First Grow - Low Budget - Advice Welcome

[Bacondoggy]

I am slowly getting everything together for my first grow, I have been researching it a LOT. I am 35, but I have bad pancreatitis chronic on acute, and I want to try to grow bc I want to stop taking pain meds. I also was an airborne paratrooper and I messed my back up from jumping out of planes too many times with too much heavy equipment on lol! I also have insomnia, depressiin, anxkety, and PTSD pretty bad. I think cannabis (only recently tried some in like forever) helps ALL my issues, and woukd be something productive for me to do, AND when I smoke, it makes me feel like I can function better! oddly enough, it usually makes me less lazy! But I'm broke, so I was going to try the CFL route, and some of the crap/cheap/ low power led lights. Was only going to get a few lights... anyways if anyone can give me hints how to do this cheaply which way I should go or not go (like I want to go soil, not hydro to start), tips are useful to me! I didn't read all of the "everything you need to know about growing" yet, but I have TONS of bookmarks. I woke like maybe 1 or 2 feminized seeds but have no idea where to start or what kind (the see banks overwhelmed me and I need to save $ first anyways). I am literally too cheap to buy dirt LOL! I tried growing seedlings once, I got a bunch to sprout, I planted them, just don't know if I over watered them, they didnt get any light, or it got way too cold, or if it was a combination of those things, but the opened seeds never poked through the soil. Like I said it was real cold and I had no light source - something I plan on doing NEITHER again.

 

[Papageno]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Do some research on Subcools compost method. It takes a little work up front and you cook the solid compost for about 3 months first but then during the grow you don't have to worry about adding anything but water and as long as it aint real bad water you don't even have to pH it.

I am doing a grow now based on it...breaking a few rule and regretting it but I am 4 weeks into bloom now without any additional fertilizers except an organic home brew I make and water. I have given the home brew I think 3 times during the entire grow.

Read up on making your own Earth worm casting teas or EWC teas. Done correctly they can save you a ton of money as you make your own nutes for a fraction of the cost.

This whole tent is running on no fertilizers and regular unfiltered tap water as it is running organic compost.

The one with the blue arrow..that is a clone from one of the other plants in there. It was 1 week in veg and is now 2 weeks in bloom, no fertilizers just water.

So if you do your soil right you can just water and relax and that reduces cost a bit. You just need to get the raw ingredients and cook up the soil first and that aint hard. The raw ingredients cost about as much as fertilizers for half a grow but will last you many many grows.

There are ways to cheat and get close mixing stuff raw off the shelf but then you need some ferts.





If you want help on a cabinet the DIY section is full of great ideas to help you get started. People will answer any questions you have.

I don't recommend trying to save money on lights. Get the best you can afford and cool.

I do recommend spending money on a good quality timer switch so you don't start a fire down the road when that wears out.

 

[Papageno]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

How to Grow Cannabis - Everything You Need to Know!

 

[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Thank you so much for all the good info - very helpful! I'm missing out on the good weather and sunlight. I want to post a pic of where I want to do the grow shortly and see what you guys think.

 

[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

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[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Was thinking of closing it off with white coreplast (like plastic cardboard) for reflection... the tub NEVER gets used (can't fill it up even halfway with the incredibly small water heather here). Next grow I was thinking that could make for a perfect hydro setup...

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[Fuzzy Duck]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Well you may need to build a strong frame to support additional equipment such as exhaust fans, carbon filters & lighting.

You could use white plastic sheeting, mylar reflective stuff or even wooden boards painted with a mat white paint.

The only problem i can think of is it is a bathroom & you don't get to many plug sockets in those sort of rooms aka lots of moisture etc !


If going down the cfl route i might suggest a scrog style of grow for a better yield with cfl's

As cfl suffer badly with the inverse square law of light effect & diminishing returns over distance so an even canopy like a scrog makes much better use of the light source than rather trying to penetrate the canopy of a small/medium bush plant.



May wish to find strains with CBD in as these are better for manegerment of pains & most conditions.

