My First Grow Low Ryder#2 Cfls In The Closet

[little-G]

Hi all,
iv started my first grow this week, so please help me in my adventure!
iv started with: low ryder2 seeds (easier for first time growers!)
The grow is indoors, in a closet. the grow space is 2f 2 inch in the length, 1f 10 inchs width and 5f for the height (iv allowed 1.5f on the top of the grow to allow for room for the electrics) (pics will follow)
lights: cfl, mixture of 20 and 23 .watt for the moment @2700k and 1300lm. (hoping to add Lotus @6500k next week)
I germinated the seed and 4 days old now (pics will follow)
temp: 30 degrees
Soil: shamrock muti-purpose compost (nothing special)
im using a medium size pot for now.

any feedback would be really appreciated

A few questions: what should i put on the walls of the closet ?
Should i been putting certain nutes in? im trying to do the grow on a low budget (im poor!!)
how much watering for the plant is needed? (i havent fed it yet except a few little sprays)

Thanks Again Guys

 

[little-G]

The front to the closet:

My Grow:

Fourth day:

My Plant

Peeping from the : shell

Can anyone tell if i can use these as a reflector?

 

[big budda]

Hey little-G

You closet looks just fine for growing.You can use Mylar (Emergency foil blanket) for the walls as it will reflect the light or you can just paint them Matt white.
As for nutrients,you wont need them for a while, as far as i no your compost will have about six weeks of nutrients already in it so by you just feeding it water will be fine.
You will only need to water every couple of days or when the pot is really light.
If you do start using nutrients you will end up killing the plant because it is way to young to handle them.

As for the metal panels you have,yes the would work fine as reflectors.
The only thing i would suggest is getting daylight bulbs asap as the warm white bulbs are really only good for flowering.

Also get some fans (computer fans work fine) or any fan and put it in with the plants, Air circulation is crucial and it will help strengthen the plant when it blows on it.It will also help it grow faster.
Fresh air is a MUST.

Take a look at my second grow,i am doing an extreme budget grow,so if you are on a budget it might help you.

I will follow your grow m8t.

 

[little-G]

Hey Big Budda thanx for your comment,
i went off and made two fans from my old pc and i striped one from the old power supply. just need to go and get the bits to make the carbon filter. if you have a look at the new pics ul see my newest creation!! its a pure DIY job, but fuck it itl have to do!
Gona pick up more lights tomorrow. Il try and get a lotus, theres a shop that sells them nearby.
Any ideas on how far the fan should be away from the plant?
il pop over to ur journal. and see what i can learn....

 

[little-G]

 

[Green Knight]

Hey littleg, looks good, you should be fine for the moment with an auto. Big budda's on the mark, you'll want some air circulation in there though, and ideally you'll want to extract from the top too and draw fresh air in from the bottom. Matt white or Mylar for the walls - to be honest a good tin of Matt white paint will cost about the same so order diamond Mylar off eBay and line the walls with this - you'll get five metres length by about 1.5m for a tenner which should be enough for a cupboard of that size, and it reflects 97% of light.

The fans should be near enough the plants that they russle gently in the breeze, but far enough away that they're not looking like they're in a hurricane. I've got my fan mounted quite high so it doesn't blow directly on the plant but creates plenty of air circulation within the cupboard.

Is it your cupboard out of interest (ie. do you own and can modify it easily and permanently, or do you rent and it needs to stay how it is, or at least be returned to how it is now?). In the long run, and if you want to grow photoperiods rather than autos, you're probably going to have to seal the door as it will let a lot of light in to the grow room as it is, particularly if you use the main room a lot and have the lights on in the evenings / winter, and this could interfere with the dark period. Not a problem with autos but might hermie your plant or cause issues if you decide to grow something else. You can get some weather seal strip to help, but what might be easier is taking the door off and making a new one from plywood. Plywood isn't that expensive and you could not only get a better fit but also build the extraction and passive intakes etc into this to save cutting holes for ducting in walls. If you're renting then you just need to keep the old door somewhere and put it back on when you move out.

Not sure how stealth you need to be but you may also find with the gaps around the door that unless you install a good extraction system to pull the air through your carbon filter you could still get some smell - the fan will need to be strong enough to keep a negative pressure in the cupboard so air continually flows in and smell can't escape through the gaps round the door. For a cupboard this size I don't know if a computer fan will extract enough air to make sure that no smell escapes - it may not create enough of a vacuum within the cupboard to cause air to continually flow in around the door and keep the smell in, if that makes sense?

Those bits of metal (backing from an oven or dishwasher?) will make a reflector but if you're on a budget and don't already own some tin snips or a hacksaw it could be a bit of a hassle. If you need to buy any tools then look in to buying a big turkey roasting pan as this will already be about the right size and shape and will need less modification - line it with mylar and screw the fittings for the bulbs in and you're away.

It's a great cupboard though and will be great for a grow. It's got shit loads of potential if you can and want to play around with it!

 

[Green Knight]

Ha ha; your latest photos went up whilst I was replying.... Forget tin snips, you could of course just bend the shit out of the metal panels! Looks like it'll do the job more than adequately - good work!

