Pigstoners' first Big grow!

[Pigstoner]

So, this will be my first grow in over 20 years; should be interesting.

I was anxious to get started and put together some basics this evening as I just couldn't wait to get started.

This image is of the initial set-up:

Then I was reading another post and saw this thread and had an epiphany:

Thanks Harry!

SNEAK PEEK TO MY NEXT GROW
McBudz, you've given me a great idea! I just had a real DUHH moment, lol. I never really thought about the fridgecab, but lucky for me I have a nice fridge to convert into a veg box for my new place...
I think I can get a couple of good mothers on the bottom, with room for seedlings and clones on the back ledge thats about 1/3way up. I'm not going to rush this one, I want it to be the best end result possible(this box is gonna look professional hehe might even make it hydro, who knows...) I'm gonna strip it down and get a plan goin this weekend
Its 2x2x3, pretty big for a mini fridge.

I've had it for a while now and it doesn't cool as well as when it was new. The built in freezer is a POS and it also started humming very loudly in the past few months, requiring me to bang on it constantly. I might keep the cooling element going, but most likely I will just replace it with the lighting setup for max height. My brother has an old 150wMH/HPS conversion ballast that hes givin me, I just need a reflector and bulbs. I'm gonna begin to search for mini reflectors online and elsewhere, so if anyone sees any be sure to let me know!
I'm gonna need help with the ventilation at some point, so suggestions are much appreciated...

I may end up turning this into a micro scrog box sooner or later, but thats for another grow...

I too have an old refrigerator (see image below) that I was one day away from sending to the scrap yard; but NOW, now it's going to be converted into my new Grow station. Stay tuned!

Now you see it....

Now you dont.

I'm a complete Newb at this stuff, so I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of questions and reading many posts in the coming weeks, months and years perhaps..., so let me say many thanks to everyone in advance.

 

[caesar537]

I'm in for this one for sure pig, I can't wait to see how you convert that thing! If you need any help, be sure to ask, there are a lot of people on here willing to help you out and a wealth of information. +reps to you for your first journal!

 

[Doctor Dread]

Nice Pigstoner, I'm glad I could provide you with some inspiration. I went ahead and went the closet route, but I'm still interested in making some sort of veg box. I'll have to keep checking in to see what you come up with.

Consider me subscribed! + reps for the fridge idea man.

 

[Tead]

Another grower, @SouthernWeed, is growing in a shower/bath stall. It's a great setup... plus, you could use a rubber ducky shower curtain!
I wonder if the fridge will hold in too much heat... all that insulation and whatnot. Got venting plans? I love the stealth angle on the fridge.
That lights really puny... and will probably make puny plants. I'd at least consider a much stronger flouro setup. HID will give the best results. They're too hot for me, so I use LED's and flouro's. Works great in veg. I really havn't tested the combo in the flowering stage.

Cheers.. best of luck.. and enjoy! You'll find plenty of advice and friendly folk here.

 

[Pigstoner]

Thanks for the welcome guys, and I thank YOU for the inspiration Doctordread.

Tead, I plan to put openings large enough for several PC fans (mount power supply on the rear) on the sides, top and bottom, dampered for lighting, as many as are needed to properly vent; we'll find out how many are needed together, and in due time.

Thanks Ceasar for your support, we'll at least have some fun if it fails, right?

I have nothing to loose, and everything to gain.... tired of smoking this crappy ass weed!

 

[Pigstoner]

Another grower, @SouthernWeed, is growing in a shower/bath stall. It's a great setup... plus, you could use a rubber ducky shower curtain!
I wonder if the fridge will hold in too much heat... all that insulation and whatnot. Got venting plans? I love the stealth angle on the fridge.
That lights really puny... and will probably make puny plants. I'd at least consider a much stronger flouro setup. HID will give the best results. They're too hot for me, so I use LED's and flouro's. Works great in veg. I really haven't tested the combo in the flowering stage.

Cheers.. best of luck.. and enjoy! You'll find plenty of advice and friendly folk here.

