Cost for initial grow setup

[TwystedPair]

I'm in the planning phase for my first grow, and am just looking for an idea on what I'm looking at for an initial setup. I'm going to start with just a few plants, and work my way up from there. I am extremely new to all of this and will be learning as I go.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!!

 

[fastfor20]

A closet grow can be as little $300 for a working closet. A bedroom 7 to 8k will get ya going really well. The more you want the steeper the price. Whatever you decide to go with the fun factor is the same
PS I know this isnt much of an answer but without a real game plan you will have to decide your lvl of comitment. good luck in your planning

 

[TwystedPair]

Thanks for the reply, fastfor20!

The space that I have to grow is actually pretty big. It's a small mother-in-law that is just being used for storage now. There are two rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs and are both about 12x12. I am on a pretty small budget right now, so there is no way that I'll be able to equip that whole place right away. It is nice to have room to grow into though, no pun intended. Like I said, I'm going to start out with just a few plants, and work my way up once I gain some experience(and make some $$.) I think I'm going to start off with a few clones in soil to start with, and see how it goes from there.

 

[Screwnuts33]

At the completion of my first grow my investment will be right at $2k. That is all equipment, nutes, seeds, soil, and electricity.

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

I'd start with a good light, and a good inline fan, and a good carbon filter.

You can get more generic brands that will save you a bunch - check out the 600 HPS setups at HTG supply. They are about $250, and a generic 6" fan, filter, and speed control will set you back another $210.

If you go hydro, then you'll have to spend another $150 on PPM and PH meters, plus the set up... DWC is easy and under $100 to make yourself. It'd be good to know your water quality too incase you need an R/O filter...

For a first grow, dirt is most likely the best option... but that really depends on how involved you want to be.

 

[TwystedPair]

At the completion of my first grow my investment will be right at $2k. That is all equipment, nutes, seeds, soil, and electricity.

How much of that $2K did you spend up front to get started? Because of my limited initial budget, my plan is to buy the equipment/materials as needed. The least amount of $$ spent initially the better. My plan is to find some funding from other sources/investors once my little operation is up and running and I can show them what I have so far. Do you suggest going with seeds or clones for my first go at it? I've been doing some looking and average clone prices around this area are about $15-20.

 

[The Weed]

Here is a beginning cheap growing Thread By 420 Member Linkorien...

Cheap Efficient Starting Guide
Great if you are tight with money or just want to get a cheap set-up to start.

 

[TwystedPair]

I'd start with a good light, and a good inline fan, and a good carbon filter.

You can get more generic brands that will save you a bunch - check out the 600 HPS setups at HTG supply. They are about $250, and a generic 6" fan, filter, and speed control will set you back another $210.

If you go hydro, then you'll have to spend another $150 on PPM and PH meters, plus the set up... DWC is easy and under $100 to make yourself. It'd be good to know your water quality too incase you need an R/O filter...

For a first grow, dirt is most likely the best option... but that really depends on how involved you want to be.

I'm pretty sure I have the lights taken care of. A good friend of mine has a setup at his mom's house that he is going to let me use/have. As of now, I'm going to go the soil route, more than likely with clones initially. I'm pretty excited about my new hobby and I'm also partnering with a few really good friends, so they will get lots of TLC!!

 

[Screwnuts33]

You can really spend as much or little as you like. Depends on the size of your grow area, number of plants, quality, etc. Since I am only growing for myself and possibly gifts for friends quality is #1 for me. I would rather end up with an oz of top quality meds than a pound of just ok smoke. I bought all top quality brands and went overboard on lighting. What you put into to your grow will have a direct impact on your results. Your first money should go towards education and learning all you can about growing. After that your money is best spent on lighting, soil, nutes, and strains. Don't plan on a huge harvest your first time. Might happen but it may not. A quality PH meter is a must have. Ability to monitor temps and humidity is also important.

For a small investment you can do some CFL's and a DIY grow box and grow a couple of small plants. Done properly and you will end up with some very decent bud. Spend a little more on HPS lighting or even T5's, good soil and nutes and those same two plants will produce several times the harvest.

Sounds like you are looking at this as a money making endever. Be prepared for what goes with that. No one should ever know you grow. My suggestion is rather than seek investors, start small. Re-invest all your profits back into your op. It will take you a little longer to increase your sales but all profits are yours and no one will know you grow. Don't let greed run your op.

 

[TwystedPair]

Actually, the main pro for doing this is consistent quality, that we can control. I have a pretty big group of really good friends who I enjoy MJ with, and we're all pretty spoiled. Last summer, one of my best friend's came across come Grape Ape from CO Springs, and we've been chasing that unicorn ever since. This is an idea one of my best friend's and I have been tossing around for a few months now, and we can't come up with a good reason to not give it a shot.

Initially, it will be just him and I taking care of the plants. We both have full-time jobs, so we will be taking shifts. We figure that even if we are are able to grow enough MJ for ourselves and our close group of friends, than it would be worth it financially. Between the two of us, we are spending $600ish a month on MJ now. We could instead sink that into the cost of maintaining our grow operation.

The "investors" that I have in mind are either very close friends (one who runs a dispensary in town), or a family member who has lots of experience with business development and a soft spot for GOOD MJ. I've already been picking their brains from the start. For now, we are just going to work with the 12 plants that we are allowed to grow currently (6 for him and 6 for me.) After the first couple I'm going to look into upping my personal plant count to around 15, and my friend will also. We won't grow into that for some time, so we will probably never have to worry about finding people to give us caregivership. We are definitely going to start out small, and play it by ear.

 

[fastfor20]

Actually, the main pro for doing this is consistent quality, that we can control. I have a pretty big group of really good friends who I enjoy MJ with, and we're all pretty spoiled. Last summer, one of my best friend's came across come Grape Ape from CO Springs, and we've been chasing that unicorn ever since. This is an idea one of my best friend's and I have been tossing around for a few months now, and we can't come up with a good reason to not give it a shot.

Initially, it will be just him and I taking care of the plants. We both have full-time jobs, so we will be taking shifts. We figure that even if we are are able to grow enough MJ for ourselves and our close group of friends, than it would be worth it financially. Between the two of us, we are spending $600ish a month on MJ now. We could instead sink that into the cost of maintaining our grow operation.

The "investors" that I have in mind are either very close friends (one who runs a dispensary in town), or a family member who has lots of experience with business development and a soft spot for GOOD MJ. I've already been picking their brains from the start. For now, we are just going to work with the 12 plants that we are allowed to grow currently (6 for him and 6 for me.) After the first couple I'm going to look into upping my personal plant count to around 15, and my friend will also. We won't grow into that for some time, so we will probably never have to worry about finding people to give us caregivership. We are definitely going to start out small, and play it by ear.

I have friend that has 3600 watts on his 6 legal plants and pulls 6 lbs every 10 weeks he does the exact same thing every time. Same strain for 2 years
His roomate has the moms and clones (12) they veg for 10 weeks pick the strongest chucks the rest. 100% cali legal You dont need more people you just need to stick to it and put in what $ you can and you will rock. good luck my friend

 

[Lilstinky420]

Think my initial 400watt was 400$
I'm trying to get 4000watts going now, should be under 3 or 4k with co2 and new wiring and sub panels for electrical. no fancy all systems go enviroment controllers though, i just read all my gauges and manually apply. Always in the damn grow room anyhow.