Hey there man, congrats on starting your first grow. I love PC grows. Here's what I've got for ya:
why is tinfoil a nono. im not disagreeign with ya im just wonderin what the difference is between tht and mylar. what else do u suggest for odour controll?
Someone already posted on this and you already made the right change but mylar has the highest reflectivity for the $$--it reflects about 95% of the photons that hit it (if I recall correctly). I think aluminum foil is in the 70% range (if I recall). And mylar doesn't have the heat problems foil. So, good work on that.
Odor control sucks but start with ona block brand odor neutralizers. I have both ona block and DIY carbon filters and the ona block, to me, for a PC grow, is more important. Most hydro/grow sites carry ona block for $7-10 for the smallest version which provide plenty of control for a PC box for a few months. They work by passively dissipating compounds into the air that bond with the organic compounds from your plants (phenols, terpines, etc.) which are responsible for the smell of cannabis. The little ona block containers come in two smells: polar crystal and fresh linen. I've used both and the fresh linen is less suspicious since it just smells like some kind of unsuspecting household air freshener. I buy from a few sites but this one carries it for a good price and shipping isn't too bad:
http://www.pchydro.com/atmosphere-filters-ozone-c-72_65/ona-block-6-oz-fresh-linen-p-1407
Another option to help is use fabric softener sheets in your exhaust system--they help a bit.
also just got a crazy idea im gunna out into effect:
an automaticish watering system but it does deliver co2 rich water. route hose from co2 generator to another bottle. poke hole in the side of new bottle and put hose from co2 generator in and make sure its sealed. now add another hole for another length of tubing from the new bottle to the plant. make sure this chunk of tube is long enough to go into the bottom of the bottle. then add water and shake ur generator and bam watering system. haha stupid idea but it is something to do when ur bored
This was an inventive idea but it won't work for a few reasons. Plants take light and CO2 in their leaves for photosynthesis. They take O2, H2O, and nutes in their root system. You don't want CO2 supplementation for your roots. Plus, I'm using a DIY yeast fermentation system and it doesn't make enough consistent pressure to power water anyway. If you want a self-watering device get these. I bought four of them but haven't used them yet. I will for spring break so I'll post in my grow the results:
http://www.plantastic1.com/
Now about your pots/soil. Looks like you're using 16oz party cups which are fine for early vegging seedlings but you're going to need to transplant if you want your plants to survive and certainly to thrive. My case is exactly 7.5" wide and gallon jugs fit perfectly in there. I just cut off the top down to about 3/4 gallon--a very efficient use of space. You can use growbags, ceramic pots, whatever you can come up with that won't leach stuff into your soil and fit your setup. Don't try to just pull out the seedlings. You want to use your hands and maybe a trowel to gently cradle the entire root system and all the soil in it (don't let it all fall off the roots if you can help it!) into the bigger pot with an appropriate level of medium already in it so that you only have to fill in around the transplanted root system. I hope that is clear enough for how to do it without stressing your plants too much. After a transplant you usually see a big growth spurt!
Now for grow medium (soil, etc.). You said all you can afford is miracle gro? If that's the case, then so be it. For cheap soil, Pro-Mix is a better bet. Same/similar price minus the nute burn. But, hey, do what you can
I like to mix in up to 50% pearlite (also cheap at walmart) which is great for drainage and aeration (getting oxygen to the roots). I'm growing in a soil-less mix: Fox Farms dry mix Tomato & Vegetable Fertilizer, Pro Mix peat moss, dolomite (for pH--it will only allow the pH to rise up to 7), pearlite, and nutes and micronutes. You wanna sterilize your soil if you can by baking it in the oven or microwaving it. This kills all bacteria/disease which means the beneficial bacteria get nuked too
After sterilizing you can add back in nutes that have proper microoranisms which a lot of good nutes have--especially organic nutes. I know you might not be able to do a lot of this stuff but it's just info and things to consider. If you are going to use Miracle Gro or other chemical fertilizer-infused soil, a good idea is to flush it. This means you take the volume of your pot, double it, take that amount of water, and water your plants so that the run-off (drainage) will wash out excess salt buildup and nutes. It's a good idea to do this at least once during your grow anyway, even if you're using organic nutes (which have fewer problems)--because you will get toxic salt buildup regardless because when roots use nutrients they make byproducts that they cannot use.
I know this is a lot but I'm just hoping you can use bits of it to help you out. Take what you can and leave what you cannot.
Got more questions? Post 'em and I'll try to continue to help. With that short case you might benefit from SCROG for yield and space management.
in the name of herb,
secretforestgarden