Thank you Tead, I will do my absolute best to upgrade my lighting as soon as possible and have been reading many threads to help in choosing that lighting; in the meantime we'll have to go with what I have for now and we'll see what happens.

I'm going to smoke the final product, regardless.

 

[Tead]

I used some standard incandescent replacement flouro bulbs in a "flower blossom". You get 3 of the "y" light socket adapter and screw them together. You'll end up with a 4 socket config and you can hang 4 lights off of 1 socket. Very cheap and easy.

Cheers!

 

[caesar537]

If you wanna give my journal a look, you can see the "flower blossom" effect with the lighting I have going, same idea could benefit you as well. I have to be stealth with my setup and as far as I know, the energy usage has so far gone undetected, good luck!

 

[Tead]

Exactly what I was trying to describe with words! Thanks caesar537!

Here's Caesar's "light blossom"...

Oh look... I called it a "flower blossom" in my previous post... meant to call it a "light blossom".

Cheers

 

[Pigstoner]

If you wanna give my journal a look, you can see the "flower blossom" effect with the lighting I have going, same idea could benefit you as well. I have to be stealth with my setup and as far as I know, the energy usage has so far gone undetected, good luck!

I did check that out actually a little earlier, and I have to agree, I think that lighting will be great in this situation. I can even use the existing refrigerator lighting sockets, as they still work, and then add any additional on lower racks.

I can even use each side, one for Vegetative, and one for flowering (2 levels each side).... Cycle my growing states, keep it flowing if you know what I mean... wink, wink.

Good times are ahead!

Like that stealthiness there ceasar; would never see that thing in that closet.

 

[caesar537]

thanks a bunch pig, don't forget to stay tuned to watch it fill up with vegetation! It's gonna burst right out of the box! Can't wait to see the same happen to your fridge!

- C

 

[Tead]

hehe... veg in the freezer, bloom in the fridge... nice!
You might not want to use the fridge sockets tho.. they probably were only designed to handle a 10 watt load. You'll be pulling at least 50 for just the lights.
I'm not aware of how experienced you are with indoor grows, so I'll toss out another thought... Have you planned on an interior fan to blow on your babies? Plants grown without the stimulation of wind will be very weak. A small desk sized fan should be plently for your small size.

Cheers

 

[Pigstoner]

hehe... veg in the freezer, bloom in the fridge... nice!
You might not want to use the fridge sockets tho.. they probably were only designed to handle a 10 watt load. You'll be pulling at least 50 for just the lights.
I'm not aware of how experienced you are with indoor grows, so I'll toss out another thought... Have you planned on an interior fan to blow on your babies? Plants grown without the stimulation of wind will be very weak. A small desk sized fan should be plently for your small size.

Cheers

Thanks Tead, my only experience really is the past 10 hours that I have been on the Internet reading, learning, and exploring...., I have learned quite a bit in that 10 hours, but I am still a Newb none-the-less.

I plan to put well placed PC fans both on the Inside for plant stamina and on the exterior for ventilation/temp. control. I just happen to have an extra Power supply and quite a few PC fans. I drill what ever holes I need, place gromets and chalk the openings. I have to buy some metal drill bits, but that's no big deal.

Fun, fun, fun...

 

[Tead]

I use a pc fan for ventilation. They're quite noisy. I would suggest a quieter method. You can, however, run multiple pc fans from old cell phone chargers. A cell phone charger is much easier and smaller than the PC power supply.

Ok.. so your lesson for the evening has to do with plant biology. Most MJ plants bloom when the photo-period (a.k.a. how long they get light per day) drops. If your plant was grown outside naturally, it would start it's flowering cycle in the later summer (in my hemisphere anyway) when the days start getting shorter. Indoor growers simulate this change by changing their lighting cycle to a shorter one. You can totally use this to your advantage. I grow in my veg cabinet on a 23 hr/day light cycle. As soon as I want it to flower, I just move it outside. The drop in the light cycle causes it to go into flowering almost immediately. In the photo below is a plant I slid outside on 9/13. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but she's totally shooting hairs already. Plants will usually start to show some early flowering activity around 2 weeks after the photo-period change.

