New Grower, 2nd Grow, Looking for advice

I apologize if this is the wrong place to put this. I'm brand new to this site as you can see. I have one pretty successful grow under my belt. I grew one plant from bagseed that luckily turned out to be a female. I got a little over a half from it, but as I read more I realized I did all kinds of things wrong that probably diminished my yield. It was a try and see process.

Now I'm on my 2nd grow and want to do things more serious this time. I'll give a quick explanation on what my set up is.

I'm growing in my closet. I've decided to use one of those rubbermaid things as a pot. I cut the cover of one so it fit snuggly in the middle of the rubbermaid, seperating it into two pots. Right now I only have one but I have room for another. Money is real tight and I'm doing this on a week to week thing.

For lights I'm using a T8 Fluorescent shoplight from wal-mart. I once saw a set up where someone had about 6-8 of those set up nicely and used them throughout the plants life and am thinking about doing that. These lights only cost like 10 bucks each. I don't have the money for a 150$ HPS lamp and probably won't for sometime.

I'm using this soil that I buy from my local supermarket. I'm guessing it's organic because there is no where on the bag that says anything about nutrients. I'm pretty sure all it says on the front of the bag is Potting Soil. The stuff is real cheap like a 1$ bag. It worked for my last grow.

I have two 1 week and half old seedlings right now. Once I get the 2nd rubbermaid and more soil I will plant 2 more. They are on their 3rd set of true leaves. I have them on a 24 hour light schedule. I havn't given them any nutes yet, and have been watering them with plain water every 2-3 days.

So really what I'm looking for is advice. I actually kind of am looking to be walked through this grow. Any suggestions or tips are definetly welcome. I will have pics of my set up soon. Thanks in advance for all the help. In the meantime I will be doing plenty of reading on this great site.

I have been a member of this site for along time in and in that time alot of guys on here like to make the process of growing cannabis harder than it is.There are 5 main thing's that you will need no1 a good light h.p.s this will suite the veg period and flowering and will get the money paid out for it in the first grow.You could get a h.i.d light but i find that these are too hot and a new grower will struggle with the heat.The 2ndIs has inportant has the first a good exaust fan not a comp fan something with a little power look up your nearest hydrophonic shop and if it is 100 miles away travel and get a good exaust fan and light from there.The 3rd is a ossalateing fan this will simulate nature the wind this will harden the stems of the plants.And put fresh air into the grow room while the exaust fan will take the stagnent air out.The 4th a good grow room if you are good at d.i.y then there is no reason why you can't make you own make it bigger than you will need this will help with the heat generated of the hps lights.The 5th and final thing is another small room ABOUT 5FT/5FT/5FT/5FT the same at the top.The height is up to you but remember that plants clones will be in there for a min of 8 week so make them has happy has you can.Build a frame out of 2"2" and cover in plasterboard far easyer to cut than wood and light tight.Also get some exspanding form for all the joins this will stop all light leeks on bothh the big room and the smaller clone room.Cut a hole into the side of one side of the plasterboard and put a exaust fan that is used in a bathroom or kichen this will be enougth to pull stagnent air out of the cloneing room.You will also need 2 ossalateing fans one small one for the cloneing room and the very best you can get for the big room i think the big ones are around a ft or just over the small one is around 5 ince.One the rooms are built put the light in and the exaust fan and the ossalating fan leave it on for a couple of hours then check the temp.You are looking for a temp around 25/28 no good putting plants in if it is too hot.If it is still hot cut a couple more holes in the sides and staple some tights yes you got it womans tights over the hole this will help keeping the light down when it is on.In the cloneing room get 3 old school flouresents these need to be on chains so you can higher or lower them.For the cloneing room the lights over the plants want cool daylight spec the highest watt you can get 150 if possibe for each one.Then on the walls of the grow room[cloneing/seeds add at least another 4 cfl's 150 watt daylight spec but this time you want 1 warm on each side of the walls use plasterboard fixing to screw anything into or the plasterboard will get f@cked up.Next once all the temps are bang on then have the flouresents in the cloneing room inces of the tops of the plants.Get hold of a propagator if possible this will make cloneing so much easyer spray the plants and the inside of the lid 2 time a day morning and night have these on 18/6.Same has the other room you want the light to be has close has possible without burning the plants 1 ft at most.If the plants have just come out of the cloneing room then have the h.p.s about 1 mtr above the plants for about 4 days then down to a ft.What i'm trying to say is the closer the light the closer the internodes whitch inturn will join giveing you one main cola unless you top the plants in the second week of flowering.Get hold of the best nutrients that you can order then on line vitalink a nad b veg and vitalink a and b flower will cost you 20 pound english money and has always given me monster yeilds harf pound of 4 plants easy this ai the min your plants will produce.Also flower early i flower at about 1 ft tall because cannabis will double and tripple in the first 3 days of flowering.Good look hope this helped need any advice post me it tyke.........

