[waydee]

Hey all, took me a while to register here since og went down! I miss the place but this seems like a real good replacement, nice to see a thriving micro growing community again!

I recently moved into a new place and i'd like to start growing again, i've only got two previous grows under my belt and they were pretty ghetto - but they worked. I've got the basics down I think.

What i'm planning for this grow is a 140watt hps (2x70) soil grow. I'm not really interested in trying hydro, the initial setup costs seems a bit high - maybe sometime in the future.

The lights are in the post, they're just your average 70watt security light - I intend on making very little alterations to them, mainly just removing the polycarbonate covers and positioning them either side of the cabinet. They're on adjustable tilt brackets so getting the best footprint out of both lights shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The cabinet I have selected is 27.5" wide, 14" deep and 34" tall. Not exactly huge but big enough I think to handle the 140watts of hps and support 3-4 plants. Floor area is roughly 2.5sq ft making for 56watts per square foot - spot on.

Ventilation will be handled by 120mm pc fan exausts and passive intake, nothing complicated. I had considered getting a blower and carbon filter but once again the cost seemed too high for something that isn't really necessary, odour isn't a problem as long as they're not absolutely stinking - its just me and one other guy in this apartment and he's totally chill with me growing... if only because he knows he'll get stoned for free come harvest time

I'll go down to the local hydro shop for soil and ferts sometime soon, i've been looking at BioBizz AllMix soil and it seems like a decent buy - its a bit expensive locally (about £5 more than it is online) but i'd rather not be getting bags of soil delivered to my apartment, easier to conceal if I buy locally. Is this stuff a sound buy?

As for strains i'm undecided, i'd like to try growing two different strains if possible and have narrowed down my choices to three nirvana strains mainly because they're cheap and i'd rather not risk potential failure on expensive genetics. The strains i've been looking at are Northern Lights x Big Bud, Blue Mystic and Papaya. Are these sound choices? of course sativa dominant strains are totally unsuitable and i'd like to get the biggest yield possible out of my plants, hence the NLxBB is pretty much a safe bet, i'm just not sure about the other two.

How do you suggest I grow? The obvious choice is a scrog but i'm starting from seed and would rather not be taking clones, i'd like to get this finished within 3 months or so. For this reason I started considering sog from seed, planting a reasonably high density of all strains (maybe 5 of each), vegging for 2-3 weeks and then flowering at reasonably small height. This would make for around 5 females given a 50/50 sex ratio which I believe would be manageable in this cabinet if I make best use of the lights and LST.

Is the sog idea a bad one? i'd give the scrog a try if it is and just fish the inevitable males out of the screen come flowering time if needbe - its not like its going to be a huge screen, it'd be possible but i'm just looking to get the best possible yield the space can provide for me.

I'm just looking to procure some personal stash to keep me going, 140watts isn't much use for much else of course, the local bud supply around here is in a word very unreliable and i'd just like a couple of ounces for myself. I don't smoke a lot so 3 ounces would likely last me 3 months.


How do you guys feel about my plan? i'd especially like input on the strain and scrog/sog choice.



Just for reference, heres the cab:

[tngreen]

your cab looks just about the same as mine (check sig) and am doing a very similar grow with cfls though. the hps will need better ventilation than my cfls so more than 1 120mm fan may be needed and a smaller one for circulation. get the lights in and see temps and go from there. hydro really doesnt have much initial setup costs and i love it! use a couple shallow rubbermaids, net cups, air pump ($6) and couple airstones ($3) and your set. since you are worried bout yield, id give it a go.

keep us updated, we love pics!

[waydee]

Originally Posted by tngreen

your cab looks just about the same as mine (check sig) and am doing a very similar grow with cfls though. the hps will need better ventilation than my cfls so more than 1 120mm fan may be needed and a smaller one for circulation. get the lights in and see temps and go from there. hydro really doesnt have much initial setup costs and i love it! use a couple shallow rubbermaids, net cups, air pump ($6) and couple airstones ($3) and your set. since you are worried bout yield, id give it a go.

keep us updated, we love pics!

Wow, nice grow you've got going there - i love how neat it is, everything so clean and under control looking. Good luck with it, i'll follow the thread.

