1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Technique

flowergirl21

Well-Known Member

After much deliberation and research, I decided that BC Northern Lights' Bloombox was the right system for me. Although I fully understand that a grow room can be put together more inexpensively, stealth is the utmost importance right now. I've read *a lot* of journals at this point, and I am excited to try to start growing! I've chosen 420 Magazine for my grow journal because I have learned the most from its members so far, and I am hoping to have support from the experienced growers!

I have no experience, but I am hoping to try the mainlining or Manifold technique for this first grow. I am still awaiting my 5 White Widow feminized seeds (any day now!!). When I get them, my plan is to germinate 3 of them (I am reserving the last two seeds in case of catastrophe.) and send all 3 of them through to flower. Before that happens, while still in the vegetation stage, I will be topping and LSTing them to form 8 colas. My goal is to top the plants and use those parts as my first clones. I will label everything, and hopefully once I harvest, I will know which plant is the one that should be my mother plant.

After the first harvest, I am hoping to have clones that I can start flowering immediately. I am unsure as of yet if I will be able to perform the manifolding technique on them, but I will try. :wood:

Resevoir Size - 23 Liters
Medium - Rockwool
Lights - 400w HID
Nutrients - I purchased the "Bloombox Royale with Cheese" package, and I have a year's supply of nutrients. I am completely new at this, so more on these later.
Strain(s) - White Widow Feminized (hybrid)
# of Plants: Up to 9
Flowering - Average 55-65 Days
Yield : Hoping for 16 ounces (Probably less for the first grow with only 3 plants)

Since I'm still awaiting my seeds, I will talk a little about my experience with BC Northern Lights, the delivery, and the Bloombox itself. I'm also dorkily practicing on tomato seeds right now. Actually, it's a good thing I did, because I accidentally allowed the rockwool to dry out on my first germination attempt. I am now on my second attempt, and I've improved a few things.

When you purchase from BCNL, you have options on how to get your box to your grow site; however, regardless of delivery method, with the Patriot Act of 2001, you must provide your social security number to get it through customs and into the country. It's annoying, but about 80% of BCNL's business is with the US. The boxes aren't inherently illegal, so...it is what it is.

In terms of delivery, the most private way to do it is to get it delivered to a depot where you go with a moving truck and pick it up yourself. For a bit more money you can have it delivered to your home, and for a bit more than that, you can get it delivered to your home and delivery people can bring it inside for you. Since I am not particularly strong, I opted for the third option. BCNL lists the BB as 230lbs including the pallet and all items inside. When cut away from the pallet, the box itself is listed as 100lbs. The actual waybill listed the weight at close to 500lbs. The BB comes covered with a cardboard box that easily lifts off. Be careful when you do this. There is nothing else concealing the BB, and the control panel is not covered either, and that clearly shows the rocker switches that say "vegetation" and "flower." It got awkward. Fortunately, they came a bit after 4pm, so it appeared my neighbors weren't home to gawk. Which is really lucky since we had to unpack the box before the delivery guys would attempt to bring it inside. The rockwool is completely visible in clear plastic sleeves, and the nutrient boxes have the photos on it that list the NPK values. One of them asked if it was a freezer of some sort. I just nodded, and he said, "Oh, I thought so." The other one seemed like he knew what was going on, so to throw him off I said, "Wow, I can't believe how complicated this is! I should have just gotten it delivered to my boyfriend's house, but that would have ruined the surprise." He then started giving me advice on how to move it when the time came.

The dimensions of the BB are 51" tall, 54" long, and 28" deep. The 28 inches worried me, as I had read that it was more like 29" or so because of the collar that you attach the carbon filter to. I measured the door to my bedroom, and it was just over 28". I had to take the door off the hinges, but it squeaked through. The depth is a true 28" including the little collar. Once you assemble the carbon filter mount, the depth is substantially over the 28" though. I didn't measure because I removed it once I realized how far away from the wall I would have to have it.

The Bloombox is a great piece of equipment. I did purchase the shipping insurance, and I'm glad I did. The box came with a dent and scratch on the flowering chamber door. It doesn't affect the door mechanics or the BB itself, so it's only cosmetic, but still...it is an expensive piece of equipment, and I like shiny, new things. BCNL promised to ship either a new door or give me $100 dollars credit since I had the insurance. I chose the credit.

