TheKlonedRanger
Member
Don't know if this should be in the noob thread or this one, so admins, feel free to move if I'm in the wrong spot.
I just found this website, and it couldnt come at a better time.* Im about to make my first attempt at growing a*couple plants for personal use.* Ive been a smoker for years, mostly going the dugout, or one-hitter, route, because of financial reasons.* Id rather smoke out of a bong, but Im on a budget, and purchase around ¼ every other week.* Id like to make the switch to water bong, or vaporizer (I have both, and even considering one of those incredibowls), but know that Id need more than ¼ every other week, and that goes against my budget that the wife approves of.* Ive been chipping away at her objections to me growing some for personal use, and I think Ive just about got the green light to go ahead and start fabricating a room in order to start growing.*
Ive done some lurking on this forum, and have read some of the past threads about growing and easy methods for noobs like me.* It was all very informative and easy to ready for someone without any background in this.
So, heres my issue.* I live in the southern part of the US, and at this time of the year (and mostly year round), its very hot and humid.* For instance, yesterday after I woke up and got ready for work, when I left the house and got in my truck, my in-dash outside thermometer showed 85 degrees, with about 80% humidity (this was at 4 AM).*
I have two, maybe three options, at the moment for a place to grow at.* The first option is in our bedroom closet, but its not a very big closet, and wed have to move our clothes, so Im going to assume that the wife is going to shoot down this idea.* Asides from moving the clothes (we have very limited storage inside of our house) we also have small children, and I dont like them being anywhere near my little past time.* If I can find a way to go this route, Ive bookmarked a good thread about closet grow room and will be following those instructions.
A second option is to build an outside storage unit in the backyard, with a corner boxed off for growing.* The unit would be climate controlled to keep the inside temp around 70-75.* This is the route that Id rather go, but certain things are preventing me from starting building this unit right now.* First, is that we might be moving within a year, and I dont want to pour concrete if were going to be moving.* I sort of want this permanent, and not having to build two units for two different houses (we are expecting another kid, and have to upgrade).* The other drawback to the unit is that its going to take a few months to budget and build it as I work full time, and with my wife in her first trimester of her pregnancy, her morning (all day) sickness has got her laid up in bed most of the time, and my duties at home have gone from 50/50, to 100 % all on me; working from 4 AM to*4 PM, then going home and working in the house till 10 PM doesnt leave any time for anything else, except a few bowls to ease my mind at the end of a day.
So in reality, if I want to smoke my home grown before 2012, that leaves me with option 3, which is probably the least desirable; my garage/attic.
I dont park a vehicle in there, and mostly use it for lawn equipment and all the outside toys for my kids.* Theres an area on the back wall that I can box off and make into a room big enough to house 3-5 plants, and have it look as if the house came like that.* I can vent from the room into the attic, so smell and airflow shouldnt be a problem.* What will be a problem is the temperature.* The garage isnt very well insulated, so it stays around the range of what the outside temperature is (sometimes it seems hotter in the garage because there isnt any airflow and it just stays the same hot air).* I could add a window AC unit, but it would have to be placed somewhere where its not visible from the outside, so that the room stays hidden.* I dont have any accurate temperature readings from the garage, but Id expect the average temperature inside of the garage to be around 95 degrees this summer during the days, and around 85 or so at night.* Those conditions, as is, wouldnt allow for very good growth, because of the high temperature, right?
I think in order to better hide my operation, I'm going to go with the grow box (inside dimensions of 4' x 4' x 8') in my attic,*so Im going to need to provide an AC unit.* I shouldn't need anything over 5,000 BTU's (even this is overkill, but I'm*not sure if another method for cooling it in my attic will work...any insight on this?) for my box, since it'll be well insulated to prevent any cool air losses.* I plan on getting the box built mostly this weekend, finishing up the details next week.* I'm gonna run the AC for a few days to get the temp stabilized, and figure out if I'm going to have any humidity problems.* After that, I'll know whether or not I need a dehumidifier.* I plan to use the same room to grow, and then dry/cure my harvest.
