russ0r's First OP

Now that i have all my lighting i figured i'd post a full run down on my setup and see what people think/how im doing. So this journal will not start from the beginning, just from now.

I'm growing in my closet which is about 5 feet wide 3 feet deep and 8 feet high. i have 1 40watt 4ft floro tube (1600 lumens i think), 3 cfl's (thanks to the suggestion of members here i have gone with these due to heat issues and cost issues.) two are 1600 lumens and 1 is 2600 lumens, they are in those clamp reflective fixtures consturction workers use in dark houses with no light yet, etc. you can see the picture below, 1600 on each side and 1 2600 in the middle, with the floro on the side for some extra light on the side.

Picture:


for the sake of being able to see i turned the floro in the back off. my camera also reduces light so it doesnt make the whole picture look like it's glowing so it looks darker than it really is.

Anwyay, i also used Scotts slow Release Osmocote potting soil (which i regret... plz people dont use this). Next time i will be using a soil/peat moss/perlite mixture. I plan on buying soem fox farm ferts and a good bloom fert, but right now i am stuck with miracle grow, which is 20-20-20 and i have used it accordinly with the direction on the box, but i am going to cut down to 50%. as you can see in the picture my plant is in a trough, i regret this, next time i will be using single containers for each as im scared about what will happen to those three plants together, even though the trought is signifigant for what they need. i think its around 10 gallons, i forget. and i dont feel like lifting it to look at the bottom.

Today i got my moisture meter, and soil ph meter, and some root hormone to clone in the future. Tried to find a ph meter for water but being out of season i only found 1 water PH test kit with the powder stolen from it. So i will have to order one online and wait. For now here is what i did to test what the ph was of what i had been feeding my babies, and what the soil was too. I took some mid-deep soil into a cup and then soaked it with the miracle grow water solution i am using now. just enough to make it mildly muddy like the directions for the meter said, anyway the PH is 7 to 7.1 in my soil with my miracle grow so i do not have any ph problems.

The moisture meter is great! no more sticking my finger deep and being unsure. The fake worm i have in the dirt that changes colors due to moisture that i had gotten from a local store for a buck, didnt reach down far enough and didnt really change color when i stuck it in wet soil. what do you expect for a buck? it turned dark as shit when i made sure to rain on it when i watered next. Basically it sucks, the moisture meter is great.. everyone should have one!

Here is a few pictures of my plants..

(yes i know they have a few problems but they are growing good now)




I think i can conclude this for now, thanks alot for reading if you got this far, any suggestions are welcome.

Are you adding your fertilizers full strength? I would try 1/4 strength for now. And ph test as soon as your kit arrives. And invest in a good lighting system.

You mean invest in an HPS? i would. but right now the space i have to grow in i cannot exhaust heat. besdies, i thought CFL's were considered a 'good' lighting system?

CFLs are great for veg and cloning. you can flower with them but you wont get as much as an HPS would kick out. if you must flower with cfls, buy the 42watters and get a lot of them

So basically, for flowering i should have the one above the top of the plant and then just have a shitload of them shining on the sides? (only 1 really fits above the plant...).

do i have to pollenate the female in order to get buds someone told me i only have to pollenate the female if i want seeds will the female still grow with out being pollenated is this true and thank you for your help

Cat attack -> click here

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/3031-oh-no-im-furious.html

node pictures below, thinking about flowering soon, fox farm nutes comming soon, going to wait for them to arrive at least. going to buy a shitload of 42 watt cfl's before i flower also.

Hi mate..if you want any buds get a hps big small what ever you can afford but get one...good luck

If heat is teh only isue keeping you from a hps then I may have a solution. I assume you live in a situation that prevents normal ducting to outdoors.

I was growing in a closet, of about the same size, in an apartment with a 480W hps and had the same problem HEAT. My solution was venting the light hood, with a 120mm fan, into a 3" hole into the cealing. While crude it was very effective and easy to patch up. As well it dissipated the smell very well and the smell was undetectible from outdoors.

An HPS is not the solution here, that will effect my bill extremely too much. The only way is many 42 watt cfls in my situation.

?????????

If you have just 10 of those 42W lights then U may as well get a 400W hps

Do th math dude

42W*10=420W (LOL its 4:20 LOL)

PS if power is an issue I can suggest a few things to make it balance.

1. Replace ALL incandesant bulbs in your house with floresents
2. Do'nt use more than 2 bulbs in any fixture in the house
3. Check the tempature in your fridge, if its below 40 degrees adjust it.
4. turn off your computer whenever not in use.

These 4 things will probably reduce your consumption by more than 400W.

A 400 watt hps costs about $35.00 a month to run so it really is not that much. You will get double that back in extra yeild compared to floro's.

I set my lights timer at 12/12 today, my 400w hps is on the way, yes i finally decided to buy one, and i will have to deal with the heat when it comes. in the meantime i need to get the show on the road, and get this crop done so i can do the next one 100 times better. the osmocote in my soil is putting a damper on my operation and i hope my buds come out okay and not too horrible tasting. anyway wish me luck on my number of females.

yea get like 2 150w cfls

May you have VERY GOOD LUCK!!!

first day after 12/12 looked bery good, plants recovered from the cats extremely well and many fan leaves appeared right before i set 12/12.
as noted in my first post there is osmocote in my soil, which isnt good because it's slow release, im scared to add nutes, my fox farm nutes will be here in 2 days along with a good high in P and K, i would like to use these to aid in some nice buds but i don't want to destroy the plants, anyone have words of wisdom for me on that subject? pictures comming tommarow, i only had 15 minutes to check on them today before lights went out.

Well, i finally broke down today and ordered a 400w HPS 53,000 lumen bulb. this will be awesome, i hope the heat isnt too much, if it is i will probobly have to cut a hole in the cieling and exhaust. That will suck bad but i better reep the benefits. i will also have 1 40w cool white folor, 2 42 wattt softwhite cfl's and one 23 watt softwhite cfl all for just side light.

You'll know if you start over fertilizing by looking for deformed or burnt leafs. If you see it starting by flush them for a few days then cut your ferts back a bit.