So after some research about growing and seeing so many statements about how “easy” it is to grow especially auto flowers, I took the first step and purchased tangie autos, I then did research on grow tents and not only was the complete setup I.E exhaust fans, hydro meters, ducting, lighting etc way out of my budget $500.00 not including the cost of the seeds $119.00 I was in a predicament because I had already purchased the seeds and I don’t want them as well as the money I spent to be wasted, so after doing more long frustrating days of research on making this still possible in a more affordable way, I came to buying a grow light 4ft 140watt soft white full spectrum, thinking ok I’ll start indoors for a few weeks untill outside temps get at least in the 60s (I live in ct) and then I’ll move them outside for the flowering stage. So now I purchased a kit of bug buster, mold protector and root protector thinking ok now I’m good to go, buuut as my research continues on all the things to do once my seeds and grow light arrive; I see now my watts aren’t enough for anymore then one plant at a time, I need to constantly monitor and adjust humidity and heat, I should use this soil or that soil, I should top auto flowers, I should not top auto flowers etc. Now I’m sorry but either I am very uneducated in terms of simplicity or this is NOT as easy as growing a “weed” as everyone says especially when I see some of these setups people are posting that look like something I would see in a science lab🤯 so I’m sorry this is long winded but as one last ditch effert before returning everything I purchased I figured I would post and see if there are any other recommendations. Thanks in advance and props to all you successful growers out there!
Okay it’s as simple as you want it to be I learn every day but thats what’s great use what you can and continue on. I have a closet for veg and a corner for clones and the tent for the flowering children. I see some of the people I tag along with just have the set up in the open I guess it decides what your options are. I still look at the amount I use and how much I was spending. It is also a great feeling to use what you grew just like a vegetable farmer but a lot of smiles are involved. You can go look at just my last 6months of issues but conquered and proud of my girls and my fellow Growmies for the assistance. My tent is a amazon green house that I modified for my use.
I have made mistakes just ask me. started with store dirt went to expensive dirt that caused me bug issues. There is so much support here good luck give it a try. I’m pretty low budget on my things but I make them work ingenuity is all we have sometimes.
Hey bunger thanks for the quick response 
yea I mean based on what I have I guess first question is how many plants do I start with based on my lighting and then I even though about purchasing mylar from my local store to simulate a grow tent I was planning on setting plants on a 4×2 foot table with the lamps hanging above and again I’m indoors with ambient temps around 68° not sure about humidity though and as far as soil should I just get plain potting soil and then purchase nutes or buy foxfarm soil again I’m using autos?
So, seedlings don’t need any fancy lighting IMHO. I use a regular Home Depot grow light hanging over my seedlings (I’m also new to cannabis but have been propagating vegetable and fruit seeds for many, many years and I just did it the same way. I will start adding things to my grow setup one at a time but it gives me time to do more research.
I will be growing outdoors (I did my very first cannabis grow outdoors last year and it went well, except the critters). I’ll start the seedlings end of March in hopes of moving them outdoors the end of April or first week of May.
I started small with only 3 plants. That way, if it didn’t work out, I didn’t waste too many seeds.
Honestly, there are so many great growers here, I recommend that you just pick one or two and follow them and try not to let too much info bombard you at once.
Happy Growing!
Do you garden by chance? I ask because the date you can safely put tomato plants outside is an important date. From that date work back 4 weeks or so. This will give you a week to sprout the seeds and 3 weeks or for them to grow. To be on the safe side it would not hurt to start a week later.
Vegetating plants do not need a lot light. Setting its height is important. With a 4’ 140w light you should be able to start and veg 4 plants for several weeks.
Hopefully some outdoor growers in CT can provide more experienced dates and info.
You can start on or 2 I started 8 in my closet with mylar till my tent showed up, thats a small area they will surprise you all of a sudden you have a jungle. Always remember lights are critical I started with purple and they grew great plants but the heat and the electric was a factor. I reached out for suggestions and a HLG650r is what suggested it was pricy but I have already spent that un cheap lights want a couple they work good for clones and veg. My tent with lights maintains 78-85 degrees during lights on and turn heat on below 63, I have a Heating and cooling Temp reader
s that help me. regulate 24hr’s switch to . the dirt is a factor that I just dealt with you can decide. I started with Walmart potting soil it worked great for starting I then read about Fox Farm products and went that route. the problem I saw was the dirt gnats I thought it was because of the cheaper soil but the expensive stuff has just the same if not more, New factor I’m no longer using that expensive dirt I didn’t benefit from it I guess the time frame my girls run about anywhere 3-5 months between harvest so I’m not benefiting from it. I did go and ask the local grower about what they are using and bought a bail of pro-mix no bugs and fungal prevention she showed me they sell bags you open put your seed in and just water so many choices for us dirt farmers. I use Advanced nutrients 3 part system others use Jacks 123 or something like that. All my mylar and Panda film are amazon purchases some were talking about a moving wardrobe box things like that. there are a lot of ideas on here and great people. Now my game is I’m retired and do my own thing I’m in the tent at 5 in the morning checking and then if I’m home all day can’t stay away. others run the light schedules longer to help with the heat. I reached out to the sup[port angels to ask and they suggested 20/4 to get the most out of the auto’s before they flip which they do on their own if their 6" or 3’
I’m in midwest zone 4 so Mothers day is our safe day. It is rare but we can still have frost the first of May
Great info that’s the answer I was looking for as far as how many plants with my light! Thank you! Beardless
Hi and welcome to the community!
