First grow 4x4 tent 400w/mh 600w/hps

Hello everyone!

I am new in rollitup and I humbly would like to share my first grow with all of you. First of all I wanted to thank this forum for being ever so helpful, many many hours of medical marijuana and many many hours of reading sticky’s has pushed me to take the big leap into indoor growing. I have grown in several occasions outdoor and it has been always nothing but a great experience/smoke. So lets see how me being responsible of EVERY FACTOR go’s.

The main reason I am making a grow journal is so over the growing period members could please inform/help me with as many tips and constructive criticisms your stoner hearts desire. I am a beginner eager in learning and I have been astonished by some of the knowledge that some users just “spill” in this forum so I cant wait to get started!

Before I start babbling about my setup. I would like to express what I am looking to get out of this grow. I live in sunny California and I am a medical marijuana (MMJ) patient living with another MMJ patient. Legally we are not sure how much our plant limit really is so we will keep it legal with 6 plants. I am not a cash cropper even though I do enjoy quantity, but my main goal is to have high quality medicine and also be able to truly see the genetics of the strains I will be choosing. I really want to see if I will ever be able to grow medicine that I can hands down say “I prefer this over my local dispensary medicine”.

GROW TENT SETUP 4x4

Area
Dark Room “DR120” $240.00

Reflector
Sun Spot 6” Reflector $85.00

Ballast
Digital Lumatek 600w $165.00

Bulbs
Optilume MH 400w $20.00
Ushio HPS 600w $60.00

Air extraction
Can max fan 6” (654CFM)$120.00
Can lite 6” filter $125.00

Air intake
Booster fan 6” (188CFM) $40.00

Medium
Fox farms ocean forest $12.00


Total setup $1200.00



I listed some of the most important components for the grow, to tally up to the full $1,200 spent the basics also have to be taken into account, e.g., ducting, ducting clamps, duct tape, thermometer, hygrometer, chain, “S” hooks, pots, PH tester etc.

I may have exaggerated with the extraction a tad bit but, this eliminates both odor and any possible temperature issues and these are two things I definitely didn't want to skimp out on.

I know, I know, the tons of online deals I passed up on but, in most occasions I will happily pay the difference in order to support local businesses (its also not that bad to be able to pay cash at any of the hydro stores in area).


Here are two pictures of the setup;

1. Front of grow tent all ready for some tender loving.
2. View from the top of the tent.

Thank you for taking your time to read. And please I need advice!

Tonight I will be germinating 6 Kosher Kush from Reserva Privada, 1 OG Kush from DNA Genetics and 1 Cannalope Kush from DNA Genetics. I will germinate it directly into 2 inch square peat pots filled with Fox farms ocean forest and keep moist inside of a germination station.

And now lets sit back and enjoy the ride




indicantonio.

sounds like you are on your way to a good starta! Start posting in the forums and people will come show your thread some lovea!

subbbbbbbed.

Diesel89 said:

sounds like you are on your way to a good starta! Start posting in the forums and people will come show your thread some lovea!

Click to expand...

Thank you for the forum advice Diesel89!

I really want to try and do it right, this morning I put 8 seeds in the germination station. Now trying to keep the soil fairly humid and the temperature in the station around 75°F.

The PH of the water which I am misting the soil with tested out a tad bit alkaline in the low 7's but I was not sure if it was a factor for just germinating and also I am not sure how to balance PH levels, so tonight I am dozing off into Rollitup world to learn about PH levels

looking very good. I have a similar setup. Will follow along for the ride!

Well figure I will throw it out, ive been following komagrows (on youtube) garden techniques for 2 years now on a much smaller scale. He posted a video about a month ago about organic ph up and down. his videos are very helpful, he gives you his special tea mix, his feeding schedule ect. he gets consistent amazing results, the guy is honestly really close to blowing up and being the new subcool, or kushmana!

subbbbbbbbbed

Diesel89 said:

Well figure I will throw it out, ive been following komagrows (on youtube) garden techniques for 2 years now on a much smaller scale. He posted a video about a month ago about organic ph up and down. his videos are very helpful, he gives you his special tea mix, his feeding schedule ect. he gets consistent amazing results, the guy is honestly really close to blowing up and being the new subcool, or kushmana!

