Another newbie looking for advice & reassurance

growiy

New Member
Hello all, I've been reading this forum for a while and finally decided to register and post seeing as everyone here is so helpful and can likely reassure me/guide me in the right direction.

I'm looking to start growing my own herb in the new year. My plan is to start it off easy, and not suffer huge costs immediately. I've seen mixed reviews about the Mars-Hydro products but they seem like decent entry level equipment. I like the idea of their bundles - a 4x4 tent with either the Mars II 1200 or Mars Pro II Epistar 320 if the advice is that the latter is worth the extra bucks. I was also looking at the GROWant range that seems to be held in high esteem here but since I'm based in Europe the shipping/customs may add up to be a hefty total. I understand that I will need an exhaust fan + a carbon filter, and all the other little gadgets to be able to know exactly what environment the plants are in. I will start with some short-cycle autoflowering seeds + premixed soil(foxfarm or similar) for the least hassle, but once I get the hang of it and the plants are doing fine I definitely want to move to photoperiodic, playing around with the nutrition, training and a second tent with some home-made lighting specifically for flowering (wishful thinking at this stage of course). I've been reading a lot of the threads and journals on here and that's the plan that has formed in my head but of course it's only theory so I'm looking to get corrected before I physically get on with anything - beauty of internet communities looking to help one another! I should maybe mention that I have agricultural background but such a controlled environment is a different kettle of fish!

Now, would the set-up I mentioned be a decent low cost starter, or do you have some better suggestions? How many automatics should I be aiming to grow in a 4x4? I'm generally a fan of 'less is more', and I'll try some cropping and training asap so I guess space will be needed, but I could easily throw away the weaker plants too.

Have a nice evening!
 
I'm on my first grow and I can give you some advice on things I have done wrong and maybe it will help you. My journal is in my signature.

1- Make sure your tent is at least 6' - 7' high you will need the space.

2- I bought alot of stuff because I thought I was going to start off low cost and then I realize it's setting in my closet not being used because I ended up getting the right things.

3- I think your light choice will be fine. I am running a Viparspectra and a Meizhi both 450. One thing I do like about having too smaller lights opposed to one big is I can have them set at differant heights if I have babies on one side and big girls on the other.

4- I have 2 autos going in my 2×4 and the tent feels empty!!! Now I am running smaller strains that will only get from 10" to 18" but if you go that route you would be able to get 6-8 in there easily if you are using 3 gallon pots.

Hope some of this helps and GOOD LUCK!!!
 
:welcome: to 420! :passitleft:

To properly zero in on what equipment you should buy, tell us about what you hope to acheive by growing, that'll save you a lot of money and grief ;)

I'm in Europe too and will gladly help you find the best gear at the best prices.

Answer some questions and we'll have you up and growing in no time:

Where are you (just roughly) UK, mainland EU, Europe but outside EU?
What's your budget?
Are you into organics?
Do you require a stealthy setup?
What environment will the tent be in? (temperature is the main concern here, but humidity, ambient light and public eyes matter as well)

4 autos in a 120 cm x 120 cm tent is fine if you need to have an armchair in there so you can sit and watch them grow ;)

Here's a list of the basic items you need to start growing:

Room/Tent/Cabinet
Light
Extraction fan
Carbon filter
Ducting and clamps
Circulation fan
Thermo-/hygrometer
Timer
Extension cords
Pots
Medium
Fertilizer
Seeds


Happy pre-growing :Namaste:
 
Thanks for the replies!

Where are you? mainland EU.
What's your budget? I'm not setting a strict budget, but definitely trying to keep on the lower end of the scale. I'd rather spend the big bucks in time, when I know what I want/need.
Are you into organics? Not necessarily.
Do you require a stealthy setup? Nope.
What environment will the tent be in? Generally high humidity (70-80%) and relatively low temperatures. Spare room in a new apartment all going well :) .

I've been duly doing my research and feel like I'm prepared fairly well but we'll see about that eventually! I'm definitely going with a 4x4 tent , but I'm undecided about the lights. I've bounced some ideas off of a friend and I'm almost convinced to go with COB's. The reviews really are great.
Thanks for the list of ingredients :passitleft: looking through journals there's such an abundance of little stuff that needs to be considered to make life just that little bit easier!

Droopydroors - thanks for the input! I guess the consensus is to go with more plants! I'll be right there to check out your journal bro ;) . I love everyone's attitude to growing on here, it's the same for me, just looking to get more knowledgeable and intimate with this beautiful plant.
 
COB's as in DIY ?
If so Kingbrite is the place to go, you have to write the a mail to get a qoute on the parts you want.
They should have all you need in most cases, framing can be bought cheap in hardware stores.

A cheap tent that works could be the one from Mars Hydro, they have EU warehouse.
A quality tent could be the Homebox Q120, Gorilla 4x4 or maybe Secret Jardin's 120x120 tent, I highly recommend getting a set extra poles if possible ;)
Don't get a cheap no-name tent from ebay sometimes they're not light-proof at all... There are decent sellers on ebay and amazon just make sure they have a good reputation from many buyers.

Nice shops in EU are Growland in Germany og ServoVendi in Spain, both have all you need to get started, I prefer Growland because they are close to me and have free EU shipping for orders above 150EUR.


It's also good to have a pipette for measuring nutes, in some cases a pH-meter is good to have but the drop-testers are fine for starters.
And of course some hangers for your light(s) ;)

I use Biobizz nutes because it's easy, cheap and organic, another one I hear good things about is BiG Plant Science(not organic), but if possible get a line of nutes that you can buy in a shop near you so you don't have to pay a lot of shipping money if you happen to need a bottle of this or that. You don't have to use all the many fancy boosters the companies make, the base nutes are usually all you, some additional products might worth getting while other are no way near worth the price.

You might need a dehumidifier when summer approaches, but don't worry about that now ;)
 
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