I hear ya! I was very overwhelmed when I first started out a couple years ago, and sometimes still am. 
I like to keep things simple whenever I can, and so far I’ve been able to do that.
Questions for you to ponder: Is your home’s environment favorable (enough?) to grow without a tent?
Do you have a closet or a room of any size where you could hang lights without annoying the rest of the house?
I’ll outline what I do for my fairly simple grows, if that might help:
I grow one or two autoflowers at a time (I have two 150 watt LED grow lights) in a little-used room, I don’t tent. My environment is very dry, but it works, even though it’s not ideal. I’ve been doming my seedlings, just to be on the safe side.
I use soil (Roots Organics Original) and yes sometimes there are fungus gnats. Mosquito Bits and diatomaceous earth addresses that just fine.
For nutes, I use Grow Dots mixed in the soil = easy, along with Recharge and a touch of calmag in RO water. Really simple, and no PHing or flushing is required.
A lot of growers here use Jack’s nutes, so maybe also look into that. Coco is also popular.
For lights, you’ve likely read about HLG, which can be pricey. If you can wait (even to get another light), the 420 April sales will be here before too long. Contact them to see their refurb light deals, and they’ll also give sale discounts for them. Last fall, I picked up one of their 150 Patriot lights for $90 = 1/2 price.
I do top my autoflowers, at the 5th node/above the 4th node with sterile, fine scissors = no problems. Then I do my best to LST, which I’m still getting the hang of. Autos can handle reasonable pruning, just keep in mind that their veg stage is very short, so don’t go crazy with leaf removal, but remove enough so that bud sites have light and that the plant has enough air flow. And be careful to not break off stems, since they don’t have much time to heal before they automatically flower.
For drying my harvests, I stopped worrying and fiddling about my dry air. I hang my harvest long enough to get some dryness, but before it’s at the point of no return of eternal crispiness. Then, I’ll put it in a large enough container or two, and alternate the lid on/off for a couple-ish days until its ready for curing.
Anyway, I don’t know if any of that will be useful to you, although I’m sure that I’ve offended some proper weed-growing senses of at least a few growers here, or maybe just embarrassed myself, again. 
It’s OK, we all need to do what works for us. 
My point is to be encouraged, start where you can, even if it’s not ideal with everything, and then you can look to make improvements along the way that works for your weed needs, budget, and life.
Yes, each zone is different… it’s important to know your zones for outdoor growing. I was mainly pointing out the 4-5 weeks prior to going outdoors and up until then, nothing too fancy is needed to get to the point of putting outdoors… but I’m just a simple farmer… 
Twelve 1 great info of course it was useful I believe in accepting all knowledge so when I need it it’s there thank you so much!
Gogogadget if it’s working than thumbs up 
Welcome to the community.
Finished first grow, first autos.
We did keep it simple indoors. We did follow the golden rule. Have a quality light that is at least capable of growing one plant.
We did no testing, we did less on nutes and watering. We made 10 ozs of solid bud. Plus the larf, lower third of fluffy buds that didnt count.
mosca WOW that’s amazing yield imo😁
We have 2x3 rv shower, recommended 2 plants. We did 3, this time 2.
We spent 600.oo. hlg light, nutes for yrs, ilgm beans, coco. We returned our investment 3 x s the money and still have magic beans left over.
Our light didnt show on our electric bill.
60+ yrs old snd we be growin #2 runtz and wedding cake, talk about some possible 
Exactly. Plus our crazy weather makes it even more unpredictable.
I understand how you feel but nothing compares to growing your own medication.
It is illegal where I am but I am authorized to use supplied medicinal cannabis.
Costs over $1200 a year.
After 1st prescription they informed me price was going up so I have to break the law for my medication.
I have had many failures and still learning .
Nothing more mesmerizing to me than watching a cannabis plant grow,one of the greatest gifts from nature.
The amount that I save instead of paying for overpriced cannabis is well worth it to me.
Good luck to you,you will enjoy your garden,and you will have many people here to help you.
@Twelve1 good points. I grew single autos in an unused upstairs bathroom. Built a simple PVC frame to hang the lights. The good ole days. 2x 125w draw burples and a 50+ watt kind flower bar.
@beardless is one of many growers that have the exact science down to an art. He has the data needed to show.
The added benefits are, he is a great engineer of what we in the south refer to as a southern engineering on trellises and such, plus can show you how to train your plants for better all around yields.
Thanks but way overstated. I still ask for help when things turn south on me. And believe me, it happens.