Sea of Green - First Grow

Hello, so I'm going to be doing my first grow on my payday, i'm fed up of spending £20 on 2g from someone down the road.
So I found a tent, the sizes are 60x60x140.
And i'm going to be using this bulb: http://www.amazon.co.uk/SUPER-Son-T...448728209&sr=8-3&keywords=400w+hps+grow+light
Its 400w. Is this a good and correct bulb?
This reflector: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2620...ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80
Is this a good one?

Also should I use autoflowering feminized seeds? And how many plants should I grow?
I'm new to all this and have only read little bits online, so its going to be a fun learning process for me. I ain't expecting the grow to come out perfect, and i know im not going to have the nicest smoke at first, but I am prepared for it all.
Just wanted a little advice on what to do. And I was hoping you people with experience could help out with some advice for a newbie!
Thanks alot, look forward to hearing from you I'm Ryan and new here

hey ryan... you will find all the information you need and more here, BUT, I will add that there is A LOT of B.S. to wade thru to get to the good stuff. keep that in mind. You'll find that true with any public forum...
with that being said, welcome to RIU.
I was right where you are now about 2 years ago. You are correct in assuming things wont be perfect the 1st run. hell, if you get ANY bud at all, and you learn, then yr grow is a success IMO. i have done many grows that were flawed in one way or another, but so long as I learned from each mistake, yr progresing. Learning what NOT to do can be just as valuable as learning what TO do.
Anyway....
so you have a 2'x2'x4' tent, i grow in that same size. its a little short, but thats where learning yr basic techniques come in handy, such as low stress training, (LST) and supercropping. ppl do this type of technique to manipulate the plant to do what they want it to do. you will benefit greatly by looking into topping and LST'ing to keep yr plant short and bushy.
In that sized tent, i suggest doing one or two plants at a time.
okay, so the 400 watt hps light is a good choice for that sized tent, and the reflector is fine, but what i did NOT see was what ballast you plan to use. i have seen some excellent reflector, bulb, and ballast combo's on amazon for aprx $100.00, all you need lighting wise.
you will need good ventilation as well using hps. i use led cob lights to get around the heat issue.
anyway, there is endless amounts of info and experienced ppl here to help. i, for one, enjoy lending a hand, keeps me sharp.
one more thing to keep in mind to keep the nazi's off yr back is, read first, ask later. chances are, the question has already been asked, and answered.

Welcome to RIU!

I'll let you in on a little secret. It IS entirely possible to have your very first grow be successful. The plant shown in my avatar is my first plant ever. The best suggestion I can offer is simply this...RESEARCH. Yes there is a wealth of info on this and many other public forums. I suggest reading through the sticky posts here in this newbie forum and the grow room. Also, read some published material from the masters (Jorge Cervantes, Rosenthal, Nico Escondido etc) and watch some growing videos (high times has some great ones and Jorge does to) Learn as much as you can...your grow is only limited by how much knowledge you have. Researching will help you learn the basics, products to buy, light cycles, sexing, watering, feeding and on and on.

WARNING: If you start. asking questions that have been answered many times in the threads, you will likely get harassed by someone not so nice as I telling you to research. I am trying to save you the problem. You mention that you have only read tidbits online...unfortunately that will open you up to all kinds of trollies 'yelling' at you that they will not hold your hand, do your grow for you etc.

Once you have started the learning process you will be able to ask specific questions and get answers. BUT, do not blindly follow 'advice' lots of BS on the public sites. Stick with the published pros. If you ask questions and 7 out of 10 people give you the same or similar answers...it MAY be good info.

Remember every grow is different and yours is yours so listen to your gurlz, they will tell you what they need. The key to understanding what they are saying is knowledge.

Good Luck and Great Grow!

Welcome to RIU.
Before you germinate your seeds, please make sure that you have your tent and light set up first with even the possibility of your soil's pre-watered and the atmosphere correct.
I would advise also that you buy/obtain a mid-range price Hygrometer/thermometer that tells you the relative humidity and the temperature.
Will save you a world of hurt during your grow, better to know these things than have a serious heat/humidity problem and have plants fade away before your able to fix them (which is a bit dramatic now that I think about it lol)
Goodluck on your grow.

Welcome to trollitup, home of the longwinded repeater, know it all newb, greenhorn advice giver, the parrot, and many other savory types.

Also gonna say wade through the bs and research so you know I mean business and would never lie to you.

Now that you know that I'd never bs, remember, the secret to the best sticky icky, is to put your sticky icky in every water and foliar feed.

Much love
-THC

400 watts in a 2x2x4 is going to be hard to cool. Look around a little more and get a taller tent if possible.

Also amazon has 400 and 600 mh/hps kits with digital switchable ballast for 100 and some change.

Having a good vortex fan and filter is as important as any other part of your grow. It controls odor as well as heat and to some extent humidity. It's really difficult to grow without yet most first timers look at it as completely optional.

For light, I am glad you are not trying to rig a million CFL's together or considering a junky LED that makes outrageous claims.

