Is my plan foolproof, or am I a fool?

[Resonance]

Hello 420mag community!

I am very excited to start my first indoor grow, but I'm worried that I might be jumping in to eagerly. I have selected a nice and tall 4x2 grow tent with 600W HID lighting, ventilation, odor control, and oscillating fans. I assume there will be space for 8 full grown plants, since I have read many testimonies of people growing 4 plants in a 2x2 space. I plan on purchasing my seeds from Sensi Seeds. I have a few remaining questions:

What is the best soil for growing cannabis indoors, and will my plants need supplements later in their lifespan?

Is a 3gal pot the right size for a plant? exactly how much soil/nutrients will I need per plant?

Is the lighting I have selected sufficient? Should I consider LED lighting instead?

Will 8 plants even fit in a 4x2 enclosure? I plan on forcing flowering at about 6 weeks...

Is Sensi Seeds a good seed bank?

Thanks a ton for answering all my noob questions!!!

 

[Upinsmoke535]

Sensi seed is very good, always good seeds for me. 1 gal pot per foot of hight rule of thumb, but I have done smaller with good results . Depending on strain and size you could fit them but u will be surprised how fast u can out grow a box like that. And have dam good venting that 600 hid will be hot in there, more then enough light.

 

[David Bowman]

to

I also have a 4'x2'x5' grow box and while I could veg 8 plants, I think it would get very crowded very quickly flowering that many plants in that same space, that's only one square foot per plant and that leaves little to no room for supporting equipment, cables, etc.

 

[BudBorer]

Chuck a couple of them outdoors if you can..

 

[Antics]

You'll have great results if you train them to grow WIDE instead of tall. You can grow less plants, but with the increased area of your canopy, you'll be able to produce a lot of bud.

 

[Resonance]

Thanks everyone for the advice! Which brand/s of soil do you all use? i heard the name Fox Farm tossed around a bit..

 

[Resonance]

You'll have great results if you train them to grow WIDE instead of tall. You can grow less plants, but with the increased area of your canopy, you'll be able to produce a lot of bud.

How do I train my plants to grow wide? (i was planning on buying indica dominant strains anyway, which i know are shorter and stockier)

 

[Antics]

LST, or low stress training. It's really simple, you just use string, or I prefer ribbon since it's wider and less likely to cut into the plant, and I'm using paperclips on the edges of my pot. I tie a loop in the end of each ribbon, thread the end of the ribbon through the loop at the other end, and snug it to the branch. I then take the loose end and slide it under a paperclip. I find using paperclips makes adjustments very fast and easy, I just pull up on a ribbon, or pull down to adjust a branch to keep them all level.

This is an Indica dominant strain I'm growing. In 13 days I went from this:

To this:

I have a Sativa dominant growing as well, and the Indica is much, much easier to train. Less defoliation needed, and the branches stretch out really wide naturally. They just need a little gentle guidance using the ribbon.

And with your 600w HPS you'll have even better penetration into the canopy, so you should be able to train that top canopy a little thicker, as you can see how I'm thinning mine out to look kinda like a bonsai tree. I'm using CFL bulbs, and they don't have the same penetration as a strong 600w HPS

 

[labexperiment]

I would definitely look into L.E.D. fixtures, they have far better penetration and less heat. Compare a few HID to L.E.D. journals,

You can go soil-less and would have to add nutes every watering, which is what I prefer.

I would also recommend 2 plants in that size of a tent with LST and topping, this method can yield up to about a pound dry, but would require more then 6 weeks veg. If 6 week veg is your goal I would estimate 4 but you could cram 6 plants if you really needed to.

KingJohnC's Brainstorm Haze Soil-less Indoor Grow Journal

Post #1183 2 plants=518 grams

3 gallon pot for Autos and 5 gallon or larger for photo plants.

 

[Resonance]

Wow! Thanks for the tip Antics. I definitely see how that will make the most of space/maximize my yield.

 

[Resonance]

Thanks labexperiment! Can you recommend a LED manufacturer, or a specific product?

 

[Antics]

This is my first grow using all sorts of training methods, so I'll know if it increases yield in a couple more months. My previous yields using very, very basic LST only yielded a little over 1/4 ounce each plant. I'm hoping to double that or better.

As for LED lights, Check out the forum sponsors. Sponsors : 420 MAGAZINE ®

We have a handful of companies selling lights here that have been used in grow journals, and have been proven performers. When budget allows, LED is going to be my next upgrade.

 

[labexperiment]

Thanks labexperiment! Can you recommend a LED manufacturer, or a specific product?

I have only seen Lush Lighting fixtures up close and the results they are providing for a friend(KingJohnC) growing using them, I am very impressed with his results when I compare them to his previous grows with the same strain under HPS. My opinion of them is they are superior to HPS in every way and would like to purchase one for myself. I have no other interaction with any other L.E.D. light other then the journals on this forum, which I would recommend going through a few of them yourself.