 

[ohioboy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

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I'm an outdoor man myself but I have had a few runs inside and inside is not cheap period bro. It's the initial costs of set up that make it hard. Maybe look for a sponsor for your first few grows. But led lights are gaining in popularity, HPS high pressure sodium lights are I think pretty mandatory to flower (FYI street lights are HPS lights.) I spent $25 on a pump and $5 on an airstone and make my own compost tea and that $30 investment has made tea for 3 grows now so $30 is one bottle of the chemical shit so look into your own composting also if you can't buy dirt (FYI dollar store has 1 gallon bags of top soil for $1) then go out back and dig a hole and keep the dirt inside if your too urban for that put a couple buckets in the trunk and go for a ride don't forget the shovel the soil doesn't have to be the best you can make it good. Best of luck brother I'll keep looking in on you I've a active journal to get there the link is in my signature .️and good luck


Outdoors organicshttps://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-in-progress/274432-kera-bubblegum-northern-lights-afghan-lime-my-3-strains-im-growing.html

 

[juststarting]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Good luck im new and will be starting my first grow in couple weeks. I found myself in same situation. Sounds like you got sound advice. I will be watching and will gladly help if I can.

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[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Or look at that tub. I'm thinking 2 options. What if I fill the tub up with water??? The other option was on was going to make the entire tub the dirt part I think they may have to wait till I know a little more? Or maybe I just grow them to get them started (was only going to do 3 or 4) and when they get big enough (when would that be be?), plant them somewhere good...

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[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Oh and how do you even look for a sponsor?

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[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Oh and how do you even look for a sponsor?

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[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Ok bought my first things only spent $30. I will be buying as I go. What else do I need? I hear the soil you grow seedlings in is different then the actual growing (veg) cycle then add whatever nutrients you need then, switch up to different kinds during the bloom process. I am so confused. I walked around for hours debating on what type of dirt to get. From what I gathered, perlite and airy products are by far more important than anything else for seedlings. Whether it's seedlings or newly transplanted plants, I do not want to give them nutes, which is why I went with the .5 .5 .5 cow manure to mix with perlalite (its miracle grow pearlite and says it has some miracle grow plant food, but I can't imagine much in the pearlite), since the dirt has almost no nutes .5 .5 .5) I think I should be okay... any suggestions or opinions???

Don't worry I don't even have seeds yet, . I only want a couple, maybe 3 to 6 seeds maybe an auto or 2 and feminized ones bc last thing I need on my first grow is a male. I am also going to only do 2 plants unless I get an auto then MAYBE 3. I haven't decided if I want to move the plants when they get big outside or not. 2 more questions lol...
#1 - does any seeds company work with someone like me? Not the "im a disabled vet give me a bunch of seeds" but like send a message explaining how it's my first grow, what I am looking for, and if they could maybe give me a deal from seeds they have (whether they have a bunch extra and are trying to unload them, and maybe they would be nice and give me one or 2 others that are good, as long as they're auto or fem, AND are an easier strain for a noob not to screw up as easily). Would they be able to make a "grab bag" like that (there are so many banks, any I should try first?) And be like here u owe us total this much?? I know certain strains work well in certain environments, what temperate zone would Pennsylvania be?
#2 - IF they don't do that, any suggestions for me to get a few seeds for as cheap as possible (I don't mean CHEAP seeds, but seeds from a respectable vendor that will give me the best deal). Like I sakd, I live in PA, wouldn't mind a few feminized seeds PLUS maybe I auto (they have me so curious. After you harvest the buds, will the plant continue to grow ir will the harvest kill it). High THC and yield are bonuses.

Please check out my other new post or 2... I put other questions there as to not over bombard people!

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[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Supposed to be this wet?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Mmm sponsors ah these guys general pay $ for their ads on the site to be displayed - Sponsors : 42 MAGAZINE (R) - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking

Free seeds ah, living the dream & perhaps bag seed is an option if you know anybody with spare bag seed ?

More likely have a look a herbies spend some $$$ not much as they give away free seed with every order - ! Buy Cannabis Seeds - Worldwide Delivery - Herbies Marijuana Seeds lots people use em from all over the world


You don't want to fill the bath tub up with compost it is really gong to block up the plug hole & you might just get bad drainage leading to over watering plus other problems !

Pots is the best option & size is questionable as bigger pots are larger in diameter which means how many you can fit in the tub ? might be a few in the tub size it looks pretty small with the bag of compost in...



Well dirt is just not dirt in my opinion it is a pretty much a large area to cover to be honest !

It might just be better off getting a brand name compost/soil mix to start with...


Seedling/cutting compost or soil is lower in nutrients as not to cause nutrient burn or over feeding at stage of plant development, this should be fine for the first few weeks from sprout of the seed.

