My first grow

So the title may be a tiny bit misleading because I have not yet started but I wanted to post something as I'm sitting at work bored out of my mind. Night shift is a killer I will firstly apologize for not having an enter key as I'm told IE10 and vBulletin are not friends... Anyways I will be starting my first grow in the next few weeks, as I'm waiting for some more funds and knowledge. I have never done this before so I will probably fuck shit right up but I'm ok with that because we all have to start somewhere. Once I have started to build my grow box and get all my equipment I will be posting pictures and updating on a regular basis (or whenever life allows me to) I've sketched a few ideas out of what I want it to do and how to function but ill just give the rough dimension's today. Will be 2m tall with a length and width of about 1.2m, I will probably only be growing 2 plants in there with a removable tray for germination if I feel the need to expand. Is that an ok size for just 2 plants? Can I fit more or will only 1 fit? I have been reading up on organic's and found a few nice threads but I just don't have the time right now to do that so ill be sticking to bottles until I can work organics in (hopefully). I have a few seeds that my friend gave me awhile back so I have no idea what they are or how good they will be so only time will tell, I'm hoping to get one out of the 15 to germinate as they don't look like the best quality seed. LIGHTS!!!!!! I'm not going to lie when I say this part confuses the fuck out of me lol I mean I understand my majestical babies need a good amount of light and heat but I'm just not sure where to start.. I was looking at getting http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/320989219391?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 if the link doesn't work then its a 600w HPS, a 600w MH, with the 600w ballast and a bat wing deflector. I was under the impression that I could use the 600w MH up until my babies are ready to blossom and then swap over to the 600w HPS? (I just want to point out that I'm not familiar with a lot of terms and I may just use a random word that I feel fits, this is not my ignorance its just me being a noob! I will get there soon enough and your help is appreciated) These lights will be on a basic pulley system to lower and lift the lights accordingly. How high should I have the lights over the plants? What light schedule should I try to stick to? Are these lights to bright for my box and should I go a 400w? I will be using some computer fans to help vent the box and to keep it at a good temp, think my sketch has 4 in total and I will be connecting them to a switch panel, so I can mix up the push/pull directions. I appreciate any opinion's that you fellow farmers have to offer on my venture and I will thank you in advance!! I can't remember if I left anything out but I'll re-read it once I have gotten home from work as now I have to do some work. Thanks again PS107

A 400w or maybe even less would be good for 2 plants and not oveer heat that box as much. Those lights get very hot. That's enough space for 2 good sized plants. Light scheduale 18 hrs of light on and 6 hrs off when in vegetative state ( when the plants are growing) then in flower switch to 12/12 and they start to flower. In flower they can grow 2-3 times the height so take that into consideration when you switch to 12/12. Grow to about 50-70 cms then when you flower they will be like 1.2m-1.7m at the end. That leaves enough room for your lights to hang. MH for vegetative state and switch to HPS in flower for best results. Make sure the ballast you get is a switchable one.

OP, go with organics. If you do so, it will be much harder to fuck anything up, and you will keep your costs way down. Just buy some Espoma plant tone, 5-3-3, and mix two TB into your soil, with an additional top dressing of it if you decide to veg for longer than a month. Go to a hydro shop, and buy some jamaican or indonesian bat guano for flowering, used as a top dressing. Doing this, the only deficiency I've ever ran into is phosphorus, and that's only because I didn't apply the guano soon enough. If you go the bottle route, you'll have alot more to deal with. PH of medium, PH of water, frequency of feeding schedule, PPM of feeding water, etc. Go with mother nature. You won't be dissapointed.

I agree with Havek, go organic for your first grow. You make it sound like you believe that using bottled nutes is easier and harder to fuck up. Not so. Organics is easy and much harder to mess up. As pointed out a bit of fert up front, and again if you need to veg longer, then add some fert when flowering. Easy peasy! Not much worry about PH levels, or ppms.

Lights, in a perfect world, more is better. But in a box, heat will do you in. Use the strongest light you can, that will allow you to keep your cab relatively cool (under 85f). Yes, use an MH bulb for veg and HPS for flower.

Hope you get better than 1/15 germ rate. As 1/2 of the plants germinated will be boyz. So 2 or 3 beans successfully popped, would be good. 4-5 even better. That will allow you to cull the stragglers after sexing. Allowing you to grow the most robust plant(s). If you can pick up some small Dixie cups and some Rapid Rooters. I bet you'll get a much better germ rate. You can even start today There's a recent thread about using Rapid Rooters. Just moisten, place the bean in the hole, cut an edge off and place it lightly over the hole. Once the beans pop, give them some light. Even 1 CFL will work for a few weeks. Or, go all out and get one of those 2 ft Jump Start light set ups. You can even get a tray (and an insert so you won't need the small cups) and dome. You can use these over and over for seeds and for clones. For example if you want to take clones (extra Rapid Rooters work great for this), in a few weeks, to try to sex your plants as early as possible.

Again, with the cab....keep it cool Don't be afraid to get out there and fail We all did/do You will learn a shitload!

Good luck with your grow!

