Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

[guttamane2486]

Ok......... so after a few weeks of reading and gathering materials i have decided to make my first CFL grow box with an unknow strain of random beans i have had sitting around , I have a 20x18x36 '' metal cabinet that I have decided to use. I have 6 23w 1700 lumen 6500k bulbs that Im using for veg and I plan to switch to 2700 for flowering. I used 2 4'' 80-120 cfm exhaust fans and I choose a passive style intake which consist of 5 2'' holes near the bottom of the box , with one additional fan for cabinet circulation . At first i decided to paint the inside of my cabinet flat white but covering up the original black interior proved to be less cost effective vs using two cheap window sun reflectors i picked up from advance auto for $8 a piece as you can see in the first few pictures where i have the inside white. I have two 8 1/2 inch reflectors with 3 lights under each reflector attached to adjustable chain used for hanging flower pots that I picked up from lowes for $2.The bulbs under the reflectors are a basic cheap extension cord with 2 plug in socket adapters and 2 Y adapters to add 4 bulbs , all lights and fans are on a 24 timer as well.The fan is a cheap automotive 12v cigar light fan from advance auto for $10 bucks i simply cut off the 12v and wired it to a cell phone charger. I plan to harvest 2 plants , as of now i have 4 seedlings planted and 4 more that popped this am using the moist towel method, that will be hitting soil shortly. As for nutes i am undecided yet as i still have plenty time to decide and for soil I choose to use the Harvest brand organic soil and mixed in approx 40% perilite mix and will be watering using ph'd tap water into solo party size cups with approx 4-5 drainage holes in each cup. The seeds are random seeds i have gathered over the last few months and have no clue at to what strain there are as I am merely trying to educate my self before I invest in any from a seed bank. In the first pictures you can see the box before i added additional light and some better reflective material i will be adding more pictures as i progress please feel free to chime in , I'am all ears !! As of today 7/18 my seedlings have been the soil for 1 day .

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

ground breaking ceremony

 

[Dantes Monkey]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I'm in! And woot woot on the ground breaking!

Keep it up! And maybe put a link to your journal in your sig line. A little self promotion never hurt anyone


-Monkey

 

[MaPilot]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Front row seat for me. I'm in!

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

awesome.......just found out there is a nice hydroponics shop like 10 minutes away , i know its still a bit early but any opinions on the fox farms nutrient trio worth it for me being that this is my first grow ? I originally was going to go to home depot and purchase the best available that with the proper npk values at each stage. I have a problem now it seems SPACE , I originally germed 14 seeds reason being i did not anticipate but half of them to open up , well out of the 14 i had 11 open up and now in the soil i have 7 of the 11 coming through the soil on day 2 . My box is only about 20 x 20 x 36 with approx 28 '' in height that can be used with lights at the max height and pot on the floor. I only wanted to manage 2 plants and focus on the details and gain knowledge for future grows so lets see how this works out !

 

[PeeJay]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I'd vote for the FF over anything you'd be likely to find at a home improvements mega-store. You may also want to consider the General Organics Go Box. That is what I started out with. They probably have it at the hydro store. It has smallish bottles of eight different ferts - enough for a couple of grows your size for ~ $35.00.

Set-up looks good. Nice job on the box!

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

First off Thanks peejay , i have looked at the prices for the General Organics go box and they are 50.00 and the fox farms trio is 60 and seems to be way less additives than all of the bottles in the Go box.

 

[PeeJay]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I quickly abandoned the GO line in favor of complete organic soils and have never looked back, Gutt. Anyway, you have several weeks before you need to feed. Read around carefully and make a choice. No hurry.

I think that this short journal is a must read for growers in an off the shelf organic soil medium who wonder when they should begin to feed. Check it out, and by all means read other things too. Please avoid the temptation to feed too soon!

420's Special Queen #1 Indoor - Soil - Nutes/No Nutes - Comparative Study

 

[Dantes Monkey]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I use the botanicare line, but I would highly advise NOT buying your nutes from the big box stores. Stick to something organic. I've heard good things about FoxFarms.

