Custom growbox and progression using CFL's

[mary.chiva]

Drum Roll Please...

I have just received word my package from Amsterdam has been delivered. Oh happy day. I'll get my new grow started soon...and the new thread as well.

Yippee!!

 

[FLOWER PIMP]

now your in over your head!!!

j/k

the plant is looking like a monster. that thing is big and healthy. i would take clones, and try things like lst or femming while everyones vegging. but, i like trying new techniques just to have fun.

an idea for the temps. if you can hang blankets or anything around the area to make like a box, that may help keep the heat in. because right now your heating your whole attic, correct?

insulation is a good idea.

where are you getting your power from?


good thinking, the attic will pan out as a much better choice...



let the fun begin!!! from beginnig to end, im in

 

[mary.chiva]

now your in over your head!!!

j/k

the plant is looking like a monster. that thing is big and healthy. i would take clones, and try things like lst or femming while everyones vegging. but, i like trying new techniques just to have fun.

an idea for the temps. if you can hang blankets or anything around the area to make like a box, that may help keep the heat in. because right now your heating your whole attic, correct?

insulation is a good idea.

where are you getting your power from?

good thinking, the attic will pan out as a much better choice...



let the fun begin!!! from beginnig to end, im in

Yeah, I agree the plant does look good, I will upload some pics from when she was on 24/0 light, prior to the screen making her look 'twisted'. It really is/was beautiful. I should probably keep her going...but it's taking FOREVER to flower. Clones are a good idea, I just don't feel like watering more than one pot right now...lol. If I do clones, it will probably be from the good strains I bought. I'm really torn which way to go...should I start new plants, vegging with MH...or should I just keep trying to flower this one? It may be a good idea to see how she does with the HPS for a week or so and then I can decide...argh.

As far as hanging the blankets, your definitely right, I plan to hang more than what I have now, just need to get some. The blankets hanging now are to keep the light in the building and grow area (not all......it's A LOT of light), plus it helps with keeping heat in. I also want to hang up some mylar for obvious reasons. The insulation will be bought and installed in the next week or so. I want to do it before winter REALLY gets going. Right now, the heater runs quite a bit, especially at nighttime. Even with the bulb and ballast running.

My power is going to a dedicated 20amp breaker, I found it. When everything is on, I'm running around 1430watts or so. I'm also changing all the building's bulbs with very low wattage CFL's (not the 40watts I have laying around...). I guess I'm just going to take my chances...I think I'm fine.

 

[mary.chiva]

I just re-read your post...wow, I'm slow. Your right, I could just start vegging this current plant again until the others are ready to flower. My only issue would be height and how close the MH bulb is to the other plants (needs to be 2.5 or 3 feet near the tops)...so yeah, I would probably have to make clones or LST in order to shorten this current plant. I'll probably have to wait for her to straighten up some more so taking clones from the main stalk(s) will be easier (and not so crooked). Right now a lot of the branches grew twisted because of the screen I had installed in the grow box.

 

[FLOWER PIMP]

its tough any way you look at it. a single light setup is really only capable of vegging and flowering a group of similar height plants.

u'r right about the 2 to 3 feet distance. i haven't been able to get any pics of my plant in its new home, but the light is about 14 inches off the top. i just raised it yesterday a little bit. i purchased small chains that i can raise and lower the light with a little work. not something to do everyday, but once a week is fine.

they say something like 3000 lumens per sq foot is the lowest you wanna go. some say they like 5-7K. i have a 3 x 3 area, so thats 9 sq feet. i'm using the agro bulb at 55000 lumens. thats ~6K lumens per square foot on paper. but what i don't understand is how to calulate the lumens loss after the 14 to 20 inches in height.

if your looking for minimal envolvement and maintenace, i would make some tea out of your current plant and keep only wiht hte new ones. i don't mind having the extra plant work though, i have about 60 house plants, and 30 more outside that are in a building window, with an insulated box around them using the sun for heat (something new i'm trying this year).

i got my mylar from htg. i purchased the 1 mil thick, roll of like 50 feet or somehting. i still have some and i've used alot. its a bit flimsy. i would think about getting the two mils next time, nothing more. either way, your ok. hanging it is a whole new technique in its self. if you mist the backgroundthat you are going to apply it too, its sticks and works great. if your free hanging it, it works easly too. but sometimes it can be tough...

maybe i missed it, but where did you purchase your seeds from?
how many did you get?
are they feminized?
how many are you going to sow?


i could just wait till your new thread, but im interested. soon i will be getting a batch. soon...

