I have been reading and changing my mind for over 6 months now and every time I think I am ready to go, I read something else and re-think my Grow Room and Change it up. I will give all the details that I can and on what I am trying to accomplish. I will be forever grateful and do my part in helping others where I can. Here goes ...
Grow Area
I have a space that will be 10'-0" in Length - 3'-6" Wide (deep) - 7'-0" Tall (height)
Strains
I will be trying out a few different seed banks so I can get a idea of who is legit and who is actually going to ship my stuff and get it to me in good shape. I am not into Feminized seeds at all. I want to be able to make some seeds and save some pollen for future use.
From Gypsy Nirvana:
( I have heard some complaints lately about these guys, but I think it's mostly because they were on vactaion and people did not read about that. Also, I think The Attitude has spoiled people with their service and people get upset with the slower delivery and e-mail responses.)
1 - Greenhouse Super Silver Haze
2 - Greenhouse Arjan's Haze #1
From Hemp Depot:
( I have only heard good things about these guys, except that their prices are higher)
1 - Joey Weed White Widow ( I am selecting Joey's WW because he has old Greenhouse Genetics and the price is good. Also, I'm not sure who else has good genetics of this).
From The Attitude
( The service by these guys is top notch, by what I have read, and there should be no problems with their Guaranteed Delivery).
1 - Barney's Farm G13 x Haze
2 - Barney's Farm Red Diesel
3 - Afrohips - Melwandi Gold
I figured these should be good strains to start with. I do want a Jack Herer EXTREMELY Bad and will add that along with maybe a few others later.
Now that the Grow Area and strains to be grown are established, I'm going to list the ideas I have had to set this up.
Idea #1
I was considering separating my space into 3 even areas which would approximately be 3'-6" x 3'-6" x 7'-0" .
-2 of these areas were going to be my Flowering Rooms and under a 600 HPS lighting. I am going with the Enhanced HPS Bulbs. The ballasts would be Lumatek's and the Reflector is going to be the Sun Systems XXXL.
-The 3rd room would be my Veg Room. Here I was going to contain my mothers here and if I needed to veg any plants for a bit, it would be done in here too. I was going to use a 400w MH Bulb. The ballasts would be Lumatek's and the Reflector is going to be the Sun Systems XXXL.
Questions on this set-up:
1- Is the Reflector in the Veg area overkill? I could find something for cheaper, but the size of the XXXL is appealing, but I'm not sure if it is necessary for my mothers and or any plants that are going to veg in there.
2 - Is the 400w in the Veg area enough or not enough for what I am looking to do? Can I get away with a 250w MH in here? T-5's are appealing, but I'm not sure if they will give me enough pentration for the mother's or am I just crazy. By what I have read, the CFL is the right light spectrum (6500 Kelvin), but I see that plants look to stretch and I'm can't always tell how dense the buds are with these. Maybe it would not matter since the clones will be under the HPS and have a short life, if any, in the Veg Room.
In this set-up I was going to do a SOG. There would be 16 plants in total in each of the Flowering Rooms. There would be 4 rows of 4 Plants each. Each row will have a different strain and be at a different stage in the grow. I am going to use a form of Aeroponics and each row will have it's own 5 gallon reservoir. Of course this is if I get some mothers and take clones to start the SOG. I know that initally I am going to grow these for awhile (4 weeks or so) in Veg and then see if any of the tricks I read will help me determine sex in the Veg state. Once I have a nice mother, I was going to put her in the mother/veg chamber where clones will be taken as needed.
Concerns with this set-up
1 - If I have 4 rows in each Flowering Room and each row is a different stage, will the plants in say row 1 (week 1) have any major issues with stretching since the plants in row 4 (week 4) would be taller and thus my light would need to be set according to their height?
2 - Total Output (just the lights) is 1600 watts. Not that this is a major issue, but if I can do something that can cut cost down a little and/or save the electricty, why not do it. I am mostly concerned with plant health, quality, and yield (in that order). With this in mind, I thought of :
Idea #2
The space would be divided into 2 sections.
Flowering Room
- Would be 6'-6" x 3'-6" x 7'-0"
-1000w Lumatek w/ Super Enhanced HPS bulb and the SUN XXXL Reflector.
I was thinking of putting this on a light rail, but not sure how it will effect growth or if this is even necessary since I am going to still have plants at different stages of growth?