I've been calling BCNL on a fairly regular basis. Lisa is my contact person, and she couldn't be more helpful and patient with me. She has a lot of experience growing, and she will be a helpful resource once my seeds arrive.

One other thing to note. BCNL can no longer ship pH Up or Down, so you must purchase those on your own. Also, my BB came with a power cloner setup that dually functions as the vegetation setup. You just switch the lids and air pump. Because of this, I did not get a clone dome. While I was at the hydro store, I bought a cheapo seed starter kit that has a clear cover since I'm germinating, and I also purchased a heat mat at the drugstore. Other than those items, the BB seems to have come with everything I will need for at least a year.

Photos to come, and once my seeds arrive, I will be documenting everything. Until then, let me tell you about my Brandywine tomato seeds. :) Just kidding.
 
HOLY CRAP!!!
:whoa:

I've never heard of such a thing. That is wicked.
I had to look up what it was... And you can get them here in Australia too.

:drool:

I know what i want for my birthday. lol.

I can't wait to see some photos.
 
First time replying: Hi Paul. Thanks for reading! I'm excited too. Once I found out about the Bloombox, I kinda had my heart set on it. I've been coveting one for over a year. I just had to figure out how to pay for it. They are not cheap! I felt it was worth the money for several reasons:

1. Stealth. I looked into building my own setup with grow tents and whatnot. It seemed to me that the tents were not going to be as odor-proof as the BB. I am not in the position to build a grow room, but that is my ultimate goal once I am able to put that plan in action. And, once I do, the BB can double as a vegetation chamber, or I can just keep my mothers in there.

2. Professionally Built. There is no way I could build anything remotely like this right now. The system is tight, and everything comes with a 3 year warranty. (Except the bulbs)

3. Support. I'm going to be relying on all of you for help with my first grow, for sure, but I can also call them 7 days a week for help. I've already used that service to get set up and ask my newbie questions. Lisa has been super-patient and friendly with me.

4. As a new grower, I have no idea what I need for nutrients and accessory items. The BB Royale came with everything I need for a year. As I learn, I will be able to tailor my purchases and not waste any extra money on stuff I didn't know I didn't need.

5. The package I got came with a dryer with a carbon filter. Again, stealth! I'm planning on drying properly and curing for the best buds possible. Once they are in the jars and curing, I'm not too worried about the smell, but I won't be able to just hang them up for drying.

6. You know when you watch an informercial, and whatever product they are hawking, the seller always says, "It pays for itself in just x amount of time!" and you nod along and then buy a total home gym that will save you sooooo much in gym fees. And then you never use it, and you realize that you didn't even pay for a gym anyway...well, this is the polar opposite of that. It really will pay for itself in under a year, and even though I'm not the heaviest smoker myself, I appreciate fine weed, and I'm looking forward to smoking my own.

I have to head to work now, but I will post some photos of the setup tonight when I get home! Thanks again for reading!
 
Let's see if I can post pics. My apologies for the lack of anything more interesting, but I anticipate lots of better photos once I really get started!

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Well, I thought my captions would show up. Just in case it's not self-explanatory:
1. Front of Bloombox
2. Control Panel
3. Veg side--not really set up yet
4. Flower side--ditto
5. Nutes
6. Germination...nothing too exciting. They are Brandywine tomato seeds. pH'd rockwool cubes to 4.5--tomatoes need a more acidic start I guess. Not sure if I messed up again. The rockwool seemed dry again. Glad I'm getting all of these issues out of my system with cheap tomato seeds.
 
Lmao. I love how you played that one-"wow this is so complicated I wish we'd taken it to my boyfriends house". Genius at work.

Thanks, Weaselcracker. :laughtwo:

Actually, that reminds me of a good point regarding the delivery service. BCNL assured me that I would have 30 minutes to inspect the Bloombox, and the time allotted is for inspection of the Bloombox itself--not the goodies that come with it. They further stated that the delivery driver would know about this 30 minutes.

Once they got it into the house, the delivery guys wanted out of there. They didn't know about the 30 minutes, and they didn't care that there was obvious damage to the unit...albeit minor.

Going further back in time, BCNL offers this "delivery into the house" service for an extra charge, which I opted for because I knew it would ultimately be the easiest and most practical way to get it in there. Everything seemed on track; I received an email from the company, and I contacted them for a delivery date. We chose a day and time window of 12-4pm. I took the day off.

