Indoor Stealth Grow Help

What up boys. I'm a newb here and I'm not a heavy forum user but I'm in need of some proffessional help here haha. Over some time, I've collected about 15 or so seeds. I started germinating one the other day and now it's just barely beginning to crack open and whatever. So now I'm worried about my little grow box. It's a cardboard box that it currently lined with tinfoil that will soon be changed to white paint. Is there any specific paint I should be using? Or just any kind of white paint? Next, it's a cardboard box. Will that be a problem? And it's pretty small but there's definitely enough room for a couple little plants. I have a handheld fan in there that will be used but is it really neccesary? And if so, how long should I have it on the plant(s) each day? And as for lights, I have a little touch lamp with a "60 Watt 120 Volt Soft White T2" bulb in it. I doubt that this will cut it but let me know just in case. If it doesn't work, what is a cheap bulb I can get?

When answering these, please keep in mind that I am dealing with an extremely low budget here and I'm living with my mom. So please throw out some solutions for me that are cheap and small and will work for this. Thanks guys.

firstly, if your mom doesnt know your growing then you are on the path to destruction. you MAY be able to keep it hidden for the first month.. maybe longer. BUT when it starts flowering... you have NO CHANCE. save your self the time, effort and trouble

that said. you want flat white paint. and your light will work for seedlings, after that you want several 26 watt daylight cfls. and maybe a big 150 watt equivalent 3000k light.

read the growfaq and be enlightened. as well read some grow journals.

Baike said:

What up boys. I'm a newb here and I'm not a heavy forum user but I'm in need of some proffessional help here haha. Over some time, I've collected about 15 or so seeds. I started germinating one the other day and now it's just barely beginning to crack open and whatever. So now I'm worried about my little grow box. It's a cardboard box that it currently lined with tinfoil that will soon be changed to white paint. Is there any specific paint I should be using? Or just any kind of white paint? Next, it's a cardboard box. Will that be a problem? And it's pretty small but there's definitely enough room for a couple little plants. I have a handheld fan in there that will be used but is it really neccesary? And if so, how long should I have it on the plant(s) each day? And as for lights, I have a little touch lamp with a "60 Watt 120 Volt Soft White T2" bulb in it. I doubt that this will cut it but let me know just in case. If it doesn't work, what is a cheap bulb I can get?

When answering these, please keep in mind that I am dealing with an extremely low budget here and I'm living with my mom. So please throw out some solutions for me that are cheap and small and will work for this. Thanks guys.

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Yo , im a newb to the site , but im not a newb to growing , ive been growing outdoor for a few years and just started indoor , and yes , you should deffinitly get rid of that tin foil , it has hot spots and will prolly burn your plants when they grow , and any white paint will work , just make sure its a bright white and not shady white , as for the box , you should prolly use it the hole time , atleast i would , just keeps the plants out of plane sight , and im currently useing a daylight 6500k clf , they are pretty cheap , they are like normal light bulbs , but i use the 6500k for veg then a 2700k cfl for flowering , and for your fan , yes you should use it , you should get another one tho , if you have an old computer that isent in use anymore you should take 2 computer fans and use those , or you can buy 2 computer fans for like 10 bucks each , very cheap , use one fan for blowing air inside the box and the other fan for blowing the air inside the box out of the box and all you have to do is hook the fans up to an old cell phone charger for power and a cardboard box isent that great because it can be a fire hazard unless you keep an eye on it all the time , then it should be fine , but im sure the light you have right now will be fine just make sure the light is as close as you can get it without burning , put your hand above where the plant / plants are growing and then lower the light till you feel heat on the back of your hand , if it starts to burn then you know its to close , just do that untill you feel that you have the light in a good spot , hope all this helps , sorry it was so long lol

Few problems and ideas!
Cardboard boxs can burn... Thats not a good thing when you leave lights on for atleast 18 hours and your not always there. As others have mentioned, that light may be fine for starting seedlings but for veg and flower your going to want more. I personally use 2700 kelvin CFL lights the entire cycle. My space is not huge and not using ideal light for vegetation helps keep size down. You can get 3 or 4 lights in a pack at walmart for like 8 dollars and for 1 plant in flowering that is near the bare essentials. (others will disagree but I have done it and it was fine) I am also slightly against the beaten track when I say tinfoil is fine. Your using CFLs you can pretty much put the CFLs on your plants and with a fan on them, do no damage. Id not worry about paiting it white, I do not believe your CFLs can cause hotspots. (IMHO)

Your 60 watt light is probably about 12 actual watts. Try to get atleast 30 minimum actual wattage in a CFL bulb. (I prefer the 42-48 watters which are equal to like 100 something incandescent light wattage)

How tall is your box? Minimum I would want about 30 inchs.

