growing first time

I'm a long time gardener and I've started my veg garden cole crops a couple weeks ago. What I'd like to start is one or to plants mmj for my own personal use, have a small oil furnace closet(don't use the furnace anymore)so venting is already in place. 8" galvanized pipe-up and out the chimney on the roof. There is space enough for maybe 4 mature plants, a short variety I'm guessing. What do I need in size light, type etc. to get started? Also for personal use only how many plants will be sufficient?

grow space aprox 3'x4'

what size is the room so ppl can better advise you on lighting you could use cfls t5s hps or mh depending on the size of the room

and depends on how much you smoke as to how many plants you grow unless you do a perpetual grow so they finish a week or 2 behind each other and also if you do a perpetual grow you need a seperate veg room unless growing auto strains which dont need 12/12 lighting

estimated size is 3'x4'. Don't think I can have a seperate veg room. Unless I give up another closet in a 700sq ft home w/only 2 closets to begin with not including the furnace space. So a complete grow-out in one space and start all over?.......Cloning is by far the most economical way

zippythehippy said:

what size is the room so ppl can better advise you on lighting you could use cfls t5s hps or mh depending on the size of the room

and depends on how much you smoke as to how many plants you grow unless you do a perpetual grow so they finish a week or 2 behind each other and also if you do a perpetual grow you need a seperate veg room unless growing auto strains which dont need 12/12 lighting

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agreed... what about LED???

LED cheap to operate but will they supply the right color spectrum and how many? What do you think, 5 LEDs per sq inch? 1728 sq inches hhumm about 345 LEDs.

I can tell you from most things I've read that the 90w UFO is effective for ~12 sq feet. The best of these claims would be the 9 feet. I think the type of bulbs may make a difference, but 90 watts is 90 watts.

googled LED grow lights it and found this
http://stealthgrow.com/grow-room-setup.htm

Does it work like they say?

luckandleather said:

I'm a long time gardener and I've started my veg garden cole crops a couple weeks ago. What I'd like to start is one or to plants mmj for my own personal use, have a small oil furnace closet(don't use the furnace anymore)so venting is already in place. 8" galvanized pipe-up and out the chimney on the roof. There is space enough for maybe 4 mature plants, a short variety I'm guessing. What do I need in size light, type etc. to get started? Also for personal use only how many plants will be sufficient?

grow space aprox 3'x4'

Click to expand...

Were I you I'd pick up a some fem'd seeds (your choice) and start with a soil grow using a 600 MH/HPS.
If height is a concern, try Scrog - it will increase your yield while keeping your plants shorter.
IMHO, LED technology is still too spendy for the good equipment.
My .02

yes, very pricey $1500+. A bank of cfl's? Heat is a concern, how hot will HPS get?

oh yeah, power outages are frequent where I live so I plan on buying a generator soon.

luckandleather said:

yes, very pricey $1500+. A bank of cfl's? Heat is a concern, how hot will HPS get?

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if you vent it correctly, 5-10 degrees above room temp.

smokebros said:

if you vent it correctly, 5-10 degrees above room temp.

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That's the case for my 600 watt HPS/MH. If you do a 400, I'd imagine it would be less

auto strains go from seed to harvest in roughly 9weeks a normal strain to get the most out of it must be vegged for a few weeks before going to flower which can be another 9 weeks possibly more if its a sativa dominant strain my advice would be buy some fem'd autos and fem'd photo period seeds grow your autos for 5 weeks on 18/6 20/4 or 24/0
then plant and germ a photoperiod strain to veg in the room with your autos and put it into 12/12 once the autos are done

for the size room you got id go with a 600w hps with possibly a coolshade to keep temps down if they are or could be an issue

hope this helps

thanks! I guess a search of the internet I should be able to find the best prices for a 600w hps light kit. What would be the footprint for say 4 mature indica strains? Potted.

depends on pot size and if you lst etc i think you could fit 4 in your space with the correct size pots

yes, thats what I thought too

step 1 prepare space Paint white all over, purchase and install lights and vent. Will I need still need an intake vent if the doors are the louvered type?

luckandleather said:

step 1 prepare space Paint white all over, purchase and install lights and vent. Will I need still need an intake vent if the doors are the louvered type?

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Rule of thumb is place your cold air intake at the lowest point in the room opposite your exhaust (which is at the ceiling).
Most all of us have had heat issues - so take it from someone who had to scramble & ventilate properly before the lights even come on.
And plan on needing a circulating fan as well - they work wonders for strengthening the load bearing portions of the plant.

so vent thru the floor/crawl space?

personally i'd rather see you plant them in the vegetable garden and hide them with other plants like rosemary. prune out big fan leaves, nobody will ever see it...