 

[finkelroy]

Spending a lot of money on your first grow does not necessarily ensure success! Unless you have extremely limited space or live in the arctic circle, I don't think a grow tent makes much sense. I also think without supplemental Co2, your plants won't do very well being that confined. IMHO, MH and HID lamps are a waste of money for the home grower. You can grow just as well with the 100W replacement CFLs that cost $0.50! I'm sure there are people around here who will try to tell you different, just like there are people who will tell you that using Miracle Gro blue-bag potting soil is a no-no, but I tried some Roots Organic potting soil on my first grow and just got an infestation of fungus gnats for my trouble!
Miracle gro soil works well, is $10 a bag at costco and grows some nice healthy plants. I also add some Big Bloom during flowering as the built in nutrients get used up.
In the end, what works is what works best for you. I just don't see the point of spending a bunch of money to grow; saving money was the whole point of why I started doing it in the first place!
Also, throwing money at a problem rarely fixes it!

 

[Brick Top]

Spending a lot of money on your first grow does not necessarily ensure success! Unless you have extremely limited space or live in the arctic circle, I don't think a grow tent makes much sense. I also think without supplemental Co2, your plants won't do very well being that confined. IMHO, MH and HID lamps are a waste of money for the home grower. You can grow just as well with the 100W replacement CFLs that cost $0.50! I'm sure there are people around here who will try to tell you different, just like there are people who will tell you that using Miracle Gro blue-bag potting soil is a no-no, but I tried some Roots Organic potting soil on my first grow and just got an infestation of fungus gnats for my trouble!
Miracle gro soil works well, is $10 a bag at costco and grows some nice healthy plants. I also add some Big Bloom during flowering as the built in nutrients get used up.
In the end, what works is what works best for you. I just don't see the point of spending a bunch of money to grow; saving money was the whole point of why I started doing it in the first place!
Also, throwing money at a problem rarely fixes it!

I wouldn't argue against your Co2 comment but I can't agree with the rest of what you said.

I've grown since 1972. My first HID lighting was two 250-watt MH and two 250-watt HPS so I would have enough lighting to cover the size area needing light and to have the closest light spectrum available for the vegetative stage of growth for the flowering stage of growth. Next came a 400-watt and then a 600-watt switchable. When the 'go cheap' CFL craze hit I decided to try them for a comparison. I used more of them and of higher wattage, actual watts not equivalent watts, than CFL growers said would be needed. I used reflectors for those surrounding the top/above and outside of the plants and had others without reflectors hanging between the plants and in each case for those surrounding the plants and hanging among the plants they were at different levels so all parts of the plants would receive as equal amounts of light as possible. The growth, the nodal spacing, the yield and quality didn't even equal what I used to get using the old 250-watt HID lights and it was nowhere near the results of either the 400 or 600 watt lighting.

When if comes to fungus gnats, the most common source of fungus gnats when it comes to inside growing associated with fungi
and decaying matter that is present in the damp soil of potted plants. One of the most common causes of fungus gnats is the over-watering of plants. That is what causes the fungal growth in the soil. If you only give plants the amount of water they need rather than soak the soil regularly and do not have excessive amounts of humidity that will let the upper portion of soil appear dry enough to need watering but keep the lower soil wet fungus gnats should not be a problem.

When it comes to soil with fertilizer already in it, it is a mistake. Fresh fully viable seeds have three to four weeks of nutrients in them for seedlings to survive on, enough for them, in the wild, to push out root far enough and deep enough to tap into other sources of nutrients. When growing in pots in soil without slow release fertilizer in it then you need to fertilize around the third to fourth week depending on strain and what you can 'read' by looking at your plants. Using a soil with fertilizer in it is running the risk of over fertilization and nutrient burn for seedlings. Between what is in the soil and the nutrients in the seeds the seedlings are receiving more nutrients than they require. It is why quality unfertilized soil should be used and the seedlings not fertilized to early and even then starting them out with a mild solution, roughly a quarter to a third of the regular mixture ratio for the first fertilizing or two.

 

[Resonance]

You're totally right! gonna restructure my plan. Thanks a bunch! no point in spending a thousand dollars.

 

[Resonance]

Thank you so much for all those tips!! you answered my questions and questions i didn't even have yet! super helpful.

 

[Brick Top]

You're totally right! gonna restructure my plan. Thanks a bunch! no point in spending a thousand dollars.

You may have heard people using the saying "do it right the first time" before in your life. Well, if you really want to grow, if it isn't just something that seems fun to try, something that might be a fad or a phase than do it right the first time and in the end you will save money.

There are near countless growers out there who started out going cheap and then upgraded and then totally restructured and then sometimes even did it again and again and when you add up all that was spent on the first go cheap setup and then the upgrades to it and then any later total redesigning and restructuring in the end they didn't save a single penny and instead only cost themselves a lot more than if they did it right the first time by paying for multiple setups/equipment, etc.

Make sure you are positive what your true goal is and then research enough to be positive that what you assemble will assure you will have what is needed to meet or surpass your goal .... as long as you don't do something yourself to hinder your crops development and yield and quality.