$1,000 dollars and discouraged

[Moksha]

Thanks again everyone for the replies. Just over a week ago I said I would be updating my progress! The humidity issues were from busted windows in the basement. I fixed these and everything seems fine. Humidity in the room stay between 39-50. Temps stay between 67-88.

Here are some pics.

Sorry about the quality of photos. I took these with an evo4g and with the light on.


Again, sorry for the slow responses. School, work, moving, construction has kept me really busy!

If the community would ask questions and give constructive critism that would be great!

I still need to look up topping, and figure out how the nutes will be measured and administered.

Part list:
4ft 6bulb t5 - 220
Duct work - 50
exhaust fan - 50 (used)
a/c unit - owned
floor fan - owned
Temp/Humidity gage - 15
Fox Farms Ocean - 14
Fox Farm Ferz - 100
Silver insulation - 70
Liquid Nails - 15
Carbon Filter - 100
600HPS/hud/bulb/ballast - 310
Fox Farm open seseme, beastie, chaching - 50

total = 994

I'm sure i left out some materials....

P.s. what is needed to keep ph/ec/ppm correct. I'm buying a soil ph gage for around $20. Do i need a gague to check the ph of the fertz?

 

[Steve McStoferson]

I still don't think I've spent 1,000 on my entire setup and I've been growing consistently for a couple of years now. Start off small, keep it really simple and see what works for you.

I started with pots, soil, bagseed, and a couple of $10 shop lights. I grew about an ounce between 4 plants. Upgraded to a 600w HID and pulled 6-10oz harvests. there are millions of ways to grow, finding what works for you is key, and spending all that money to find out later you are more comfortable going a different route will be discouraging.

Aiming for 16oz on your first harvest is pretty high, work on keeping the plants alive, giving them what they want, and then fine tune from there. It takes a lot of time and trial/error to get your setup dialed in, but money is the least important part of growing.

That being said, I see you've already purchased everything and looks like you spent it all well. I was just getting that off my chest.

Regarding your ph question, a digital ph meter is your best bet. I have a ph600, its a yellow pen style meter, works great, but does drift out of calibration. I also have the GH ph up/down and the 4.0 and 7.0 calibration solution. That's all you need to keep your ph in check, the soil meters aren't that reliable.

It's also not needed, but having an EC meter to measure the strength of your solution in ppms is very helpful. I got one for $20 off amazon and it works great, I always know how strong my solution is and haven't burned any plants since.

Looks like you're off to a good start, can't wait to see you grow some bud!

 

[budlydoright]

Sweet! Looking good. I don't believe PH is as much an issue in soil.

In soil gardening you feed the soil which in turn feeds the plant. In soiless/hydro you feed the plant directly. Soil PH is important though. I'm a coco guy, so this is just my understanding, not my first hand experience.

 

[Steve McStoferson]

ph is just as important in soil as it is everywhere.

 

[Icemud]

PH is very important!!! Unless your running organic nutrients...then the soil microbiology will buffer the solution for you...if your running anything else...you better ph every feeding!!!

Looking at your setup, you made some great purchases!!! Great job for a very nice setup on your 1st grow!!!! I just did my first grow and only ran 6 plants, and managed over 1 1/4 lbs from just those 6 plants...its all about how much care, education and understanding you have for your cannabis....and so far, its seems your doing your research well!!!! great job so far and can't wait to see what strains you choose and how they grow!!!

A digital ph meter would be your best bet....easier to use than the drops. Make sure you calibrate your ph meter about 1 to 2 times a month, just to make sure it doesnt slip out of calibration... PPM is also pretty important because you usually start at a low amount with seeds/clones around 300ppm...as you move through later veg you should increase every week by 100 to 200ppm until late veg your around 1000ppm... Flowering you should be sitting between 1000ppm and 1400ppm and for your final flush week/2 weeks you should be back down around 200ppm or less...

This is just to give you a general idea...your nutrients should have a feeding chart available on the bottles and online which will help you mix your nutrients accordingly..

 

[OG13]

Looking good Moksha, I've got a tutorial on topping in my blog

Uncle Ben's Topping Method

 

[budlydoright]

Sweet! Looking good. I don't believe PH is as much an issue in soil.

In soil gardening you feed the soil which in turn feeds the plant. In soiless/hydro you feed the plant directly. Soil PH is important though. I'm a coco guy, so this is just my understanding, not my first hand experience.

PH is very important!!! Unless your running organic nutrients...then the soil microbiology will buffer the solution for you...if your running anything else...you better ph every feeding!!!

..

I stand corrected! Glad I qualified that statement.

 

[Moksha]

Thanks again everyone! I am in the process of starting a grow journal. When I have it up I will post a link here.

I will still be checking this location for people who have questions on building a room or what i used.

Grow Journal: Moksha's Soil Blueberry Grow Journal - 2011