Setting up my first grow

Hello, all, i'm new here, but have been reading all the EXTREMELY helpful information, and have started my very first grow last night.

i got a lot of bagseed from my dealer, who always has pretty good stuff. (i live in BC). Last night i started germinating using the paper towel and plastic baggie method. 11 seeds, and i checked today, and it looks like a couple of them have already cracked.

Today my husband and i went to home depot, and got 3 bags of Scott's premium soil, 4 150 watt CFLs (all i can afford for now), 4 3-gallon planters, clip on light sockets with cords and other misc. necessities.

This will be a micro-grow, only for my husband and i, so out of the 11 seeds, i plan to plant 4 and hope that at least one turns out to be female. i know it seems like an awful waste, but we really don't have the room for any more, and we also rent our house (although the owners live out of town), so discretion is important.

i do have one question, though--assuming that all four sprouts are female (highly unlikely, i know), what can i expect the smell to be like? i thinking that the seal from the freezer will stave off some of it, and i've read the DIY charcoal exhaust post, but can anyone give me an idea of what i can expect? It could also be that i only have ONE lady out of the 4 (perish the thought), so any suggestions would be appreciated.

After the seeds have sprouted, i'll be setting them up in an old small freezer that i have rigged up with my CFLs and a could of hand made rods to clamp them on (i sawed up 2 15" rods from an old rake, hahah). i'll grow them there until i need to transplant them, and then move them to a larger room with a locking door.

Sorry this is so long, everyone. When i can find my camera i'll post pics to keep you posted. This is an awesome site, and you all are really great helpers!

it all depends on strain,,,,some strains dont even smell like weed,they smell more fruity than skunky,,,some have next to no aroma and some have a mild sweet skunky smell and some absoloutly pong.are you guna be starting a grow journal?hope so.peace

i have a video camera, so i may start documenting everything that way. i think i'll start my own journal, and if i feel comfortable i'll post it. *blush*

Also, the inside of the freezer is the silver metal. i know it'll be very reflective, but will it be a good kind of reflective, or should i paint the inside white?

Thanks for your help.

i just realized the CFLs i have are actually 42 watts, which i guess is as good as 150 watts? At any rate, they are 2850 lumens each. Sorry for the confusion.

if you feel comfortable???you dont need to feel awkward on ere,,,were all good ppl,,were always nice,,,, most of the time ,,,sometimes.....nah but seriously if you dont wana do one thats cool,,but dont be shy to post some pics on ere when your having plant probs(hopefully you wont)so we can help ya...anyway i think you can leave it unpainted if you want,should be fine,,,,its completely up to you tho!good luck with it,peace.

mrskitz said:

if you feel comfortable???you dont need to feel awkward on ere,,,were all good ppl,,were always nice,,,, most of the time ,,,sometimes.....nah but seriously if you dont wana do one thats cool,,but dont be shy to post some pics on ere when your having plant probs(hopefully you wont)so we can help ya...anyway i think you can leave it unpainted if you want,should be fine,,,,its completely up to you tho!good luck with it,peace.

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Thank you so much. Everyone is really friendly and helpful here. It's a nice change.

i am just so brand new to growing ANYTHING that i'm a little anxious to make sure i can make it through the first week!

i have no real experience with cfls so i cant give you advice on that,,hopefully someone else will.peace.

no you should be fine,,its actually very easy as long as you have the right ingredients,,,,just read as much as you can about it and the rest is easy,,,but things do and can go wrong and were here to help so if you run into any problems just let us know whats up and we'll do are best to help ya.peace..

Thanks a lot.

Oh, i do have a question: i have an oscillating heater with a fan and a programmable temperature control. Would this be a good idea to use in the larger room? i am able to program the temp for an optimal stable temp, but i wonder if because it's actually a heater, not a fan, if it would do more harm than good? Thanks.

...a fan is definitely a good idea. Air circulation is important and keeping breeze on the plants helps them to develop stronger stems.

regarding the sex of the plants:

Some growers believe the sex of the plant is not completely determined until the 4th week of growth.

There is a lot written about not stressing the plants especially between the third and forth weeks as various stress factors seem to increase the expression of male traits.

