My First Grow In My Closet: Poor Man's Grow

[TxState]

Hello everyone! Let me first say that I have been reading a lot on this site for the past month and finally decided to join! This is my very first grow and at first I wasn't going to do it but reading all of Mota's first grow and others I had to attempt! I'm a poor college student so this is also a "poor mans grow" as well. Im not in this grow just for the bud but for the experience and to see what works and what doesn't.

Ok, so as I said this is a poor mans grow and my first attempt.. so go easy on me. To start out with I have some seeds that I got from some weed called "popcorn" that I bought, they said this was a mid-grade. I went out and bought a dome light fixture and put in a 26w (100 real watt) CFL. I know this isn't much light but bear with me and read on.. They are going in my closet in my apartment so it is a pretty small space. In fact it is only about 2 ft wide.

Soil is by miracle grow called "Organic Choice" i don't think it has any ferts in it. I went ahead and picked up some Liquid Seaweed as well (but not using it yet). I just planted the seeds today and set up the closet. If the plants get to a certain point in growth, I know most likely I will need to buy more lights, but for now this dome CFL will have to work.

Here are some pics, it's a walk in closet, I couldn't get a pic of the whole closet cause it is too small to even fit into the camera frame. The light is hanging by some rope that is tied to a metal shelf in the closet.The light is going to stay on 24/0. Oh and I have already germinated the seeds before planting.

So ya there are the pics for now... School is about to start so i'll be real busy here but I will try and post pics and get ya'll updated on the progress

 

[StonerGrower]

I dont like Miracle grow...Even if they say its organic its probly got some time release ferts in there somewhere. Any particular strain your growing? or is it just bagseed?

 

[TxState]

I dont like Miracle grow...Even if they say its organic its probly got some time release ferts in there somewhere. Any particular strain your growing? or is it just bagseed?

Yeah there aren't too many nurserys around here so I couldn't really be picky about which soil to get... The seeds are bagseed. they said it was called "popcorn" and is a mid-grade...

 

[Be Irie]

Get rid of the reflector, by a dual y adaptor (lets you plug in two bulbs to the one socket) get another bulb and keep the lights 2" away from the plants. Move the plants closer to the wall so you can get the reflection off the wall. You are going to need a cheap little fan too... That may run you twenty bucks.... Good luck to you...... Start saving your pennies for lights down the road too, you are going to need them...

 

[DrKran]

Agreed, u are gonna need a higher wattage CFL & more than 1. Like my man said. Save for that HID.

 

[Harry Red]

Greetings TxState,

SG is right about that MG Organic Choice. I use it in the yard and it has 3 months of time released mystery ferts in it. You might be able to get away with using it but for better results, you're probably gonna want more precise control over the types and quantities of nutes it's getting. It's probably OK to use for those little cups but on transplant, you really should consider going with something that has only starter nutes, or no nutes at all and just add your own.

Good luck!!

Harry

 

[TxState]

Get rid of the reflector, by a dual y adaptor (lets you plug in two bulbs to the one socket) get another bulb and keep the lights 2" away from the plants. Move the plants closer to the wall so you can get the reflection off the wall. You are going to need a cheap little fan too... That may run you twenty bucks.... Good luck to you...... Start saving your pennies for lights down the road too, you are going to need them...

Thanks for the input. I looked for a Y adaptor earlier today when I was buying all this but no place had them... any suggestions? I tried walmart, lowes, tractor supply, etc. no place has them. Also, I moved the cups closer to the wall and put the light about 2-3" from the top of the cups.

Do you guys think if I get a Y adaptor and put two CFL 26w in there, will that be enough light for now? Or what if I just put in one 40w CFL in there?

 

[chaosridden]

the y adapter isnt with the lights at walmart. Its with the electrical sockets and stuff like that. Im assuming all walmarts carry basically the same things.Just out of curiousity... how big is your space? Im pretty much doing the exact same thing as you but from the looks of your pictures in a smaller space.

 

[TxState]

Ok I have some more newbie questions, please help me out:

I went to walmart and they have a 48" 2 bulb fluorescent light for only $10. What do you guys think of that, I could put in one cool bulb and one warm. Here is my main question: Could I use this for the entire grow process? Like first start the plants out at 24/7 lighting then a little lower and then do 12/12 when they are ready to flower? Basically I need to know can a full growth process be done with a 48" fluorescent or will it just be a big problem and not do the job very good???

It would actually be cheaper to buy this 48" fluorescent rather than many CFL bulbs...

Please help me out here.. input is greatly appreciated!!

 

[4twenty4all]

Hey Tx... You may want to try like a TruValue or Ace Hardware. You can get a socket/cord set for about $8 then a Y splitter for about $3 - 4 and 2 100w CFLs for about $6 - 8 or maybe a little less. I think they will put out more lumens than the 48inch tube. Plus, they are easier to move around to exactly where you want them and provide more light in a concentrated area. Best of luck and get a small $5 fan at the least. And like BeIrie said... move them closer to the wall to help reflect light. That will help a lot.

