My First Time

[Normando]

Just a heads up, CFL's do get hot. If you put your thermometer inside the pot next to your plant the temp is prolly way high. I use 1 125w CFL and I had it about 4in away and it was nearly 87F inside the pot. Luckily I noticed the plant wilting a little and made the adjustment. Just a reminder for when you do get your seeds best of luck.

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Those CFL's don't get that all that hot, but I think it may have to more with the ventilation. If you can't get a good air exchange, then the heat from the CFL will build up in your space and cause the temps to get out of control. I am running 2 x 250 watt self ballasted CFLs and a 400 watt HPS and have the CFLs 1 inch above my plants. As long as you keep the heat from building up, you'll have a better chance of getting your temps and humidity issues under control. While you are waiting for your seeds, try and dial in your dresser. It's a cool setup and would love to see it work.

 

[mainlylost]

Anythoughts about what type of seeds? I have read alot but it is overwhelming. Am I right to stay away from outoflowering so that I can clone them? I guess the other option is to grow some AF but let them seed...

 

[mainlylost]

I'm thinking of ordering 5 "genehtik Northern Lights X Feminised" from herbies and then they throw in 1 X WORLD OF SEEDS STRAWBERRY BLUE FEMINISED SEED, 2 X HAWAIIAN SKUNK HAZE REGULAR SEEDS. for just under 50 USD seems like a decent price. Now I have to figure out ordering. Ive heard mixed things about using pre paid cards. I don't think I will be using my CC and I have heard some people say they dont take debit cards overseas. Anyone have experience with using a prepaid?

I feel bad bumping this so frequently, so Ill start editing my posts before I add a new reply. I went to get a pre paid card at the store, I read online that you just have to call to authorize it for international use. Of course I grabbed one that says in huge letters "only for use in USA" :/ so I guess to night I have to go use this one to buy another. I have decided on getting the genehtik northern with the freebies, and also gonna get 1 seed of dinafem blu cheese Dinafem Seeds - Herbies Seeds

Just have to run to the store to get the new card and I should be ordering =] I can hardly wait

 

[mainlylost]

So after some extensive searching around online I found one card that is supposed to work internationally called netSpend (through visa). I ran out to pick one up got home tore open the packaging and theres an 800 number you have to call to activate it. Very first question of activation: "What is your social security #?" Apparently USA (through the patriot act) bars any financial institution from transferring anonymous funds overseas. That means all truly anonymous pre paid cards are domestic only, the rest require your SS#. So now I am very tempted to just pay with it anyway because I am in such a hurry to get my seeds. I should probably really send cash through the mail though. =/ I feel like I am going backwards on this project. I have been growing for 2 weeks, all I have managed to do was kill my seed and now I am struggling to get another. lol

 

[Normando]

I bought my seeds online from herbies with a cc and no backlash yet. There sold as souvenirs and technically seeds are not illegal but germination of the seed is. Laws very from state to state so gotta check that. But I'm doing an autoflower only cause usually there easier to grow, you can make more mistakes and usually stay small. I understand the cloning aspect of what your trying to do but sometimes you gotta go step by step and not try to rush in to things. Just my 2 cents.

 

[CO Finest]

With the little fans be careful with light heat. I took a pic of a low power light it just shows heat adds up. On seedlings check weight of pot in morning and night to see if it is lite and need water.

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Almost anything Skunk or Northern Lights is good for a beginner, believe me, I am one also. The plants do very well and don't die if you make a mistake or two.

Don't worry about the International transfer of funds on a CC, billions are made everyday by people using them. Herbies 0r Single Seed Centre are fine to use!

 

[mainlylost]

OK so I tweaked the box a bit. When I first started with it the temp was staying in a great range. But in an attempt to get the lights closer to the plant I propped the base that the plant was sitting on up closer to the light.

What I didnt think about is that the port which pulled the hot air from that chamber into the next was now below the level of the floor ( which I didn't cut any air vents into its just a board that basically seals the top of that chamber from the bottom) which probably caused the effect I illustrated in this picture:

Cool air comes in the bottom and then is pulled to the next while the air heated by the lights just stays put and gets baked.

