Help with my first grow?

[SirSmokeallot]

Hey guys,

I've read a couple of threads by Dr. Bud and I was thinking about emulating his system.

I wanted to buy two cabinets approximately 24"x14"x28" and stick in 3 50 Watt Warm White and 3 50 Watt Cool White CFLs in each cabinet for lighting. For ventilation I would use this extraction fan in each cabinet and simply have an opening to allow air into the unit.

What are you thoughts on making such a cabinet? Do you think that I should also buy a carbon filter or do you think smell will be minimal?

I wanted to use an organic soil mix and Dr. Bub said that he used commercial potting mix with 1/3 of it made up of perlite. He also said that he gave nutrients of fish emulsion every second watering.

What is your opinion on this? Do you think the plants will survive this or did I miss something?

Many thanks guys

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

You may be able to get by with something like ona gel in veg, but it's not worth the risk in flower. Get the carbon filter and stay safe. I personally keep a mountain of ona gel waiting to go next to my carbon filter just in case.

As for organic soil mixes, the plants can thrive with water only if it's done right. The key to a successful organic soil is the finest compost. There are a bunch of threads in the organic section on the subject but the basic idea is to find the best compost (homemade thermophilic or earthworm castings, not mushroom compost or composted manure) and mix it with peat and aeration components (turface, par-boiled rice hulls, pummice, scoria, diatomaceous earth, or perlite if you must). Make a mix of 40% sphagnum peat moss (available in huge bails at almost any big box hardware store for $15 or so), 30% compost, and 30% aeration. While most soil makers prefer to add a mix of their own blend of seed meals and rock dusts at that point, you will be fine using something like Espoma's Tomato-Tone or Down-To-Earth's Bio-Alive to start out. Just add two cups of whatever organic fertilizer blend you can get for every cubic foot of base mix. If you moisten the mix and let it rest for a month before planting, the soil will have time to process the fertilizer mix and give you the best growth.

If you want to go down the organic road, I would search craigslist for local wormcastings or have some compost from http://malibucompost.com/, http://www.kisorganics.com/, http://www.coastofmaine.com/, or http://www.farmerd.com/ shipped in (whatever one is closest) and get that soil put together right away so that it will be ready once the cabs are up and running, then start thinking about how to produce your own compost.

You'll be kicking ass in no time.

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

If you're hell-bent on buying a commercial mix, I would suggest you buy an aeration component and add that until it looks right. As most already have some, it's hard to give you a concrete number---just go by feel. After that you will want to add some compost (again, can't pin down a number) and about half as much of the blended fertilizer as recommended above. You might as well just go get a bail of peat moss while you're at it and omit the bag of soil LOL.

As a friend said "think of the peat as a framework on which to hang your humus and rock dusts" or something like that.

 

[SirSmokeallot]

Wow thanks for your help there FunTimesIndeed. From your description it looks like a hell of a job to make organic marijuana plants! and you can understand, I only started researching this a few days ago so it seems like a lot to take in! Is it not possible to get everything I need for an organic grow at the garden centre?

I was going to buy two kinds of marijuana seeds which have been feminised, 5 seeds of each type. I was then going to germinate the seeds and plant them in small party cups and put them in 18-6 cycle until they reach 2-4 inches in height.

While they grow I was going to construct a second cabinet for flowering. I was thinking I could then take cuttings from 1 plant from each marijuana type and leave the cuttings, as well as the mothers, in the vegetating cycle cabinet while I move the other plants to my newly constructed 12-12 cycle cabinet.

Basically, have I got this right or do I need a separate box for my mothers from the clones or will two cabinets be enough for a perpetual harvest like I have described?

Many thanks again

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

From your description it looks like a hell of a job to make organic marijuana plants! and you can understand, I only started researching this a few days ago so it seems like a lot to take in! Is it not possible to get everything I need for an organic grow at the garden centre?

It's not that big of a deal really, but finding everything under one roof is rare. Something like Home Depot or Lowe's should have almost everything in their garden section. The exact ingredients in your mix tend to be dictated by your region. Here for example I would go down to the Home Depot around the corner and leave with a bag of Tomato-Tone, a bail of Premier Peat, and a couple of bags of lava rock for chump change. High quality compost is the part that involves a little foot work, but it's completely worth it. Once the soil is built and running, it can be used over and over again.

Having to worry about PPMs, pH, veg and flower nutes, CalMag shenanigans, testing meters and their calibration baggage, and the costs associated with that methodology are much more of a pain in the ass than the tiny bit of cash, hunting, and labor involved in making soil and compost.

I was going to buy two kinds of marijuana seeds which have been feminised, 5 seeds of each type. I was then going to germinate the seeds and plant them in small party cups and put them in 18-6 cycle until they reach 2-4 inches in height.

While they grow I was going to construct a second cabinet for flowering. I was thinking I could then take cuttings from 1 plant from each marijuana type and leave the cuttings, as well as the mothers, in the vegetating cycle cabinet while I move the other plants to my newly constructed 12-12 cycle cabinet.

Basically, have I got this right or do I need a separate box for my mothers from the clones or will two cabinets be enough for a perpetual harvest like I have described?

Starting with feminized seeds and only one small cab, I would only plant four of the seeds. After two or three weeks when the second cab is built I would take a cutting from each plant and start one chamber flowering the older plants and one chamber to veg out the cuttings. Any further plans would be based on where I was sitting at that point. Ideally it would be one box jammed full of flowering plants, one box with a favorite mother and her establishing cuttings, six unpopped seeds stashed in the fridge, and a consistant crop every two months. fo eva LOL

 

[SirSmokeallot]

Thanks man you've really helped me paint what I had in mind.