 

[TxState]

Im still not sure yet on what im going to do about the lighting.. Right now im about 80% sure im just going to buy a 4 foot fluorescent. I know it won't get that best gains/yeild but I simply do not have the money to buy all those CFLs or a HPS right now. I still have two more years of college so we will see then

but for now, I have some more noob questions. I have been reading just about all day on this forum and can't really get straight answers. But anyway... So now im concerned about NUTES. I was thinking about ordering some Fox Farms Grow Big and then some Big Bloom for flowering. but I remember reading on here someone saying that Grow Big is not enough nutes by itself. Is that true??? If so, can someone give me a kind that I can use that will be good for each phase? (Basically im saying im too cheap to buy more than one fert for each phase and also sence im a noob it would make it much easier for me to use just one fert for each phase). I have some liquid seaweed but also read on here that is more for flowering... is that true? Im so confused. Thanks for any help....

 

[Harry Red]

Greets TxState,

From what little research I've done, seems you want something with higher N for vegging. FF Grow Big rates at (6-4-4) (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium: N-P-K). It's very concentrated so you gotta go easy at first and work your way into full strength.

Never used Sea Tea but Moose swears by it. Looks to be an all around good organic nute with NPK @ (2-3-2).

For the budding phase you may need a couple of doses of nutes with lower N and higher P. I'm currently using FF has Tiger Bloom (2-8-4). Again, very concentrated and you have to work up to full strength.

There's lots of opinions on brand, when and how much to use but from what I can tell, that's the basic gist of it.

Now, if the soil you are using is time releasing unknown amounts of nutes, at unknown time intervals, this will wrek havoc with anything you try to do 'cause you never know what those time release nute are doing. You're not really in control, which can be a problem.

Hope that helps!!

Harry

 

[BubbaKush]

i used fox farm on my porch grow and it was a little master kush bitch and she turned out really good. Fox farm has a feeding schedule and you should get thier ocean forest soil. good luck with the bagseed im in for this grow i want to see the poor mans II

 

[TxState]

Thanks for the help guys!

So I went ahead and bought the 4 foot fluorscent and set it up last night! Also I put together a wall of about 12 black trash bags (most over lapping each other so they will be double the strengh of blocking out the light) stapled/pined together so the light doesn't show through - the doors slide to the sides, not open like a normal door. And put some sticky velcro on the walls and then the trash bags so I can re-seal it with ease.

Three of the seedlings are doing pretty good, they are about 1 inch tall at four days old. One is at about half an inch tall, and the other is just poping out. The soil is still moist so I haven't even gotten to water them yet. Today I also plan on ordering some Fox Farms Grow Big as my veg fert... Oh and here soon I will be getting a small fan as well. So we'll see

 

[BubbaKush]

go baby go

 

[Harry Red]

Today I also plan on ordering some Fox Farms Grow Big as my veg fert...

You might want to consider getting some FF Big Bloom along with that. It's 100% organic and provides the trace and micro nutes you'll need. It's used for both veg & flowering stages and it's great for the roots. I use lot's more of it than I do any other ferts.

+Luck!!

Harry

 

[StonerGrower]

Better yet they sell tri packs! of Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom!

 

[TxState]

So its been one week now. I've only had to water the plants once and I added 1/2 strength seaweed to the water. They seem to be doing good... The tallest one is at about an inch 1/4. I changed the setup sence last time I took pics... I added a 4 foot fluorscent light and put the plants and light up against the white wall. The light is 4 inchs from the cups. I ordered some Fox Farms Grow Big as well as some Tiger Bloom for later ;-) . I will start using the grow big at about 1/4 strength in one week. I really hope these plants do not die with all the energy and money i've put into this. I've still spent a lot more than I would have liked... but hey if this works then it will all be worth it smoking your own bud, right?

I took some more pics just to show you guys how it's setup now.. sorry my camera is not very good at all so the pics suck, but you get the point. I'm sure I may run into a problem at some point so I'll take more pics when that time comes. Thanks for the help, couldn't have done this without 420mag

 

[TxState]

UPDATE! It has been over a month sence I germinated these plants and I have learned sooo much in the past month and of course made some mistakes. Some of the things I learned/did wrong:

My soil was not very good at all to begin with. In fact when I transplanted these I left one in the orignal soil that I used at first and it has not grown at all sence transplanted these one week ago. The other three have almost thripled in size. I believe the old soil did not have the right PH and locked out any nute uptake plus it was a very thick soil not allowing it to aerate very well. I am using MG regular potting soil as of now (yes i know, it's horrible! well it's the only thing i could get because the closest hydro shop is 40+ miles away and i do not have time right now to go get it. I will be using ocean forest on my next grow). I have changed my light setup three times as well too. I have been watering with fox farms grow big 1/4-1/2 strength along with sea tea (kelp).

I think I finally have a pretty good grow room going now... I know my plants should be bigger for being a month old but they have been through alot and im surprised there not dead. As said before, my plants have almost tripled in size in just one week after transplanting them. I had them in those cups for too long also, they were very root bound when I transplanted them... (I know, im learning, it wont happen again ;-)

So basically this has been a great learning experience for me and can't wait for them to get even bigger! I have a few pics, but my camera is crappy so the quality isn't good. The plants are averaging 3"-3.25" tall and 6" wide. They also are very smelly, they stink up my whole room!! but it's all good

If all goes well my future plans are to flower the remaining three biggest plants. Also im already thinking of my next grow! I was thinking growing some Lowrider! Using fox farms ocean forest, big grow, kelp, and the setup I have now!

 

[Doctor Dread]

Lookin great man! I'm glad to see this journal is still alive... The plants are doin damn good for being in MG...