Trailer park grow

Hello everybody,
Well… I was up late one night and saw the infomercial for the Aero Garden. How many times have you heard that?

I have actually been thinking about a hydro garden for 20 years and that just got me going. I finally have a spot where I can set up and now that I found all kinds of info on the web I’m going to give it a try.

I saw a set up a long time ago in high times mag and figured I could do it a lot cheaper than an aero garden. I found a site with same set up, pvc pipe and 2 litre bottles, and got started. As I found more and more research and videos on the web, my little set up turned into a $1000 project. Hopefully it will be all worth it in the end.

Right now, I’m almost four weeks into the grow. I’m vegging with two hanging fluorescents with two grow lights on the side.
When I go to flowering I will be using a 400 watt sodium. I’m using an 8000 btu window ac to blow air into the flowering room and 2 70cpm bathroom vent fans to take the air out.

I’ve done a lot of outdoor gardening but this is my first hydro grow and first time with weed. Any suggestions would be helpful. This is all for fun and personal use but I want to do it right. I’ve already put more into it than I planned but if a few more little tweaks will help…. What the heck.

Since my little pvc contraption is what got me going, I’m going to use it on my first run. I’m not sure if they’re big enough and I will probably try something different on the next try.

Here are some pics of the setup and my little ones. I’m just using seed that has been lying around for a few years, a pretty mixed bunch. Since it’s the first try I figured I would put the money In the equipment and set up and think about good seed later.

Like I said, any suggestions will be appreciated. Let me know what you think.

Thanks everybody
Mac

Looking good man.

Thanks,
I was beginning to feel like the ugly step child.

So how long do you think I need to go before I start to flower. I've Seen different things and am not sure when they're refering to clones or seeds.
It will be four weeks from planting the germinated seeds on thurs.

Thanks again

Welcome trailer park guy...

So, is the pvc set up some sort of ebb and flow?
If that is what it is I can see what you are doing there.
Looks neat.

It does look like some sort of popular mechanics op for sure.

You want to wait until you have atleast 5 alternating nodes.
Usually 8-12" or within 6 weeks.

The longer you veg the healthier the plants and the bigger and better the bud.

Happy growing..

trailer park guy said:

Thanks,
I was beginning to feel like the ugly step child.

So how long do you think I need to go before I start to flower. I've Seen different things and am not sure when they're refering to clones or seeds.
It will be four weeks from planting the germinated seeds on thurs.

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Hey, How much grow room do you have? If you have alot of head room then you can wait it out, if not you would be able to flower soon. It's up to you at this point. Flower now, smaller buds,quicker harvest smaller plants all together. Flower when they are 3 foot tall and have a 7 -11 ft monster. Your choice.

I found this at hydroponicsonline.com. My pic isn't so good but here's another one. It's simple ebb and flow system. I cut it down to make it a little more managable and cut the need for more light.

I only have about three to four feet of grow space. I have punched holes and attached strings to bottles so I can tie them down, but I'm still a little worried about space.

Thanks for all input,
Mac

you can veg now if you want. I flower at about 10''. Or wait til mature it depends on how much space and how big you want the biggest product to be.

NO GROW said:

you can veg now if you want. I flower at about 10''. Or wait til mature it depends on how much space and how big you want the biggest product to be.

Click to expand...

I am vegging now. I think I need to lower the setup. I only have 4' and if I need to keep the light 18" away, these will be some stubby plants.

Any suggestions folks?

Thanks for the input

It has been 4 weeks today since I planted my sprouts. Everything is looking good. I’ve changed the nutes once and added more as the water level went down. The ph level has risen a few times but I’ve adjusted as needed to keep it between 5.5-6.0.

I have about twenty plants in my tub ranging from 4” – 12”. I when I started the seeds, I started about 25 hoping about half would take off nicely. I ended up with 14 in cups that go to the flowering room and I had about 6 more that were to nice too trash, so I threw them in too.

I’m planning on putting eight of them into flower tonight. I’m starting earlier than I planned because I only have about 4’ between lights and plants. I’m using a 400 watt sodium so I can only go about 30” tall on my plants.

This is all new so I’m learning as I go. I’m keeping the rest of the plants in veg to practice cloning and maybe get some mothers. I can’t wait to start the flowering process so I can see for myself up close the differences and how quickly they grow. It’s amazing how simple and quickly things are going with the hydro system.

Now for the questions. Do you need an air pump or air stone for an ebb and flow system? How often do most people fill and drain there system in a day?