To fix it im doing two things, first I reshaped the partition

I took it from when where air would be able to flow equally from all sides (the wood one) to one that seals every side except the top where it is cutaway (the one with the white panda film)
secondly I will keep the piece that the plants sit on on the bottom, and when I need to elevate them I will put them on a platform that doesn't restrict airflow. I installed the new partition last night, and am running it for 24 hours to see how it does. I also ordered my seeds, I got 4 lemon kush, ( ! Female Lemon Kush Feminised Seeds - Updated:31st Mar 2014 ) 1 pyramid purple auto (! Pyramid Auto Purple Feminised Seeds - Updated:31st Mar 2014) 5 genehtik northern lights (! Genehtik Northern Lights X Feminised Seeds - Updated:31st Mar 2014) and then they gave me freebies: 1 x World Of Seeds Strawberry Blue FEMINISED SEED, 2 x Delicious Cotton Candy FEMINISED SEEDS, 5 x Hawaiian Skunk Haze REGULAR SEEDS

They shipped 4 days ago, when they get here I intend to start 2 of the lemon kush, 2 northern lights, and the pyramid auto. I'll probably update this then =]

 

[MaineSmoker]

I would turn on your cabinet to see how it regulates the temp with the light cycle and set up you plan to use...it will give a feel for what it will do, while you are waiting on your order.

 

[bothteams]

G13 Labs OG13 is pretty nice to start with too, and will blow your head up pretty good..

I just see a bunch of arrows in that picture, dunno what's going on. So the air blows around in a circle.. Then flows out the bottoms.. hmm xd

 

[mainlylost]

@ maine yup thats what I have it doing now, just running the whole thing, and then Ill check the 24 hr min/max

@ both I was trying to show that the cold air was getting sucked in the bottom then right out of that chamber while the hot air was sitting stagnant up top, not going anywhere and just getting hotter and hotter in the lights.

 

[bothteams]

Ah I see.. You could vent it using a flex pipe up there and pull it out the bottom

 

[mainlylost]

A flex pipe attatched to the partition sealed off around the fan would have been twice as efficient and 10 times simpler than the dual partition method I used. Some times I over think engineering problems =/

 

[thecanuck]

Keep up with the research mainly! Go to other journals and invite some really experienced growers....theyll come to your journal and give you all the advice you can imagine. There are a lot of great growers/people on this site and will help in any way they can. Ill be here to help out too bud

 

[thecanuck]

Get that box dialed in to between 70 and 80 degrees. Dont be too concerned with the humidity right now. But if you can get it to 50/60% that would be great. What id be concerned with is temps, space, containers, water sources and your nutes of course. Try getting one plant to live past the veg stage for now so that way you wont kill 5 or how ever many you plan on stucking in there. Its real shitty when you have to sacrifice hard bought seeds while learning...we've all been there trust me lol

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

I would also like to add, germinate your seeds outside of the dresser and let them grow about 3 weeks first. After 3 weeks you can transplant and after they get over the "transplant Shock" if any, place them into the dresser. May I also suggest if possible, when you are home alone, open the dresser up when you can to let off excessive heat and give them a nice big whiff of CO2.

 

[mainlylost]

I ran the box for 48 straight hours. low temp was 74f and high was 83f. So temp is good. I have been running a humidifier and left bowls of water out inside the box and got humidity to hover around low 30s. But were coming out of a cold miserable winter here. Over the next few weeks humidity should climb right up to 40s and 50s no problem. So those should all be good. A couple of you suggested keeping outside the box for 2-3 weeks. What would I do for light for it?
Also I'll be sure to leave the box open for at least a few hours every day to let it breathe. Mainly I was worried about temperature and humidity which seem to be under control now

 

[MaineSmoker]

I would keep them under the lights to prevent stretching. We are still having a cold winter, flurries today and lots of snow still on the ground in my neck of the woods. Most snow pack for this time of year since 1958.

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

I ran the box for 48 straight hours. low temp was 74f and high was 83f. So temp is good. I have been running a humidifier and left bowls of water out inside the box and got humidity to hover around low 30s. But were coming out of a cold miserable winter here. Over the next few weeks humidity should climb right up to 40s and 50s no problem. So those should all be good. A couple of you suggested keeping outside the box for 2-3 weeks. What would I do for light for it?
Also I'll be sure to leave the box open for at least a few hours every day to let it breathe. Mainly I was worried about temperature and humidity which seem to be under control now

I just didn't want to see you fry another seed. You can germinate outside the box and let the seedling grow under a small CFL & then after she strengthens up, into the box she goes.