Grow Project #1 A few concerns

the neem comes as neem oil, and you just mix it with water, and some dish soap..

my biggest pest problem is fungus gnats.. (but stupid me,, was keeping the bag of soil in the grow room,, covered up, but still in the room.. so I was treating everything else in the room, and not getting rid of them, because they were having a party in the bag of fresh soil in the room,, DoH!)
 
Another update incoming.

I ripped out all the insides in the box. Started again from scratch. I got some really cheap plaster boards, fitted them, interlocking for light blocking, and I've glued the mylar to them. Got the center hole cut, which I was really not looking forward to, had to use a jig saw, and I really hate power cutters of all kinds. Happily it's the only vertically aligned hole I'll have to cut.

Bought 3gal pots, but they were WAAAY too big, so I'll go back and switch to 2gal pots.


Okay, to the compulsory tirade of questions.

I still can't get my head around the soil mix. Chemistry! My old nemesis! *shakes fist at sky* Well. The basics I get. Nutrient rich soil, perlite, draining pebbles. But there are so many additives in the farmer shop. Blood/bone meal(?? lit. trans. blood/bone flour), and a bunch of stuff I don't know the english language equivalent of. Are any of the things made for regular plants useful?

As I see it, CO2 is the 4th most important thing for a plant, after light, water and nutrients, it being what they use to make biomass. I don't want to go all out with a CO2 tank and stuff, so what I'm wondering is, how can I sort of semi-accurately limit/control the flow of CO2 from a bottle with water sugar and yeast? Just a smaller hole? The fact that the box I'm growing in is in, and vents right into my bedroom, makes me anxious not to produce more CO2 than the plants need, and end up flooding my bedroom with it. Also, will the activated carbon filter clean the CO2 out of the air? Moreover, how do I know how much co2 wants? I realize that these questions reveal my ignorance, but I can't find direct answers to these things.

And last. Can someone recommend what measuring instruments I need, and good models? Please!

Thanks in advance, and thanks for stopping by.
 
I use canna terra soil,, some people use fox farms, and some even use miracle grow,, (I am experimenting with a 50/50 mix of MG and canna) my advise is to keep it simple,, no need for all the other additives,,

as for CO2, if you are in a sealed enviroement, then is would be good,, otherwise, it is not going to help too much,, simce you are changing the air a couple of times a minutes with the ventilation, any co2 you introduce will be exhausted right out. (although you can play with it,, see Chromes journal, he is expeirimenting with a DIY CO2 project,,

If you do decide to play with it,, you cannot make enough with a couple of bottles to cause harm to you in your bedroom,,
 
Right. Time for some more piktshurs.

In the first pic, you can see the pots I got. I really really wanted square pots, but I couldn't find them anywhere (visited maybe 5 garden suppliers), where they weren't made of clay or some equally heavy and expensive (compared with plastic) material. The rear wall in the flowering room was the first to get the mylar glued on, and you can really see how I botched the job... All those air-bubbles in the mylar is really ruining the clinical look I wanted, but thank [insert deity of choice] that a pretty grow room isn't required for the plants to grow.

You'll notice in the second picture that there's a gap in the top front. This will be covered with some slightly flexible thin material like plywood or equivalent, and will overlap outside the plaster board about 2-3 inches for additional light-trapping. In this pic you can also see the only pieces of duct tape I intend on using in this wardrobe. Sure you CAN use gaffer tape for EVERYTHING, and that's why I really don't WANT to use it for ANYTHING. :) I'm contrary. I know.

Third pic from inside the cab shows the chains I'll hang the lights from, and how much (little) space the pots have. I decided that in order to get more room to grow, I'll sink the pots into the floor in the cab, so they're suspended a few inches off the actual floor of the wardrobe, so I can have a runoff tray beneath that.

In pic four, you'll see another angle of the vertical ventilation hole which gave me such grief. This is the (for now) bare veg room. In this, you'll also notice that I switched from black to transparent silicone. I can't for the life of me understand what compelled me to use black silicone in a white room... Me so stoopid!

This first one is the flowering room with the doors open, and the light-trap off.
CIMG23611.JPG

Second is the same, only with the light-trap on.
CIMG2362.JPG

Third from inside the cab. Chains are for hanging lights from.
CIMG23641.JPG

Fourth is how it looks under the mylar. (Veg room.)
CIMG2366.JPG


Anyway. I'm so close to being able to start germination now that I can almost taste it. Only problem is that the store that carries the lights had run out the day after they reopened from summer-closed... *doh* so I had to wait another two weeks to get them.

I also bought something which I think (and HOPE!!!) is what youse guys call an EC meter (we don't call the instrument that here, and I have no idea how it translates).
Here's the info on the pack translated directly, maybe one of you (Herb :)) can tell me if it's the right one.

BST1901W
Digital Multimeter

*VAC/VDC 0 - 600 V
*DCA up to 200 mA
*resistance up to 2 M Ohm
*Diode test with buzzer

Is ANY of this what an EC meter does? If not, is what I need an Electric current meter, or an Electric Conductivity meter?

Thanks again.
 

Similar threads

Tecumseh
Grow Tent Temperature Concerns
Replies
4
Views
4K
digahdee
D
T
Needing Tips!
Replies
0
Views
495
TheBibleBelt
T
S
Change to cfl
Replies
5
Views
2K
420inOregon
4
S
New grower, what strain to grow?!
Replies
18
Views
3K
stealth42
S
M
Planning first grow. have a few questions
Replies
7
Views
2K
Joyce zhang
Joyce zhang
Back
Top Bottom