First Timer! Small Spaces, Big Hopes!

SFlSteve

New Member
A warm shout out to any and everyone passing by! This will be my first attempt at both a small grow operation and grow journal. Im SFlSteve, switching to power on!:surf:

I look forward very much to receiving all of the wonderful advice I see posted here frequently. I have actually gained a boat load of information on these forums alone (and haven't even taken to posting just yet!). Hobby growing is my goal, but I feel I should inform those of you reading that I am in cahoots with another. This person is not associated with my grow op in anyway other than the fact he's the one who has financed the project from the get-go. He is anticipating large yields for the commercial benefit; this makes us quite opposite as I fall more under the enthusiast category. I can/could have undertaken this feat alone, I believe, but it just happened to work another way. I now have the financial backing of another who has agreed to being laissez-faire with the babies.

My space available is in two areas. One 4' x 4' room I have built myself with particle board walls and 2' x 4' frame. This is the flowering room...so far. I have a Phresh Filters carbon filter, a single 600w HPS Hortilux bulb, Sun Systems Super Sun reflector, Sunlight Supply Galaxy electronic ballast, and a 4" 243cfm exhaust fan. The walls are covered with a reflective material to reflect all light possible. The floor is also reflective.

The Vegetative room is a little less developed but seems to be mostly in order. in a 4' x 6' space I have the 4' Sun Blaze 8bulb T5 hanging from the metal racks around the walls. When pully'ed all the way up it leaves the lowest part of the light at around 5 1/2 feet. For Veg this should be just fine. The walls here are covered completely with reflective material and the metal racks have particle board laying across so as to create a light barrier/shelf with just over a foot of space in the top area. For a better picture this is a closet with a sliding door. The sliding door is proving tricky when it comes to exhause/intake. I have no outlet through an attic or even into a crawlspace. The area is just a giant condo building (with plenty of space in each unit for personal hobbies :yummy:).

I've ordered the seeds already. 2 packs of the Oasis (NL#2) strain from Dutch Passion. The freebies??? Who knows. Maybe I'll get lucky with them, though, that would be nice. The reason I made this selection is to appease myself and my buddy. Yields/quality. Although not the prettiest or most exotic looking strain, Oasis does seem to have the stony properties and the higher yield. The NL genetics seem to be stable and very studied for many years...it just felt right. Ya know that feeling in your stomach? Looking forward to their arrival in the next four days or so.

Until everything is really really ready (intake/exhaust prob for Veg room) I have my flowering space on a dry run with just the ventilation and carbon filter. The reflector covers the bulb with a glass protective cover. This helps ensure air flow and decrease the amount of heat put into the gardening area. My goal is to find out just how much warmer is it actually going to be getting. Do I need to start worrying about temp? The unit I built for flowering is located undernead the A/C vent (blowing just over the unit) and underneath part of a ceiling fan. We'll see how it goes when I open it up shortly...

Anyway...nice to set up here and will be making updates when I finish the 'construction'. Ill definitely be posting when I get the seeds. This is a grow journal after all and wouldnt want to miss the baby stages! ::fingers crossed::
 
High SFlSteve!

Welcome to the 420 mag community! I have just finished you novel and am excited to watch this grow develop. If you ever have any questions just ask, we are more than happy to help!

I am wondering as well what is your medium? IE, soil, some form of hydro, ect..

Also if you have not please read over Forum Guidelines - Please Read Before Posting. as well as thePhoto Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos, if you plan on posting photos (we we encourage greatly! not just so we can admire your grow but also to help with any problems you may encounter along the way)
 
Appreciate it Ace! I got my seeds today! I got a couple freebies which are: Sharksbreath and Sour Cream. My hats off to Attitude Seed Bank for the quick stealthy delivery.
Bought some 'Genereal Hydroponics Rapid Rooter natural plant starter' for germination. Sitting in a tray now with no cover or anything. The guy at the Hydro store told me I only needed the cover for the tray when Im creating clones. Does this hold true to the rest of you out there? I was thinking I should cover the tray with a bit of ceran wrap. Also, Im not sure whether I should mist the little boogers while they're rooting...the rapid rooters were already moist. In addition, probly gonna leave the T5 on for 24/7 'til I see a little head pop out. Good idea or just waste of electricity?
Can't wait!!! Also can't wait to get my pics up...soon!
 
Hi Steve
I'm in,,, sounds like you got your bases coverd,, I am groing the sharksbreath as well,, supposed to be great,, (was a freebie from Attitude as well) :goodluck:

and like Chrome said,,, post pics.. :) we want to see..
 
Alright! Back to this thread, its about time right? Jeez...so I just needed a little more 'material' to work with before I could really start posting in a journal. I took a few pics and uploaded them...we'll see if this works and Ill start from where they leave off...
babysproutsbeingpotted.jpeg
babysproutOasis.jpeg
oneweek.jpeg
overwaterandnutburn.jpeg
threeweeks.jpeg
firstnuteburn.jpeg
topped.jpeg
threeweeksvegntranspl.jpeg
plantfivegallonjusttranspltd.jpeg
topped.jpeg
 
:bong: ....Looking good bro .....i'm along for the ride :peacetwo:
Hop in brotha!

