First Grow Help

S

Sasstic

Member
Hey all,

I'm interested in starting a small closet garden and would really appreciate your input on some questions I haven't been able to find an answer to. First off i plan on growing northern lights because I read this strain isnt ery potent smelling. Does anyone have any better suggestions for strains for beginners that areny pungent? Also I have a small budget so I plan on using flourescent lights and soil. I'm not quite sure on what exact type of flourescent light to use. I will only be growing two plants so I assume I dont need many lights. I read a combination of pure white flourescent and standard flourescent is needed when growing purely with flourescent. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read my long post and any other feedback you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
Color Temperature (CT) - Color temperature, which is measured in Kelvin, indicates whether a lamp has a warm, midrange or cool color appearance. "Warm" light sources have a low color temperature (2000-3000K) and feature more light in the red/orange/yellow range. Light with a higher color temperature (>5000K) features more blue light and is referred to as "cool."
 
cuddlebunny

cuddlebunny

Member
hey, how goes it.. first off you're gonna want to us cfl lights... or compact flourescent lights. Nowhere near as expensive as HID Lamps. Also you're gonna need white walls or something like panda film to put up. Reflective walls in your closet will be very good for your plants. What all would you like to know?
 
S

Sasstic

Member
Thanks all for the quick and knowledgable responses. First off how many cfl's would I need for two plants? Also does anyone have any advice on odor control? I planned on using just storebought soil either miraclegro or scotts, is there a better soil option than those 2? Thanks again!
 
S

Sasstic

Member
Also I've read a lot about sea of green but not exactly sure how to attempt this growing method. For my first grow should I even try doing this?
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
Cfl's I would use a 100w with 4 27w 6500k for veg and change the 27w for 43w 2700k bulbs for veg. what ever soil you get mix it with 1/3 perlite. If you get a nuted soil don't over water.
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
you can try what ever you like. I would think a few plants to start with would be you best bet.
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
this is what I have for flour light 1-100w 1-80w and added the 4' tube as they got bigger.
2010 grow #1 016.jpg

2010 grow #1 049.jpg
 
S

Sasstic

Member
Thanks a lot stumps especially for the pics, helped a lot. I see your setup which interests me was it easy to build? I was thinking that I would have it simply on the floor and hang a light over it but your setup seems very nice. What do you do when they grow taller?
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
I use bailing wire to hang the lights. then just raise as needed. I start with the table just so I don't have to bend over to water. I would go to flower on them about now but these are going to be moms for the next year or so.
 
S

Sasstic

Member
How do you have your lights set up? If I am only growing two plants will I just group that setup of lights you gave me earlier together? What would be the easiest way to do that? Would like to avoid hanging each individual light and hopefully find a way to group them together.
 
S

Sasstic

Member
How do you have your lights setup? Earlier you suggested a lot of lights and hanging each one sounds very tedious and difficult. Is there a certain setup you can recommend? Also you said you only had 3 types of lights, would that amount work well enough for me as well? Would like to use as few lights as possible.
 
SmokesLikeBob

SmokesLikeBob

Well-Known Member
you could buy yourself some 2-way lamp adapters(aka "y" slitters) so you could minimize the amount of wires, but maximize the amount of bulbs, they're about 3 bucks a piece at almost any hardware store. I'll give you a short explanation on cfl's, they give out about 75-90 lumens per watt, and 2 plants in vegetative would need about 3000 lumens each, so thats about 40watts each, and be sure it's cool white for veg, and a plant in flowering would need about 10000 lumens, but the more the better, and these would be either n soft white, or warm white spectrum...
hope his helps!
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
use the 100w over the top. I go about 4" off with that one. then what ever you want around the sides. low watt no more then 2" from the plant. I thought you could use the 100w the whole grow and use what ever watt cfl's for side light 6500k for veg and 2700k for flower.
 
S

Sasstic

Member
Thanks so much everyone your information is very helpful. My last question is does anyone have any info on the sea of green growing method? Not sure if I should attempt that or just grow
 
S

Sasstic

Member
Also I have been reading it is worthwhile to invest in HID/HPS lights rather than cfl's. Since I am starting a small operation are there any smaller cheap HID or HPS lights I could purchase? I would be willing to make the extra investment if it will significantly help my yield.
 
stumps

stumps

Well-Known Member
yes it is. a 400w mh/hps runs around $200.00. If you run a single grow you can use mh for veg and hps for flower. when I chop mine I'll switch back to mh and veg with that till it's flower time again. When I get a new hps 600w. I'll use the cfl's for clones and sprouts.
 
S

Sasstic

Member
Sorry need to ask Mh? i know of cfl HID and HPS. If I were to get a mh and a hps light would I need just one then? Seems like it would provide enough lumens for 2 plants.
 
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