First grow, closet, low budget

[Shants]

Hello,
I've recently decided to look into starting a small grow in my closet. My budget is rather low ($100) and I have next to no experience. The room is 3 x 3.5 and the ceiling slopes downward from about 6' to 4'. The walls are light green. It doesn't have a door. Is it a good idea to use a blanket or tarp to cover the opening? I would be growing with bag seeds.
I won't have any income for at least a month and I'd be starting from scratch, except for fans. So I'm wondering if it is even worth trying to set up a grow with such a small amount of money or if I should just wait until I have more to play with. I don't expect to have the best yield. I'm just wondering if it is possible to get all of the necessary equipment. I don't want to lose all my plants because I didn't have the money to support them. I appreciate any advice

 

[KeepItSimple]

one thing ive learnt is not to grow without money to fund it becoz u cud be 6/7 weeks in an then need somethin important cant afford it then they die my personal opinion is wait till u can fund it properly and also you want to buy some quality seeds which is like 50/70 quid that blows your budget you dont want poor genetics or youll get poor plants

 

[WoCha]

600 watts is super in a 4x4, super easy to control when air cooled a bit.

But if i was starting from scratch i would get a 1000 watts dimable so i can turn it full when the temps go lower in winter and get max yield

 

[PrairiePoet]

To grow with just $100 will be tight. Though it is a good way to get started and learn how to grow. You will find that you will continue to pour money into the project as you go along.

You will need:

Lights

for keeping cost down go with CFL's
six or eight 24 watt bulbs would be a good start
Search on here to build your own reflector​

Pots or reservoir

Something to grow in...
should be able to source this, so no cost​

Monitor pH

EC or PPM would be great but not on this budget
since tight budget learn to use pH strips​

Nutrients

please don't use Miracle Grow
Spend some money here​

Fans

both for exhaust and circulation​

Time

For researching
For Learning
Never enough of it
Most costly part of growing​

Genetics

I disagree with starting with purchased seeds
Start with bag seeds, until you know what your doing, really sucks to watch $100 or more of seeds die​

Walls of grow room

Paint them white​

Things to think about are air exchange, heat reduction, pest control, humidity control, and monitoring. Start a log the first day and keep it up to date.

Start off with 4 to 8 seeds, grow them up and start learning. The more you read the forums, the more you will learn. Just remember, the biggest cost is time, and patience. You will need to make it a habit to check on the plants every day, and some days it will seem boring. Just keep at it.

Hope that helps, if not let me know.

 

[HiTimes4Me]

I agree with PriariePoet but I also agree with what KeepitSimple said about not growing with out funds...I would wait for atleast a while so you can get proper things..and get your space set up...Your going to need some way to make your space light proof and like Prairie said you're going to want to spend some money on nutes not Miracle Grow! Spend the $100 you have with getting the space set up with CFLs and a DIY reflector for them, painting walls white like prairie suggested and a way to make it light proof, get some containers to grow in, personally I like to repurpose other things if I can it's cheaper that way i.e. like buckets, anything big enough really to be a pot...,ph strips, and get your nutrients, a cheap digital thermometer from walmart that has high/low and humidity they're like 10$, some fans for ventilation, once you have everything set up save another $100 and put it away somewhere and consider it the grow fund...then start your bagseeds....because if a need arrives and you have no funds they could die and it's all your time and money wasted because you couldn't buy what they needed...

 

[HiTimes4Me]

Oh BTW Welcome to and good luck brother!

 

[Shants]

Ooh that feeling when you wake up and find good news and helpful advice

I think I will get some supplies together, but I'm not going to start until I have a little more cash. Like I said in the OP, I won't have income for a while but I might be able to sell some stuff for a little extra. I suppose if I'm working with the smallest amount of money possible, any little bit helps.

So from what I see here I should go with cfl's. Is there any benefit to using many small ones as opposed to one big?

Also, I came across the scrog method while researching. Is it a good idea to attempt this on a first grow? It doesn't seem too difficult but due to lack of experience, I probably can't tell the difference.

 

[PrairiePoet]

Ooh that feeling when you wake up and find good news and helpful advice

I think I will get some supplies together, but I'm not going to start until I have a little more cash. Like I said in the OP, I won't have income for a while but I might be able to sell some stuff for a little extra. I suppose if I'm working with the smallest amount of money possible, any little bit helps.

So from what I see here I should go with cfl's. Is there any benefit to using many small ones as opposed to one big?

Also, I came across the scrog method while researching. Is it a good idea to attempt this on a first grow? It doesn't seem too difficult but due to lack of experience, I probably can't tell the difference.

Small closet grows do very well using CFL's and a SCROG setup. If I remember right somewhere around 22 or 24 watt CFL's give out the most lumens per watt. Using 6 to 8 of them should cover 4 square feet (about half your grow size), which is a nice SCROG to start out with. You can push 2 to 4 plants into that and should be able to get 1 to 2 OZ's per plant.

 

[Shants]

Thanks for all the good info PrairiePoet.

I have one more concern. I live in a climate that changes quite a bit between seasons, and both temperature and humidity are affected (both go up in the summer). I assume using a heater/AC won't help a whole lot since the closet will be closed off from the rest of the room, so how would I go about controlling these factors?