 

[little-G]

Ha ha; your latest photos went up whilst I was replying.... Forget tin snips, you could of course just bend the shit out of the metal panels! Looks like it'll do the job more than adequately - good work!

lol, u have me in the stiches! yeah my creation went from an angle grinder(couldnt find the disks) then to the tin snips but couldnt drive to get one so i decided on a hammer and a good kickin!!!!!!
Your dead right on the seeping of the light, good idea on replacing with a fitted door and building everything into it. this will prob be my next task to undertake! im gona start building the carbon filter to go in. the smell isnt to much of an issue as i smoke all day in the house anyway! but i just dont want to have a massive pong when people arrive at the door.
im renting so cant change things massively but as you said if i replace the cuboard door and fit it back when im leavin, it wouldnt be an issue. im not doing things too stealthly just gona be discreate. just meself and my missus.
gona order some mylar on ebay so in the mean time im just gona add some tin foil around.
plant has completely lost its shell now, so im gona head off and get some more bulbs to add in

Thanx for the info, some good ideas to add to my experiment! Peace......

 

[big budda]

Ha ha; your latest photos went up whilst I was replying.... Forget tin snips, you could of course just bend the shit out of the metal panels! Looks like it'll do the job more than adequately - good work!

Ha Ha fuckin brilliant,i couldn't of put it better me self.Seems to work just fine tho.Stay away from the tin foil if possible because it will only create hot spots and could end up burning your plant.

 

[little-G]

it wont let me edit the post i was wanting to say i got the metal from a old dishwasher found it on the local quay, someone was obvestly looking for a quick dump!! "One mans junk is another mans Treasure"!

 

[little-G]

Hey lads went out today and got a few extra bits a light timer, new extension lead and sum lights. No lotus bulbs yet, ill get that at the end of the week.

A quick question if ye can have a look at the pic can ye tel me if i can use this windsreen sunshade as a reflector?

 

[little-G]

can i use this?

packaging

supplies

 

[Green Knight]

I'm not sure to be honest - it can't do any harm and it will reflect light (you can see that from the photos!) but I don't know if it will reflect quite as much light as the diamond mylar (mylar's around 97% so pretty hard to beat). Can't do any harm though

 

[big budda]

Hey Little-g,I have read somewhere before that a windscreen shade was used for a grow and it worked fine,but hey every little bit helps.Nice buy on the lights and timer tho,The more you have the better,cause if one fails you will always have a backup.

 

[little-G]

Just a quick update guys, i went out and bought a new lotus bulb today for only 15euro... handy!!! so iv added this to my collection. i had a bit of a horrid time last night with the temps. but got it under control in the end by adding the extra fan (which i hooked up to a nokia charger!) its at a steady 28-29 degrees.
iv heard so many different stories about the light schedule, that i cant really choose one to go with. iv heard that 18-6 is best with autos but then others are saying stick with the 20-4. your opinion would be appreciated.
packaging:

Bulb in action:

new fan added

 

[big budda]

Hey little g,I used them bulbs before for a grow,check out my first grow.The only advice i would give you is to turn the bulbs sideways as the cfl light bulb works by letting most of the light out of the side.It will work much better for you.

I myself use 18/6 as i think any more is a waste of electricity.Every plant needs darkness.If you check your plant the morning after the dark period you will see that the plant has grown,but if you leave your lights on say 20/4 or constant 24h you will see that it has only grown half as much.
Other growers will beg to differ on this but that is my opinion, its really up to you man.

Looks sweet so far man.
Keep up the good work.

 

[Green Knight]

Totally agree with bb; a lot happens in the dark! Admittedly my auto's been on 20/4 but I've been considering reducing it to 18/6 as it gets nearer to harvest. But dark is definitely good and shouldn't be underestimated- it's an important part of the plant's cycle

 

[Stealthking]

u can also use the dull side of tin foil just make sure u tape it or use hot clue cuz it can make alot of noise

 

[little-G]

tks 4 the info and help peeps

gona start 18/6 today.plant is a week old now and to be honest it got its first good watering last night i cant believe i was starving my little girl shes standing all perky now.
Ive hooked the lights up sideways but from doing this i now have a temp issues ie.i cant close the door without temps rising. if i open the door a little i can get the temps to a perfect 75-80 but the door open wont work in the long run.
from having the door open and fresh air going in last night i have noticed a little growth much more then i ever have with the door closed
So knights idea will have to come into play here, i must build a new door!!

Hey stealth nice to see u here man im gonna stick with the windscreen sunshade 4 now. if i put foil in there my temps will prob have a shit attack.Im trying to get sum Mylar but i cant find a good site that sells it at a honest price shipping nearly always cost more then the mylar itself so if any of ye could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated tks again

 

[big budda]

Im trying to get sum Mylar but i cant find a good site that sells it at a honest price shipping nearly always cost more then the mylar itself so if any of ye could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated tks again

Hey man
Instead of buying expensive rolls of mylar why dont you just but some emergency foil blankets.The blankets themselves are mylar and there not as half as expensive.
I myself was in the same boat as you until i came across a journal on here somewhere where the blankets were used.
I recently purchased 3 more to make a flower box.
It is not diamond reflective or any of that,its just slandered mylar but to me mylar is mylar its all still 98% reflective.

This is probably the cheapest mylar you will get.If you buy it from hydroponic dealers or in the hydro side of auction sites you will end up paying an absolute fortune.

Hope this helps.