As for your number of plants. I think you have the right idea with 2! Are these bag seeds? If so, you may end up with a couple males in your crop. I would wait until your plants start developing a bit and then pick your best looking 4-6 plants and get rid of the rest. Try to keep it at 4 -6 until you start flowering. Once you start flowering, you'll be able to tell sex pretty quickly. Once you determine your sexes, I would pick your best looking 2 females and keep those. Your cab will get very crowded running more than 2 plants IMHO.

Keep it Growing!!!


-Monkey

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

ok , yeah thats what i had planned on doing is keeping my best 4 plants when its time to transfer from out the solo cups , Im going to do some browsing around and find the biggest 4 pots that will fit in my box together

 

[Dantes Monkey]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

I would also consider the height of your pots as well. The shorter, the better! If you're gonna stick with soil, you could easily frame out a bed for them and line it to contain the soil. You'll be amazed how quickly you will run out of vertical room.

 

[PositiveGrape]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

subbed.. interested to see how this goes for you.. as a very new grower myself, this is an amazing group that an help ya.. good luck!!
~PG

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Some picture updates , today is day 2 i tried 2 different methods when i potted the seedlings the pots on the right i soaked the soil then let it sit and placed seedling in that soil still felt moist and the cups felt pretty heavy and the other side i lightly misted the soil with the sprayer placed seedling in then placed more soil over it and misted the pot till i saw slight run off , that side felt light so i lightly misted that side and did my best to have them all weight about the same. looks like i have 7 out of 8 sprout I am going to wait a few days and remove the smallest plant and attempt to manage 6 for now. Anyways the ladies (hopefully) are resting now for 6 hrs until 9pm.

 

[Antics]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

You all suck. Everyone said pretty much everything I wanted to say lol.

Summary:
Cabinet good for 2 plants to flower
Simple and decent set up
How easy is it to adjust the height of your lights? (The easier it is, means it's quicker, and all the more time you can spend taking care of the plants, and enjoying life outside of the grow room)

Training will be your best friend! To maximize your yield, space, and make the most out of your CFLs, I suggest training them to grow a flat canopy, and WIDE, instead of tall. LST (low stress training) can be done with just some yarn or ribbon, and paperclips. Avoid using thin string, as it can cut into the stems easier than something wide.

Otherwise, it looks good man. Simple is often better, especially for folks that are just growing for their own use. Good luck on the grow, and I'm subscribed.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Thanks man , yeah I am trying to keep it as simple as possible and yes the lights are on flower pot chains and are very easy to adjust ,speaking of lights for some reason I just cant stay away from lowes searching for ways to upgrade my grow space , anyway I purchased 2 more round light reflectors and added 2 more 6500k 23w cfls for now and somewhat made more of a complete light canopy for my babies.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

well my 8th seedling sprouted , and i now have a full house but i will keep my strongest 4 plants when i transfer them to bigger pots and its looking like i have a strong 4 so hopefully they will continue to do well but in other news the addition of the 2 23w lights under 2 more reflectors seems to have raised my cabinet temps from an average of about 77 to about 81 so im going to figure out a way to get my mid 70s temps back but i will post pics shortly

 

[MaPilot]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

So far so good!

 

[Jimmy6000]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Your off to great start Gutta.
To be honest ,I dont think 81 bad at all for as many bulbs as you have going in such a small area.
Keep up the good work.

 

[guttamane2486]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Well here's a few pics , I will shoot some better close ups after they go night night but in the first picture the 2 plants on the right side are my best 2 and the second pic the 2 on the left are the strongest on that side i have been moving them around as well and the remaining pics are my slower ones that i will donate to my buddys outdoor grow. The last 2 pics are how my box sits i organized some things around in its space to help circulate air because its kinda warm in there and set it up some to save my knees lol . Not so well displayed in the shots but I have also raised each plant about 2 inches closer to the light to help prevent stretch

 

[Antics]

re: Guttamanes First Box Build & Grow Attempt 2014

Looking good so far, and 81 degrees isn't the end of the world.

I wouldn't spend a ton of time/money correcting 81 degrees.