Cfl White Widow Closet farming . Budget friendly diy with pro results!

Hey riu im on my 3rd year with my White Widow cabinet so I thought it would be cool to grow one more harvest before i switch strains.

First a little background , 3 years ago I bought a two sided walmart clothing closet and built this cabinet. I have had the same mother plants since i started and they are doing fine in there 1 gallon bags with very little light(4 26watt cfl's). A fellow riu member went to Holland and mailed me cuttings in plastic bags with damp paper towels , after a few weeks of touch and go and some scares I got them to root. The two strongest cuts then became my mother plants and have given me 100's of clones for myself and other people in need.


I started out on a tight budget with my own soil mix and regular ferts from Walmart/Home Depot. I was only using cfl's because they were cheap but now I love them and thats the only light I will use when im closet farming The hps gets really hot in the small cabs and the cfl's stay cool enough to touch. I also build my own light setups on the cheap with heater ducts and scrap wood, I had a thread about "getting the most out of your cfls" if your looking for advice on building a cheap safe light source !

I run 16 26 watt 2700k bulbs in the flower side and 4 26 watt 6500k bulbs in the veg side. I keep veg lighting low to halt the growth of the moms .

When I started using my own soil and nutes my harvest was good but i knew it could get better! I finally got myself some Fox Farms Ocean Forrest and their 3 bottle nute setup and the results are really as good as people say! I never check my ph levels and i use bottled distilled water on my babbies because my tap water is loaded with chlorine and trace minerals that can slow plant growth. If your just starting out I suggest you go for the FFOF and nutes the results will be a fast easy grow that just about anyone can do at home!

I have a bunch of wierd random plants from my "clone off" that will find there way to good homes once they root and are ready to be transplanted.

Feel free to post anything you like and ask questions in my journal and i will help you out if i can~!

Pics below and I like keeping up with the plants as they grow so there will be lots more pics as things move along.


these last 4 are the "clone off" 12 cuts in Schults Take Root and 12 cuts in Clonex gel, the gel clones were all rooted before i got any roots from the powder so The gel is worth every penny and because they root so fast i can get one more harvest per year and thats a great thing.
Not a whole lot to look at right now but stay tuned for progress reports!!


And again if you need help you have come to the right place between myself and the thousands of seasoned members we can get you going

well i picked 9 girls to put in the flower side of the cabinet . this time they grew up wierd. they were all growth tips but their first larger side branch has caught up to the tip so they will most likely be 2 colas instead of just one large one. im still thinking possibly sog i have never done one and "if it aint broken dont fix it" but it might be fun to tie down a nice blanket of buds also a few pics of the mother / veg side to show how penetration is not a problem even with very low wattage 4x26 watters . i have also seen a few guys saying that 1 gallon bags are too small to flower in but like drbud says "root bound is a state of mind" keep the salt levels low and you can grow 6 footers in 1 gal containers!

Whats a guy gotta do to get some subs around here?????????? Cheap easy gro techniques that anyone can do~!

subbed.... i'm interested in seeing a cfl grow to finish... gl

thanks buddy glad someone shoed up! my last few grows are on here start to finish too so you can see them if you like. "4x4 grow room clean slate" was my first all cfl grow my old name on here as "winkdogg"

i think im about 7-10 days into 12/12 and the bud sites are starting to show. i also threw in a few pics of the moms to show the amount of pemetration i get ith just 4 cfls. lots of people bag on the cfls when it comes to penetration so im trying to dispell that notion. i kno a 400-1000 wat hps will really get in there deeper but in a small closed the heat is way to much. also keeping the lights close to the canopy helps to stop stretching and the hids cannot get close without burning. the clones have all split into "double headers" with 2 growth tips instead of 1 with a normal clone.. im not sure why but i think it will help me keep fill in the canopy to take advantage of the square inches of useable light my hood provides. i started the 12/12 feeding with ff grow big and ff big bloom as well as some b-52 root enoculant and a touch of super thrive for good measure! this round im using distilled water instead of spring water and it seems to be more gentle on the girls and since its almost the same as RO water it should help prevent lockup and keep salt levels down but im still going to flush twice with ff sledge hammer and my hydro store is recomending a "finishing nute" that will pump up bud mass and make my buds even more dense and hard..


