Vegetation Grow room what wattage should I use?

[AzaruleGreen]

Okay so for my Grow Operation I will have three flowering tents that are 3' x 1.5' or one which will be 9' x 4.5' but I will also have a tent that is used for vegging and nursing clones to health. I will also have a dark no light tent for drying but that isn't really important to my question. The question is what wattage can I get away with using for vegetative growth, I would prefer the lowest wattage possible. I read that for my small flowering tents a 250 watt LED light is perfect, I also read that its actual usage is close to 90 watts. You may be wondering what the point was in telling you so much about my flowering setup when my question is strictly about my vegetation setup, but my point in doing that is to help you gauge how many plants I will have in this setup now due to this being an indoor grow I am somewhat limited to height so I plan on veggin for 4 weeks max (Sea of Green method) and for some strains only 2 weeks. With the flowering tents 2 - 3 weeks in each tent is probably what I will do. So I imagine that doing twice the amount of plants in my vegging area than what I have in my flowering area is more than substantial. I have heard people using 150 watt cfls but was wondering if there were any more effective methods in the terms of vegging. a normal 150 watt cfl uses more electricity then my flowering lights, and though I could buy the same light I use for flowering for my vegetation tent, I can't help but think there is a better way to go at it. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[GrowinDad]

I use normal cree LED bulbs from home depot in a hood for my veg area...

 

[bigsteve]

I have a perpetual grow and harvest 2 plants a week. With 4-6 week veg times my veg room has one 400W bulb. From solo cups to 20-inchers, I veg around 12 plants at a time. I bounce back and forth between MH and HPS bulbs.

Here is something else that may help - count on needing about 4 times the area for flowering as you do for vegging. My veg "room" is a 3 x 5 foot section in a closet while I flower in a 8 x 8 foot room.

Good luck, BigSteve.

 

[AzaruleGreen]

I have a perpetual grow and harvest 2 plants a week. With 4-6 week veg times my veg room has one 400W bulb. From solo cups to 20-inchers, I veg around 12 plants at a time. I bounce back and forth between MH and HPS bulbs.

Here is something else that may help - count on needing about 4 times the area for flowering as you do for vegging. My veg "room" is a 3 x 5 foot section in a closet while I flower in a 8 x 8 foot room.

Good luck, BigSteve.

Wow that sounds awesome I really appreciate the information, to be honest I am just so lost because there are so many ways I could grow. As a new grower you walk into this hobby and you try to obtain all the information you possibly can, but it is just killing me. I don't know if I should do a sea of green method or if I should do full maturation or half maturation. How many plants do you have in flower at once, what medium do you use, and what size containers do you use for the flowering? I really could use some guidance because the only reason I really want to grow a lot is to experiment with different high quality strains, I won't be selling. I plan on giving some away to my mom who is in constant pain and stress, and to a few of my friends as well. Since I don't plan on selling I really can't spend to much on electricity, But I will do what I need to, to get the results I want. and though the setup I'm proposing may seem a little much for personal consumption that was me factoring the small yields for SOG lol.

 

[bigsteve]

There is a lot of information to absorb when one is a new grower. First you should decide what type of grow you want ; all-at-once harvesting or a perpetual grow. Sounds like you will be having an ongoing need for product and a perpetual grow is the answer to that question.

My electricity costs average $100 a month for one 400W bulb, one 1000W bulb and 2 75W bulbs. The 1000W bulb runs 12/12 and the others are all 24/7. That goes up slightly in the summer months when I have a portable box fan running also.

Seed costs can be minimized a couple of ways. Most importantly (especially for perpetual grows) is the ability to clone. Cloning has too many advantages to list but cost savings is at the top of the list. Buying from the popular seed banks will run you in the neighborhood of $10 per seed. $25-30 will buy you everything you need to clone, includes dome, light fixture and rooting gel. Make sure clone moms are more than 5 weeks old (in dirt) before taking cuttings.

I wouldn't worry about identifying the perfect strain at this point. You want to concentrate on getting your cloning down and producing healthy plants. I would suggest starting out with hybrid seeds around 80% indica. Those types will be generally faster with fewer problems.

Most of your questions can be addressed right in this forum. Find a mentor who is already doing what you want to do and pump them for info. For instance - in the MiracleGro vs. Fox Farms dirt debate I switched from MG to FF after 10 years of using just MG. I would consider that good info ;>). Some of your questions, like SOG or not, should be determined after you have more experience. Trust me, experience is the greatest teacher.

Good luck, BigSteve.