first time...need advice

[otter57]

me and my buddy have made a grow room but i have some doubts. we are just trying to grow for personal use so we didn't want to spend a lot of money. here is the setup...do you guys think that it will work?

location: in a crawlspace on top story of house (somewhat like an attic)
lights: 2 48inch 40 watt eco-gro lights (General electric)
soil: mostly miracle grow organic with some regular miracle grow in it

the thing that i am concerned about is the temp. It can get to 95 during the day (as of recently). if more info is needed let me know

 

[CannaBoss]

Welcome to rollitup!
Well, the way you have it set up, you wont be able to yeild a whole lot of herb, it is ok for vegitative growth, but come flower time, you're going to need more.
I recommend building your grow over time.
if you just started, you'll have a while before the plant is ready to flower anyway, In an attic that has cooling issues, I would recommend a T5 flourescent system with dual spectrum lighting. These sytems are going to provide the right light spectrum and cut down on heat and electricity.
Some people have grown big buds in Miracle grow,but I don't care for it.and it has chemicals you need to flush out of the plant that you don't want to smoke. Find a good organic soil with bat guano,earthworm castings,forest humus,perilite, sandy loam, etc. like a Fox Farm or maybe even Kellog's organic which is very cheap.
get a small fan to blow air onto the plants, this stimulates cell growth in the stalk to create sturdy stems, which allows more nutrient uptake and grows bigger nugz.
Get a simple one part nutrient like General hydroponics, Flora Nova or Botanicare's 1 part grow and one part bloom nutrients.
Think of the money you'll save in buying herbwhen you grow your own, but it takes a little money up front to do it right.

 

[otter57]

thanks. i added a small fan to the room already so hopefully that will help. the seeds were planted today, and are on a 20/4 schedule. ill see what i can do about the fertilizer and ill invest in some more lights before they flower.

also, would spider mites or anything else be a problem in this environment.

any other general tips for this kind of environment. i would be devastated if they died so i want to try to do everything i can. thanks again

 

[Dfunk]

Miracle Grow comes with fungus nats & that should be your only pest issue unless the space your growing in has some. MG has nutrients in it so you should be O.K. until you flower in my opinion. More lights is always better.

 

[chunkymunkey33]

I think they pretty much covered it. Good post Canna. Otter, I use the sunblaze 24"-4 bulb-T5 setup that produces 8000 lumens and uses 96 watts of power. I love it. For side lighting I use 23 watt cfl's mostly 2700K's with a few 6500K's. These give you 1600 lumens each. I only use all of these when I'm flowering, and just the T5's for the vegetative stage. The cfl's are really cheap, and you can get a Y connectors from Home Depot for a couple dollars. For the lamps you can use works lamps, also from Home Depot for like 8 dollars.

 

[CannaBoss]

thanks. i added a small fan to the room already so hopefully that will help. the seeds were planted today, and are on a 20/4 schedule. ill see what i can do about the fertilizer and ill invest in some more lights before they flower.

also, would spider mites or anything else be a problem in this environment.

any other general tips for this kind of environment. i would be devastated if they died so i want to try to do everything i can. thanks again

You don't need the light on yet, wait till they sprout. what do you have your seeds in? beer cups or something?
spider mites are a problem in certain areas, yes but they can be eliminated.
Look into T5 flouros, they are excellent for herb.

 

[CannaBoss]

I think they pretty much covered it. Good post Canna. Otter, I use the sunblaze 24"-4 bulb-T5 setup that produces 8000 lumens and uses 96 watts of power. I love it. For side lighting I use 23 watt cfl's mostly 2700K's with a few 6500K's. These give you 1600 lumens each. I only use all of these when I'm flowering, and just the T5's for the vegetative stage. The cfl's are really cheap, and you can get a Y connectors from Home Depot for a couple dollars. For the lamps you can use works lamps, also from Home Depot for like 8 dollars.

thanks chunky

 

[Phinxter]

get that heat under control 95 degrees is way too hot you dont want to see anything over 80 and preferably somewhere around 74 - 76 degrees would be ideal.
do the best you can but 95 degrees will wilt your plant and eventually kill it

 

[otter57]

thanks again

i have my seeds in regular pots (1 or 2 gallon i think)
so im definitly going to need some mroe lights. my question is...which type of light is best, but does not use a noticeable amount of electricty. i really know nothing about lighting except flourescent.

 

[Twistyman]

Canna's right....

 

[chunkymunkey33]

thanks again

i have my seeds in regular pots (1 or 2 gallon i think)
so im definitly going to need some mroe lights. my question is...which type of light is best, but does not use a noticeable amount of electricty. i really know nothing about lighting except flourescent.

Look into T5's. Like I said, the Sunblaze setups are pretty good and don't use much electricity. Mine uses 96 watts, which is great considering most ceiling fixtures use two incandescent bulbs that run 60 watts each. As canna said, you're going to have to spend a little money up front but you'll have the equipment for a long time and you'll be saving money because you won't be buying bud.

 

[Dually]

Yea hopefully you wont get bugs being in an attic. Depending on how many plants your growing your lights should be fine from veg/flow. Although like everyone else is saying more lights wont hurt. 20/4? Such random time lol most people 18/6 or 24/0, what ever satisfys you lol. A fan will deff bring down the heat in there too. Be sure to check your soil, heat like that will dry it up fast. One thing, just dont over water!! Idk where you live but in the future will temps be decreasing? Idk what your seasons are like. Good luck bro, keep us informed.

 

[otter57]

Yea hopefully you wont get bugs being in an attic. Depending on how many plants your growing your lights should be fine from veg/flow. Although like everyone else is saying more lights wont hurt. 20/4? Such random time lol most people 18/6 or 24/0, what ever satisfys you lol. A fan will deff bring down the heat in there too. Be sure to check your soil, heat like that will dry it up fast. One thing, just dont over water!! Idk where you live but in the future will temps be decreasing? Idk what your seasons are like. Good luck bro, keep us informed.

ha...yeah i figured if 18/6 gets a faster grow and 24/0 gets more yield, id go in the middle to make it a little faster and have a decent yield. i actually sat around and thought about a light schedule for about 3 hours. and i live in the Northeast, near philly so getting a light that produces more heat might be good when it gets into winter.

 

[Dually]

I live in North East too. The seasons are starting to change and temps are dropping a little so I wouldnt be too worried about the heat for now. But you are right about needing more heat when it does get cold since its in an attic.

 

[otter57]

new question. it might be really dumb but i have no idea. can i just buy a HPS or metal halide bulb and then put it into a regular lightbulb socket. I am trying to avoid spending a bunch of money on a hood or fixture.

 

[CannaBoss]

new question. it might be really dumb but i have no idea. can i just buy a HPS or metal halide bulb and then put it into a regular lightbulb socket. I am trying to avoid spending a bunch of money on a hood or fixture.

nope. needs the correct balast.