My First Time Growing

[jlaudiofan]

I posted asking some advice about my idea, and a reply mentioned starting a journal, so here i go.

Here's what I'll be working with:



I'm going to box the whole thing in. It was suggested that the bottom could be used as a cloning room, probably a good idea. Right now there are 3 light fixtures in the top, each holding 2 four foot bulbs. They are the really simple fixtures, no ballasts.

So my first question is, should I stick with those fixtures, or just scrap them? Regardless, I'll be taking them out and rigging a pulley system to enable easy light height changes.

I think I'll be doing a hydroponic setup since I live in the desert (low humidity) and that's what makes sense, unless someone knows otherwise.

This weekend the project will begin (Moving that damn table in there by myself was probably the hardest part... all that glass makes it really damn heavy).

Little side note: This table is actually for growing orchids!

I am going to start out with some white widow, and possibly some lowryder (if i can find seeds for lowryder).

More updates to come soon!

[jlaudiofan]

I got a new irrigation timer the other day, a digital toro timer with custom timing, up to 10 zones. Since it needs power I'll be installing it in the same place the table's gonna be. I could probably setup that table on the timer, since i'll only be using 3 or 4 of the 10 zones for my garden / trees.

This is gonna be real fun

[jlaudiofan]

Couldn't help myself, I took the light fixtures out a lil bit ago.

So, I have 3 ballasts

2 are Lumi-Kon, .65 amp (for two 40 watt bulbs i think)
1 is a Benchlite(?) .85 amp (says for two 40 watts)

So at least I got some hardware to start with in addition to the irrigation timer (which has some pretty fun software by the way)

[menial]

Did someone give you a hydroshop for your birthday?

[Boss]

You will need to be able to raise and lower either the plants or the lights. It will be a must to keep the plant height under control. Looks like a good setup :-)

[jlaudiofan]

Originally Posted by menial

Did someone give you a hydroshop for your birthday?

Nope. I got the new irrigation timer after my dog decided to destroy my old cheap one.

The rest of the stuff i have to start out with... I've just accumulated. Like the extra 300 feet of toro blue stripe irrigation line =P

Going to home depot today to buy some lumber and other random stuff. Probably most of the things i need for the flow / ebb hydro setup i'm gonna do.

[jlaudiofan]

Originally Posted by Boss

You will need to be able to raise and lower either the plants or the lights. It will be a must to keep the plant height under control. Looks like a good setup :-)

Yeah I am going to look for something to be able to adjust the lights. I was thinking since there's a glass tray in the table, im going to use that to separate the lights / plants and the glass part will move with the lights...

So I'll need something freakin heavy duty for that... the glass weighs alot!! I figure that should help with keeping the temperature down though (probably going to end up putting a window a/c unit in the shed as well)

[StonerGrower]

I say you stick a 400watt HID in there...MH for veg? HPS for flower?

[Doctor Dread]

^ that would be ideal...
Glad to see you turned this into a journal man. Good luck

[jlaudiofan]

Originally Posted by StonerGrower

I say you stick a 400watt HID in there...MH for veg? HPS for flower?

Would something like this work??

High Tech Garden Supply

It's a 400W hps / mh setup, for like 170 bucks. I guess my question is, would that be enough light?

Looking down at the table from the top, here's the dimensions

____________________________
|                                        | |
|                                        | |
|                                        |26"
|                                        | |
|                                        | |
|_________________________|_|
|<------------54"------------>|

If my maths right, that's about 117 square feet. I know there's a general watt per square foot you want to achieve but i'm too lazy to look around at the moment (stoned)

Either way, a dual light setup for 170 bucks sounds like a killer deal.

[Doctor Dread]

Give it a shot! That is enough light for sure. You will not be disappointed. And from what i've seen at local stores and on the web, $170 is not a bad price for a 400w system.

[Harry Red]

Why not move the floros to the bottom shelf and use that for seedlings, clones and maybe some initial vegging. Then just go with a 400w HPS for flowering on top shelf. A high output 400w HPS should be plenty for an area that's approx. 4'x2'. You could use the $50 you save on the additional MH bulb and buy some Panda film and a roll of Gorilla tape.

If you're gonna be keeping the entire box in a light tight area, all you have to light seal and vent is the bottom starter area, which shouldn't be too hard with floros. You could then hang some panels of Panda around the sides of the flower area for maximum reflectivity.

If you aren't gonna be keeping the entire box in a light tight area, then you'll need to seal the top flowering area, which will be harder to cool and vent, due to the 400w HID lamp.

Just some suggestions to consider. Good luck!!

Harry

[jlaudiofan]

Originally Posted by Harry Red

Why not move the floros to the bottom shelf and use that for seedlings, clones and maybe some initial vegging. Then just go with a 400w HPS for flowering on top shelf. A high output 400w HPS should be plenty for an area that's approx. 4'x2'. You could use the $50 you save on the additional MH bulb and buy some Panda film and a roll of Gorilla tape.

If you're gonna be keeping the entire box in a light tight area, all you have to light seal and vent is the bottom starter area, which shouldn't be too hard with floros. You could then hang some panels of Panda around the sides of the flower area for maximum reflectivity.

If you aren't gonna be keeping the entire box in a light tight area, then you'll need to seal the top flowering area, which will be harder to cool and vent, due to the 400w HID lamp.

Just some suggestions to consider. Good luck!!

Harry

Thanks for the suggestions Harry! I think I will put the cfl's on the bottom. I am probably going to get a small a/c window unit to cool the whole shed. It gets pretty hot there during the summer and having an air conditioned place with a work bench would be great

I also happen to be getting some "scrap" plywood which i think will be perfect for boxing in the table. I love recycling building materials

[StonerGrower]

You need atleast 2000 lumens per square foot man.

[jlaudiofan]

Originally Posted by StonerGrower

You need atleast 2000 lumens per square foot man.

You said earlier to put a 400 watt bulb in the top... That's what I'm doing.


I also gotta figure out where to get seeds, since nirvana canceled my order (something about now way in hell they'll ship to arizona)

There any companies that ship to the US?

If not, i'll have to try and grow these bag seeds i got. I know noone here that grows =(