Of course, there's another series of MJ strains that we call "auto-flowering". These bad girls don't wait for a photo-period change and just start blooming when they're ready. They tend to be smaller plants since you can't veg them up big and then flower them.... they just start blooming when they're ready.

Of course, those are all pretty basic concepts, and I'll bet you've picked up on that magic thru your reading... I just wanted to make sure you knew how they plants can be controlled. Bend those bitches to your will baby! Make 'em big, then slide them outside.

Cheers!

 

[Tead]

Sorry.. meant to say "slide them into your fridge" not "slide them outside".

Cheers!

 

[Pigstoner]

Wonderful! Thank you much for the leasson, I'm such an eager "old" grasshopper.

Below are progress photo's of at least the Grow box. Decided to go with something a bit simplier than the refrigerator at first.;but once I become more advanced, I'll move into the refrigerator.

This picture is the base being put on over the existing rails.

Side view.

Close up of Interior view.

Side view with temporary top.

Alright, so still have to add one side and mount the top. Going to place the top it so that no light gets through, but can be easily detached.

Going to then add front doors that swing out and are sealed when closed.

Then for the Fan, timer, thermostat, etc. Still working on better lights.

It's a work in progress.... going to germinate me some seeds tonight, time to get the grow moving forward....lol, cause it's on wheels.

 

[Tead]

Nice!
I like the idea of using a fridge to grow in... but mostly for the chuckles factor.
You're a wise grower... keep up the reading. There's a ton of info here on the site and all over the net. Some of it can be confusing, but we're here to help ya, so ask away when you have any questions.
Judging from your cabinet design, you've been doing quite a bit of reading. Great job! That's a very nice design.
I do have some questons about the height of it tho. Are you shooting for a screen of green grow? If not, you're plants are going to get alot taller than the upper rack... not to mention the lights. Of course, as I recall, those racks come of the top, so you could just be planning to remove the upper rack when the babies get big enough.

Cheers!

 

[Pigstoner]

Nice!
I like the idea of using a fridge to grow in... but mostly for the chuckles factor.
You're a wise grower... keep up the reading. There's a ton of info here on the site and all over the net. Some of it can be confusing, but we're here to help ya, so ask away when you have any questions.
Judging from your cabinet design, you've been doing quite a bit of reading. Great job! That's a very nice design.
I do have some questons about the height of it tho. Are you shooting for a screen of green grow? If not, you're plants are going to get alot taller than the upper rack... not to mention the lights. Of course, as I recall, those racks come of the top, so you could just be planning to remove the upper rack when the babies get big enough.

Cheers!

Absolutely, the rack is adjustable upward an additional 6+ inches. Plus, I can always add vertical bars that just screw in to the top of the existing ones...(cut them if I need to) extending the height even higher (no pun intended); and the Side Panel can easily be added too if need be.

Yeah, been doing a lot of reading. Glad you like the design, was thinking cheap, efficient and Low key.

$11.74 1/2" x 4' x 8' r-mat plus r3.2
$9.98 2" x 120yd flex duct tape
$25.00+ metal rack (already had laying around)

 

[Tead]

I use the exact same rack (Sam's Club special baby!), but the full height version. It's about 6 ft tall. I just draped reflective material around the outside. Works well for my config. It's a very flexible design with tons of mounting points for light, fans, and whatnot.

Cheers!

 

[Pigstoner]

Grow 1 - Week 2, day 8.

So far so good. Have 3 out of 12 possible plants growing.

Placed fan and Thermostat/humidity sensor today, starting to look like a Mad scientist experiment.... and that's the idea.

Image 1 - Image showing thermostat/humidity sensor and the corner of the fan unit.

Image 2 - Overall view from top.

Image 3 - Additional overall view from top.

Oh' I'm getting so excited!