Alien Box - Double Gum - CFL - DWC - First Grow

Hello everyone and welcome to my first grow.

First off, why Alien Box? My wife named my little project 'Alien Box' after I put the emergency blankets on the inside. See said it reminded her of the aluminum hats people wear to prevent the aliens from reading their thoughts. I liked the name, so I kept it (it also makes her happy and allows me to grow).

I am using CFLs in a DWC and planning a SCROG. This is my first real grow and I will probably need some help. I have been reading this site for a while now and have a good idea of what I am doing. I have mostly followed Wolfman Zen, Farming Toronto, and Dr. Chronic. I have gotten a lot of good ideas from them (others as well, but these stick out as grows to follow). I also have watched the See More Buds DVDs and Jorge Cervantes' bible and DVD.

Well on with my grow .... These pix are of the Alien Box. The first one is the box before I did anything to it. The second is of the holes for the 120mm computer/muffin fans to exhaust (during flower through a Zen Walmart Carbon Filter). Third is my light bar design sitting on the box. Forth is the outside after a light leak prevention mod. Fifth is the rear of the box showing the passive intake vents. These vents turned out to be too small (1 1/4" PVC) and are replaced by larger holes with fans. My idea was to use the intake to give the plants some 'wind' by directing through PVC as ducts. This did not work, hence the replacement. The sixth is the box completed (before the intake redo). This is in a 'show off' mode and will be adjusted for the plants when they are put in it (different lights and positioning, air pump, etc.)

Questions and coments are welcome. And thanks in advance!

I'm sure I have more to say, but I can't think of more right now. My next post will be the start of the grow (on Day 2 now).

gonna need more lights, lose the extension cords and go to lowes/home depot and buy a vanity light set up. they only like 8 bucks and have 4-5 sockets apiece, use y connectors ($1 apiece) so u can get 2-4 lights for every socket. also separate grow containers is a must if you are starting from seed (if some turn male you dont want to have to uproot all of them and trust most willl turn male the first time), and the containers need to not be transparent(roots like the dark). Also loose the fire blankets and go to ur local hydro store and buy poly-paper (its black on one side and white on the other) it is not expensive (like $20 for the size you need) and it is alot safer and easier to use. finally only buy the 42 watt cfls ($8 apiece) but they are worth it, more lumens for the watt and you only need like 6-10 for up to 4 plants.

I didn't have time to start this on day 1, so here we are on day 2. My grow is White Label Seeds Double Gum from Attitude. My naming convention is: DG for Double Gum, A for my first grow, and 1 for from seeds. I have 2 seeds that I germinated (100% germ, so far). One had kind of a greenish color on the tap root near the seed, so I named it Dark Root (DR) (very thought provoking, I'm sure). And you may guess the second one named Light Root (LR) because the root was completely white from the seed out.

Germination started on Oct. 11 shortly after the seeds arrived. I used the paper towel method and by 12 hours both seeds had split. By 24 hours DR had a small root and LR was not LR yet. At about 36 hours, both had tap roots and were ready to plant. I made the mistake of not figuring out how long to prep the rockwool and only did it for about 2 hours. I know I messed that up (notes for later). The rockwool was placed in hydroton clay in net pots in my DWC (plastic shoebox size sterlite container with holes in top taped with duct tape (copy from Wolfman Zen). Air stone under each net pot. It took 2.5 days for LR to start above ground (Oct. 14) and the next day it was standing straight up. That was Day 1 (Oct. 15) and I am now on day 2 (Oct. 16). DR has yet to appear above ground, but moving the rockwool off the top, I can still see some green that looks like it could come up at any time.

Pix below: 1 - Seeds Placed in RW. 2 - LR just above ground. 3 - LR day 1. 4 - LR day 2 (today).

Comments please.

tryintogrow - Thanks for the info. I have splitters (bottom of pic 3) and will use them as that pic was just for show. I think some of your comments will be answered with the post I was making when you responded to my first. If I get a male I want to try to save the pollen, just because. I am looking for a learning experience here, as I am building a bigger (3'x3'x7' tall) grow box for later (Strawberry Haze). Why do you say no to the reflective blankets? I put those in before I made it to the hydro store (90 minutes each way drive). I do have different lights, as again the box pic is just for show.

Looks good so far jack! I really like your box, looks well put together. Keep up the good work and don't be afraid to ask any questions. Good luck and happy growing

Tom

Thanks Tom 420!!