Click to expand...

Oh wow! I was not aware about all these subcool and komagrows videos. Its embarrassing how stoked I am with all this new YouTube material, tonight will be a long night .

Hello again Rollitup!




I wanted to update this journal on a weekly basis but paranoid/stoner of me had a couple of questions.



I started germ. Monday (10/22/2012) all the seeds were kept in a glass filled with tap water for 20 minutes and then inserted in peat pots filled with Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil and kept approx.. 70°F to 77°F inside of a germination station.

Wednesday (10/22/2012) night, 2 days into germinating the first sight of cotyledon’s were emerging from the soil, so today (10/25/2012) my 18/18 light cycle. I kept the plants covered in the germination station for most of the day, the temperature has been between 80°F to 85°F and around 70% humidity inside the germination station and only 30-35% humidity.

I’ve noticed that all the cotyledon’s are bending quite allot and they are a very light shade of green. Besides that I think everything is going smoothly.

Having a general idea of how the grow is progressing is there anything that I should be aware of at this moment?

No signs of life from the freebies; guess that’s why they were priced so cheaply but, it’s still a little too soon to tell... maybe they’re just “late bloomers”.

I want to keep it pretty “natural” grow but was contemplating what kind of nutrients should I use also if I should use some root stimulator?

How long can I have my plants in such a small container? As of right now I have 1gal pots and was thinking if going as big as 3gal pots.

Thank you







Pic#1 Poking small holes in each peat pot before inserting the seeds



Pic#2 I kept the germination station humid and the soil moist by misting, did not want to disturb the seeds.



Pic#3 This is the current setup, I ended up moving the fan next to the carbon filter. I wanted a raised bed and both the table and tray were purchased at the local IKEA was the cheapest option I could think of.



Pic#4 Cotyledon close up.




Thanks for stopping by !

IMO, no nutes for first two weeks (except maybe superthrive) and you would want to transplant at the two week mark.. If want the highest possible germ rate in the future use rapid rooters. They work really well...pretty much idiot proof, which is what I need...lol.

midnighttok3r said:

IMO, no nutes for first two weeks (except maybe superthrive) and you would want to transplant at the two week mark.. If want the highest possible germ rate in the future use rapid rooters. They work really well...pretty much idiot proof, which is what I need...lol.

Click to expand...

Thank! Higher germ rate and idiot proof? I like myself anything that's idiot proof. I wasn't sure about all the germ "plugs" but I will definitely give them a try. Now I am contemplating how will it be easier for the ladies to transplant out of the peat pots, I wanted to wait like you said for at least the 2 weeks mark but wasn't sure if I should try to take off the peat pot or just place everything into the bigger pot with peat pot included.

Do you have any preferences in nutes? I was doubting between General Organics, Humboldt Nutrients and very seriously contemplating Fox Farms.

I've done the peat pot thing and don't feel good about straight transplant into soil. You can soak it in water and gently rough the outside up or poke some holes in it with a toothpick before. The nutes have to be soil friendly kind.

I've used earth juice products for over 15 years and think they are just as good as what's out there for twice the price,it starts at $17 a qt. I'm using the sugar peak line right now, it makes some frosty nugs.

Botanicare for the win

midnighttok3r said:

I've done the peat pot thing and don't feel good about straight transplant into soil. You can soak it in water and gently rough the outside up or poke some holes in it with a toothpick before. The nutes have to be soil friendly kind.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, the peat pots are slowly falling apart so I think with just roughing the pots up a tad bit will do. I am kind of worried that I can already start to see the roots peak out of the bottom and tomorrow (10/31/2012) will have only been a week since the first seed was visible.

dirtnap411 said:

I've used earth juice products for over 15 years and think they are just as good as what's out there for twice the price,it starts at $17 a qt. I'm using the sugar peak line right now, it makes some frosty nugs.