R2T

Dibbsey - Thanks for that info mate, i appreciate it. I will get a 400w and if it gets to hot i'll vent my box better or getter a smaller globe. Pretty sure the ballast is interchangeable with those 2 globes but ill double check.

Havek - Pretty sure i can't buy that here in Aus, but im going to be looking around at a few shops in my area to see what i can find. I've already bought a few things so i may use them for the first grow and just experiment with what ever else i can find. They say it's "organic" on the bottle but im sure it's not.

R2T - I don't actually believe that bottles are easier i just feel it would save me time as i want to start a compost and make my own fertilizers but that would take awhile as i need to get everything. Ill get a thermometer and make sure the box stays below 30c. I only said one because the seeds look terrible but i got some more off a mate the other day. Once again no strain known but there is at least 3 different strains in the few seeds i grabbed. At what age/size will i be able to tell the sex of my plants? Im not afraid of failing but im keen to learn from the mistakes i make. I just want to be able to smoke something off a plant i grew and then refine my techniques and grow like a champ

How will i know when the plant is ready to go in flower?
How far off the plant should i keep the light?
Is there any sort of trimmings i need to do to the plant during the grow at all?
When do i start to trim buds off?

Once i get a few days off ill be searching for a place i can buy some organics from and then ill start to seed and build my box. Photos should start to be coming up soonish.

Thanks for your helpful comments i appreciate them all.

PS107

PipeSmoker107 said:

I just want to be able to smoke something off a plant i grew and then refine my techniques and grow like a champ

How will i know when the plant is ready to go in flower?
How far off the plant should i keep the light?
Is there any sort of trimmings i need to do to the plant during the grow at all?
When do i start to trim buds off?

PS107

Click to expand...

Unless you have beans from high CBD strains, whatever you grow if it makes it through to harvest. Should definitely float your boat

The good thing about indoor growing is you get to play God You control the elements, so you can determine how big you want to let them get in veg, before flipping to 12/12. I'd advise you to flip when the plants are about 1/2 the desired final height.

Distance of light to plant depends on the type light and the age of the plant. LEDs and CFLs can be placed closer to plants. HPS and MH not so much. So you may have your lights at 10-12 inches above or 2 feet above. Seedlings usually can't handle intense (hot) lights that are too low.

Trimming is a personal taste issue. Done both and for me, I just let em turn brown and crispy before I pluck em. Or I just let them drop. Unless they are covering a bud site. Which since they are usually old bottom growth, doesn't happen all that often.

You trim buds when they are ready Different strains, different conditions equals different "ready" times. Usually 7-10 weeks after seeing pistils, during 12/12. Some plants can be harvested for 2 weeks. Taking the large upper buds and giving the smaller lower buds more light. Or it may all be "done" at the same time and you can clip the stem and hang it upside down to dry, This is sort of putting the cart before the horse Get some ladies into flower (it's the most wonderful time of the year.......) then you can worry about "done-ness"

R2T

I do hope so even if it gives a tiny buzz Ill be happy. I didn't look at it like I would be playing 'god' that is a great way to look at it. So its up to me when veg finishes and flowering starts. Ill start with 12 inches and monitor the heat levels and move them up if required. I know I should worry about growing them before when to pluck my magical buds but I just want a basic idea of what the whole process is and then I can ask questions along the way during the process as well. Thanks so much for your insight and help =) The support and information on this forum is amazing!! Think ill start to germ this weekend or mid next week as I wont be able to get lights for another fortnight or so.. Dam bills!!!! Should be building my box this weekend so ill try to throw some photos up for you guys. Once again thanks! Be back soon =) PS107

Do you fancy helping a girl in need?! I'm basically at your stage, but I'm in uk so I've chosen bio bizz soil and canna products...I've got 400w light, it was a Philips which stated that you could use in all 3 stages as I have no idea about lights! I wanted to start with auto - f, maybe northern lights as I've heard it's good for starters. How long do I leave in my propagator before transferring into tent? And how many would fit in a 1.2x1.2 tent? 2m tall! And when do you start feeding nutes? Is it a good idea to use ferlite or clay balls as drainage at the bottom? I was gonna plant them straight into soil! I really don't want to ruin another go this is my 3rd attempt and I've been doing hours of reading but without getting the knack of the terminology I'm lost! One thing I do know is when I close my tent the temperature goes up to 33! I've got 4 x 15" fans so far do I need more? And my rH is always around 23% is that too low? Do I need to buy a humidifier? Buggared 2 crops of critical mass so far!

You have accomplished more then me because I don't have anything but the seeds and ideas. I've been stung with massive bills and fines so it will take me a bit to get it all together and running. Ill still be planting my seeds soon though. Ok so with my understanding from the guys help above, 400w will be good for that size box/tent but possibly get a MH globe for your veg and a HPS globe for flower. I am unsure if you can use just one style globe for the whole thing and achieve great results. 1-2 good size plants will fit in that size, bring your plant into flower with a 12/12 light schedule when the plant is slightly smaller than half your desired height. I can't really answer any of the other questions as I have no idea but try the search option or just spark a J up and browse the forums until you stumble across what you need. There is stupid amounts of knowledge and experience in these forums =) Good luck with your grow and I hope you get your answers soon!! PS107