Get a fabric pot like a 10 gallon. Fill it to the level you want and fold over the rest. Done! Custom height, cheap, the best type of grow container for soil etc.
Can you install you lights above the grow space? That’s what I did and it allows you a LOT more vertical room for the plants. It gets tough to water when the SCROG is crammed down right on top of the pot. I usually shoot for 12 to 15" above the soil level.
I really like your lighting ideas Old guy…But alas my light is now finished for the time being for better or worse. I spent a large portion of my tiny budget on seeds. I had a small full spectrum LED grow light that was gifted to my wife for planting veggies indoors ( Led Plant Grow Light Full Spectrum, GEARGO 300W 100pcs Led UV & IR Grow Lamp with Cooling Fan) I have surrounded it with 8 bulb sockets mounted on PVC piping and plan to use warm white LEDs that draw 9.5 watts each and cool whites that I think draw about 11 watts or so.I had most of this stuff laying around from past maintenance jobs. I understand that the grow light draws around 62 watts so this should give me around 140ish watts total…I hope this will be enough to get me started??
You are a life saver My friend!..I think your solution is a winner!..wish I would have thought of it…glad you did!..grinsss. yes the light will be installed directly above. With any luck I should have around 38" of vertical space between pot and light. Minus around 20" for space from light leaves about 18" of grow space. That being said I will train the plant early and set a scrog at 9". I have always grown outdoors where the sky is the limit so this should be interesting…LOL…I have thought of the watering issues and have some ideas in mind but perhaps I will set the scrog closer to 12" and hope for the best. I will wait and see how the plant veges.
Thanks for you help!.. Poppa B.
You shouldn’t have any trouble with those restrictions. You have obviously identified the weakest part of the grow which is your lighting and that can be addressed as time and money presents itself. @dbrn32 would be the one to poll on lighting when it comes to upgrading. My only advice is: DON’T BUY AN AMAZON LIGHT WITHOUT LOOKING AT ALL THE OTHER OPTIONS.
You won’t in all likelihood have the maximum yield possible under those conditions but you should still grow some great cannabis. Stay away from Miracle Gro products and keep it as organic as possible. Start a journal here and tag folks in and they will all help when (if) you need it.
Thanks so much friend. Yes when I look at amazon for LED lights it will makes my head spin!. LOL. As I said this grow light was never intended to grow weed but for now it is what it is. Which brings me to the last thing I need to settle before I start and that is grow medium. It seems to me that my best option is to keep it all as simple as possible this go around. I agree that I will use an organic medium and I do have a little experience at making mixes for starting plants that I transplanted outdoors. What I have in mind is to watch my PH levels and use some sort of organic soil that will pretty much feed my plant for at least most of the grow…I would perhaps mix this with some coco and extra vermiculite. When it comes to nutrients I have no clue and I am limited at this point to options from places like Lowes or Home Depot. But like I said I want to keep this as simple as possible and hopefully get enough yield to prove I can do it…I have grown a shitload of ditch weed in my time and never thought I would see the day when this is legal!..I pinch myself each day if I’m dreaming. I come from a time when we risk everything just to smoke a joint so its still hard to adjust to this new freedom
Thanks for your kind advice Dude!..Poppa B.
it will be enough.!!!
i remembered reading u doing handy man stuff after i posted all of that.! LOL
diy when u have most of the materials already laying around is great.!!
do a few runs and then upgrade to QB or COB or CMH.!!
can u post some pics of the box and or lights.?
For sure I will take some pics to post. I thought I would wait until its all set up. Holidays and grandkids make it a bit slow at the moment but next week I should be back at it…
Thanks for your interest and great advice!..Poppa B.
You would likely be better off for now with a commercial product like Fox Farms Happy Frog or Ocean Forest. It’s designed to grow cannabis and has pretty much everything you need. That way you can concentrate on growing your plants.