Then we might pot up into to the main mix which has a stronger nutrient concentration & this may support plant growth for several weeks which should do for the best part of the average veg time for MJ which some growers my bolster with liquid nutrients at some point more likely to the later stage of veg growth

How ever flowering time will need to become addressed with a bloom nutrient as it is an intensive time of plant growth regarding NPK to support flower structure aka big bad ass bud for meds required

 

[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Yeah. I am wondering if there are inexpensive "kits" around that instead of buying casings and whatever else you think you may need, then put too much of something and mess it all up and u spend MORE doing it the hard way I would not be happy lol. I heard even rose fertilizer to tomato to cactus to who knows what and what stage they were talking about, I just think it may need to go the simpler route (and cost effective!) For my first grow so it succeeds

The world does not CARE how much you know, until they know how much u care.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Ye i understand bud as cheap as chips for the grow ah !

Well some few ago i was in the same position as yourself more or less, suffered with inflamed tendons in my arms & put me on a lot sick leave eventually leading to medical discharge from work even had steroid injections to control the pain sadly they did not work leading to a good few years of unemployment. With money getting tight down to my last several hundred pounds i invested in a reasonable cheap grow tent kit & put my faith with mmj since then i've never looked back & in full time employment now with good pain control.

Mmm first grow was a little slap 'n' dash & used regular seed ended up with 2 girls and got around just little over 2 oz combine that basically covered the cost of tent kit due to price of street weed i use to get, next grow was more successful & with each & every one after got better

Pain became less in my arms & i could even peel a potato with out wanting to scream with the home grown meds !


Well i'm an English gardener by trade (horticulture) grow all sorts of crazy plants even mmj for percy use these days, even tho i'm not in a mj friendly country i know what is good for me



So lets get down to some gardening solutions

Mj is pretty easy to grow despite any so called science.....

Well i see you want as cheap as possible !

May want to consider an out door grow & perhaps autos might be a option, looks like you have a property with a back garden ? Not sure about stealth concerns etc as of yet or mmj friendly state ! doesn't envolve electic cost either.

Right back to cow manure, well it is basically a soil amendment of organic matter with a low NPK ratio normally spread over soil surface and dug in or added at 10% to 15% of total pot size used with other soil/compost, not really known as a single growing medium.


If growing out doors you dig this stuff in with the garden soil, perhaps in doors used at a reduced rate like mentioned & coupled with garden soil you could get away with... either way you may need to use liquid nutrients at some point in the growth stage/flowering.


Liquid nutrients ah rose, cactus or tomato are general designed for those plant species in NPK or other trace micro nutrients used by such plants how ever bottled nutrients sold on line from various stores are not aimed for mj but due to a wide range of plant species all needing a range of NPK to support them self's, a hard call to make to be honest.

On the cheap i might settle with tomato feed & should have extra Ca - calcium in to avoid blossom end rot with tomato's the extra Ca will help out with mj.


In the long run i might suggest forming a compost heap of waste plant material, veg, fruit etc if looking at the organic methods & to improve soil conditions.





We can talk about all sorts of stuff which will lead you on a greener path to success, just need details



P.s we'll get ya growing for piece of mind & rest.

 

[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Okay, since I'm on a budget (what do I have to panhandle for 2 females and an auto??? LOL), I got bunch of random things. Any help telling me what to use not to use what I NEED to get, etc., be my guess. Now I read on germinating seeds until my head almost exploded. To me it seems like a y thing is fine, but some people have different preferences than others. I put my seeds in water for a bit (not this time yet, this was last time), then put them in toilet paper and waited. The ones that sprouted (bagseeds), I put 1/2" down in my soil mix (my mom is a gardener and said it was really good mix, I saw peralite peat and maybe cocoa). NONE OF THEM GREW ABOVE THE SOIL AND THERE WERE 8 SPROUTED SEEDLINGS! I am terrified this will happen again so I want to do everything I can for it not to. For my defence, I believe 1 or both of these factors was the reasoning. #1 I'm positive I over watered the seedlings like crazy as I didn't know what I was doing and assumed the mix would just drain any extra water, and 2 it was the middle of winter and we keep it COULD in the house up north here in PA. Worse, I put the containers in between the closed miniblinds and the window. It was even colder there! So over water, no light and freezing cold.... yeah. Ayway, I have seen people grow in JUST perlalite (I think for hydro purposes but you could still transplant it into a veg soil and slowly add soil nutes). I now have MG peralite ("some" food added - doesn't say how much but I don't think its enough to burn the seedlings), fine peat I got from my mom (no name brand I didn't see any food on the bag but she said it might have a little), manure (.5 .5 .5 - says it will feed over time) and last and probably least, rockwool. I don't know own whag to do. I have heard good and bad things about rockwool, and the bad seems to outweigh. Not to mention they are usually used for hydro (I am going soil). I hear a lot of the seeds don't sprout from them, they are the wrong ph unless rinsed good (no biggie), and people have problems using rockwool even AFTER getting them to sprout first then putting them in there, as they tend to stay super wet. So I guess that leaves me with sprouting first (I might use a combination of all else kinds - 1st I'll put them in water for 24 hrs, 2nd, I'll do the plate, moist paper towel, seeds, another moist paper towel, and then a plate upside-down "sandwich", then 3, put the "sandwich" in a undisturbed dark but warm and humid/moist area. Do you think this will give me the best chance for sprouting? Then I was thinking about planting them in the peralite/peat moss mixture with maybe a LITTLE manure. Opknions, percentages anyone??? I have more as well but I am running late. Will post more pics regarding lighting later.

