First Grow Space Bucket 1.0

[Mittin]

Hey everyone!

This is my first post on this forum. Thank you to everyone that has contributed... creators, moderators and members. An excellent forum!!

First off, thank you to Ekrof for the idea and name of the Space Bucket. I don't know if he is a member here but it was his Space Bucket design that made me want to attempt to start my own grow.

Secondly, I will apologize now for any dumb questions or wrong terms I use here. I am completely new to all of this. To be honest, I have never been into cannabis scene other than the occasional "puff" (see...I don't even know what the correct term is for smoking) when I was a teenager. Never liked it very much....which was due to me being piss drunk beforehand. I'm starting to get into it a bit now and after learning about all the different strains and different effects that can be produced, I've become very interested.

I have never even seen a plant in real so the thought of actually growing my own is very exciting!!
So yes, I'm pretty much as green as they get.

I haven't spent a lot of time studying and researching so my first grow will be pretty basic, although I think I have enough info to get me started. I want to keep it as easy as possible and learn along the way. This will be more of a hobby and I am not expecting huge results...only to learn and do better on future grows.
So thank you in advance for any help or advice you may have, and I will not be offended if you tell me I'm doing things wrong or are making mistakes. Any and all advice will be much appreciated!

Space Bucket 1.0

The "grow room" consists of the main bucket plus three more buckets which I have cut the top 4 inches off to stack on the main bucket as spacers to add height. I added two computer case fans to the main bucket for ventilation. One intake and one exhaust. I currently have 6 23w CFL bulbs for light. Four of them are installed in one of the spacers and two other bulbs in another spacer. This will give me the ability to adjust the height of the lights if need be. I can also easily add two more bulbs to the spacer that currently has just two. To the lid I may add another light or another exhaust fan depending on how things go.

I started with commercial seeds bought from a trusted seed bank. I germinated two using the paper towel method and a third by planting directly into soil. I planted the two from paper towels in the bucket they had sprouted about 1/4". I am pleased to see that all three are growing and are above soil!

The soil I'm using is basic potting soil with no fertilizer in it.

January 25th (PM)- Soaked two seeds in water overnight. The third seed I planted in a peat pellet which was placed in a cup of soil.
January 26th (AM)- Placed the two seeds in the paper towel
January 28th (AM) - Moved the two germinated seeds to the soil in the bucket. Turned two lights on in the bucket.
January 29th (PM) - I was worried that I planted the seeds too deep so I lightly scratched away some soil and every so slightly uncovered the growing seedling. I turned on all lights and fans.
January 30th (AM) - All three seeds have sprouted and are above ground. Success!!...so far. The soil wasn't overly wet when I planted and now was needing water. I added a liter of water that included a very small dose of nutes. I am using PH perfect Sensi-Grow.

 

[Mittin]

January 30th (PM) - I now know what many guys mean when they say they are impatient and anxious. I have been checking in on my three girls constantly all day. The good news is that they seem to be growing well and I can see their first set of fan leaves! Woohoo.
The only problem is what the hell do I do with the extra two plants? I only have room for one...unless I build another box real quick. But I don't know if I want to spend the cash on that.
I started growing three because I had no clue if any would sprout or not. Is it possible to just have one grow beside the window using the daylight???

 

[Mittin]

January 31st (PM) - Today I added half a litre of water with nutes. Half ml nutes per 500ml of water, just like previous. I guess I will name the girls...Eh, Bee and Cee.
Eh and Bee were germinated with the water and paper towel, and Cee was put straight in the peat pellet (inside a cup). While they all sprouted up above ground at nearly the same time, Eh and Bee seem to be doing better right now. Maybe Cee got too much water as she is in a small cup? The cup also restricts the airflow compared to Eh and Bee so maybe that is the difference? Not sure but I cut down the sides of the cup so Cee should now get as much air as Eh and Bee. I'm a little concerned about Cee right now but she's still green, just growing slower. Anyway, they all seem to be doing well and growing nicely.

*Side note - On Jaunuary 30th, after they sprouted above ground I moved the two bottom lights so that one light is directly above Eh and Bee and the other light is above Cee....both approximately 1.5" above the seedling.
They have also had light 24/0 thus far. Tonight I will change it to 18/6.....their first dark night.

Eh

Bee

Cee

Eh and Bee

 

[STIHL LOGGER]

Off to a good start man! Just be patient for a little while, dont over water, and keep the nutes on the low side. and im sure ya could put a pair of them lil chicks in the window. just remember to put em in a dark closet or somethin at night.

 

[Mittin]

Thanks for the advice Stihl!
I hope I don't fuck anything up, especially not over watering. I love all the advice and tips but I am also going a bit by "feel". Grew up on a grain farm so growing is not new to me....but the science and precision with these plants sure is! Anyway, I plan on learning as I go and if I screw up along the way, well lesson learned. Usually the best way of learning....by making mistakes.

Anyway, I will try to keep the watering at bay, as well as the nutes. I was advised to go nutes, nutes, water....nutes, nutes, water...ect. Does that sound about right?

