planning my 1st grow

[rosamum]

I am ready to start planning my 1st grow. I will be moving out of my parent's home on thursday with about 600 dollars to spare(after treating myself to a 1/2 ounce of dank.

my new home will be in spokane washington.
is climate a concern?

I have zero experience with gardening plants of any sort.

after I little reasearch I have decided that these two things will be my 1st purchases:

a 400 watt complete grow kit from HTG supply

and a decently sized grow tent from HTG supply

the problem Ive seen is that most guides are incomplete or give different information compared to other guides.
this leaves me feeling extreamly confused.
however, Ive found a guide online that I hope will give me everything I need. here it is:

Growing Stages of Marijuana | Grow Cannabis Indoors, Pot, Weed, Growth Stages.

I plan on using Caramelicious seeds because if the reputed ease of growing for beginners.

all of this will run me around 520 dollars...not bad in my opinion.

potential issues that I need advice on is...

time. how long will is take to get a good pound of weed using the stuff I mentioned before.

cleanliness. a lot of these guides and FAQ's mention that I have to keep the area steril. how hard is this? how do I do it? soap? 409? mr clean magic erasers?

bugs. not too much of a concern because it is cold up in washington which means no bugs. yay

cost. do I really need a grow tent or can I just survive with the complete growkit.

the kit seems to include all the things you describe heres the list


Kit Includes:
400 watt Grow Light with Four Sided Horizontal Reflector
High Output High Pressure Sodium Bulb
High Output Metal Halide Conversion Bulb
Heavy Duty Timer
Pair of High Low Reflector Hangers
100% ORGANIC ADVANCED NUTRIENTS IGUANA JUICE by Dr. Hornby!
Advanced Nutrients OVERDRIVE Ultra Premium Liquid Flower Enhancer
1.5 cubic feet 100% ORGANIC FOXFARM Ocean Forest Potting Soil
9 TWO GALLON Grow Bags
Thermometer / Hygrometer


I know its going to take a lot more research but Its hard for me to memorize the proper steps and visualize doing it in my mind. I want to learn from doing it basically.

from what I have gathered so far is that you have to:

1. germinate the seeds
2. set up all your lights and transfer the seedlings to the bigger pots.
3. set the timer to stay on for a certain ammount of hours.
4. water once every other day.
5. swhich the timer settings when you want to flower the plants
6.harvest the plants by cutting from the stem.

I really wish I could apprentice for someone who is good at this stuff so I can learn that way.

what do you think so far?

thats about it. so is my plan faulty or am I good to go so far?

 

[Screwnuts33]

Sounds like a decent plan. You may want to look at pricing the grow supplies separately. That way you can use what you want and not what you get in the kit. What size tent are you planning? A pound is a lofty goal for a first time grower. A realistic goal is to finish a plant all the way through harvest. If you end up with more, it's a bonus. I am 19 days into my first grow and also using a tent. My tent is 4x8 and I have 16 plants in veg now. Out of that 16 some will undoubtably be male. My hope is to take 10-12 all the way to harvest. If you are planning on 9 plants I hope your tent is going to be bigger than 4x4. 2-gal pots are not very big for a mature plant unless you are looking at some of the lowrider strains. Plan to germinate about 50% more seeds than you want to finish with. If you want 9 plants germ 12-14 seeds. That will cover you for males, loss, and mistakes. I started with 20 seeds and so far have 16 healthy plants. 3 did not come up after germ and 1 died as a tiny seedling. You will have losses. Now about specifics of growing, spend time on this site reading and learning as much as you can. Do not start until you have a good grasp on the basics. Once you have all your supplies set up your tent and do a dry run with it. Run your lights, fans, etc with no plants in it to make sure your temps are good and you have good ventilation. Once you know your mechanicals are working properly then start germing your seeds. Also invest $25 and buy the book "Marijuana Horticulture The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible" By Jorge Cernavtes (amazon, Boarders, etc). Between that book and this site you will have a solid foundation for growing. I started my seed sprouts in 1/2 gallon nursey pots (Home Depot $.89) and will transplant them this week into 5-gallon buckets. The fewer transplants the better for the plants. You will also want some Pearlite to mix with your soil to help with drainage. A PH meter is a must.

You will find this site an invaluable source of knowledge to help you through. Do your homework before asking questions that have likely been asked 100's of times before. A little searching can usually get the answers you need. If the search doesn't not answer your questions then post it up. Read all the "how too's", "FAQ's", etc. Great info to be had. Best of luck on your adventure.