The world does not CARE how much you know, until they know how much u care.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Random thoughts (those and $1 won't buy you a cup of coffee these days, lol), in no particular order, some of which may have already been covered:

That wallpaper will come off pretty easy. Primer and bright, flat white paint is reasonably cheap - and makes a reflective surface, especially if you fill any voids/dips in your wall with drywall mud or at least spackling. Eggshell might be a little easier to deal with if you expect to be messy (flat paint isn't really "cleanable").

Correctly sizing your grow space to your lights (or vice versa) is important.

CFL lights are cheap - until you reach the end of the grow and add them all up, plus the sockets, wire, and plugs, lol. Still... They can be purchased a few at a time.

Small (150 to 400 watt or so) HPS lights are reasonably cheap. They're also (generally) twice as efficient as CFLs (so you could end up using half the wattage for approximately the same yield, making your electric bill cheaper). And they tend to come with remote ballasts, which help the grower get a big chunk of the heat out of the grow space. There are "all in one" HPS units that have the ballast in the hood - but even those are removable (you'd have to add your own wiring run, but that is no great difficulty and, IIRC, there are threads here about it). IF you can swing the money, an air-cooled hood would aid in removing heat from your grow space AND allow you to keep the air that's heated by the light separate from the grow area in general, which would mean that you wouldn't have to treat the "light-heated" air for smell like you would the rest of it (meaning your carbon filter would last longer and be more efficient). Due to the component nature of (most) HPS lights, you can upgrade the bulb, the ballast, and/or the hood separately in the future if/when you have the money without having to toss everything and start over. Some electronic ballasts are "dimmable," which would allow you to use different wattage bulbs - which might be helpful if you have high temperatures part of the year, or if you don't want to use more light than you need when your plants are still small enough to push together and lower the light closer to them instead of having to illuminate the entire grow space.

If it was me, I'd take that "3-in-1" meter back where you got it and spend the money on something else. I got talked into buying those things (twice!) years ago when I first started growing indoors. The pH part wasn't very accurate, my eyes made a better light meter, and - since cannabis likes to be well-watered and then allowed to dry out before it is watered again - you can pick up a pot and tell if it needs to be watered. Or stick your finger down into the dirt if you back is acting up (or use something longer to reach down into the soil). Or just assume that the plant has enough water unless/until it begins to droop' it'll come to attention and salute (lol) when you water it, and it won't hurt anything (don't leave for vacation ). Whatever method you use, you'll soon learn to judge when your plants get thirsty. They're the best "moisture meter" that there is, IMHO.

