Northern Lights Auto: Budget LED & First Grow

[Mosspb]

Hello all,

My name is Mosspb and this is my first grow. I read through a few other grow journals of first time growers and was shocked by the amount of support and advice they received. has developed quite a community and I figured why not jump in with both feet.

First off, being that it's my first grow and my space is a bit tight I needed to find an entry level solution to my problems. Most importantly I did need some discretion and my grow box needed to blend in as much as possible.

This video uses household leds on a 7:1 adapter. The bulbs I chose were 100w equivalent, 5000k, with 1600 lumens per bulb. My plan is to mount 3 or these adapters (giving me a total of 21 bulbs) for a total of 33600 lumens.

The box I made is a 4 x 2 x 4 ft Mylar lined ply wood box.

I have a 3 inch intake hole (passive) and am waiting on my 112v exhaust fan with attached carbon filter.

Strain: Northern Lights Autoflowering Seeds Feminized

Growing Medium: Pro-Mix w/ perlite

Nutrients: pH Perfect(R) Grow Micro Bloom | Advanced Nutrients

I beg anyone with some knowledge to chime in at any point. I will do an update every few days.

Mosspb

 

[425jesse]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

Welcome Mosspb! Glad to have you! Excited to see your equipment rocking the grow!

Cheers!

 

[freakbudz420]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

That's an interesting set up you've got going on. I'm always curious how things will work out, so I'll come along for the ride if you don't mind .. It sounds like you've got things fairly under control. I'm looking forward to seeing it all up and running! Happy growing!

 

[Mosspb]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

Welcome Mosspb! Glad to have you! Excited to see your equipment rocking the grow!

Cheers!

If I could figure out how to load pics from this iPad, I'd be happy to share. Lol

 

[Mosspb]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

 

[Mosspb]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

 

[SwAggNiFiCeNt]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

Interesting stuff going on here. 4 ft tall box? Hope u don't run out of headroom in there.

 

[Mosspb]

re: Northern Lights - Auto - Budget LED & First Grow

Ya, I was told this plant would be stouter than most. It's certainly a bit of a concern. I'm guessing I'm going to have to learn how to train pretty quick!

 

[SwAggNiFiCeNt]

Re: Northern Lights - Auto (Budget LED & First grow)

Ya, I was told this plant would be stouter than most. It's certainly a bit of a concern. I'm guessing I'm going to have to learn how to train pretty quick!

I'd recommend browsing some auto threads. There are some do's and dont's when it comes to auto's. I wish I had the right answers but I have no experience with autos. But I do know there is some debate on things such as light schedule and training.

 

[Mosspb]

Re: Northern Lights - Auto (Budget LED & First grow)

I'd recommend browsing some auto threads. There are some do's and dont's when it comes to auto's. I wish I had the right answers but I have no experience with autos. But I do know there is some debate on things such as light schedule and training.

I have tried reading as much as I can get my hands on, but as most of the internet demonstrates there is a lot of conflicting data. My plan is going to be pretty hands off. Given the shorter life cycle I have read about, that plants supposedly have a lot tougher time recovering from topping and super cropping.

I honestly feel like a bit of a fraud even typing this as I have no experience. If anyone has a resource they use, or better yet a depth of experience I would be grateful to hear what has worked for you in the past.

Thanks for the early interest, I appreciate it.

 

[JoetheChro]

Re: Northern Lights - Auto (Budget LED & First grow)

I have tried reading as much as I can get my hands on, but as most of the internet demonstrates there is a lot of conflicting data. My plan is going to be pretty hands off. Given the shorter life cycle I have read about, that plants supposedly have a lot tougher time recovering from topping and super cropping.

I honestly feel like a bit of a fraud even typing this as I have no experience. If anyone has a resource they use, or better yet a depth of experience I would be grateful to hear what has worked for you in the past.

Thanks for the early interest, I appreciate it.

Whoah buddy! Take positivity with you into all your gardening endeavours.

We all had to start somewhere. I didn't get anything smokeable for my first 3 grows (bud mould, heat stress, old bill

You're doing well and you're in the right place to ask questions. We've ALL thought them at some point.

Its better to ask a question and appear a fool than to do nothing and prove it beyond doubt

Stay happy mate. We're here with you

 

[Mosspb]

Re: Northern Lights - Auto (Budget LED & First grow)

Whoah buddy! Take positivity with you into all your gardening endeavours.

We all had to start somewhere. I didn't get anything smokeable for my first 3 grows (bud mould, heat stress, old bill

You're doing well and you're in the right place to ask questions. We've ALL thought them at some point.

Its better to ask a question and appear a fool than to do nothing and prove it beyond doubt

Stay happy mate. We're here with you

Lol, I'm super stoked to do this, more than the harvest the complexity is amazing. I'm looking forward to the ride!

 

[JoetheChro]

Re: Northern Lights - Auto (Budget LED & First grow)

Lol, I'm super stoked to do this, more than the harvest the complexity is amazing. I'm looking forward to the ride!

You don't know how right you are.

It is fun. Gardening (doing it, reading up and talking about it) threatens my marriage at least once a week

My gardening is my life so I can't afford to mess it up through a 'oh that will be ok' attitude.

Spend as much time with your plants as you can. You'll get to spot problems earlier (everyone gets them, if someone tells you a grow went without a hitch it's BS!) and can act accordingly

Honestly mate, I'm not an expert but if you need a bit of advice I'll try my best or find someone who does know

 

[Mosspb]

Day 2:

Hey guys, it looks like I made a few rookie mistakes. I'm going out on a limb and took action to solve both problems. My seedlings are day 4 and I seemed to have over watered them all. I had presoaked my medium and then used the spray bottle. My second mistake was planting the Autos in a beer cup, instead of straight to 5 gallon.

As a result of a few errors I decided that carefully transplanting them into 5 gallon buckets would both help wick away the excess moisture and save me from trauma of a later transplant.

Right now my grow box is operating at about 25c and 55 rh.

Here are a few pics.

Lastly I have named them, and being a huge Vikings fan I decided on Peterson, Favre and Moss.

Favre is having a bit of trouble and I'm not sure he will make it.

Peterson

Favre

Moss

 

[freakbudz420]

They look happy and healthy to me! I wouldn't worry to much ..

 

[Komplex180]

Great start and contribution with a DIY.

Keep em green

 

[Mosspb]

Day 3:

Last night I added a few more bulbs to the mix. Right now I have 6 led x 100w equivalent @ 5k, 1 led 60w equivalent @ 5000k, and 1 led 60w equivalent @ 2700k

Total lumens: 11200
Square feet: 5.5
2036 lumens per square ft.

This of course is stop gap until my 3, 7:1 adapters come. Which will give me the capability of 21 leds at 1600 lumens per bulb. This might be over kill so any feedback would be great.

I also watered today, a total of 2 litres across all three plants. I hadn't moistened the soil prior to putting it in the bucket, so I just water about 2.5 inches around the plant in a circular pattern. I didn't want to water directly on the soil from the cups, as I had already overwatered once. I had zero run off which I assume is expected given the size of the bucket and dryness in the pro mix.

Always looking for feedback!

 

[Mosspb]

Peterson:

Moss:

Favre

 

[Og kush 1911]

I'm in for this one

 

[Mosspb]

I'm in for this one

Glad to have you along, I hope to tap into your experience.