So concerning the organic soil. So I've just got to basically make an organic soil mix and that's it? Try and pack in as many nutrients as possible with as many organic ingredients as my local area can provide? Also what do you mean you can reuse it? What about the seeds?

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

You don't want to to go dumping in huge amounts of amendments, just a couple of cups per cubic foot and your good to go. You can still add things like fish hydrolysate, kelp tea, fermented plant extracts, aerated compost tea, etc., but the plants will be fine with water only. That's it.

If you keep the soil moist and let the microbes in the pot process the old roots, the soil can be reused over and over. A soil mix like I described will work for that. Poke around the organic section--you'll see a lot of different workable approaches. If you've got a wormbin to dispose of stems and leaves with, your grow will be much more secure than the guy looking to dump garbage bags full of rockwool and harvesting waste all of the time.

 

[SirSmokeallot]

Cool. So all the old soil you just throw into the worm bin? And mix it around a bit wait a week or so and use that soil for your new pots?

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

That's one way. If you make a huge bed, you can just drop in an established clone for every plant chopped. Another way would be to treat the root balls with homemade lactobacilus cultures. Sometimes I'll set a pot aside for a cycle but keep it watered, then stick another plant in.

 

[tpower]

This is a nice article that should give you all the knowledge you need. I t basically states what everyone is saying on this thread about organics. http://hightimes.com/grow/subcool/5728
Also this is a good source for your organic mix. I have used this and can vouch for it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/320849076661?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649. I have no ties to any of the above but just offering another resource of info.

 

[tpower]

This is a nice article that should give you all the knowledge you need. I t basically states what everyone is saying on this thread about organics. http://hightimes.com/grow/subcool/5728
Also this is a good source for your organic mix. I have used this and can vouch for it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/320849076661?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649. I have no ties to any of the above but just offering another resource of info.

http://hightimes.com/grow/subcool/5728

 

[Ziggaro]

Are you talking about the lava rocks for gas grills? I would love to find a way to make a decent cheap mix at home depot. At this point I'm mixing peace of mind with whatever soil I use plus about 20% EWC and it seems to be working.

 

[SirSmokeallot]

Starting with feminized seeds and only one small cab, I would only plant four of the seeds. After two or three weeks when the second cab is built I would take a cutting from each plant and start one chamber flowering the older plants and one chamber to veg out the cuttings. Any further plans would be based on where I was sitting at that point. Ideally it would be one box jammed full of flowering plants, one box with a favorite mother and her establishing cuttings, six unpopped seeds stashed in the fridge, and a consistant crop every two months. fo eva LOL

Following Dr.Bud's technique I know the flowering box needs to be to aa 12 12 cycle with warm white cfls. But as for the mothering/cloning cabinet. What type of spectrum is needed and what is the light regimen for a mother plant and the cuttings? 24 hour warm white or?

Many thanks

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

Sounds good, but use the cool white light.

 

[SirSmokeallot]

Cool white light for the mother and clones? So mother and clones need different light to the flowering box?

I was thinking about starting off with a PC case. It's 16" in height, 16" depth and 7.5" width. What do you think? And if this PC box is to be the mother/clone box I should use cool white light? And it's ok for the mothers and clones to be in the same cabinet under the same light cycle?

I really appeciate your time in this thread FunTimesIndeed

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Why 50w CFL's?? Last I checked the 23-32w lamps were the most efficient. The more points of light your cab has with CFL's the better. Allows light into a lot of the areas of the plant that would normally be shaded.

Yes, mums and clones can go in the same cab. Non-rooted clones I would put in a room with regular room lighting, until they rooted. Bright light promotes food production instead of root production.

Stay Safe!

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

Yessir, your moms and clones should all be under cool white light and have their lights on for 18+ hours a day. Like Hydro-Soil said, the 23 watt bulbs are the most efficient CFLs. I personally choose to run my moms and clones under t5 lighting at 20/4, only because I have it laying around and it works.

Sounds like your about ready to go do some shopping and fire this thing up already, no?

 

[SirSmokeallot]

I think you're right FunTimesIndeed! Tomorrow I shall be picking up an old PC for £20 which will be my first cabinet!

Hydro-Soil thanks for your advice. So first I should root my clones in a room without any special lighting and then once they've rooted soil 'em and straight into a cool white 20/4 cycle? And concerning the bulbs, thanks. Before I purchase bulbs I'll come here with the link to some feedback. Currently out of work so need to be very careful with my budget on this job lol.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Hydro-Soil thanks for your advice. So first I should root my clones in a room without any special lighting and then once they've rooted soil 'em and straight into a cool white 20/4 cycle?

Yep... exactly right.

And concerning the bulbs, thanks. Before I purchase bulbs I'll come here with the link to some feedback. Currently out of work so need to be very careful with my budget on this job lol.

I think you'll find that you can buy a lot more 23 watt bulbs for the same cash you would have spent on 4 50's.

Just get quality lamps. Don't buy the cheapies on sale or the super energy savers. Get quality lamps. I've noticed some seriously nasty chemical/plastic odors from some of the cheaper ones.

Stay Safe!

 

[SirSmokeallot]

Concerning the lamps Hydro, how would I attach the lamps onto a power socket so that I can attach the lights straight onto a power extender?

Also do you think it's Ok for me to user white or silver gaffer tape inside the PC box instead of mylar?

Thanks so much guys,