There is another theory called the Banana Religion. It's a religion because it's followers believe it to be true, have faith in it, and practice its teaching in the absense of scientific proof. The Banana Religion claims that the presense of ethlylene (i believe that's the right compound) which is given off when bananas and apples (and other fruit) ripen decreases the expression of male traits. Placing a banana in close proximity to the young plants especially between the 3rd and 4th weeks decreases the chances of getting a male plant.

I certainly don't know if it's true but i can tell this, after my last grow...i'll try anything! Last summer i had four seedlings that i got from a friend (one Blueberry and 3 bagseed plants) and 3 of the 4 were males!

...so right now i have 6 seedlings about 3 weeks old (4 Bubblicious + 2 bagseeds), and they each have their own banana.



..oh, by the way, the can of red bull is for size reference (i'm not feeding it to my plants)

hope this helps...

peace,
- eyes88

That's interesting! i'll try it--what can it hurt? Thanks!

...that's what i figure -- it can't hurt. My plants are still need at least 3 -4 more weeks of vegging before i switch them over to 12/12, so i won't know until then if the banana's really work, but folks on the Garden's Cure forum swear by it...

also, the stressers during the 3rd and 4th weeks which are all said to increase the ration of males to females are:

Over or under watering
Pruning
Use of 24/7 lights

peace,
- eyes88

you should be able use to turn the heater part off on that fan too. But yeah I use a oscillating tower fan and its great. The heater shouldn't hurt anything. Although I do recommend a oil-radiant based heater. One that looks like a radiator. They dont dry out the air near as bad and they control the temp better. Also Im glad to see you got scotts premium soil. Its good stuff also seen you read my journal thank you. I smoked some of it today and its a killer weed. You will love being able to smoke something you grew. If you have any questions I will be here often to try and help you.

you mentioned 3 gallon size, but what about now? don't forget the little pots, too. Wow, they cracked already, huh? cool! Keep the temp around 80F if possible, get a thermometer in there at plant top height so you can keep a better tally of heat buildup. keep lights as close as possible

Hi again everyone!! i am sooo excited, every single one of my little seeds cracked and showed taproot today! I picked out 4 of them (the "strongest looking" as far as i could tell), and away we went!

For starting them, i am planting them in regular beer cups with the Scott's premium soil (Thank, FG, i got that from your journal, hahah). So i cut some holes in the bottom of my cup for drainage, and watered the soil gently...at first i was afraid i got it too wet, so i added a little more soil to them and mixed them up well with my hand. The soil is now very damp, but not soaked. (i am TERRIFIED of over/under watering, so any advice on this aspect of it will be MOST appreciated.) i placed my little babies one by one in their own little home, tap root down, and gently covered them with the soil. Now they are chilling out underneath my CFLs, and i couldn't be more excited! i really hope everything goes well.

Thank you all very much for your help. i've read a lot of the journals out there, and i am inspired! FG, your journal was awesome, i'm so excited for you, and glad to hear your first smoke was as good as you'd hoped it would be!

This grow marks the first time i have ever grown *anything* with a root. i grew up on a farm in Tennessee, but i guess i didn't absorb all the information i should have hahah. i'm really excited about this. My husband and i finally just got fed up with having our dealers flake out on us--until last night i hadn't smoked in over a week. So this planting marks a new and exciting day for me! No more deadbeat dealers, and all the sweet sweet herb i can smoke growing right in my own house!

Take care, everyone, and i'll keep you posted!

Hey, btw, does anyone know anything about the AgroLight available at home depot? i was thinking about getting a couple, but wanted to know if anyone had had any experience with them? Thanks!

somebody help quick--i opened up my freezer to check on my plants, and it is SUPER hot in there. i have cracked the lid of it, but i won't be able to get a little fan until tomorrow. Will it be ok to leave the lid open, or half open?

Hey Ganja,

...i saw those things, but they didn't list the temp in K, so i didn't bother with them, plus i think one bulb was about 3 times the cost of 1 27w CFL. I think you'd be better off getting the 3 CFL's.

peace,
- eyes88

what should i do about my super hot freezer? i took out a light, so now for 4 beer cup plants i have 2, 42 watt cfls, and i have the lid propped open. Will this be ok?