Gonna transplant four more tonight into five gallon buckets and water with plain water. They really need it after the burn I gave them. I feel less than satisfactory about the few lady's with damage to them, but I really hope this stress doesn't reflect much on their flowering...seeing as how they're nearing that point.

Also - popping two White Widow sprouts and one Himalayan Blue Diesel (freebie) into my DIY hydro setup. Ill post pics later tonight so you all can see!
 
Did you feed them or what? What is the "burn" that you are referring to?

They look really good. That OF is hot stuff. Keep up the good work!:popcorn:
 
Did you feed them or what? What is the "burn" that you are referring to?

They look really good. That OF is hot stuff. Keep up the good work!:popcorn:

Thanks velo! I like the OF really well, but don't have anything else to compare it to.

I did feed them three already. I didn't have the pics til yesterday so Im lacking on the info :reading420magazine: but I gave them 1 tsp of Fox Farms Grow Big twice and things were fine. Then I gave them 1.5 tsp Grow Big, 1 tsp Big Bloom, and .5(ish) tsp CalMag. I think I just loaded the water up too quickly for them to react accordingly. Do you have any suggestions to what it may be by those pics and those combo of nutes?

Anyhow...I really like to spend time near them so they really have my support - I try my best to be rational and not overdo it by getting anxious. Bowls help...many, many bowls... :grinjoint::cheer::grinjoint:
 
Allright, Ocean forest is very hot. It has just about everything that a plant needs for the first 4 weeks of life. So there is no need to feed at this point. Grow Big is STRONG. I use 1.5tsp at the most w/ some strains. If I were you stick to water that is ph correct w/ maybe a tbs of BB every other watering for the next 2-3 weeks.

My opinion, so take it w/ grain of salt.
 
Hear ya loud and clear Velo...my thoughts exactly! (nearly...:))
The BB was strong I think thats what overdid it. I am going forward with a basic supply of water for now. I really want to see them recoop before I do anything else. Less is more!

Velo, just went by to check your setup...I love it! So much clean area with good healthy looking ladys!:bravo: I also have a room I built...well two, but one is only three walls against a main wall - the other is fully four-sided and has its own window a/c unit. Its a lot of work, but man...I can't imagine incorporating the elctrical work you did. Really good stuff there
 
Here is something that I think is the best thing you can learn as a first timer, you are your girls worst enemy...your love for them. Everytime you want to add just a little bit more so you can see them grow faster...well it is like dumping 1/2 gallon of ice cream on top of a 16 oz porterhouse after soup and salad...well you get the idea. Think thoughts of moderation and patience and your girls will reward your love with theirs...:)

Ocean forest comes loaded with at least 4 weeks of nutes...for a full grown root system. Babies aren't generally that hungry and honestly the OF is plenty of what the plant needs til much bigger than they are.

If what is going on progresses, you might consider flushing with 3x the water for the container size. (I.E. 1 gallon pot - 3 gallons of water) The plant won't mind unless the soil is too dense or has been overwatered for some time, then you would want to add an enzyme product on the last gallon or H2O2 to kill bad bacteria and prevent damping off (stalk rot at the soil line). You can back fill with 1/4-1/2 str nutes if you have to flush without much issue, but make sure you ph what you are adding....the issues I see are more ph related in my guess (probably from un-phed nutes you added, my nutes ph is about 5 and that is just way to low for soil, not sure what yours is)

Might just try watering to excess to do a mini flush and ph stabilization of your soil by pushing ph neutral water through the soil. (put the plants in a bowl and water til you get significant runoff - at least 20% of what you put in) Do that for the next few times, but make sure your plant gets nearly dry between waterings (I check by lifting the pots to check for water weight).

Well that is my two cents.

:peacetwo: brother grower and :welcome:
 
MH very nice of you to give your two cents! I feel like there's a lot of truth in what you're saying. When they wake up (sleep from 1pm to 7pm) I will transplant four more plants and water with unfertilized water. I don't have a way to test pH yet, though I know its easy and affordable...:bong: I do leave it set out for 24 hours before using.

I am wondering...will the transplant be a big help? As opposed to a kind of shock from being in a new container and soil. I am kind of thinking that the roots will now have a more natural and original composition to take their breaths from...plus new room to grow away from what they dislike.
 
So while my girls are nearing their flowering cycle I decided to go ahead with a little project. DIY hydroponics (Deep Water Culture?) 2 White Widow and 2 Himalayan Blue Diesel. Growing them from seed
Using hydroton as medium
160gph water pump and 40 gph rated air pump
2 drip 1/4 inch drip lines in each pot
4 6" netpots
14gal (I think) storage container
Going to be using the General Hydroponics line of nutrients - but regular water for now
Lights will be the current t5 for veg and the 600w HPS.

2 White Widow sprouts up front and 2 Himalayan Blue Diesel in back.

WWseedlings.jpeg


The DIY Hydro setup - easy, very easy - affordable, very affordable

DIYhydro1.jpeg


https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/829/DIYhydro2.jpeg

And the guts inside:

DIYhydro3.jpeg
 
If you can transplant them without the root ball coming apart then I say yeah, good idea! And remember fresh soil, fresh nutes...they won't need nutes for several weeks at the earliest after the transplant.

BTW most of your girls look real good brother. Keep up the good work and just remember to relax and enjoy the journey. :)

:peace:
 
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