I have a few ideas about lighting, just need a little help, as I've not been able to find much info on the lighting needs for autoflowering strains.* I know most of the autoflowering seeds I've looked into (I get into seed selection in the next paragraph) have quick grow times (many around the 6-9 week mark), and you don't have to change your lighting from veg to flowering stage.* What I don't know is if I need to change the type of lighting between stages.* Using the idea of a minimum of 40W / sq. ft, and my box being 16 sq. ft., I should need anywhere from 640W, to 1,600W.* I'm looking for the cheapest way to provide lighting, without having it impact my finished product.* Having said that, I know lights can get expensive, I just plan on shopping around for the best price on the right lighting.*
Based on all the reading I've done, I expect the majority of my help to center around lighting/exhaust/air flow.* What would be the best set up for the box and conditions I've explained above?
Next Ive got a few questions about seeds (and I apologize about the length, Im just a very detailed person).* Ive gone to a few sites, and keep seeing The Attitude Seedbank as a reputable place, so I think Im going to be using them.* I want to keep things simple the first time, and have been looking at feminized, auto-flowering seeds to start off with.* I picked out a few different types of seed packs from Attitude Seedbank, and have ordered them.* I'd like to start growing in 2 weeks (build this weekend, and start*germinating the following week).* I'm going to start with "Delicious Seed La Diva feminized automatic" seeds.* The site says the expected yield for this type of seed is around 300gr per m2 (meters squared);*I'm not exactly sure what that means.* It's a packet of 5 seeds, could I grow 5 plants in this set up (assuming all 5 germinate)?* Would SOG be an effective growing method for auto-flowering?
One last bit, and then I should be good, until I think of something else.* I've read that a lot of the auto-flower strains are very sensitive to nutrients.* I've heard good things about flora nova, but haven't read up much on it.* I'm doing a soil grow, and have been looking into foxfarm soils.* Any tips on soil and nutrients would be greatly appreciated.
I'll be keeping a journal on this and posting many pictures. Thanks for any help that can be given!!
I just found this website, and it couldnt come at a better time.* Im about to make my first attempt at growing a*couple plants for personal use.* Ive been a smoker for years, mostly going the dugout, or one-hitter, route, because of financial reasons.* Id rather smoke out of a bong, but Im on a budget, and purchase around ¼ every other week.* Id like to make the switch to water bong, or vaporizer (I have both, and even considering one of those incredibowls), but know that Id need more than ¼ every other week, and that goes against my budget that the wife approves of.* Ive been chipping away at her objections to me growing some for personal use, and I think Ive just about got the green light to go ahead and start fabricating a room in order to start growing.*
Ive done some lurking on this forum, and have read some of the past threads about growing and easy methods for noobs like me.* It was all very informative and easy to ready for someone without any background in this.
So, heres my issue.* I live in the southern part of the US, and at this time of the year (and mostly year round), its very hot and humid.* For instance, yesterday after I woke up and got ready for work, when I left the house and got in my truck, my in-dash outside thermometer showed 85 degrees, with about 80% humidity (this was at 4 AM).*
I have two, maybe three options, at the moment for a place to grow at.* The first option is in our bedroom closet, but its not a very big closet, and wed have to move our clothes, so Im going to assume that the wife is going to shoot down this idea.* Asides from moving the clothes (we have very limited storage inside of our house) we also have small children, and I dont like them being anywhere near my little past time.* If I can find a way to go this route, Ive bookmarked a good thread about closet grow room and will be following those instructions.
A second option is to build an outside storage unit in the backyard, with a corner boxed off for growing.* The unit would be climate controlled to keep the inside temp around 70-75.* This is the route that Id rather go, but certain things are preventing me from starting building this unit right now.* First, is that we might be moving within a year, and I dont want to pour concrete if were going to be moving.* I sort of want this permanent, and not having to build two units for two different houses (we are expecting another kid, and have to upgrade).* The other drawback to the unit is that its going to take a few months to budget and build it as I work full time, and with my wife in her first trimester of her pregnancy, her morning (all day) sickness has got her laid up in bed most of the time, and my duties at home have gone from 50/50, to 100 % all on me; working from 4 AM to*4 PM, then going home and working in the house till 10 PM doesnt leave any time for anything else, except a few bowls to ease my mind at the end of a day.