 

[mary.chiva]

its tough any way you look at it. a single light setup is really only capable of vegging and flowering a group of similar height plants.

u'r right about the 2 to 3 feet distance. i haven't been able to get any pics of my plant in its new home, but the light is about 14 inches off the top. i just raised it yesterday a little bit. i purchased small chains that i can raise and lower the light with a little work. not something to do everyday, but once a week is fine.

they say something like 3000 lumens per sq foot is the lowest you wanna go. some say they like 5-7K. i have a 3 x 3 area, so thats 9 sq feet. i'm using the agro bulb at 55000 lumens. thats ~6K lumens per square foot on paper. but what i don't understand is how to calulate the lumens loss after the 14 to 20 inches in height.

if your looking for minimal envolvement and maintenace, i would make some tea out of your current plant and keep only wiht hte new ones. i don't mind having the extra plant work though, i have about 60 house plants, and 30 more outside that are in a building window, with an insulated box around them using the sun for heat (something new i'm trying this year).

i got my mylar from htg. i purchased the 1 mil thick, roll of like 50 feet or somehting. i still have some and i've used alot. its a bit flimsy. i would think about getting the two mils next time, nothing more. either way, your ok. hanging it is a whole new technique in its self. if you mist the backgroundthat you are going to apply it too, its sticks and works great. if your free hanging it, it works easly too. but sometimes it can be tough...

maybe i missed it, but where did you purchase your seeds from?
how many did you get?
are they feminized?
how many are you going to sow?


i could just wait till your new thread, but im interested. soon i will be getting a batch. soon...

Yeah, I probably should start over with a new batch of plants...it just sucks cause this one could actually prove to do something. BUT...the seeds I bought are goooood strains...so........

I bought the seeds from Nirvana and I bought 10 papaya and 10 aurora indica. No, none of them are feminized. I'm thinking about making another order for some feminized seeds, however. Those seeds got here FAST.

Right now, I'll probably sow 10 seeds, 5 seeds from each strain. I know not all will be female, but if I can get 5 female plants, I'll be very happy.

I figure, I smoke about a half ounce of good weed a month. So I need roughly 6 ounces for an entire year. I'm sure I can get close to that if not more with 5 plants (especially with the HPS and from my learned mistakes). Both strains I bought are supposed to give great yields.

Oh, and thanks for the tips about the mylar....gooood to know.

 

[mary.chiva]

I just wanted to send a couple more pics...

The first 2 I just took today (she LOVES this light)...the rest were during her 24/0 light cycle that lasted about a month during September and part of October. I wanted to share some pics before I installed the screen over top of her. Also because she's probably going to get chopped down to make room for the new plants and I want to memorialize her...haha!

She still isn't flowering yet, but it probably doesn't matter cause new plants will be started soon..............

EDIT: The pics I took today were on the crappier camera...the color it picks up on isn't even close to the camera I used for the last 3 pics.

 

[grow space]

nice plants man.
keep up the good work

 

[mary.chiva]

Well...I did it...I killed the plant to make room for the papaya and aurora indica ::sigh:: She taught me alot...

Anyways...I cleaned up the area and hung a bunch of insulation. I tested the heater to see how long it took to get the temps above 70...well, it only took 10 minutes and the heater turned off...sweet success. Without the insulation the heater pretty much stayed running.

I'm having a bit of a fly problem in the attic...they are freaking everywhere. My fly paper has been catching them...but man, it's a lot of flies. I actually need more fly paper, but I think they are starting to mostly die off.

I now have my Nirvana seeds in hand, so after my trip to the hydro store for some fox farm potting soil, pots, and fox farm grow big........I will then start germing seeds and get this show on the road.

I put the MH conversion bulb in...man, that thing is nice too. I'm looking forward to veggin (and flowering for that matter) these new babies under this new light setup.

 

[mary.chiva]

Oh...and I am eventually going to pick up some mylar after things get going and the plants start to grow.

 

[sadie]

That looks awesome to me. I have constructed something a lot larger and got crap advice about lighting so have really slow growing plants, temp issues etc. I have 10 plants growing and I am starting over I think. I only have one 100 watt fluorescent over each plant and I am ready to study up and do it right. I feel inspired. Thanks

 

[mary.chiva]

That looks awesome to me. I have constructed something a lot larger and got crap advice about lighting so have really slow growing plants, temp issues etc. I have 10 plants growing and I am starting over I think. I only have one 100 watt fluorescent over each plant and I am ready to study up and do it right. I feel inspired. Thanks

Yeah man...read up as much as you can. I can still say...at least for me...that all the reading in the world didn't prepare me for the real thing. I'm happy that my first plant taught me so much of what to do and NOT do. The reading helps...but it just takes practice to get this right. I have a lot to learn.

I'll post a link in this thread to my grow journal when I start it. I plan to start germinating my seeds tonight...so....the grow journal will start probably tonight or tomorrow.

 

[FLOWER PIMP]

Yippee!!!!!!

 

[mary.chiva]

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/128063-mary-chivas-papaya-aurora-indica.html#post1578909