Auto Grow --

Hey, just a quicky really. Finished my set up today just waitin on seedzzzz. Just thought id ask around see if u more experienced fellows thought my setup was ok and not missing anything that crucial or going to do anything that might damage the plant. So here it is...

Am growing an autoflowering strain of critical mass n NL (chosen for height and potency reasons) my space is limited to 1.65m tall.

plannin on 3-4 plants to start (just a small personal grow)

have
x6 cfl 24w 2700k 1200 lumens mounted on a height adjustable board (to be mounted at all times approx 3 inches above the plant).
x2 cfl 24w 2700k 1200 lumens side lites
x1 cfl 40w i think its 5000k somethings not sure exactly and 2000 lumens this is mounted at the top of the room and was an existing fitting.
a dismembered aerogarden
a water pump to oxygenate the water
extractor fan
desk fan
Mylar coated grow room (its also poor insulated so i have ok control little heat, dont think it would be a concern at this time of year anywho)
clear plastic cups with holes to keep seeds humidity @ 50-60% @ beginingg
timer set to 20 / 4

nutes - canna aqua ab Rhizotonic, cannazym, pk13/14, canna boost
some nitrogen + mag enriched stuff i got from my local diy shop.
hydrometer/thermometer
ph up/down


plan - pretty simple really, i wanted to keep this as low maint as poss for the first go, the less variables makes it easier to find the bits im doing wrong!

so yeah start off week 1 with just the nitro enriched nutes so the plants not confused by the lack of nitro from the water + canna boost
week 2 do 1/4 measures of the canna start lst
week 2/3 increase canna based on results of last week (ie no nute burn etc.)
start lst
week 4 to 8 LST add nutes, check for burn keep, ph levels
week 9/10 ph neutral water + flush

my major concern -
is 3-4 too many plants? with 3 the aero garden has spacing between the 25cm (10inch) between each plant. reduced to 15cm (6inch) with 4. too little room?

 

sixteenounces

Well-Known Member
I would be concerned about lights off temps(poor insulation). And those lights probably won't to cut it in the end, unless you are happy with 10gram yields. Also, Be very careful with the amount of lst you use. restricting growth on these plants will heavily effect your yield. This is not saying lst wont help you grow in a small space. just be wary.

I know you said you wanted to keep the first run simple. Why hydro? If a new grower makes a mistake with hydro, there is a much higher possibility of losing your entire crop.

Also, i would add some higher wattage lights down the road.. other than that. sounds like your ready for a good time :eyesmoke:
 
noted. more light, ill prob just add some more high wattage cfls to my adjustable board as the grow continues. yeah def a good plan. more lights and more heat in that room cant be a bad thing. i guess with cfls you cant ever really have too many. ill just keep adding them if im not achieving the required growth rate. ive been stuff bits of rockwool into the cavities between the joists of the attic so that should work to some effect to stop the heat loss during the off light periods.

to be honest i am not sure if i am going to use lst, ive been researching it more and more, it seems there are more people growing auto that have had negative experiences trying it than positive. i think i will stick just removing a few of the lower leaves around week 2 to try and encourage growth higher on the bud and only use lst as a last resort if the plants start getting to large for the space.

to be honest i dont have a good reason for choosing hydro, other than the fact its been the method ive always wanted to learn, so for me, it seems a logical place to start. it doesnt seem to add that much more complications as long as you have the correct nutes to counterbalance what you lose from not having soil. which i feel comfortable doing. i have all the ph checkin stuff and know how to neutralise and flush. i am very weary about the nutes ive brought as ive never used them before. ill be using very small measures like 2ml per 1l (1/4 of recommended for 'growth' stage) to start, increasing only when i ma sure there ar no or little sign of nute burn etc. are there other concerns i should be aware of with hydro?

thanks for your response appreciate it. very helpful just to discuss and get my thoughts in order before everything gets underway.
 
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