Click to expand...

I have not checked earth juice yet I well definitely look into it. I was really leaning towards Fox Farms - Nutrient trio pack.

MrTokenPuff said:

Botanicare for the win

Click to expand...

That is one good looking Pineapple you have their, using Botanicare?

Hows it going indicantonio[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]! You got a really nice setup there. The air flow, reflectiveness, and lights are all gonna be very appreciated by the indo ladies.

I'm very new to this as well, got my own little page going if you wanna check it out, but I see you are starting off with the Fox Farms ocean forest just as i did..

When i got my clone, she came in a small container, with unknown dirt, after a couple weeks with her, i transplanted into a 3 gal pot, filled with fresh FFOF soil... This soil has PLENTY OF NUTRIENTS to get you through a harvest, SO my advice is to be careful when initially feeding your babies. I think you want to stay with fresh water from germination till at least a couple weeks of vegging in a container, then gradually add nutes to your feeding cycle to see how well/ fast they can take the food without hurting..

I recently went to my hydro shop, and told them my situation, (im vegging one area, party cups, flowering another room, 1 gall pots, sog )

i was recommended to pick up Fox Farms Happy Frog for the veg cycle, and FFOF for flowers.. So thats my two sense..

keep things consistent ! good luck, what part of cali are you at? hows the temps? things are getting a bit nippy up north..

Grow ON!!
[/FONT]

Hi indicantonio,
Congratulations on your endeavour!!!!!!
I always used distilled water at the beginning...
You'll do well... Your plants will thrive!

Hello Rollitup!

It has been over a week since the last update. Where to start... All 8 seeds germinated so Im pretty stoked with the 8/8 germ rate ! I kept them in peat pots for up to 9 days but to be honest I grew impatient to transplant mainly because the peat pots would dry up too quickly.


I transplanted them (10/31/2012) into 1 gallon pots. First, I heavily sprayed the peat pots with water and crumbled the pot a bit and placed them directly into the soil. Once I was done I generously watered the one gallon pots.

I believe that due to temperature and humidity problems in my tent and as well as the transplanting itself, the ladies are a tad bit stunted. Today (11/04/2012) it has been 14 days since the seeds were first placed in soil. While transplanting we decided to bury as much of the stem that we could to be able to lower the first internode as much as possible. With all of the plants starting at the same height I must say I am very pleased with both freebies but, I am specially interested in the Cannalope Kush. So far It has been the most vigorous plant in the batch.

Due to my humidity problems I will be purchasing a simple humidifier. I’ve tried raising the humidity by placing a big tray filled with water inside the tent but it is still not enough to keep the ideal relative humidity.

I still have not used any nutrients and don't really know what I am waiting for but I will probably go for some fox farms nutes sooner or later.

One question: Looking at these plants approx how much more vegging time would be the ideal/reasonable amount?

Thank you for all the help.

indicantonio

Pic#1 This is what the current setup looks like.



Pic#2 Close up of all the plants.



Pic#3 Close up of one of the Kosher Kush.



Pic#4 Close up of the Cannalope Kush.

Nice young babies you got there. I would try and hold off on nutes for another 10 plus days, they look happy. They gonna stay happy in that soil..

Veg time depends on what you are going for. 1 big cola? a few big colas? multiple smaller colas? you just gonna let them grow wild? or are you gonna do any training? fim?top?

you got plenty of days to decide! let these babies grow, im thinking they will be about a ft tall, and very internody in 2-3 weeks..

Looks good though

You need to get a heating pad or mat and put it under the water container that will make humidity in the tent. I myself do hydro with a res in my tent so I have to suck air out of my tent due to high humidity. when your girls are bigger you won't have that issue.