If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks everybody!

ur last plant is looking a little droopy, just a heads up im not a hydro kind of guy

Never used the ebb and flow system. But if the system has a reservoir where the water just sits until the next feed it definitely needs a air stone in it to keep it airated so the water doesnt turn into algie, this also benefits the plants in many ways to have oxygenated water.

Hydroton needs to be water at least 3 or 4 times a day as they don't retain water very well. You need either an air stone and pump or you will need to add h2o2 every three to four days. When the water drains it will pull oxygen down to the roots. Us trailer park trash need to stick together. VV

Thanks Guys,

I made a midnight run to walmart and got an air stone. I've seen it both ways in some of the videos I watched but it's cheap enough, so why not.

I had a little break down so I removed another grow spot from my pvc system. I think they're too spread out for the light so I might try a little different design anyway.
I still have about a dozen plants in the veg area. I'm going to use them to practice cloning.

I've decided to run my flowering lights at night to try and control temperature. It's been running about 80 to 85degrees right now and the room is facing due east so it's going to get warmer.

So far so good no major screw up or floods and everything loks healthy. Not much else going on. As soon as see some signs of sex i'll post a few pics.

thanks agains folks.


PS - Trailer parks rule

nice setup.
plants are looking good

Everything looks good man! Happy Growing!

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

I just opened her up and took a look at the gang. One day under the 400 sodium and their first round of 12 hours of darkness.

Oh well, no hairs yet.....

They have grown about 2" with one day under the 400. The new shoots look a little yellow. I saw where that might mean an nitrogen problem but I'm not sure if it's the new light. PH and EC readings seem good so I'll give it a day or so. Anybody disagree?

I slapped together a new system today to make it more compact and to hopefully have better light coverage. I have 8 plants in there now hoping for at least 4 females.
Has anybody used this type of contraption with 2 litre bottles? I know they have been around for at least 20 years. I see them on the hydro sites but nobody using them for weed. Let me know if you've seen anybody else.

Also, anybody using technaflora products, BC Grow, BC Bloom, etc? At the hydro store they recommended the starter kit. I didn't realize it was actually a mix of 6 products.
I will probably run out half way through my grow. Would anybody recommend sticking with these or just switching brands.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks everybody!

I'm trying to make sense of what i'm seeing. It looks to me like someone who was using a drip system decided how to construct an ebb and flow system. If you where to remove the plumbing master pieces, cut holes in the resevoir lid the size of the bottles and remove the pump, add additional air stones if neccesary, you'd have a dwc. Or check out aero. If you can do this plumbing you can do that too. Or remove the plumbing, stick the pots in a container similar to your resevoir with an in flow and over flow (about $12.00) you'd have a ebb and flow with less mess.
I just converted one of my tables from drip to ebb and flow. Doesn't look as cool, those individual drippers watering the little plants, but it does make my job easier. Reading Al B Fucts post, " How To Get A Harvest Every Two Weeks" convinced me this is the way to go. Well that and getting my back broken maintaining the individual system. VV

Hey VV,
There's really no mess and the cost for the PVC and fittings is the same. It took about 15 mins to slap together. The pots sit in the bottles. and it fills a few times a day to water.


Like I said earlier, I saw this set up in High Times Ma about 20 years ago and it has been in the back of my head ever since.

This is my first grow and my set up may change for the next go. I built the first setup before I really did any research on other systems or bought any other equipment. The only drawback I See so far is the height.

Thanks for the input.

thats off the wall mate well done hope it works for you looks awesome!

Hey Everybody!

Thanks for the encouragement DR. I hope it works too! Less than $15.00 for parts, a tub, a pump and you're ready to go. I also added an airstone. I just hope there's enough room for the roots. I only have about 36" grow room. I'm planning on using LST, I figure that will help. I punched holes in the bottles so I can tie to the next one in line.

Well folks, this is day 3 of flowering. Looks like I got a little nutrient burn. PH staying steady. Cut the nutes by 40%, half the recommended dose.
I added 2 $10.00 Wal-Mart grow lights. I'm letting them hang at the sides.
Do you think they will help?

I'm using bag seed for this first run. I was thinking about driving to Canada, Ontario area, Niagara falls, It's about a 4 to 5 hour drive and thought It might be a nice little trip. I was wondering if anybody could recommend a good shop in that area to buy seeds and if anybody ever had trouble bringing them back? I wouldn't mind trying to find some clones but I think they might be a little tougher geting back home.

If you have any thoughts, please let me know.

Thanks Everybody