So in reality, if I want to smoke my home grown before 2012, that leaves me with option 3, which is probably the least desirable; my garage/attic.
I dont park a vehicle in there, and mostly use it for lawn equipment and all the outside toys for my kids.* Theres an area on the back wall that I can box off and make into a room big enough to house 3-5 plants, and have it look as if the house came like that.* I can vent from the room into the attic, so smell and airflow shouldnt be a problem.* What will be a problem is the temperature.* The garage isnt very well insulated, so it stays around the range of what the outside temperature is (sometimes it seems hotter in the garage because there isnt any airflow and it just stays the same hot air).* I could add a window AC unit, but it would have to be placed somewhere where its not visible from the outside, so that the room stays hidden.* I dont have any accurate temperature readings from the garage, but Id expect the average temperature inside of the garage to be around 95 degrees this summer during the days, and around 85 or so at night.* Those conditions, as is, wouldnt allow for very good growth, because of the high temperature, right?
I think in order to better hide my operation, I'm going to go with the grow box (inside dimensions of 4' x 4' x 8') in my attic,*so Im going to need to provide an AC unit.* I shouldn't need anything over 5,000 BTU's (even this is overkill, but I'm*not sure if another method for cooling it in my attic will work...any insight on this?) for my box, since it'll be well insulated to prevent any cool air losses.* I plan on getting the box built mostly this weekend, finishing up the details next week.* I'm gonna run the AC for a few days to get the temp stabilized, and figure out if I'm going to have any humidity problems.* After that, I'll know whether or not I need a dehumidifier.* I plan to use the same room to grow, and then dry/cure my harvest.
I have a few ideas about lighting, just need a little help, as I've not been able to find much info on the lighting needs for autoflowering strains.* I know most of the autoflowering seeds I've looked into (I get into seed selection in the next paragraph) have quick grow times (many around the 6-9 week mark), and you don't have to change your lighting from veg to flowering stage.* What I don't know is if I need to change the type of lighting between stages.* Using the idea of a minimum of 40W / sq. ft, and my box being 16 sq. ft., I should need anywhere from 640W, to 1,600W.* I'm looking for the cheapest way to provide lighting, without having it impact my finished product.* Having said that, I know lights can get expensive, I just plan on shopping around for the best price on the right lighting.*
Based on all the reading I've done, I expect the majority of my help to center around lighting/exhaust/air flow.* What would be the best set up for the box and conditions I've explained above?
Next Ive got a few questions about seeds (and I apologize about the length, Im just a very detailed person).* Ive gone to a few sites, and keep seeing The Attitude Seedbank as a reputable place, so I think Im going to be using them.* I want to keep things simple the first time, and have been looking at feminized, auto-flowering seeds to start off with.* I picked out a few different types of seed packs from Attitude Seedbank, and have ordered them.* I'd like to start growing in 2 weeks (build this weekend, and start*germinating the following week).* I'm going to start with "Delicious Seed La Diva feminized automatic" seeds.* The site says the expected yield for this type of seed is around 300gr per m2 (meters squared);*I'm not exactly sure what that means.* It's a packet of 5 seeds, could I grow 5 plants in this set up (assuming all 5 germinate)?* Would SOG be an effective growing method for auto-flowering?
One last bit, and then I should be good, until I think of something else.* I've read that a lot of the auto-flower strains are very sensitive to nutrients.* I've heard good things about flora nova, but haven't read up much on it.* I'm doing a soil grow, and have been looking into foxfarm soils.* Any tips on soil and nutrients would be greatly appreciated.
I'll be keeping a journal on this and posting many pictures. Thanks for any help that can be given!!
. It's a smaller cab, enough for two plants to grow 5' high, but enough herb to last me for 2 months. It has its own veg chamber so realistically I can crop every 8-9 weeks. 
