New Grower, Stepping it Up

[Randar]

Hello all,

I'm a somewhat new grower. I've grown an auto before, but it was in a very ghetto setup (trash can with CFLs and computer fans). I've recently upgraded and, once legalization happens in my state (which should happen this year), I will be growing in the following:

2'x4'x5' tent with 4" fan/filter combo.
1600W equivalent LED DIY fixture (224W actual draw), see picture below
3-5 gallon cloth containers

I plan to start with an Amnesia Haze and a Blackberry Gum, both autos, from Seed Stockers. And I plan to use Mega Crop nutrients in a ProMix Organic soil.

Cheers!

 

[MrSauga]

Welcome to Randar.

Nice choice of nutes. I use them, and few more around here are switching over to try. Check my signature below for Helpful Links for New Members if you need any help. Good luck on the grow.

 

[Old Salt]

to the forum...

I have two suggestions for you.

Get a taller tent. A 5' or under tent is best used for a SCROG. You'll lose 10-12" for your fan, at least 6" for your light, 12" or more between the light and canopy, and a foot or more for your containers. That leaves only a foot and a half for your plants to grow in. I found this out the hard way. My plants grew into and over the light when using NugBuckets Mainline/Manifold method. Our sponsor Gorilla Grow Tents has 2' x 4' tents in a 7'-8' height. There are also clones available at roughly half the price.

Spread out your lights. Put them on 8" centers. You'll bet better light distribution, and a better harvest. I don't know how those lights will work out, and will follow along to see what they'll do.

 

[Randar]

Thanks for the suggestions Old Salt. Regarding the height, I do plan to do some LST and potentially SCROG as well to keep the heights down. Additionally, I only plan to utilize a 2'x2' portion of the 2'x4' tent, so the fan height will be in the unused portion and that's also why I have the lights spaced so tightly together.

 

[Old Salt]

Makes sense. Later if you want, you can move the filter out of the tent, and enclose it in a box to give you more room. You can also use that tent for veg, as the odor doesn't come into play until a week or two after the flip.

 

[Emilya Green]

Welcome to the group Randar! This should be fun and it looks like you are well prepared and aware of your challenges. Good luck!

 

[TorturedSoul]

Hello all

Hi Randar, and welcome.

but it was in a very ghetto setup (trash can with CFLs and computer fans).

Lol. It's been a lot of years, but I've grown cannabis in big metal trash cans with 70-watt HPS. Then I figured out that the (upper) diameter of the space would be better served by a 150-watt MH, learned that the previous hassle had just been a mere preface (heat in small spaces and all that), and went on to something else.

once legalization happens in my state (which should happen this year)

I hope that happens, and with few... issues.

Regarding the height, I do plan to do some LST and potentially SCROG as well to keep the heights down.

. Not only will this keep your overall plant height lower, it'll also allow you (and the plant(s) ) to create an even, level, but reasonably thin canopy. That's a good idea, because your lights are not powerful ones; which is fine, as long as you match your growing style (and, to some extent, choice of strains) to your equipment.

Additionally, I only plan to utilize a 2'x2' portion of the 2'x4' tent

Good call. You might want to think about some sort of reflector, if it turns out that your lighting is illuminating the unused portion of your tent (because that means all the photons falling there are wasted). In an area of four square feet - and assuming the light is confined to that area - you should be able to grow and flower just about any strain. Some equatorial landrace sativas might end up looking a little skimpy, lol, but indicas and most "average hybrids" ought to do just fine. You mentioned that you'll be growing autoflowers next. With those, you have the ability to run your lights 18 or more hours per day all the way through to harvest. With that being the case, and at a guess, you could probably expand your footprint to around six square feet (or maybe a fraction more), assuming you run your lights at 18 or 20 hours per day. Especially if you can arrange your lights so that they match the size/shape of your grow space (or vice versa, however you want to look at it) - in other words, you want as much light-energy as possible going directly to the plant(s), as opposed to ending up with a grow space that has two really bright walls, the area near the other two walls being dimmer than the rest of the space, or both.

You can also use that tent for veg, as the odor doesn't come into play until a week or two after the flip.

Ah... That must depend on the strain, size of the plant(s), and possibly lighting. Sure, the average (and average size) northern lights plant isn't going to stink up the place (although someone with a decent sense of smell might realize that you're growing some kind of plant in your house, especially if you're running big lights, have several plants - or one big one - and those lights just shut off for the day five minutes ago). But some strains can get pretty "loud" (so to speak) even before the gardener switches to a flowering light schedule.

 

[plugger]

Welcome