The day of delivery finally arrived, and I was very anxious about things going smoothly. Still, everything seemed to be on track--I received a phone call from the delivery people, and the guy seemed very nice. He confirmed the delivery and time window. Then, things started to go badly.

He called back and asked me if I knew that "the thing" weighed 500lbs. He asked if it was a stove. I told him it was an appliance, but didn't go into further detail. He said that he didn't know that it was so heavy, and that he would need another guy on the job. There was apparently a breakdown in communication between BCNL and the company here. He then said that he didn't know if he would be able to get it delivered that day. :thedoubletake:

Long story short, thankfully, he was able to make it happen. I mention this story in case anyone is thinking of purchasing through BCNL and opts for delivery. If so, you must make sure ahead of time that the delivery people know what BCNL promised you...or maybe you need to make sure that BCNL has taken care of things on their end with communicating their promises to the delivery people. Either way, it definitely was not the smoothest undertaking. I'm just thankful it all worked out.
 
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

Ok, I'm gonna tag along for this ride! I am very interested in seeing this Bloom Box in use! Do you mind if I ask how much it cost you? You can PM me if you don't wanna blast it on here. lol.

I can't PM because I don't have enough posts yet.:straightface:Let's just say that if I could get a full gram per watt of dried bud out of this thing, it would take 1 harvest plus a little of the next one to pay for itself. If I got just the base model (I got the best package you could get), it would only take me one harvest, and I'd have a tidy profit. Since I'm a very new grower, I'll conservatively say it will take two harvests. I am confident in my ability to grow excellent product, but I'm not sure what my yields will be. I've read that only experienced growers will achieve yields like that.

I know many people on this site have expressed disdain for the Bloombox and other BCNL products, citing that they are way overpriced and that for the $$$ they could build a crazy grow room. I believe it. I know that if I had more/any experience, I could figure out a way to grow for a fraction of the cost, but right now I wanted a turnkey solution with the growing support.
 
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

It's great. The setup looks wicked. The control panel is a bit obvious though.
But it's taken a lot of worry out of buying everything separately. And having to worry if you've done something wrong,
and if you have problems, you can always ring the company.

If i could afford one, i would get one.
But it sounds like a good investment.

Can't wait to see how things go for you.

By the way, i noticed you changed your location to the enterprise.
Are you from the 24th century, and it still hasn't been legalized,
Do you still have to do stealth grows!?
How illogical.

:blalol:
 
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

Thanks everyone for joining me so far! I am still anxiously awaiting my seeds, but in the meantime...drum roll please...I found a random seed while I was cleaning my room.

Although my tomato seeds have germinated, and they are poking up from the rockwool, I am not on here to journal growing Brandywines--however delicious they might be.

Here's a pic. It looks like it could be viable, and it will occupy my time while I wait for my real seeds.

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I'm going to practice on this seed--maybe I'll even luck out, and it will be female. Soaking now.
 
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

After doing some more reading...I'm now wondering if a small change in plans is appropriate. My plan is to manifold in the veg stage for 8 colas, and send the to flower. During the topping, I'll be using the plant matter for clones, and then I was going to manifold those--which is a bit harder to do with clones as the branches aren't symmetrical.

I started reading Light Addict's fluxing technique now seems like a better way to go for the clones, since I would not have to worry as much about the symmetry of the plant.

Light Addict's Quick Guide to Fluxing

This guy is amazing. If I could grow half as well as he does, I would be extremely happy. I just don't know if I can pull it off in a Bloombox, because he uses soil, and his containers are way bigger than my 3.5 inch net pots. If I did either method, (manifolding or fluxing), I wouldn't be filling all nine available pots with a plant. That does mean I could possibly use the other unused pots as anchors for the training.

Anyway, a pic of my mystery seed soaking in plain distilled water. I plopped it in last night, and I checked on it this morning. It was floating, so I poked it down. To my relief, it sank instantly...good sign!

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Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

Yeah, the control panel is what was freaking me out during the delivery. I thought it was a dead giveaway for what it is. Oh well, as long as Captain Picard doesn't show up in my quarters, then I think I'll be okay. :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

Nice setup, you got everything sorted nicely, subbed! :popcorn: Cool I am currently on my first grow, growing White Widow x AK47 hybrid and doing manifolding with 8 tops but soil instead of hydro. Feel free to come by.
 
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni

Light Addict! :welcome: I'm so excited that you'll be joining me on my growing adventure. I can't wait to hear what you have to say.
 
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