Economist tries growing...

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stratozyck

Well-Known Member
I recently decided to start growing in a small closet of mine. I'm a grad student and I got tired of paying for it, and dealing with potheads (come on when you say you got stuff, that implies you got it not your friend of a friend whom we're all waiting to get out of the shower...).

I've tried growing two times before (outside and inside) and failed (cops found the outside, inside failed to grow). I got some seeds from some midgrade stuff I got a few weeks ago. Right now I am not concerned with getting the highest quality, just stuff that is similar to what I smoked.

I have a closet that I have a few 8 inch clay pots, with several 20W grow lights I got at wal mart. After reading these forums I see people talking about 400W lights... will several 20W grow lights be enough? I got velcro and stuck them to the walls, and put a layer of aluminum foil to reflect light. I also have a small fan in there. I'm using two soils, one bag of Organic mix, another of standard potting soil (both are put out by MiracleGrow).

My question/concern is, will these grow lights be enough? Has anyone ever used these lights before? Am I wasting my time and energy with these lights?
Finally, if I do want higher quality stuff, is it pretty safe and reliable to order seeds online? I am super paranoid because if I get busted for something as stupid as ordering seeds I will lose my job.
 
juggaloclownz187

juggaloclownz187

Well-Known Member
stratozyck said:
I recently decided to start growing in a small closet of mine. I'm a grad student and I got tired of paying for it, and dealing with potheads (come on when you say you got stuff, that implies you got it not your friend of a friend whom we're all waiting to get out of the shower...).

I've tried growing two times before (outside and inside) and failed (cops found the outside, inside failed to grow). I got some seeds from some midgrade stuff I got a few weeks ago. Right now I am not concerned with getting the highest quality, just stuff that is similar to what I smoked.

I have a closet that I have a few 8 inch clay pots, with several 20W grow lights I got at wal mart. After reading these forums I see people talking about 400W lights... will several 20W grow lights be enough? I got velcro and stuck them to the walls, and put a layer of aluminum foil to reflect light. I also have a small fan in there. I'm using two soils, one bag of Organic mix, another of standard potting soil (both are put out by MiracleGrow).

My question/concern is, will these grow lights be enough? Has anyone ever used these lights before? Am I wasting my time and energy with these lights?
Finally, if I do want higher quality stuff, is it pretty safe and reliable to order seeds online? I am super paranoid because if I get busted for something as stupid as ordering seeds I will lose my job.
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Cant tell you about the seeds, but the more lights the better but what you have will do if you have only several plants or what now, but get rid of the alum. foil, it makes hot spots and fucks with your plants use either mylar or white paint...
 
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stratozyck

Well-Known Member
juggaloclownz187 said:
Cant tell you about the seeds, but the more lights the better but what you have will do if you have only several plants or what now, but get rid of the alum. foil, it makes hot spots and fucks with your plants use either mylar or white paint...
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Yeah I am strictly growing for myself. Id like to never be without again. I got a little carried away and have 12 growing, but I think I can manage to fit 12 in my tiny hidden closet.

So the smaller lights will work if I have lots of them, thats all I needed to know. Each one was about 10 bucks and I bought like 5 and got velcro strips to move them up the wall as they get taller. So far all I got is one plant thats 3 inches and another thats 1 inch.

But cool, I was worried I wasted money on those wal mart lights.
 
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shinobi

Active Member
Are the lights you're on about cfls? If so they can work, but make sure you have the right spectrums of light, for veg and then flowering.
 
juggaloclownz187

juggaloclownz187

Well-Known Member
shinobi said:
Are the lights you're on about cfls? If so they can work, but make sure you have the right spectrums of light, for veg and then flowering.
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Yeah the CFL's at small-mart work good if you get the ones that are 6500k says it on them, they are the only ones i saw that actually showed the spectrum on it so if you dont see it keep looking.... They come in 26w bulbs and they will work ok... Corkscrew ones

But def. get rid of the foil and get some white paint or something...
 
juggaloclownz187

juggaloclownz187

Well-Known Member
juggaloclownz187 said:
Yeah the CFL's at small-mart work good if you get the ones that are 6500k says it on them, they are the only ones i saw that actually showed the spectrum on it so if you dont see it keep looking.... They come in 26w bulbs and they will work ok... Corkscrew ones

But def. get rid of the foil and get some white paint or something...
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Ive only had experience once with miracle grow products and it died, and i have heard not much good about them, just something to think about as well...
 
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stratozyck

Well-Known Member
juggaloclownz187 said:
Ive only had experience once with miracle grow products and it died, and i have heard not much good about them, just something to think about as well...
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Ok, just get normal potting soil then? I guess I will know shortly if MiracleGrow will kill them. I am using two diff soils, one is standard and one miracle grow.

I will get rid of the foil... I only put it up b/c I read I should on another site... Its hard to tell whos right, but I will believe this one.
 