Yes, I do have a nice big closet where I keep my bucket and there is lots of room to store at least one large plant over nights. So I guess I will try that. Seeing that Eh and Bee are fairly close together in the bucket, I think I should probably transplant one sooner than later as to not disturb the other?

 

[circaura]

Nice dude. The bucket thing is pretty crafty. Should be cool watching your plants grow at the same time as mine, like you said.

 

[Mittin]

February 1st (PM) - Exactly one week since I started germination...and Day three since they sprouted above ground.
I bought a thermometer today to see what's going on in there. With the closet door closed, it reaches 30 Celsius/86 Fahrenheit. With the door open, it drops to 25/77. I believe these temps are okay??
The humidity hovers around 25%. I put a small dish of water in there to help bring it up but so far doesn't seem to have helped much. Is humidity a big concern right now? I thought I read that it isn't that big a deal right now while they are young.

On a side note, the Girlfriend said I should rename the girls using the phonetic alphabet so they are officially renamed to Alpha, Bravo and Charlie.

This is Alpha. She was the first to pop into this world and looked the best on day one but....

This is Bravo. She has taken over Queen of the crop. Both are doing very well I think.

Then there's Charlie. She was planted directly in soil, omitting the water soak and paper towel. She is quite far behind right now. Not sure why, but I did more her away from the light a bit.

And here's a shot of both Alpha and Bravo. I have to transplant one of them as there is only room for one in the bucket. I should probably do that soon as to not bother it's sister? Any thoughts about that?

 

[Obi Wan]

Looking good. You are correct about needing to separate the girls soon.

I've never transplanted so I'll let someone else chime in on that process.

Keep up the nice work
/Obi

 

[smokiebear]

Did you mean Charlie is your dwarf? I'm assuming Britta is itty bitty because of the heat in my dresser, as when the temps are lower she does better. Of course, I figured that out by trial and error. Could be a million other things as well, but as I've been told a few times, sometimes they're just working on the roots underground first and will explode later on.

What kind of seeds are your girls? We can help you with the nutrients if we know if they're photoperiod or autoflower. There is an autoflowers feeding schedule linked in my signature if that helps.

I would transplant soon, if for no other reason than so the roots don't intertwine and start the Hunger Games; Space Bucket Edition.

 

[Mittin]

Did you mean Charlie is your dwarf? I'm assuming Brittany is itty bitty because of the heat in my dresser, as when the temps are lower she does better. Of course, I figured that out by trial and error. Could be a million other things as well, but as I've been told a few times, sometimes they're just working on the roots underground first and will explode later on.

What kind of seeds are your girls? We can help you with the nutrients if we know if they're photoperiod or autoflower. There is an autoflowers feeding schedule linked in my signature if that helps.

I would transplant soon, if for no other reason than so the roots don't intertwine and start the Hunger Games; Space Bucket Edition.

Yeah, Charlie is the slow one. The only difference is that she was planted in a cup, without the paper towel germination. The other two went from the paper towel into the bucket. Charlie may have been getting more heat as she has been on the side of the bucket so maybe heat reflecting off the wall?

I did transplant today. I moved Bravo out of the main bucket and into a cup (both Bravo and Charlie are in cups now...inside the bucket).
I'm now contemplating if I should do a quick build of a larger box and grow Bravo and Charlie there...using LED's. I would like to do that so I could see any differences in surroundings and lighting. I should know by the weekend what the plan is.

The seeds are feminized...but not Auto's. I didn't go with Auto's basically because I liked the fact of having more control over the plants and also that FIMing and LST weren't suitable for Auto's.

 

[Dontscrewup]

If you do the transplant now make sure to just scoop out enough dirt around the plant to get all the roots. Make sure your new pot is ready with a hole the right size for the transplant and place the whole scoop. The less you handle the better. I recently moved 6 plants to larger pots but they were more developed than yours. And Smokie is probably right about doing it before their roots mix. Just try not to handle the plant itself. Make sure the new pot is nice and moist. 86F is a little high ideally you want to stay under 80F. Be careful putting your lights so close to your plants, they grow and if you are watching closely they can get burned. I put the back of my hand next to the light when I can just feel the increase in the warmth of the light is distance I place it above the plants. Good luck.

 

[smokiebear]

Yeah, Charlie is the slow one. The only difference is that she was planted in a cup, without the paper towel germination. The other two went from the paper towel into the bucket. Charlie may have been getting more heat as she has been on the side of the bucket so maybe heat reflecting off the wall?

I did transplant today. I moved Bravo out of the main bucket and into a cup (both Bravo and Charlie are in cups now...inside the bucket).
I'm now contemplating if I should do a quick build of a larger box and grow Bravo and Charlie there...using LED's. I would like to do that so I could see any differences in surroundings and lighting. I should know by the weekend what the plan is.

The seeds are feminized...but not Auto's. I didn't go with Auto's basically because I liked the fact of having more control over the plants and also that FIMing and LST weren't suitable for Auto's.

You're using advanced nutrients, correct? Their website has a calculator for nutrients and allows you to select which line you went with. That should give you a better timeline of when to start nutes and how much. I haven't been researching photo periods, but my mom has, and she mentioned something about not until 3/4 weeks. I'm sure someone will be able to assist you better there.

