I am a true newbie when it comes to horticulture, having never grown anything in my life. I needed a hobby to occupy my mind, and what better hobby than growing something I love?
I’ve scanned through the forums and various other sites/books over the past few weeks while I gathered supplies, so I feel confident enough to take a swing at it myself. I hope that my perspective and reporting will be of use to the rest of the community…or if I fail horribly, good for a laugh.
My biggest constraint for this grow (and future grows), will be space. I’ve been given consent by the SO to have a setup in the closet…which presently only allows for a 2x2x4 tent. I’m hoping that any measure of success in the vegetation process of these two plants will grant me an opportunity for a bigger/additional tent to make growing 2 at a time feasible.
I’ve chosen Durban Poison for it’s reported affects on focus and energy, and Northern Lights for the anxiety/pain/sleep aid.
Supplies
•1x - 2’x2’x4’ grow tent, Mylar-lined with 4 holes for air flow.
•1x - 6 outlet surge protector
•2x - 6” 2 speed fans for airflow and exhaust. Will get 3rd to generate air into the tent if needed.
•2x - 5 gallon grow bags. Should provide plenty of space for roots to spread and not become root bound
•1x - Bloomspect 300w LED full spectrum lights
•1x - 8qt Black Gold organic potting soil+fertilize
•1x - water pH reader
Remaining - carbon filter, ph reader for soil, and additional soil, if needed.
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For the initial grow medium, I have placed the seeds to germinate in labeled solo cups with my soil. I began germination approximately 10pm on Oct 31st. I checked on the seeds germination status yesterday morning and noticed it had begun to root. I am slightly insecure with this being my first try, so I’m hoping that inspecting the rooting process hasn’t caused any shock. If it has, the other seeds I have appear to be of good quality, so I feel strongly that I’ll be able to replicate germination.
I’ll update in another couple of days on the status of the rooting, and hopeful growth of my plants
Don’t bother with the pH soil reader probe. As long as you have a digital pH meter, you have what you need. You should also pick up a TDS meter. This will help you detect the strength of your nutrient solution as well as how much nutes are left behind when you water.
The 300W LED will be enough for seedling and veg growth, but I do not think it will be powerful enough for the flowering stage - the buds will grow, but they won’t be dense.
I’ve grown great weed in 5 gallon fabric pots, but the 4’ high tent won’t be enough without significant plant training and topping - durban poison is a tall plant, NL is average.
You won’t need to use your nutes for a few weeks - just water at 6.5 pH for the beginning. The black gold has some good stuff in it already. I had some pH issues with black gold (wicked low) and I reverted back to a miracle grow, but there is no shortage of folks using black gold.
we won’t laugh at you I made tons of mistakes on my first grow, but made it through successfully with the help of the good folks on this site.
Thanks for the reply! I’m hoping to get another tent in the 5-6’ range. After getting the first tent I realized I’d be able to remove the shelving in the closet to open up some more space. Either way I’m still expecting to do a lot of training and topping for both plants to maximize my yield.
About the lighting…I’ve read a couple different theories, but the one that seemed to have the most use/success was sq ft x 50-75 watts to determine need. Canopy’s only going to be 4 sq ft most likely. What’s your recommendation? I’d like to optimize my grow (who wouldn’t duh) as much as possible. Also, the 300w will just be for one plant. I’m hopefully going to be doubling the setup, just didn’t want to get ahead of myself
I don’t think the 300w is true wattage. Many LEDs use an equivalent value that is not the same as the actual usage that is drawn from the wall socket. If you check out the specs on your lightly guess is that it’s probably around 90w. For example I have a 1500w equivalent LED actual draw is 280w and a 150w eq that is 45w.
If you got the cash, search on quantum boards. They are a bit pricey but they will save money in the long run. There are also DIY option to save a few bucks if you are handy. People on this site swear by them. @dbrn32 is the QB guru
Just read this and figured it might help you. Cause that 300w Amazon light isn’t gonna be enough for flowering. I went the DIY route and built my lights.
So here are the sprouts! Kind of concerned about how the Durban poison has sprouted so far…the seed didn’t shed, but at first I was afraid of removal because I didn’t want to damage the growth at all. When I got home tonight though, it was open enough that I felt comfortable assisting the plant in shedding. Hoping it rights itself and we can get these babies under some lights in the next couple days.
I watered the soil the first day enough that it was moist about a knuckle down and haven’t touched it since then, but will probably add an ounce or two to each tomorrow.
Checked in on the sprouts again, and they’ve added some considerable length to the stem (probably 25% increase in length, and the stem is straight) so I think we’ll be alright. Went ahead and added another ounce or so to both plants and put them in the grow tent with lighting still off. Trying to get a little more humidity to them. They had been sitting betweeen 55-60% humidity.
When I got home today, I got them under the light. They’re approximately 18” beneath the lights, and placing my hand directly above the plants it doesn’t feel that the lights have too much heat on them. However, it looks like my setup is going to keep the tent in the 79 degrees range with about 45% humidity. I might have to build a makeshift coolant system to take it down a few more degrees and add some humidity.
Welp got some serious heat issues. Tent is staying at 85, and killing the humidity - 30-35%
Going to look at some diy coolant setups. Since we’re both out of the house today, I moved the tent out of the closet and opened the flaps. Because of the heat I’ve been having to add a lot of water. Going to see what that does for temps…may have to sweet talk my way into more open quarters. But, here’s a picture of them currently. They’ll have a new home in their final pots when I get home tonight!
I think I did 24 hours for about a week or so. Only reason i changed it to 19/5 just to make me stay away a bit. But the babies are growing good so far for you.
80F is fine but 85 is definitely above what you want. I’m suffering with the same low humidity and having to watch the temps as well.