I have not seen fox farms available around here but I will try to find it…thanks
Her is a pic of the light add on so far…I was two short on sockets so when I get to the hardware store I will pick some up. Actually the sockets are the priciest part but if some can be found cheap its not to expensive…Perhaps around 35ish dollars.incuding bulbs. Also I have yet to break the globes off my LED bulbs but I inclused one in the pic. It 4.5 inches deep.
Have a Merry Christmas and best New year! Poppa B.
hi I was wondering if you could tell me what you think about this? I have a 8x16 ft bud area with 3- 600 watt hps air cooled lights and my veg area is the same 8x16 ft with 2-600 watt mhl . my question is will 5- 1000 watt 3 chip led’s do the same job and as well. I’ve been growing indoor and out for many years, I’ve always used mhl and hps. I would like to drop my electric bill down some. my room takes around $200 a month to run. I have to use magnetic ballest as our cable company picked up on my digtal ballest believe it or not. he could tell when my lights turn on. HE WAS VERY PESKEY LITTLE BUGGER. so back to the magnetic ballest. so what do you think ?
@hercules rapid led sells kits that would suit that much area. Horticulture lighting group is another great option.
You can’t go wrong with either of those two both are excellent.
@dbrn32 can assist farther if needed.
You’re not the first person to have issues with rfi on digital ballasts. Glad you were able to identify that and get corrections made.
You would really have to take a look at the exact fixture you’re considered. By your description it’s probably not anywhere near competitive with 600 watt hps. There are led fixtures available that will replace hps par levels with less power. But they’re not cheap.
Are you using the entire floor space of 8’x16’ with the 3 600’s? That seems a little weak on lighting if you are. I always liked a good 600 for about a 4x4 flowering footprint.
hi again
thank you for replying so fast. and yes those 3- 600 watt hps light works very well in that area. I put 24 dwc buckets in there and it works very well. i’m not afraid to spend a little money if it would help. but what about the CABLE GUY lol he said he pick me up 3 miles away like I said he’s peskey… so are led’s powered by a digital ballest? I just don’t want to buy a new lighting system and still be detected by THE CABLE GUY what a pain in the butt this guy is. he came rite out and say’s what are you doing in there with all of this interference coming from your house. this dude is a pain.
They’re definitely susceptible to rfi, but most provide some sort of rfid protection.
There’s a pretty good chance he knows exactly what you are doing. In my opinion you’re gambling with whether he is cool and just messing with you, or he’s going to press the issue. The reason he was there testing is likely because one of your neighbors made a complaint. And they can absolutely pinpoint your location. I would imagine if he has to keep dealing with it, won’t be the end of your dealings.
I would seriously consider looking into rfid protection regardless of what you’re using at this point.
Or consider a better (you didn’t say what brand you were using) ballast. In the past 5 years, the U.S. has been flooded with cheap knockoff ballasts, non UL-listed ballasts, and ballasts that do not meet FCC certification. These are exactly the types that “can be heard a mile away.”
that’s why I bought magnetic ballest for all my 600 watt lights. this all happened 2 years ago and after I got my magnetic ballest he went away and has not been back. that’s why i’m looking at led’s from all angles just trying to be smart about it. so thank you for your imput it helped out a lot. I think ill just stick with what I got. its working very well.
they are virtual hydroponics out of Canada.
u may have a bad electrical ground on your house or a ground not connected properly at your grow receptacles…???
if u have time one day…
check the grounding rod near your meter base,
if it is loose in the dirt (u can spin it) it could be loosing ground,
also check the clamp and wire running from the top of the rod (may be buried a little),
it should be tight also.!
Those are good tips, but if you’re using unprotected digital ballast it won’t matter. Especially with something like 5 of them. You need to pretty much line your house with copper mesh and bond it all to grounding system to hide that kind of interference.
Also kind of depends on who is looking and what they’re looking with. A cheap cordless phone can pretty much tell you if you’re close. When you get the tools designed to tell you, it’s difficult to get around them.
i did check my ground rod like you said it’s in there pretty good. im just going to stick with what works. but thank you for your input that’s something that I did not think of.
