Not a newbie just rusty haven't done this in a decade.

So hello everyone. I'm obviously new here but not new to the hobby. I haven't done anything like this since I was in college. It worked out fairly well the last few times. I prefer strictly soil and 100% organic. I have an available space of 6lx4wx6h. I was thinking of a 600hps for flowering and either a 250 or 400mh for veg. The space would be divided in two of course. Preferably 3.5x4 for flower and 2x4 for mother and veg. I'm thinking of using fix farm nutrients again like I did a while back. They worked fairly well for me then but I bet there is something even better now.
Any thoughts on the veg lighting would be great. I was thinking of using the 250 to reduce heat but figure if I do that I would need to supplement the mother with more light. Maybe t5 or cfl. Any input would be greatly Appreciated. I guess my goal would be a yeild of 450+ is that doable with that space and lighting.

You should get a small T5 for the first 2-3 weeks of it's seedling stage 'cause the roots seem to burn up under a MH light in a tent.
Then throw them bitches under the MH. Or get a dimmable ballast or have it cold in the room. Either way.. Point is be careful with seedlings.
As for FF fertilizer & soil.. they're still the top of the line brand today.

As for your goal. With a 600 Watt Setup you can expect 0.5-1.0 gram per watt depending on experience and a few minor circumstances.

How long do you feel like vegging those bitches?

Faox farm is still a very successful nutrient company. Fox farms new additions to the line are somewhat impressive as well.Just watch their ocean forrest soil as it can be hot sometimes.Canna Nutrients is also a company you might want to look into. Many organic people around here are mixing up their own super soil using subcools recipe. Ive heard great things about it but have yet to try it.
Good luck and welcome back into growing.

Welcome back, you're gonna have fun, This place is a great knowledge base.

I have a quad 24w t5. The ballast is dimmable 25% 50,75,100%

Nice Ol Bud said:

You should get a small T5 for the first 2-3 weeks of it's seedling stage 'cause the roots seem to burn up under a MH light in a tent.
Then throw them bitches under the MH. Or get a dimmable ballast or have it cold in the room. Either way.. Point is be careful with seedlings.
As for FF fertilizer & soil.. they're still the top of the line brand today.

As for your goal. With a 600 Watt Setup you can expect 0.5-1.0 gram per watt depending on experience and a few minor circumstances.

How long do you feel like vegging those bitches?

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I'm hopping to find a mother or two out of the bunch so I'll probably veg for 4-5 weeks and do lots of training. I keep a bunch of bonsai trees so think I'm gonna use some wiring techniques

This might be a stupid question but can soil be reused.

some people say no for good reason. It can carry over issues such as bugs. The soil can also have salts in it from the last grow that cause issues. Some people cook soil in large soil ovens if they reuse it. I have reused soil in the past and been ok, but after having problems with bugs for a cycle I dont take chances like I used to.

Chipmunkproof that makes sense. There wouldn't be salts as I will be using an RO unit for watering.

Welcome back to the wonderful world of growing. I also grow in soil organic.IMO..... You can reuse soil if you build your own and have all the emendments(spelt wrong I know).Mostly I just chuck my rootballs in my compost pile but I have reused soil without a problem.

Drascious420 said:

Chipmunkproof that makes sense. There wouldn't be salts as I will be using an RO unit for watering.

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Even with using RO most people that are going non organic will still have a buildup of fertilizer salts. But yea if you use RO you dont get all that salt and useless calcium and magnesium from the pipes. My grows are alot better using RO for sure.

Another question are auto flowers really worth it? My buddy has 20 AK 47 auto flowers for me from spliffseeds. It says they yield 40-60g per plant. Is that just hype or for real? The last time I did a closet grow I worked my ass off for 40g per with a 400hps it took close to 4 months. Things have definitely changed. Know how I know how a dude must have felt after spending 10 years in jail and getting out and seeing his first iPhone. Fuck my head is spinning.

Drascious420 said:

Another question are auto flowers really worth it? My buddy has 20 AK 47 auto flowers for me from spliffseeds. It says they yield 40-60g per plant. Is that just hype or for real? The last time I did a closet grow I worked my ass off for 40g per with a 400hps it took close to 4 months. Things have definitely changed. Know how I know how a dude must have felt after spending 10 years in jail and getting out and seeing his first iPhone. Fuck my head is spinning.

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40g per 400w light is 0.1g/w. That is considered on the low end scale. Autos are liked by some but they seem expensive to me. The high doesnt seem all the way there on the lowryder ive had either. I much rather just run a well set up SOG style grow if height and time are constraints.

Did you do the whole grow with hps?
What temps were/are you running?


1g/w is considered a goal for many. The amount you yield depends on genetics temp, light, nutrients,skill. I would stay away from autoflowers unless ur planting outside out of season or have a time or height constraint.

howdy, I used to use MH for veg but I use a 6x4 T5 now and would not go back. I got a 4x2 T5 for freshly rooted clones then they go to the 6x4. tight nodes good growth less heat.
good luck

ya t5 has many advantages as do MH. For new clones or seedlings t5 can be way less harsh. I find t5 doesn’t penetrate very well but if there isnt much canopy then it isn’t much of an issue. Heat off of mh does suck though. I just am waiting for LEDs to go down in price and up in functionality.

It was 40 g per plant with 5 plants. I just can't wrap my mind around the Auto producing 40 g per plant in 10 weeks

Lighting is crazy. I've been keeping reef tanks for years and the lighting choices are the same. CFL's T5's HID (halides) and led. The major difference is spectrum. Corals need more of the blue spectrum which also gives great color by the way. 20k is very common. There are plenty of DIY led lights that rival metal halides. The LEDs however have a major cons for plant application. This would be coverage. Now for a small grow I could definitely build a great fixture for about $200-250. I would just have to find different spectrums then I have used before but it could be done. I know these plants are complex but not as crazy as corals. This is just some crazy stones rant so excuse me as I blabber about.

They are coming out with higher power leds and better lenses to increase coverage. But yea they havnt impressed me so far especially how expensive they are. I think LED grow lights are going to take a long time before it comes into my garden probably. I love blabbering about grow stuff...drives the fiance nuts lol

I've used t5'S too and they are great same outcome just the bulbs are so expensive to replace its nuts

If I were do do a stealth just for some headies I'd defiantly do a DIY led in my bedroom. Th problem with the optics is the wider optic you use the less penetration you get so unless you want 4-6 fixtures in a 4x4 room I don't think it would work

I like how it says stranger next to my name.