 

[cozias]

Hi there PitMyShants, I just start my fist grow a few weeks ago and I was at a low budget too (and still been )..
I was looking for the cheapest method to make a small grow for me. I start from bag seed too, after a few research I go to buy cfl's. I paid for 1 bulb of 20 w 6400 K, 1.6 $ ( 32 $ total - 20 bulbs ) and another 36-40 $ for 20 bulbs of 22 w - 2700 k so like 68-76 $ for light.
and because the low budget, and I didint found ph metter I search for soil with ph between 5.7 and 6.7 and found/use 5.5 - 6.5 so another 22 $ for 20 litter pot soil and a bill till now 94-100 $.
I buy cables, plugs, sockets and DIY for another 50 $ sotill now I'm like 150 $ (transport till store included in price ) . for the walls I use the mylar from the first aid kit. guess you cannot paint your closet walls ...
By me I'm 110 euro, and had a 100 euro start budget for the same time like you, 1 month. And you have some free time, and pleasure to read, have a look at my grow, and start to germinate those seeds .
Good luck with your first grow, and you're on the right place where to learn everything about how to grow.

Subbed !

 

[cozias]

To grow with just $100 will be tight. Though it is a good way to get started and learn how to grow. You will find that you will continue to pour money into the project as you go along.

You will need:

Lights

for keeping cost down go with CFL's
six or eight 24 watt bulbs would be a good start
Search on here to build your own reflector​

Pots or reservoir

Something to grow in...
should be able to source this, so no cost​

Monitor pH

EC or PPM would be great but not on this budget
since tight budget learn to use pH strips​

Nutrients

please don't use Miracle Grow
Spend some money here​

Fans

both for exhaust and circulation​

Time

For researching
For Learning
Never enough of it
Most costly part of growing​

Genetics

I disagree with starting with purchased seeds
Start with bag seeds, until you know what your doing, really sucks to watch $100 or more of seeds die​

Walls of grow room

Paint them white​

Things to think about are air exchange, heat reduction, pest control, humidity control, and monitoring. Start a log the first day and keep it up to date.

Start off with 4 to 8 seeds, grow them up and start learning. The more you read the forums, the more you will learn. Just remember, the biggest cost is time, and patience. You will need to make it a habit to check on the plants every day, and some days it will seem boring. Just keep at it.

Hope that helps, if not let me know.

 

[Shants]

Thanks for the info and reassurance, cozias. I like to see a grower with a similar situation be successful. I do plan on painting the room, assuming money permits.

 

[KeepItSimple]

if your interested in a scrog set up check out 420fieds grow journal and twelve12s grow journal they use 2ltr pop bottles wud save u some money and they achieve great results and quick turn around becoz you cud go 12/12 from seed

 

[HiTimes4Me]

if your interested in a scrog set up check out 420fieds grow journal and twelve12s grow journal they use 2ltr pop bottles wud save u some money and they achieve great results and quick turn around becoz you cud go 12/12 from seed

Your a bit mistaken my brother those are SOG grows there is a difference between SOG and SCROG...a SOG is a high number of smaller plants usually clones thrown straight into flowering with little or no veg...SCROG is less plants grown bigger but with all side branches trained through a screen over top of the plants so they get as much light as the tops turning all branches into colas check out icemuds grow he uses scrog

 

[KeepItSimple]

Your a bit mistaken my brother those are SOG grows there is a difference between SOG and SCROG...a SOG is a high number of smaller plants usually clones thrown straight into flowering with little or no veg...SCROG is less plants grown bigger but with all side branches trained through a screen over top of the plants so they get as much light as the tops turning all branches into colas check out icemuds grow he uses scrog

thanks highflyin i stand corrected lol i havent really looked into that type of growing to much yet just read those journals i mentioned which are SOG not SCROG just had a look at icemuds and seen the difference obviously with him havin the screen to support his scrog and less plants but it looks abit akward as once they grow through the support you cant move them to feed but on the other hand i think scrog will suite you better pitmyshants as you dont have a mother set up for your cuttings and it wud cost a fortune from seed for a SOG lol but i do recomend checkin out them journals i suggested for a future set up and take a look at icemuds journal if your going to go ahead with a SCROG set up

 

[PrairiePoet]

thanks highflyin i stand corrected lol i havent really looked into that type of growing to much yet just read those journals i mentioned which are SOG not SCROG just had a look at icemuds and seen the difference obviously with him havin the screen to support his scrog and less plants but it looks abit akward as once they grow through the support you cant move them to feed but on the other hand i think scrog will suite you better pitmyshants as you dont have a mother set up for your cuttings and it wud cost a fortune from seed for a SOG lol but i do recomend checkin out them journals i suggested for a future set up and take a look at icemuds journal if your going to go ahead with a SCROG set up

I do mothers to clones into SCROG.

 

[PrairiePoet]

Thanks for all the good info PrairiePoet.

I have one more concern. I live in a climate that changes quite a bit between seasons, and both temperature and humidity are affected (both go up in the summer). I assume using a heater/AC won't help a whole lot since the closet will be closed off from the rest of the room, so how would I go about controlling these factors?

Same here on the environmental changes. How you deal with it some what depends on the growing method. Soil vs Hydro. Usually too little heat isn't a problem, if you need it toss a small heater in set on a thermostat. To much heat is exhausted, just add more. Small A/C units can help, but you didn't say where this was going to be. I grow in the basement so that helps with heat.

Humidity is a pain to control.

If you can feed the grow area with house air, and exhaust outside, should help. The house is usually at a decent temp.