For the CFL lights if you dont have many outlets for them, you can get light splitters that turn 1 socket into 2 and save space and money.

Fans give wind and increase resistance in the stems of your plants making them more hardier. If your main cola ever gets heavy it can topple the plant break the stem and then your left with nothing but premature bud. Fans are always good! It cuts down on heat also.

Also just to touch on it a little although I do not like to... Do'nt grow if she does'nt know. That being said I know you will anyway I just have to add that little bit

So to cap it all off, for under 15-20 dollars (socket doublers, a few CFLs and light cords) you can have a setup worthy of start to finish growing. (although itll be a small setup)

I agree with Kronkrux. Cardboard is flammable, Tinfoil works ok with CFL's, CFL's are cheap but you need more...and....finally....your mom probably already suspects something. The smell is only going to confirm her suspicions....but good luck anyway!

YO

just tell ur mom ull give her 1/2....

Alright I've been doing some research and here's what I've decided (I still have questions as well..). I'm going to continue using a cardboard box since I have no clue what else I can use that's as stealthy and as easy to get (please give some ideas if you have some. I'm going to take out the tinfoil and put that reflector stuff that's used on windsheilds in there and glue a power bar to the top with 2-4 2700 kelvin CFLs (thank you Kronkrux). I'm also going to take out that shitty handheld fan since it's so damn loud and useless and buy a computer fan for each side of the box (intake - outake). Also, my mom has some Scott's Lawn Fertilizer laying around and I think some brand name topsoil. Will those work for this? And I'm also going to get a timer for my lights and I'm thinking of just going 12/12 for the whole thing cause some people say it works well. I'm not going for top quality/quantity, it's my first grow. I just want something out of it. I want it to be workth my time and effort and that's all. From there I'll keep upgrading and eventually be making top qulaity shit (hopefully haha).

Also, how long should I keep my fans on for? All the time or same as the lights? And will "Jiffy Pots" work? or should I go buy a clay one?

You shouldn't grow inside your parents home!

You can use a large rubbermaid container instead of a cardboard box. You could also build a small cabinet from osb and 2x2's, if you have access to the material and tools.

Jiffy pots work well, but for your application will be too small. Use whatever decent potting soil you have on hand, but try to steer clear of Miracle Grow soil. If you can, add perlite to the soil to help with drainage.

You can use your 2700k lights all through the grow, and for your situation, 12/12 from seed would be the way to go. I would keep fans running all the time, and keep in mind the smell that just one plant will produce will be enough to stink up your room. Search this website, there are several DIY carbon filters you can make for less than 10 dollars.

pokesalotasmot said:

You shouldn't grow inside your parents home!

You can use a large rubbermaid container instead of a cardboard box. You could also build a small cabinet from osb and 2x2's, if you have access to the material and tools.

Jiffy pots work well, but for your application will be too small. Use whatever decent potting soil you have on hand, but try to steer clear of Miracle Grow soil. If you can, add perlite to the soil to help with drainage.

You can use your 2700k lights all through the grow, and for your situation, 12/12 from seed would be the way to go. I would keep fans running all the time, and keep in mind the smell that just one plant will produce will be enough to stink up your room. Search this website, there are several DIY carbon filters you can make for less than 10 dollars.

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Oh, I see. So carbon filters get rid of the smell? I get it now haha. Sorry, I'm still a newb to this. Thank you

More questions:
How often should I water? And how many sprays with a spray bottle?
Do I really need nutrients for this grow? Are they really neccessary or are they just a boost kind of thing? And I found some "Fresh Flower Food" laying around my house. Could I use that for anything?