You really only need 1 plant if you're an occasional smoker that buys grams. Autos are simple to grow and I do recommend them for first time growers. Northen Light x Big Bud is foolproof. A 2x2 tent fits one auto very well. You will likely get +or- 2 ounces of dried bud per plant plus leaf and larf for edibles.

The best advice I can give is to do your research thoroughly, but don't overthink things. Don't ever forget - it's a weed! It grows in ditches. A lot of people make it a hell of a lot harder than it has to be. As you get better at it, there'll be a lot of new things you're going to want to try to boost yield and whatever, but there's plenty of time to learn those things. Right now, you're just learning how to grow healthy plants, how to "read" a plant - how to look at it and tell from the color of the leaves what nutes it needs or whether it's too close to the light, look at the "droop" of the leaf and see whether it needs water, tell by the "stretch" between the nodes whether it's getting enough light or whether the plants are too crowded, whatever.

Whenever you read about something that sounds cool and you think it would be fun to try, make sure you study it thoroughly - don't do anything new until you understand what it is you're doing and why it's supposed to work.

Most importantly - have fun. If you enjoy yourself and have a good time, you'll learn a lot faster and become much better at it.

Oh, and one other thing - don't ever let anyone at a grow shop sell you anything until you've had a chance to come home and research it. 90% of the crap that comes in bottles, bags, or jars at grow shops do not do jack shit for your plants - the only purpose they serve is to suck money put of your pocket and put it in their register. If they find out you're a new grower, some of them will be on you like those guys at the carnivals trying to get you to cough up a dollar for a chance to win a stuffed tiger or some such shit.

^^^^totally!!
A few years ago, I made the mistake of letting the salesman at the local hyjack store...er.. hydro store that I was new, and his eyes lit up. no kidding, then two other sales dudes came over to get their 3cents in as well. I felt like such a sucker, that i wouldnt even go back. now i know better, i do, but you better believe that i know, without a doubt what it is that i'm after, before i consider steping one foot in that door.

Yea, best to be an educated buyer. Some hydro store clerks are pretty knowledgeable though. I'm bummed, the owner of the hydro store that I like recently sold to some young guys. They seem to just be in it for the $.

haha had a good chuckle with what greenthumb said.
My local hydro shop was good to me, but I really connected with the young bloke working there...
we are about the same age (25) and had similar taste like music, fishing and partying lol.
but now I only go there when I know damn well what I need because they do try to sell you the best product in the shop.
I mean a $400 fan for my small grow tent is way too much, and ive been using a 50 dollar one now and it doesn't struggle even on 24/7

yep, they'll get ya if yr not careful. i got upsold to death that 1st visit, and they had ME thanking THEM for all these things i'd never need, but according to them, couldnt live without. i just use amazon now, unless its little things.

my Coco and advice are the only reason I go to my shop now
even ebay sells my nutrients cheaper with free delivery!

dopeleader said:

my Coco and advice are the only reason I go to my shop now
even ebay sells my nutrients cheaper with free delivery!

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ya. i like to support local biz, but i'm also about the cheapest price, as most are, and good price seems to trump out local patronage every time. makes ya stop and wonder how the shops stay in biz at all. must be from all them up sales they tacked on me, and that $400 fan they got you on!! haha!

hahaha yeah, i'm all for coming back to the shop for their products however...
They give me nothing but the highest prices, I definitely support a small family run business but if everytime I go in there I get stung maximum price...
I'd rather buy the products off the bloke trying to make profits using ebay and churning mass volumes, as opposed to churning minimal volumes but jacking the price up.

Keep it simple

dopeleader said:

hahaha yeah, i'm all for coming back to the shop for their products however...
They give me nothing but the highest prices, I definitely support a small family run business but if everytime I go in there I get stung maximum price...
I'd rather buy the products off the bloke trying to make profits using ebay and churning mass volumes, as opposed to churning minimal volumes but jacking the price up.

Click to expand...

hey there dopeleader,
i just left my hydro store...and i'm not completly tapped out!!!! haha
A friend told me that our local shop (hefty-harvest) price match. I did notice somewhat of a smug like attitude upon entering the building, when i announced that i was the guy calling about price matching, but i dont care.
i picked up a blueprint speed controller for $23, and a 1liter bottle of cannazym for $24...so i saved about $15...when $ is really tight it all adds up!
reason i tell ya this is the dude was saying how most hydro shops will do that, just bring in yr phone,, or print out something and bring it with ya.
i usually shop online at Ehydroponics, and they have bottom $ on any nutrients ive been able to find, so thats a good site to use for the price match. if you know a better one, let me know
hope that helps a little....

ryanspring91 said:

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and ryan, sorry about the hijacking of the thread....you can use the above info as well. i dont know many ppl who aren't down with saving a buck
hope yr figuring things out.

Another cheap (ish) effective way to reduce your heat in a small space would be a cool tube and it's own fan I too grow in a small spot and it gets warm quickly I got a cool tube and a 600 watt hps bulb for £40 you can get better but if you don't want to spend a lot it's a good alternative