Veg Room
- Would be 3'-6" x 3'-6" x 7'-0"
- Would be under a Lumatek 400 w MH Bulb. (Unless I can clear up about using T5's in here).
This set-up would give a total output of 1400 watts, 200 watts less than what I was thinking in idea #1. Also, this would save me on start-up costs. The 2 600w ballasts and the 1000w ballast pretty much equal themselves out. Actually, I would save $50 by the deal I would get by picking up a used 1000w Lumatek. I would also be saving the $200 on the Reflector and the $100+ on the bulb. This saving would help me with getting the seeds that I want and also with the nutrient cost (since I am going to use Advanced's stuff).
Idea #3
The set-up would be just like idea #1, except that each Flowering room would have all 16 plants at the same stage. I would not have to worry stretching so much. I don't know if I am being critical on the stretching as I do want the plants to be around 36" tall.
Other Notes:
-The hoods will be air cooled, so heat should not be too much of a factor.
-C02 will be introduced with the 2 liter bottle method at first.
-The idea of the 8 rows at different stages is appealing. I am just not sure if stretching is a issue since I will have about 42" - 48" for the plant to grow, but I am looking for them to be around 36".
-Ditching the SOG idea was a thought too. I could just get 1 big plant of each strain, but this could be a pain in the ass since I am going to still use a aeroponics or ebb & flow system and each strain might require a different level of nutrient.
-The seperate reservoirs are going to be used so I can control the nutrients to each different strain. Also, I like the idea that I can control the amount of nutrients used instaed of just making one gorw area and using more Expensive nutrients.
Idea #2 is pretty much what I was going to settle on, but figured I would ask what people thought and if there would be any problems or if anybody had a better idea. While I am looking for a perpetual harvest, I am also looking to grow X amount in the shortest amount of time so I can shut down the the flowering room(s) and keep the Veg rooms and my mothers alive to either grow again when necessary or just to maybe experiment with some cross breeding. That is way down the road as I will have to see if I am able to even grow successfully while learning about the strains I have so I can target what is best for each. I am not looking to become a distributor, but rather stock pile what I need for awhile.
I appreciate any help I can get and will give rep points if somebody tells me how. Sometimes it just easier to get a outside opinon so that you are not blinded by one thing or maybe evening focusing on the wrong thing. I don't know anything and even if I did, I like to stay open minded so I can adapt to change and learn as I go.
Grow Area
I have a space that will be 10'-0" in Length - 3'-6" Wide (deep) - 7'-0" Tall (height)
Strains
I will be trying out a few different seed banks so I can get a idea of who is legit and who is actually going to ship my stuff and get it to me in good shape. I am not into Feminized seeds at all. I want to be able to make some seeds and save some pollen for future use.
From Gypsy Nirvana:
( I have heard some complaints lately about these guys, but I think it's mostly because they were on vactaion and people did not read about that. Also, I think The Attitude has spoiled people with their service and people get upset with the slower delivery and e-mail responses.)
1 - Greenhouse Super Silver Haze
2 - Greenhouse Arjan's Haze #1
From Hemp Depot:
( I have only heard good things about these guys, except that their prices are higher)
1 - Joey Weed White Widow ( I am selecting Joey's WW because he has old Greenhouse Genetics and the price is good. Also, I'm not sure who else has good genetics of this).
From The Attitude
( The service by these guys is top notch, by what I have read, and there should be no problems with their Guaranteed Delivery).
1 - Barney's Farm G13 x Haze
2 - Barney's Farm Red Diesel
3 - Afrohips - Melwandi Gold
I figured these should be good strains to start with. I do want a Jack Herer EXTREMELY Bad and will add that along with maybe a few others later.
Now that the Grow Area and strains to be grown are established, I'm going to list the ideas I have had to set this up.
Idea #1
I was considering separating my space into 3 even areas which would approximately be 3'-6" x 3'-6" x 7'-0" .
-2 of these areas were going to be my Flowering Rooms and under a 600 HPS lighting. I am going with the Enhanced HPS Bulbs. The ballasts would be Lumatek's and the Reflector is going to be the Sun Systems XXXL.
-The 3rd room would be my Veg Room. Here I was going to contain my mothers here and if I needed to veg any plants for a bit, it would be done in here too. I was going to use a 400w MH Bulb. The ballasts would be Lumatek's and the Reflector is going to be the Sun Systems XXXL.