SomeGuy

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
I too am a Grad Student. Your main concern is having personal bud with maximum stealth. You will have to make an investment in gear. I recommend building a small box/cabinet with a 250-400w hps with MH conversion lamp. Use the Scrog technique explained in the FAQ to get the max out of your space. TELL NO ONE you grow and your security will not be compromised. I would just start with bag seed and then move on to other genetics. If you order seeds you will want a "safe house" to have them delivered to. Good luck! :)
 
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MoppinSauce

Well-Known Member
You really could max things out with a 400w MH/HPS combo. Your yield and quality will be better. Try htgsupply.com, you could pick up a 400w with all the bells and whistles for under $200, I think I even saw them advertising for 150$. Check it. good luck.
 
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MoppinSauce

Well-Known Member
stratozyck said:
Ok, just get normal potting soil then? I guess I will know shortly if MiracleGrow will kill them. I am using two diff soils, one is standard and one miracle grow.

I will get rid of the foil... I only put it up b/c I read I should on another site... Its hard to tell whos right, but I will believe this one.
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MG soils are fine, just watch yourself on the time released nutes. Don't use their nutes tho. You don't need to feed much in regard to veg nutes at all and possibly not even feed until 2nd week flower if there are time released nutes in the mix. If you have Fox Farm available to you it sounds like you could get away with a single bag(20$ or so) that's about 8 gallons of soil. MG will work, but FF over MG any day....maybe try mixing the MG with the other soil you have, however you will still run into the same nute bomb problem. Just some thoughts.
 
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gangjababy

Well-Known Member
the grow light you got is a standard incandescent light, as folks have said get some cfl's daylight for vegging and soft white for flowering
 
SomeGuy

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
whulkamania said:
Trust me, Use CFL's. The HPS's create to much electricity which shall raise suspicion.
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unfounded advice. Also, hps does not create electricity. All lights USE electricity. That consumption (load) causes heat (filament makes heat/light).

Unless you are bumping up your electric use by 2000+ watts they wont give you another look as long as you pay for the power your using. A 400w light is nothing. Besides, if you added up all the wattage of the CFL necessary to flower properly you will be at least hitting 250w. For under 200 shipped you can get a 400 hps with MH conversion lamp and pay maybe 30$ extra a month..probably not even that.
 
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gangjababy

Well-Known Member
whulkamania said:
Trust me, Use CFL's. The HPS's create to much electricity which shall raise suspicion.
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No it doesn't. 400, 600 or even 1,000 watts will not raise any suspicion, hell an ac unit eats more juice then a grow light.
And why should anyone trust you? You continually give bad advice, how many grows have you fucked up now?
 
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stratozyck

Well-Known Member
Ok, so even though the grow light I got at wal mart says "perfect for plants" its not going to work?

I looked at that site for the light, will they fit in a small closet?

I am a little paranoid about getting caught, but yeah I am not telling anyone at all.

I will probably plunk down the money for one of those lights.

Thanks for all the advice, I know tons of people that smoke but no one that grows.
 
Kingb420

Kingb420

Well-Known Member
same story basically for me here too, now its A LIFESTYLE. read the FAQ'S here, EVERYTHING you need to know is there,EVERYTHING

i start my clones and seeds with cfls in a small box, the 26w ones on a home depot bathroom vanity light ($7) with 3 y splitters, now you have 6 23w lights, very easy. start them in small pots, keep the light about 4-6 inches.

HPS is better for flowering, but i used the 2700k bulbs when i changed them to 12/12, and still got a ounce per dried my first time. Keep cost down at first, then upgrade your stuff, its all trial and error, but tons of fun


i have no clue who this chick is, but this is what cfls look like
 
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stratozyck

Well-Known Member
Kingb420 said:
same story basically for me here too, now its A LIFESTYLE. read the FAQ'S here, EVERYTHING you need to know is there,EVERYTHING

i start my clones and seeds with cfls in a small box, the 26w ones on a home depot bathroom vanity light ($7) with 3 y splitters, now you have 6 23w lights, very easy. start them in small pots, keep the light about 4-6 inches.

HPS is better for flowering, but i used the 2700k bulbs when i changed them to 12/12, and still got a ounce per dried my first time. Keep cost down at first, then upgrade your stuff, its all trial and error, but tons of fun


i have no clue who this chick is, but this is what cfls look like
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Ok I def have tubes, two feet long from a package that said "grow light" from wal mart. Now I am looking at these expensive grow lights at the website.

Its tough figuring this out because I get the impression some people are really good trying to grow commercial quality stuff. I just want it to flower and to have buds. I'll worry about maximizing quality later.
 
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gangjababy

Well-Known Member
quality isn't affected by the lights as much as quantity is. A 20w light won't cut it, cfl's are a bit pricey but an hid will do the trick and it'll last a while. Within one grow the light will pay for itself, a 250 should do the trick for you.
 
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