Welcome and good luck.

tyke...

5ft/5ft/5ft/5ft?
L x W x H x"?"

are we going into the 4th dimension?

lol

Thanks for trying to help Tyke, but you must not of read my post thoroughly. I cannot afford even the cheapest HPS lamps, which I stated. I'm growing in my closet and don't have a 5ft by 5 ft room. I'm using my closet and I'm not sure what the dimensions are, it's skinny and long lol. And I'm not working with clones at all right now. I don't even have a car at the moment so getting to hydroponic shops (if I even knew where on was) is not easy for me. And like I said at the beginning. I'm brand new to this so most of what you said was just gibberish to me. I need to be spoken to like I don't know anything about plants (although I do know some, hence the one successful grow)

I'm really looking for help and guidance with what I've got to work with at the moment. I'm flat broke and with bills and stuff I barely get any spending money a week, which is why I'm now growing. All the info is in my first post and if anyone needs any more to help me just ask.

I will try to get pics up later today, but they wont probably won't be the best quality.

I'm mostly focused on getting the most yield I can get and not so much on potency, although that is of course important too. (I also realize the best way to do that is to spring for the HPS, but I just can't afford it. Just planning on going with a bunch of shoplights)

Any more future help is greatly appreciated and thanked!

Idontgrowanything said:

Thanks for trying to help Tyke, but you must not of read my post thoroughly. I cannot afford even the cheapest HPS lamps, which I stated. I'm growing in my closet and don't have a 5ft by 5 ft room. I'm using my closet and I'm not sure what the dimensions are, it's skinny and long lol. And I'm not working with clones at all right now. I don't even have a car at the moment so getting to hydroponic shops (if I even knew where on was) is not easy for me. And like I said at the beginning. I'm brand new to this so most of what you said was just gibberish to me. I need to be spoken to like I don't know anything about plants (although I do know some, hence the one successful grow)

I'm really looking for help and guidance with what I've got to work with at the moment. I'm flat broke and with bills and stuff I barely get any spending money a week, which is why I'm now growing. All the info is in my first post and if anyone needs any more to help me just ask.

I will try to get pics up later today, but they wont probably won't be the best quality.

I'm mostly focused on getting the most yield I can get and not so much on potency, although that is of course important too. (I also realize the best way to do that is to spring for the HPS, but I just can't afford it. Just planning on going with a bunch of shoplights)

Any more future help is greatly appreciated and thanked!

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Here's the problem with what you are telling us - on one hand you want to do what is known as a ghetto grow. That's not a put down it just means low budget and cut corners. But then you say you are all focused on yield. Well, yield comes from NOT cutting corners. You can do what you describe but the corners you are cutting will be why yield will be lower, like it was your first grow.

So do what you can do. Do the best you can do. Learn from it. Go ahead with what you describe. I'm not a soil grower and can't advise you on nutrients. Your lights are minimal but will get you something. When you can invest in some cfls, especially at flower and make sure they are red spectrum. meanwhile the only thing I see is you talking about a second rubbermaid. Don't do that, you don't have enough light for one.

PS Re-reading I see you say you have one t8 and hope to get more. One won't get you very far. You must add light. cfls are better than t8s.

the shop light is good for about 2=3 weeks then you'll be lacking light for your plant. just my thoughts but i've found mh to be the best veg light. so without more light you'll not be happy with what you get out of your plant.

Thank you very much for your input Illegal Smile. And I definetly understand that my set up is ghetto as hell, but I will build from it. I love growing and plan to frequest this sit for some time. As for what I said with the yield, I meant as much as I can get from my little ghetto set up.

As for the CFL's I had some on my first grow as side lighting and a T8 shoplight for the top. The top bud which stayed almost directly inbetween the two bulbs was the densest and largest bud of the whole plant. And as for the lights not being enough for 2 rubbermaids, well they're actually 122 cm which as I measured found is just enough to cover 2 rubbermaids directly next to one and other. So, I was thinking about getting maybe 2 more and putting them on their sides horizontally and as close as I can get them to the plants for side lighting. I was also going to put CFL's along with it for side lighting, probably just above the horizontal shop lights using clam desk lamps using the strongest bulbs I can find (which is about 100-150 watts output)

I know I won't get intense amounts, but I'm hoping that I could get like 3 ounces if all 4 plants turned out to be female and I did everything right.. What do you think?