I've really considered the hydro but I just feel much more comfortable doing this one in soil for some reason, I don't intend on going 100% organic or anything - i'm game for using pretty much anything to maximise yield but i'll definately consider hydro for the next grow... probably collect all the necessary equipment while i'm doing this one and give it a shot next time.

How do you feel about the strains? I basically need to make a choice between blue mystic and papaya for the second strain and scrog or pack as many plants as i can in there and flower early with lst for a sort of pseudo sog.

[thescissors]

I would personally LST the plants until they start showing alternating nodes, then flower them. You can even grow SATIVAS this way,.. check out my K-TRAIN bush... ive got it strapped DOWN, and its lower than my two indica (lifesaver) bushes!!

[waydee]

Originally Posted by thescissors

I would personally LST the plants until they start showing alternating nodes, then flower them. You can even grow SATIVAS this way,.. check out my K-TRAIN bush... ive got it strapped DOWN, and its lower than my two indica (lifesaver) bushes!!

Lookin beautiful man.

How many plants would you recommend to grow in my space? i'm down with lst, always used it in the past and its always worked out great. I just want to make maximum use of the light available and it seems scrog is the way to go for that?

cheers

[Budless]

SOG seems like a very good choice for the quick yield you're looking for. For yield per plant I think ScrOG is the way to go. Right now I'm attempting an ScrOG grow, but it is only because one of my *good* bagseedlings made it out alive so I might as well make the most of it, ya know? I would also look into better ventilation for your secuity lights. Check out cool tube construction it would immensely help control the heat output of those babies. I hope all goes well and I'll be watching!

Stay stealthy!

[waydee]

Originally Posted by Budless

SOG seems like a very good choice for the quick yield you're looking for. For yield per plant I think ScrOG is the way to go. Right now I'm attempting an ScrOG grow, but it is only because one of my *good* bagseedlings made it out alive so I might as well make the most of it, ya know? I would also look into better ventilation for your secuity lights. Check out cool tube construction it would immensely help control the heat output of those babies. I hope all goes well and I'll be watching!

Stay stealthy!

I've considered the cooltube idea but i'd really rather keep this as simple and cheap as possible... i'm sure I could rig something like that up but ideally i'd just like to keep the lamps in their original casings sans the polycarb front shields. They've got pretty good parabolic reflectors built in and the mounting brackets keep it nice and simple to mount and position them.

I think i've settled on the sog idea, plant 10 seeds and veg for 2 weeks, switch to 12/12 and hope for 5 females, 4 of which i'll select and continue flowering.

I'm also looking into more substantial ventilation and odour control, i've been looking around ebay and found some combined 4" Ruck inline fans, carbon filter and ducting kits. Pretty expensive for such a project but surely this sort of thing would take care of all my ventilation/odour controls and then some?

Heres the auction I was looking at:
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hydroponics-fa...QQcmdZViewItem

I'd like the carbon filter inside the grow box ideally but i'm really pretty short on space so its likely it'd have to be situated outside, but thats ok since stealth isn't such a huge issue (of course I'd like it to be neat and not too obvious) because the cabinet will sit inside a larger wardrobe (very little space in this room!). Would it be acceptable to have the inline fan inside the cab sending the air out via the ducting to the carbon filter located next to the cabinet?

[Budless]

Take a look at Red Greenery's carbon filter and see if you can't make one yourself or mod one to fit your application.

[pieceofmyheart]

Welcome to IC and the Micro Grow forum, you'll find lots of good info in here on small, stealth grows.

Good Luck!

[tngreen]

thanks man!

for odor, check out this filter or make your own: https://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=CF0067

that is what i plan on buying tomorrow cause mine are gettin smelly and it will fit perfect in my cab. didnt mean to sound like i was knocking soil cause im not, just that hydro is so much easier than people think. start with it like you said and try hydro later on. the strains sound great but i dont have experience with either of them. if you are goin for SOG, you will need to take advantage of LST big time. ill get some pics up of what ive done with lst and it really does make all the diff. the girls love it and really keeps them short. you may even find 2 plants is enough if you can get them bushy enough with lots of budsites.

also, i would stay away from ebay. too much risk involved with paypal cause they will give your info up if it is questionable merchandise. just not worth the risk to me. your local home depot or lowes is the solution for any of those needs besides a fan. that fan in the auction looks awesome though!