please spread the word about my thread i like having a big group of followers to share ideas and help me keep learning!


thx drbudwannabe

well about 1 month into 12/12 and the buds are booming and coated in heavy white crystals (trichs). im sticking with the basic Fox Farms 3 pack but will be doing a flush with FF Sledgehammer and I will also bed stacking "Oper Sesame" towards the end for dense nugs. I put alot of time into making my own soil mix before but I can now sayh "dont waste your time". FF has been in business for years for 1 good reason their stuff works awesome and makes things almost idiot proof! I have been kicking around the math and this method is also pretty cheap , for a complete cycle it costs me $20 in soil about $8.00 in ferts and $10 in spring water. After the first cycle it all pays for itself with abundant meds .



And now for the bud porn 30-35 days in 12/12 with amazing bud building and trich coverage!!!

Brand new to all of this bro, so bare with me if you will. I am loving what you have done, and would love to learn your ways. Seems more realistic, and more in depth than most others. I would like to use CFL's instead of HPS or HP, due to cost and energy efficiency. I will be using 5 gallon buckets, as well as 2 gallon easy planters. I have started mine indoors, and had them in little grow domes, that held condensation, and humidity. Now comes the fun part, getting them to go from that little 4 leaf plant, with skinny stalk. To a lucious, thriving, healthy mom. This is not my first grow, however my first grow using artificial lights, fans, a closet, and what have you. I am in need of wisdom on your behalf, to help me become more knowledgeable, and more understanding of what this process needs, and takes. Any info would be greatly appreciated. THE PICS ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep up the GREAT work.

Also if you could help me out with the basic build of a grow room, that would be great. Thanks

looking good mate !

HEY BUJD THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS~! everything i learned about growing i learned on here! it can be done cheap easy and can be a ton of fun! after the last several years of growing i have come up with a few simple tips that i wish i knew when i first started! so lets start there and you can ask all the questions you want and i will help whenever i can!

tips: keep it simple! it takes years to master complex grows with hydro and advance lighting.

trust the experts! i never wanted to use the big name products because i thought they were just hype(i.e. fox farms) but after years of making my own soil mix and trying every type of home depot fertilizers i learned that FOX FARMS HASNT LASTED SO LONG BECAUSE THEY SELL JUNK ITS ALL GREAT STUFF!

privacy is key ! its hard to not show off your babbies but showing all your friends can only lead to trouble!

and a few simple rules to follow for your cabinet- bigger means more work and hard to seal up and light properly! my first indoor setup was 4x4 with 8 foot ceilings and i think it was too big. i now use the walmart clothing closet($99) its only about 2x2 feet per side and i grow more than i can possibly smoke! i use 9 1 gallon grow bags to flower and they each are capable of producing more than an ounce each! and 9+ ounces every 3 months is plenty for me temp is also imporant some breeds can handel hot and cold better than others but i find 80 degrees f is perfect for most. water is pretty important too tap water can be harsh on plants bc of the chemicalsz they put in it , i use spring and distilled water i need about 10 gals per grow so i buy 1 gal jugs for under a buck.

this is alot to cram into 1 reply but let me know what i can help with and we will go through it together !

im about to post an update with my biggest buds ever so check it out!

drbudwannabe

ps my name is from the guy that i learned alot from "DrBudGreengenes" so google him and try to find his grows he is the master of the "perpetual grow" but he also has some great ideas about small grow setups and budget growing.. he is my mentor even though i have never even talked to him!

well i will let the pics do the talking but these are the fattest fastest most beautiful nugs i ever grew ! THANKS AGAIN FOX FARMS!!

PS I DONT WORK FOR FOX FARMS I JUST REALLY LIKE THEIR STUFF AND WISH I STARTED USING IT YEARS AGO . ITS WORTH EVERY PENNY..