Questions on this set-up:
1- Is the Reflector in the Veg area overkill? I could find something for cheaper, but the size of the XXXL is appealing, but I'm not sure if it is necessary for my mothers and or any plants that are going to veg in there.
2 - Is the 400w in the Veg area enough or not enough for what I am looking to do? Can I get away with a 250w MH in here? T-5's are appealing, but I'm not sure if they will give me enough pentration for the mother's or am I just crazy. By what I have read, the CFL is the right light spectrum (6500 Kelvin), but I see that plants look to stretch and I'm can't always tell how dense the buds are with these. Maybe it would not matter since the clones will be under the HPS and have a short life, if any, in the Veg Room.
In this set-up I was going to do a SOG. There would be 16 plants in total in each of the Flowering Rooms. There would be 4 rows of 4 Plants each. Each row will have a different strain and be at a different stage in the grow. I am going to use a form of Aeroponics and each row will have it's own 5 gallon reservoir. Of course this is if I get some mothers and take clones to start the SOG. I know that initally I am going to grow these for awhile (4 weeks or so) in Veg and then see if any of the tricks I read will help me determine sex in the Veg state. Once I have a nice mother, I was going to put her in the mother/veg chamber where clones will be taken as needed.
Concerns with this set-up
1 - If I have 4 rows in each Flowering Room and each row is a different stage, will the plants in say row 1 (week 1) have any major issues with stretching since the plants in row 4 (week 4) would be taller and thus my light would need to be set according to their height?
2 - Total Output (just the lights) is 1600 watts. Not that this is a major issue, but if I can do something that can cut cost down a little and/or save the electricty, why not do it. I am mostly concerned with plant health, quality, and yield (in that order). With this in mind, I thought of :
Idea #2
The space would be divided into 2 sections.
Flowering Room
- Would be 6'-6" x 3'-6" x 7'-0"
-1000w Lumatek w/ Super Enhanced HPS bulb and the SUN XXXL Reflector.
I was thinking of putting this on a light rail, but not sure how it will effect growth or if this is even necessary since I am going to still have plants at different stages of growth?
Veg Room
- Would be 3'-6" x 3'-6" x 7'-0"
- Would be under a Lumatek 400 w MH Bulb. (Unless I can clear up about using T5's in here).
This set-up would give a total output of 1400 watts, 200 watts less than what I was thinking in idea #1. Also, this would save me on start-up costs. The 2 600w ballasts and the 1000w ballast pretty much equal themselves out. Actually, I would save $50 by the deal I would get by picking up a used 1000w Lumatek. I would also be saving the $200 on the Reflector and the $100+ on the bulb. This saving would help me with getting the seeds that I want and also with the nutrient cost (since I am going to use Advanced's stuff).
Idea #3
The set-up would be just like idea #1, except that each Flowering room would have all 16 plants at the same stage. I would not have to worry stretching so much. I don't know if I am being critical on the stretching as I do want the plants to be around 36" tall.
Other Notes:
-The hoods will be air cooled, so heat should not be too much of a factor.
-C02 will be introduced with the 2 liter bottle method at first.
-The idea of the 8 rows at different stages is appealing. I am just not sure if stretching is a issue since I will have about 42" - 48" for the plant to grow, but I am looking for them to be around 36".
-Ditching the SOG idea was a thought too. I could just get 1 big plant of each strain, but this could be a pain in the ass since I am going to still use a aeroponics or ebb & flow system and each strain might require a different level of nutrient.
-The seperate reservoirs are going to be used so I can control the nutrients to each different strain. Also, I like the idea that I can control the amount of nutrients used instaed of just making one gorw area and using more Expensive nutrients.
Idea #2 is pretty much what I was going to settle on, but figured I would ask what people thought and if there would be any problems or if anybody had a better idea. While I am looking for a perpetual harvest, I am also looking to grow X amount in the shortest amount of time so I can shut down the the flowering room(s) and keep the Veg rooms and my mothers alive to either grow again when necessary or just to maybe experiment with some cross breeding. That is way down the road as I will have to see if I am able to even grow successfully while learning about the strains I have so I can target what is best for each. I am not looking to become a distributor, but rather stock pile what I need for awhile.
I appreciate any help I can get and will give rep points if somebody tells me how. Sometimes it just easier to get a outside opinon so that you are not blinded by one thing or maybe evening focusing on the wrong thing. I don't know anything and even if I did, I like to stay open minded so I can adapt to change and learn as I go.