Introduction: So, this is my first grow ,thus I am not expecting great results. I will be using a box for just 2 plants keeping it in my room. I will get the seeds from a friend of mine, he will get them from just seeded marijuana bags.
Germination/Transplanting: (1)I will germinate the seeds in a plate under a wet towel. Then I was thinking of planting them in small plastic cups or maybe small pots, and when they get about 3 inches for cups or a bit more than the height of the pot for small pots to transplant them to 3 gallon pots(following the 1 galon per foot of growth rule). I read at a guide that the plant needs 1 foot of soil per foot of growth in my case this equals to 1.5 foot pot height and 1.5 foot plant height but this means too low plant height because I was planning it to be around 2.5 feet, any suggestions?
Grow Box: 45cm(width)x100cm(length)x95cm(height)=(17x39x37 inches). Will be made either of plywood or wooden skeleton and cardboard boxes(although I am worried about the fire hazard).Will be painted white and I am going to ask for a highly reflecting paint at the top.
Lights: (2)Its gonna be either 3x105W CFLs(2 red spectrum for flowering and one blue spectrum) or 2x250W CFLs(1 red and 1 blue). Still havent decided which of the two. Later I will buy a light switch for the 12/12 period.
Ventilation: 2 exhaust fans at the top, on the opposite side of the lights so as to take hot air out and cool the plants when they get close to the lights. 1 intake hole in the bottom corner of the box.
Medium/nutritients:I am planting them on soil, I will try to buy good quality soil and I am not planning on using any fertilizers/nutritients/additives since I am clueless on which ones to buy and I read that the plant can grow just with soil.
Watering: will use tap water and water them every time I feel the bottom soil to be dry(putting my finger to the bottom holes) and will water until water is almost coming out from them.
Vegetation/flowering: I will start using a 24/0 light cycle. (3)I have read that plants can double or even triple their height while flowering so I am not certain on when to switch to 12/12 light cycle. Should I do it when the plant is about 2 feet tall or is this too late since with the above rule when flowering it will get to 4-6 feet outgrowing my box? On the other side if I switch too early the plant might not be mature enough( I think alternating nodes are a sign of maturity)to flower properly.
Notes: I havent thought a way of fixing temperature/humidity so I am most likely not going to buy a temperature/humidity meter. The numbers I put in the text(1,2,3) are for questions I have, or points I would like some help to clarify. After this grow, if it goes well I am going to expand to a larger one, perhaps in my closet or In grow tent. I haven't made or bought any of the materials yet so i am looking forward to your thoughts and suggestions.
Questions: I plan on keeping my box between my desk, my bookcase and the radiator,which,onsidering it is winter it is going to be kept on a considerable amount every day(I think we usually set it to 17 C) and pull it out each time I want to open it to check my plants or water them. Will the radiator effect my plants health? Will they get too hot while near it?The other option is to put the box inside my closet, which is a more convenient way since it wont be obstructing or taking up space in my room but since the closet will be closed most of the time I guess the air wont be so fresh
How much do you estimate I will yield? Just a rough number to calculate my earnings.
This is the general shape i am expecting my box to be like:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/810/growbox.jpg
Germination/Transplanting: (1)I will germinate the seeds in a plate under a wet towel. Then I was thinking of planting them in small plastic cups or maybe small pots, and when they get about 3 inches for cups or a bit more than the height of the pot for small pots to transplant them to 3 gallon pots(following the 1 galon per foot of growth rule). I read at a guide that the plant needs 1 foot of soil per foot of growth in my case this equals to 1.5 foot pot height and 1.5 foot plant height but this means too low plant height because I was planning it to be around 2.5 feet, any suggestions?
Grow Box: 45cm(width)x100cm(length)x95cm(height)=(17x39x37 inches). Will be made either of plywood or wooden skeleton and cardboard boxes(although I am worried about the fire hazard).Will be painted white and I am going to ask for a highly reflecting paint at the top.
Lights: (2)Its gonna be either 3x105W CFLs(2 red spectrum for flowering and one blue spectrum) or 2x250W CFLs(1 red and 1 blue). Still havent decided which of the two. Later I will buy a light switch for the 12/12 period.
Ventilation: 2 exhaust fans at the top, on the opposite side of the lights so as to take hot air out and cool the plants when they get close to the lights. 1 intake hole in the bottom corner of the box.
Medium/nutritients:I am planting them on soil, I will try to buy good quality soil and I am not planning on using any fertilizers/nutritients/additives since I am clueless on which ones to buy and I read that the plant can grow just with soil.
Watering: will use tap water and water them every time I feel the bottom soil to be dry(putting my finger to the bottom holes) and will water until water is almost coming out from them.
Vegetation/flowering: I will start using a 24/0 light cycle. (3)I have read that plants can double or even triple their height while flowering so I am not certain on when to switch to 12/12 light cycle. Should I do it when the plant is about 2 feet tall or is this too late since with the above rule when flowering it will get to 4-6 feet outgrowing my box? On the other side if I switch too early the plant might not be mature enough( I think alternating nodes are a sign of maturity)to flower properly.
Notes: I havent thought a way of fixing temperature/humidity so I am most likely not going to buy a temperature/humidity meter. The numbers I put in the text(1,2,3) are for questions I have, or points I would like some help to clarify. After this grow, if it goes well I am going to expand to a larger one, perhaps in my closet or In grow tent. I haven't made or bought any of the materials yet so i am looking forward to your thoughts and suggestions.
Questions: I plan on keeping my box between my desk, my bookcase and the radiator,which,onsidering it is winter it is going to be kept on a considerable amount every day(I think we usually set it to 17 C) and pull it out each time I want to open it to check my plants or water them. Will the radiator effect my plants health? Will they get too hot while near it?The other option is to put the box inside my closet, which is a more convenient way since it wont be obstructing or taking up space in my room but since the closet will be closed most of the time I guess the air wont be so fresh
How much do you estimate I will yield? Just a rough number to calculate my earnings.
This is the general shape i am expecting my box to be like:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/810/growbox.jpg