Build the bigger box. Growing itself is addicting. I already regret how small my space is, and through being around here, it seems after a while, everyone wants more!

 

[Mittin]

You're using advanced nutrients, correct? Their website has a calculator for nutrients and allows you to select which line you went with. That should give you a better timeline of when to start nutes and how much. I haven't been researching photo periods, but my mom has, and she mentioned something about not until 3/4 weeks. I'm sure someone will be able to assist you better there.

Build the bigger box. Growing itself is addicting. I already regret how small my space is, and through being around here, it seems after a while, everyone wants more!

Thanks for the advice! I will check out their website.

Yeah, it's very addicting. And I already have an addictive personality so it's pretty extreme. I'm already looking at how I can build another box. Don't want to spend too much cash. I will on lighting but not ready to get a tent yet. Will likely check out the local online buy and sell for cheap stuff.

 

[smokiebear]

Thanks for the advice! I will check out their website.

Yeah, it's very addicting. And I already have an addictive personality so it's pretty extreme. I'm already looking at how I can build another box. Don't want to spend too much cash. I will on lighting but not ready to get a tent yet. Will likely check out the local online buy and sell for cheap stuff.

I looked at space buckets. Did you see them done with the totes? I actually tried that before my dresser, but I'm better with wood than plastic apparently. However, looking back on that failure, I think it probably would have been just fine and it was likely the bag seed itself. Or the freezing garage.... Oh, Canada!

 

[Mittin]

If you do the transplant now make sure to just scoop out enough dirt around the plant to get all the roots. Make sure your new pot is ready with a hole the right size for the transplant and place the whole scoop. The less you handle the better. I recently moved 6 plants to larger pots but they were more developed than yours. And Smokie is probably right about doing it before their roots mix. Just try not to handle the plant itself. Make sure the new pot is nice and moist. 86F is a little high ideally you want to stay under 80F. Be careful putting your lights so close to your plants, they grow and if you are watching closely they can get burned. I put the back of my hand next to the light when I can just feel the increase in the warmth of the light is distance I place it above the plants. Good luck.

Shit, I almost missed your post. Well I only saw it AFTER I transplanted...lol. Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I think the transplant went smoothly. We shall see I guess.

I will move my lights a little further away....thanks! I've kept the closet door open a bit and that keeps the temps around 80 - 82 degrees. Going to post some photos later. It's been about 4 hours since the transplant and so far all seems well.

 

[Mittin]

I looked at space buckets. Did you see them done with the totes? I actually tried that before my dresser, but I'm better with wood than plastic apparently. However, looking back on that failure, I think it probably would have been just fine and it was likely the bag seed itself. Or the freezing garage.... Oh, Canada!

Pretty funny....I DID see those totes...or bins...or whatever they are called. I've been looking at one all evening that's sitting in our entrance...filled with dirty laundry...lol.

I'm pretty sure if I get two of them and flip one on top of the other, that would give me a nice space to fill with two plants.

 

[Mittin]

February 2nd - Four days old.

Today I transplanted Bravo from the main bucket into a cup. Both her and Alpha were doing well so I don't think it mattered which girl got moved. It's been nearly 5 hours since the move and all seems well. I guess tomorrow morning I should know for sure if she had any problems with it. I added some water before the move so the soil would hold together better. So with that there was a little watering for both Alpha and Bravo. Charlie got a little dose too. Today was only ph'd water...no nutes.
Looks like both Alpha and Bravo are ready to shoot out some new leaves. I'm hoping I see them tomorrow!

Alpha

Bravo (in her new home)

Charlie (slow but steady she goes)

A couple shots of their home

 

[Mittin]

February 3rd - Five days old

Looks like the transplant went well. Bravo is growing as good as ever. Little Charlie is also chugging along.

Alpha

Bravo

Charlie

Now, what to do with my extra two plants??

I am thinking I might just keep them in the closet without any tent or cabinet. I have found some 150w HPS light fixtures that I can buy for $25 each. If I used two or three of these, would that be sufficient light for two plants?
I would just hang them using the hanger rod and that would be it...and throw in a couple fans for air movement.

I assume there would be significant odor once they start flowering. I don't have a window or anything to exhaust the air so I was thinking of getting some Ona odor eliminators to keep any smells at bay. Thoughts??

Here are the lights I can get. I assume these would work well for growing?

 

[Mittin]

February 5th - Day 7
I think they are coming along alright. It's apparent that Bravo has not really enjoyed being transplanted in a cup. Prior to that she was the big girl but since then Alpha has taken charge and is looking significantly bigger.

I have decided to go big...or bigger at the least...and get myself a tent. Going to get a 30" x 30" x 5'. I'm hoping that will be big enough to grow a couple plants to a decent size.

I've questioned my light source in my journal here as well as in another thread but I have no response, but I'm pretty sure they will do the trick. Planning on having 2 or 3 150w HPS lamps as my light source. I'm hoping to have that all in place by the end of next week.

Alpaha

Bravo

Charlie

Group shot

 

[smokiebear]

Did you switch over to the lights you posted and a bigger space? I'm interested to see what you ended up coming up with and how your girls are doing.