4x4 Tent for Flower, Closet for Mothers. Any Input?

Hello all!

So I am in the middle of my 1st grow now. I am running 12 autoflowers in a 4x4 tent with a 600w HPS. I have wanted to try my green thumb for a while and it was WAY harder than i thought lol. I am learning as i watch the plants, i didnt expect too much from this run because im a novice.

BUT next run i am looking to utilize the space i have as well as get a little more control on the environment.

The plan is to grow the 4 freebies i get from attitude and mother them. Blue Hash, Blue widow, White widow, and diesel. And have a semi continuous set up. I was going to basically clone the shit out of those 4 and pick best clones. Then veg for a month and flower for 2. I would be going for quantity of quality clones to make this work.

Mothers/ veg closet:
I was going to build a DIY 5 bucket bubbleponic system (5th will be reservoir). I have a 2x4 closet i plan on gutting to hold them. For the mothers i wanted to get a 4' 6 fixture t5 to hang. it measures out to 3.5x1.8 so it will cover the closet perfect giving all the mothers great light. I would hang 2 swinging fans for circulation. I keep my house at 71 so i don't see florescence being a problem with heat.

what is the best way to keep light form getting in? im not in my room much but when i am i have a lamp i put on, i dont want it interfearing with the dark period.

Also I was thinking of making the rack on top of the closet for clones and get some cfl's up there till they get some nice roots.


FLOWER ROOM: the real problem

4x4x6.5' tent with 600w hps sealed hood. Carbon filter with 4" inline fan, also i ran ducting from my ac vent to the top of the tent and i have a duct booster to push new air in even when AC is off.

So i wanted this to hold 10-15 girls at a time, more if anyone thinks it can be done. I am still deciding if i want to put clones in soil or some sort of hydro set up. Any suggestions?

This thread is too fucking long so im going to stop and ask if anyone has any suggestions please feel free.. I learned all i could from reading so its trial and error until i get this right.

Thanks for your time,
FLgrwr

Hi FLgrwr,

Looks like you've done your research already and know what you want in your setup.

For your Veg cab, looks like what you have planned will work, I have my 2 mothers under a 4 x 24" T5 bulbs (just about 1/2 your area/light), which also fills the area out nicely and seems sufficient. I remember reading cannabis needed a near minimum of 25 watts/sq foot, you can use that info to see if your lighting is adequate for your space.

I also run a semi perpetual setup and only take clones from my mothers every month or two and they don't need too much light. As for the dark period, iirc cannabis only needs the uninterrupted dark period during flowering, it is okay to have minimal light/light exposure during "dark" in veg. I personally have my mothers in a separate corner in my bathroom, during the dark cycle I try to use only my green light bulbs (vs all the bathroom lighting) so they still have that regular light schedule.

As for your flower cab, 10-15 girls in 4'x4'x6' will be tight, soil or hydro. (if you are planning to veg for 1 month/F for 2). From my experience 6' vertically isn't that much space. (Hood/ducting/interior fans all add up to alot of used space) I also have just over 6' of room in my flower cupboard. With all those items taking up space, you'll look into ways to increase yield while keeping your girls shorter and thicker such as FIMing, topping and LST. All of those methods will take more horizontal area, so don't forget to give each plant enough room to breath/get adequate light.

I'm assuming your growing in soil right now? If your planning to veg for 1 month and are still learning here and there, 5-8 medium size plants in soil seems like it'll fit your needs.
You're already setup to run soil, you wont need to spend more on hydro equip, and it'll be a lot easier to tend to 5 or so medium plants vs 12+ smaller plants IMO.
After this grow, you would have learned a lot about your girls/genetics and environment that you're dealing with, then you can maybe invest more and expand your grow from there.
(What I'm doing right now as well )
Hope this helps! Keep us posted, and good luck!

Thanks so much for the input, I'm glad I made the damn move to RIU lol.

But for my girls the mothers will be in hydro I've decided. Right now I'm doing the 12 autos in hydro as well. I like the control it allows you to have if used right. However, hydro takes up some good space so I figured soil may be a little easier as far as room goes. I just need to figure out what mix would be best and all that jazz.

But I figure with only a month of veg, they will only get to 3-4' and I do plan on topping. I want to try scrog but I'm going to work on smaller steps before trying that lol. Also I'm looking for 4 harvest per year at least so I don't mind having the shorter, but more plants. I always try to factor in the I'm a noob and will kill off a few, so I may overshoot my final goal.

Thanks for actually reading that post lol,
-FL

So how's the grow going?

I don't mind high maintenance where it matters, but with mothers it's overkill, IMO.
I think it's easier to care for mothers in soil, all you need from them is cuttings. If you're worried about root problems then check out some airpots.

I just ordered some to keep my moms in because I think they will prevent some of the root problems inherent with keeping mothers. $2 each for 3 gallon pots here

I'm currently planning out a flood table setup that will be a SOG, 12/12 from clone. Rooted clones will go right into flower for 8 or 10 weeks, then repeat. Here's my thread: https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/434788-suggestions-my-flood-table-new.html if it gives you any ideas. I have the same size closet as you with a 400w HPS, and a seperate 400w CFL veg chamber too, check em out!

But hey, if you're doing hydro on your first grow, then you're more advanced than I was starting out. Best of luck!!!