It seems like I grow for a while, and then for various reasons I don't grow for a while. Some years ago, I started up again with nothing. I put together a(n extremely) cheap DWC hydroponics setup. Big, reasonably flat tote with a lid - free (had one) or get it on sale at Big Lots. Air pump and stones - bummed off of a friend. Nutrients - I used General Hydroponics three-part Flora series that time, got the smallest bottles available (I don't remember exactly, but I think they can be found for $10-$15 each now, so call it $45), and still had plenty left at harvest time. I bought both pH up and pH down, but only used the pH down - probably $10-$15 for a small bottle. I got the cheapest electronic pH meter I could find, a Milwaukee pH600 - if you pay more than $25 for one of these, you're getting ripped off, lol. Accurate enough to work, exponentially more accurate than that 3-in-1 job, and it lasted two or three grows (at which point I bought a NICE Milwaukee pH56 pH/temperature meter which can still be had for around $55 and has a replaceable tip/sensor). I bought a LARGE bag of Geolite "grow rocks" which was way more than I needed, I think a small bag is probably only $12-$15. They're reusable (if you don't mind cleaning them). For plant containers I used... those big red Solo cups, lol, and they aren't reusable because the plant will destroy them as the roots grow down into the DWC reservoir. The only thing I splurged on was a 430-watt HPS light setup (and you can put together a 400-watt one for considerably less than I spent if you do what I didn't and shop around). My ventilation and cooling during that grow was a box fan I got at a yard sale for $2 and the old air conditioner that was in the bedroom window (the grow was in its closet). My ex-wife was dumber than a box of rocks and she ended up tending to the garden as often as I did - and we didn't have 420 Magazine as a handy dandy reference tool, lol. I didn't bother with a TDS/PPM meter, I got lazy, temperatures were bad, I grew from bag-seed, the water I was using wasn't exactly something you'd want to drink... and we couldn't seem to run out of bud before the next harvest! I'm just sayin', lol. Soil can act as a buffer, but it's not a big deal, really. If you have any intention of growing hydropoincally in the future, well, there's no time like the present. You really can set it up cheaply, and as you can get reusable medium (which basically just helps support the plant(s) because the roots grow into the reservoir if you go DWC) you don't have to be a mule hauling in heavy bags of soil - and then hauling them back out again after the harvest. My back hurts just thinking about doing that.

I have found that - if one is very respectful, compliments their company/brand, and asks nicely - many companies will happily send you free samples of their nutrients in hopes of netting a customer for life. They generally send more than you need for a small personal grow (sometimes, enough for several). If you tried emailing, say, three different companies, you'd almost be guaranteed that at least one would help you out (I got lucky and ended up having to choose which of the three brands I wanted to use first ). This can and will further cheapen a beginning hydroponic grow. I've even gotten the response of (with some small, oddball company that I don't remember the name of), "We've never been asked about samples, so I don't have any. How about I send you my own personal bottles which are about half full?" Oh, and I never mentioned that I was growing cannabis. Even assuming that you are growing legally (which is an assumption that I am, of course, making), not every company will be cool with that. <SHRUGS> You ought to be able to BS about some kind of legal plant, lol. If not, go to the library and grab a gardening book.

I like growing with the "scrog" training method, so that I can have all my plants reach the same level instead of having them all at varying heights. I have done just fine with the large-hole chicken wire supported/restrained by those screw-in hooks. At harvest time, saw the trunk(s) of the plant(s) off below the chicken wire, unhook it from the hooks, and carry it out of the grow area (you really need a helper for that) with all the buds attached. There are surely "better" materials for doing a scrog, but... cheap.

If it's stupid, but it works... It's not stupid. (That's a general statement, lol - I just thought I'd throw it in).

For your issues... If it was me, I'd probably grow both a reasonably strong indica and a reasonably strong sativa. Harvest times will be different, and you'll have to do some training to keep the heights even, but I'd think that the benefits would be worth the effort.

I'm just rambling. I hope my words were worth... at least whatever you paid for them. And good luck with your grow!

 

[Bacondoggy]

Re: Ok I'm getting good ready to try my first grow

Thank you so much tortured soul. So much helpful things there... see I keep thinking of hydro, but I'm scrounging like you. My plan even if I do soil was only 2-3 plants, so I figured that would make some things easier. Ran into some 28 watt led lights I figured I'd try like 4 to start with. When I say 28 watts I don't mean .3 watt led which is the equivalent of like 28 watts normal but 28 led watt (I dont know what that equalls? 150w? And x4 should be around 600w. Maybe overkill but I'm planning on the bulbs not preforming like they should that way I have wiggle room for 2 - 3 plants. Sorry I'm not fully awake yet I fell asleep reading your post as I had not slept in forever and it finally caught up to me and I crashed. I found the light sockets at lowes for 1.27 score! Lol. That is a great idea about the nutrients to I'll have to ask for samples so I know what I like. Do you ever have seed companies do that? Lol... And if not, would they let you tell them kinda what they want, and they actually put a few seeds of their choosing together for you? Thinking it would be cheaper that way and I don't care what my first ones are as long as they can tolerate me somehow. Any ideas how or if I should seal the bathroom tub area off? I know they have a white corrugated plastic (it looks like white cardboard only it's a lot stronger), but I can't seem to find the amount or size I would like, so I might have to settle for that Styrofoam insulation that's clear (white with clear plastic and wording) on one side and silver on the other. Not that far YET, but I expect been thinking about using that, caulking it all together, but have like a "door" I can get in to water, feed, adjust light height etc. Maybe you will have a different idea from the pics???