molasses once a week and using the full strength better bloom nutrients. Npk is 15-35-15. Can I use hormones? If so what should I look for when I go to the hydro store. And how. Do I use them? Is there anything else I can do? And I'm about to pick up a few clones. What can I do with these to max my yeild

 

[FireCoral]

I have the 3 foot t5's. So I should get one on each wall. Plus the 23 watt bulbs on the tops of each plant. And I am using molasses once a week and using the full strength better bloom nutrients. Npk is 15-35-15. Can I use hormones? If so what should I look for when I go to the hydro store. And how. Do I use them? Is there anything else I can do? And I'm about to pick up a few clones. What can I do with these to max my yeild

I'm not sure about the hormones (I grow all organic and natural). So maybe someone else can give some advice on that. I knew someone that used the molasses before and said he didn't even really notice a difference at all.

But what I can tell you is if you don't have the proper lighting, what you add to it will barely make a difference, if at all. Common sense will tell anyone that plants need light to grow. If they have insufficient light, they won't grow.

You have two 36" T5s, that about 3,300 lumens a piece. Your two 23w lights are probably about 1200-1600 a piece. So that max amount of lumen output you have is 9800 lumens. You're still just above the minimum required to keep your plants alive.

Lumens will give the plant energy. If they barely have enough energy to just grow they certainly won't have any energy to grow big buds... no matter what you add.

It's like asking someone how you can get big muscles and someone tells you to take steroids. The steroids aren't going to make a difference if you aren't lifting weights in addition to the drugs. See what I mean? You gotta have more lumen output for anything else to matter. Even if you just add some more 23watters. Increase your lumen output as much as you can. People on this website aren't using HPS for fun. HPS has the highest lumen output. The higher the lumen output during flowering the bigger the buds.

Now when those people use nutrients and molasses, they will see results more because they have the "sun power" to back it up. But like I said, you can't take steroids, sit on the couch and watch TV all day and expect to build muscle mass like that. This is basically the same idea.

G/L with your grow

 

[FireCoral]

The next cheapest way would be increase the size of your grow box. The taller the plant gets the bigger the buds they can support. I've had 18" plants before with small buds. The next time I flowered the same strain, I let them get to 24" before flowering and the buds were almost twice the size. I don't know if that's an option for you. But if you're able to, then go for it.

 

[bigwheel]

I would vote for throwing as many curly tail cfls in there as it would hold and you could afford. Get the Daylight Spectrum. I added those to my HPS light pattern and believe they helped. Try the worklights from Walmart Automotive section for about 7 bucks. Get a Y splitter for 2 bucks then you can put two 100 watt equivalent bulbs in each fixture. Or skip the splitter and get 150 watt eqivalent bulbs if you can find them in the Daylight spectrum.

 

[Potsmoker42O]

Thanks a lot guys. On Friday I'm going to buy one more t5 and other one on the following Friday. This is what my box is its a cabinet from home depot with three rooms in it. The top one is 2 feet deep 2 foot tall and 4 feet wide and the other two rooms are. 2 by 4 by 2. I'm using pc fans to keep it cool and quiet. I'm trying to stay as stealthy as possible in march ill be leaving for a week what's some ideas to. Get it watered while I'm gone?

 

[FireCoral]

Thanks a lot guys. On Friday I'm going to buy one more t5 and other one on the following Friday. This is what my box is its a cabinet from home depot with three rooms in it. The top one is 2 feet deep 2 foot tall and 4 feet wide and the other two rooms are. 2 by 4 by 2. I'm using pc fans to keep it cool and quiet. I'm trying to stay as stealthy as possible in march ill be leaving for a week what's some ideas to. Get it watered while I'm gone?

Ooooh. I don't know. But I have a timed watering thing for my regular garden (herbs, tomatoes, flowers, etc). It might output enough water to water your smaller plants (definitely not big ones). But even something that small costs over $100.

Automatic watering setups are not cheap at all. I don't know if anything else exists out there like that. And mine is outside, if you put one inside and go away without checking on it often, you run the risk of it malfunctioning and overflowing.

You can try transplanting into a bigger pot *just* before you leave and soak it in water. That way, the soil where the roots haven't grown yet will retain some water for later. Of course, this may not be possible with your space limitation.

I've also heard of people using 2-liter bottles filled with water and turned upside down in the soil to slowly release water. But again, I don't know how that will work with your space, and you may want to research that a bit because it just sounds like it wouldn't be too good for the plant. And I would imagine overflowing might be an issue.

You can also take the pot out of the drip tray and place it into something that can hold more water. Water the plant before you leave and fill the new, bigger drip tray with as much water as it can hold. But this may be limited by your space too.

Of course, I wouldn't really go with any of those options, personally, because your soil would be constantly moist. That in combination with warmth from the light and dark after the lights go out is just a breeding ground for mold. But they are options to consider if absolutely necessary.

 

[jflo]

Thanks a lot guys. On Friday I'm going to buy one more t5 and other one on the following Friday. This is what my box is its a cabinet from home depot with three rooms in it. The top one is 2 feet deep 2 foot tall and 4 feet wide and the other two rooms are. 2 by 4 by 2. I'm using pc fans to keep it cool and quiet. I'm trying to stay as stealthy as possible in march ill be leaving for a week what's some ideas to. Get it watered while I'm gone?

You can get industrial 400watt metal halide fixtures used in just about every major city CHEAP. I'm near Detroit and there are more than one craigslist ads listing them from factories that shut down or are upgrading etc. I'd look around, you will get a much higher yield from them and they can be as low as $10 or even free sometimes used. Be sure to check the voltage tho, unless you have access to a washer/dryer 277v outlet you have to make sure you buy only 120v ballasts.

good luck!

 

[2much]

i use t5's in my veg room and a 125 w hps with assorted cfls in the bud closet, flourescent seems to take longer but it works for me, vegging anyway

 

[Potsmoker42O]

sweet.. i think i might stay with fluorescents. because of the heat i would get with a HID. and... everyone uses.. HID's i know i know theres a reason for it.. but.. this is a hobby for me.. and someday i might use.. an HID like if i were to rent a house and not just apartment. i think my next lighting setup will be LED's im a techy nerd.. and new stuff interests me.

 

[jflo]

sweet.. i think i might stay with fluorescents. because of the heat i would get with a HID. and... everyone uses.. HID's i know i know theres a reason for it.. but.. this is a hobby for me.. and someday i might use.. an HID like if i were to rent a house and not just apartment. i think my next lighting setup will be LED's im a techy nerd.. and new stuff interests me.

if youre set on flourescents check this grow journal out I think itll help:

all flourescent and very in depth

 

[jflo]

if youre set on flourescents check this grow journal out I think itll help:

all flourescent and very in depth

oops..

https://www.rollitup.org/dwc-bubbleponics/234626-rosemans-diy-bubbleponics-tutorial.html