Man you ae looking at the wrong sites i have just bought a real good bargin tent that will hold up to 8 plants.600 h.p.s light and ballast bat wing hood carbon filter and all the clips that are needed to set it all up a ready to grow system.For all this it cost me 260 pound.I have allready grown 4 plants in it each plant produced 5 ounce dry so i have the money back there.I have put a extra 250 watt hps in for the 8 plants though even though it says it will do 8 plants.The strain is white widow this strain is one that does not strecth during flowering so i'm gonna flower at 1 and harf ft this time instead of the foot like before.But 5 ounce of a plant flowered at 1 ft is good going the weed was the nicest i have seen in time 2 white widow and 2 trainwreck both top strains and will be growing these again for sure.

Tyke, again, I have no clue what the hell you're talking about. I don't know what 260 pounds equals to in U.S. dollars, but it's probably more then 200 and I never have anything near that to drop on lights. I'm 19 and live with my father, so I'm not ordering anything online and having it shipped to my house. I don't look on any sites I just go to local stores like wal mart for what I can get. Again, thanks for trying to help, but you're typos and bulky paragraphs make it hard to understand you. You also talk alot in technical terms for the lights which I don't understand. I'm really new to this.

As for Illegal Smile who suggested using only CFLs, here are a few questions (I'll take answers from anyone)

1. how many CFLs per plant? And how many watts? As for daylight and dif spectrum CFLs and stuff like that, I'm not sure what any of that means. Can someone explain the differences?
2. What kind of lamps for the CFLs would you suggest using?
3. How would you place them around each plant?

Money's tight for me right now, so the one shop light has to get me through at least a few more weeks. And when I do buy the CFLs and lamps, I need to go for the cheapest yet most useful, any advice?

Idontgrowanything said:

Tyke, again, I have no clue what the hell you're talking about. I don't know what 260 pounds equals to in U.S. dollars, but it's probably more then 200 and I never have anything near that to drop on lights. I'm 19 and live with my father, so I'm not ordering anything online and having it shipped to my house. I don't look on any sites I just go to local stores like wal mart for what I can get. Again, thanks for trying to help, but you're typos and bulky paragraphs make it hard to understand you. You also talk alot in technical terms for the lights which I don't understand. I'm really new to this.

As for Illegal Smile who suggested using only CFLs, here are a few questions (I'll take answers from anyone)

1. how many CFLs per plant? And how many watts? As for daylight and dif spectrum CFLs and stuff like that, I'm not sure what any of that means. Can someone explain the differences?
2. What kind of lamps for the CFLs would you suggest using?
3. How would you place them around each plant?

Money's tight for me right now, so the one shop light has to get me through at least a few more weeks. And when I do buy the CFLs and lamps, I need to go for the cheapest yet most useful, any advice?

Click to expand...

There are a ton of ways to set up CFL's, use your imagination, you might find stuff already around your house you can use to help. You can also search the forum - a lot of good ideas for lighting here. As for which ones: for vegging your plants, you want CFL's in the 6500K color range, usually say daylight or bright white on the box - look at it, it will tell you the K rating somewhere on the box. For flowering you'll want the 2700K color range - or warm light. Wal-Mart does carry these, as well as Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, pretty much any place like that. With CFL's - if you don't have much money, you can get one or two and add them each week, as your budget allows.

i also am growing on a budget, and cfl's are nice can add 1-4 a week for 5 bucks at lowes. you can get the lights right next to the plant, and if you keep it trimmed up you can have some nice yeilds. i have 4 cfl's on one plant 1- 13watt 5000k,1-27 watt 5500k, 1-27 watt 2700k, 1-42 watt 2700k. and it loves it, all in a small corner of my closet.

just get a couple Y-socket adapters, $2.09 each. and just keep adding lights. as close as you can. and some good soil is worth it.

Thanks alot for the feedback guys, seriously. But I just found some guy's grow journal where he used nothing but T8's for flowering, about 6-8 vertically I believe, and he got UNBELIEVABLE results. I'd post the link, but I'm not too sure on the rules of posting links to dif sites on here. But This is exactly what I wanted to do. This is still much cheaper then the cheapest HPS's I could find. I think I'm going to try to find a couple of those Clamp Desk lamps and those Y sockets and clamp those in the middle of my rubbermaids using high watt CFLs. Then I'm going to surround the outside of the rubbermaids with T8's horizontally since my closet just barely fits the rubber maids. I just have to figure way to stack them on top of each other. I'll try to get pics when I actually get to setting this up. I will of course switch to different spectrum bulbs for the flowering phase though.

I think my next bit of spending money will go towards buying the soil for the next rubbermaid so I can have all 4 plants set up and see what room I have to work with. From there I will begin to add the lights one by one (maybe more then that at a time if my work hours pick up, fuckkin recession) I'll have the pics of my little ghetto set up right now later tonight.

Thanks for the help guys. Any more suggestions or ideas from anyone else are greatly appreciated.