THE LAST PIC IS THE FIRST TIME I EVER GOT MY CAMERA TO SHOOT INTO MY MICROSCOPE TO SEE TRICHROMES! ITS NOT PERFECT BUT IM STILL WORKING ON IT !

10 weeks in flower ! Biggest buds ever and im pumping them up over the next 1-3 weeks so things should b e really great!!!!

got nugs????????? just flushed the soil with florakleen clearing solution and the results seem to be great! i usually only use water and black strap mollasas to flush before harvest so i thought i would try a real flush and the girls loved it! my normal watering is 16 oz with the ff ferts using their chart so for the flush i used 32 oz of spring water and florakleen and i let the run off drip dry before returning them to their trays . i will feed the girls 1 more time with reg nutes and then flush again before harvest (2-3weeks total)

AND ONE MORE TIP FOR GUYS GETTING STARTED , ALWAYS LET YOUR PLANTS DRY UP BEFORE WATERING! I LIKE TO SEE SAGGING IN THE FAN LEAVES BEFORE I WATER . NOW YOU DONT WANT THEM TO GET CRISPY BUT PLANTS IN GENERAL LOVE GETTING A BIG DRINK AFTER THEY HAVE JUST ABOUT DRYED THE SOIL!

OVER WATERING AND OVER FEEDING HAVE BEEN MY NUMBER 1 ENEMY WITH ALL MY GROWS , AS MUCH AS WE LIKE TO PLAY IN THE GARDEN ITS HARD TO DO NOTHING FOR 4-5 DAYS BUT ONCE I LEARNED TO LET THEM BE THEY REALLY STARTED TO GROW FASTER AND STRONGER!

SAME GOES FOR CLONING EXCEPT YOU NEVER WANT THAT SOIL TO DRY UP ! AND CLONES HATE MUD TOO SO IT TAKES A DELICATE BALANCE IF YOU MUST PLAY WITH YOUR PLANTS DAILY FIND A MIST BOTTLE THAT HAS A REALLY FINE MIST SO YOU CAN SPRAY YOUR CLONES AND VEG PLANTS ALOT WITHOUT OVER WETTING THEM!

BUMP BUMP BUMP

Nice set up man!

Hey man nice stuff you got there, im also growing white widow cfl 138w , 2weeks into flowering, im folowing this 1 , and nice set up, Diy is the best you feel more proud i think haha

onlycucumbershere said:

nice set up man!

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thanks buddy!

maga0 said:

hey man nice stuff you got there, im also growing white widow cfl 138w , 2weeks into flowering, im folowing this 1 , and nice set up, diy is the best you feel more proud i think haha

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thank you!

I call this the "beauty and the beast " stage. Some of the most beautiful nugs i ever grew but with the fan leaves turning yellow and dropping off they are also a bit beasty...

Pics were taken right after the last feeding (last night) so i will flush a few times over the next 14-20 days while waiting for my trichs to go 50/50 amber. Since i like a little variety i will allow some nugs to stay on longer until im almost 100% browqn with the trichs. The longer grow times makes the widow really heavy and almost like sleeping pills the 50-50% clear/amber is much lighter and leaves me more able to function and avoid "couch lock".

The pics below are my last shots until harvest and dry / cure. The bulkier plants should yeild around 1 oz each on the average so prob 6-8 oz total from the 9 i gallon grow bags. I cant stress enough how much i like the smaller containers , 9 plants in a cab that would only hold 2-3 five gallon pots and the tight space helps the heavy buds lean on the walls and one and other for support! And once again thanks to fox farms for their wonderful products i used ocean forrest soil and the basic 3 bottle nute set and i got my best results ever! I used to hate all the over priced products but i wish i would have tried them years ago! I experimented with my own soil mixes and nutes i bought from regular nurseries and home depot and i got pretty good results but the real deal is wayyyy better and actually pretty cheap . I will get 3-4 years out of my nutes and a $20 bag of soil each run is cheap! So leave it up to the experts and buy the good stuff!

Drbudwannabe

did u harvest ? any updates ?? let us know bro