First Grow - DWC Closet with CFLs

Hello everyone! Getting started with my first ever grow and wanted to start a journal. I'm working out of an unused closet, 2' x 2.5' x 8'.

First thing I tackled was a custom CFL lamp hood. 16 x 23W, half daylight and half cool white, plus one extra 45W. Total of...413 watts! Or 82.6 per sq foot.


Plenty of light!


Got everything suspended and air pumps attached. All 4 power strips into one, so everything is on one convenient switch.

Ran the lights and pumps overnight for a test, and unfortunately discovered the next morning that 3 of the CFLs had shut down from too much heat. It was easily 120* in the hood. SO, I broke out the hole saw and some PC fans!



Got my 18 gallon totes situated. Four plants in 6" pots, top is taped up to block light.





Seeds should be in tomorrow! I ordered from Shay, got some Cotton Candy Kush, Blue Fruit, and Early Risers. I will be germinating in paper towels, sprouting in Jiffy plugs, then transplanting into the 6" pots filled with growstone. Any suggestions are more than welcome, thanks!

Well my seeds ended up being a day late, but no harm no foul. Started soaking them in pH'd water, and will be planting them in Jiffy plugs today.

Finally got the seeds planted in Jiffy plugs on Saturday! Didn't have anything exciting to post until today, but now I have sprouts!! Any suggestions on how they look? So far 4 Blue Fruit, and 2 Cotton Candy Kush. No luck with the Coco Kush yet though. Hopefully they pop soon.

That's very cool DIY great job mate if your grow is as good as your handy man work i am sure we are in for a good show subbed

Thanks! Official Day 1! 4 of the sprouts stretched over 1" tall last night and had tap roots coming out the bottom of the plugs, so in the bubbler they go!

I second what DirtyNerd said, that's an impressive DIY hood setup what is it made of mate? Looks like it will pack out some light exactly where it needs too!

Thanks! The hood was all 3/4" MDF scraps from work. lol Free!

So far the seedlings are on...Day 5! Not as much growth as I was hoping, but they look healthy at least! I upped the nutes to 50%.

Nice diy work!

Good luck with your grow!

Week 1 is officially concluded for my first 5 plants! They're looking fantastic I must say, but maybe a little short.

Day 9!

The first 4 Blue Fruit are at 100% nutes, working on their 4th set of leaves! Also, BF1 and BF2 both have roots in the solution now! Also, Cotton Candy Kush 1 is seriously kicking the Blue Fruits' butts, despite it being 2 days younger. My one and only CoCo Kush has also been transplanted.

Day 13 marks the end of Week 2! Any idea whats up with the light green spots on BF1? Burn perhaps?

Wow, it's been a few weeks since I was on. My first two plants are just past week 6 now, and HUGE! Unfortunately I ran into some problems! At week 5 there were no signs of flowering, AT ALL. So as far as I can tell, Shay's seeds are NOT properly bred for the auto trait. Oh well, I threw them into 6/18 and they kicked into flower mode in 2 days! Hopefully they'll finish soon, I'm running out of room.

Here's a pic from week 5. Hopefully I'll have a pic of some pistils tomorrow.