MrMcpot
Well-Known Member
This is my first public grow journal. I ask that comments are not posted to this thread in the interest of making it more organized. If anyone feels the urge to comment, you can PM me and we can start a new thread in an appropriate area of the site for comments.
Some backstory:
I first began growing in 2006. I maintained a room with about 14 plants at a time in a rental house. My strain of choice at the time was "Monkey Pal", a cross between Durban Poison and Afghani #1 that was available at bcbuddepot. At the time, I was growing commercially. I had a close friend that handled sales so that my exposure was minimal. I fronted him and recieved 50 percent of the profit. Sadly, after only 9 months of doing this, I was forced to shut down operations due to a dispute between my partner and I. I did this based on a "gut feeling" and it was a good thing too, because not even 3 days later the home was raided by narcotics officers.
They found not one single trace of marijuana or grow equipment and I am (still) happy to say that I was never charged with any crimes.
I have since moved to another state where I have recently resumed a much smaller scale grow-op for personal consumption after being diagnosed with full blown AIDS in November. I am only 23 years old. I had been sick since August and unable to work so my op is low budget.
A Breakdown of the Costs of Setting Up:
5 4-foot Workshop fluorescent lights found in the hardware section at Wal-Mart
Cost $9.95 ea. or approx $50 total
3 packs of "daylight" fluorescent tubes emitting the 6500k spectrum, overpriced, at between 9 and 10 dollars per pack of two tubes.
Total cost for these tubes, approx $30
2 packs of "residential" fluorescent tubes emitting 4100k spectrum, priced at approx $3.95 per pack, also at Wal-Mart.
Total cost for these tubes, approx $10
A springfield hygrometer displaying temperature and humidity of grow room, also found in the hardware section of Wal-Mart,
Total cost $2.95
Two packs of hooks that screw into ceilling at 88c ea. also found at wal-mart
Total Cost $2.00
2 packs of hooks to attach to shoplights and chain to hooks in the ceilling, approx $1 each, also found at Wal Mart
Total Cost $2.00
Distilled Water, also found at Wal Mart, 78c per gallon jug.
Total cost so far 78c
Cheap 10ft dog chains to connect lights to hooks in the ceilling x5 at $3.95 each
Total Cost $20
Three six-gallon pots bought from home depot years ago at around $3 each
Total Cost est $9
1 small bag of the dreaded Miracle Grow topsoil bought at Home Depot
Total Cost $4.77 before tax
A large oscillating fanfound at Wal Mart
Total Cost $14
PH pool test kit for water, found in Lawn and Garden section of Wal-Mart
Total cost $5.95
Several bagseeds found in weed being sold locally as "Mid", scrounged.
Total cost $0
The satisfaction of growing your own pot, legally, for medicinal reasons: PRICELESS
(haha had to add a mastercard line there)
Approxiate total setup investment:
$151.45
So why not CFLs?
Why not tubes? Read aboutmy setup below and you'll understand why I opted for tubes.
The Setup
In the beginning, two shoplights with two bulbs each (1 residential, 1 daylight) were chained to the ceilling. Pots were cleaned with bleach water and soil added. Seeds were placed in a damp paper towel and left for 48 hours in a dark warm place.
Because they were bagseed, I added far more seeds than I needed, and rightfully so, since only a fraction of these old seeds germinated.
Seeds where then placed in soild approx 1/4 an inch in and moisture was maintained until they sprouted (usually within 24 - 48 more hours).
It should be noted that when using seedbank seeds in the past I have had a 100 percent germination rate so you'll want to use exactly what you need if you get them from a decent seedbank.
For the first week and a half, plants were watered with tap water. This is NOT advisable even after leaving the water to sit overnight in order to evaporate the chlorine. Tap water is EXTREMELY basic (here, anyways) and will most likely fuck up your PH. I got lucky but that doesn't mean that you will.
Until the plants began developing their second set of leaves, the soil was misted daily with a spray bottle that I scrounged to keep it nice and moist. After this, I began dumping approx a cup of water on the soil and waiting 3-7 days between waterings.
Sidenote: I know, I know, it can be hard to ressist the urge to water them more. After two years I feel like a noob again and I have that urge too. Resist it! I have had the oppurtunity to experiment with this and it seems fullproof. If the plant doesn't ask for it, then DON'T water it.
Within 16 days, the largest of the plants grew to approx 6 inches in height, exhibited significant sidegrowth and developed five fully developed sets of leaves (not counting the initial set you see after germinating).
It has begun to branch and the lower branches are already showing more than one set of leaves.
Because I am using fluorescents, which only penetrate up to about 12 inches, it is time to flower this baby. I first installed an additional shoplight vertically, so as to shine light on the plant from top to bottom. I will rotate 90 degrees every other day, as reccomended in Seemore Bud's book.
I installed the new light by simply chaining one end to a hook in the ceilling so as to keep it standing. At approximately 10pm, the plant begans it's first 12 hour dark cycle and at 10am on 12/29, I was surprised to see that it had grown an additional inch overnight!
Sidenote: In my experience with fluoros, less is more. Why wait another week or two to flower if the plant won't be able to meet it's full potential due to light limitations at that point? The plants will almost certainly triple or even quadruple in size when started at this age by the time they are done.
Grow Room Specs:
Temps are consistently between 78 and 81 degrees, though they spiked to 84 last night for around an hour after a dipshit cut off the A/C.
Walls are covered in aluminum foil.
Grow room consists of a very large walk-in closet, capable of housing about six extremely fat people semi-comfortably if they just stand still (haha I don't have specific dimensions!).
Once flowering is started for the other plants and vertical shoplights installed, there will be a total of 30k lumens shining on them during their light period. Currently, the room has approx 18k lumens in light, more than enough for four two-foot tall plants, one or more of which will AN HERO (die) once I find out they're male. I am convinced that I can achieve maximum yield with this setup.
Whew! That was alot. I need a smoke break. Images coming in about 45 minutes tops.
Some backstory:
I first began growing in 2006. I maintained a room with about 14 plants at a time in a rental house. My strain of choice at the time was "Monkey Pal", a cross between Durban Poison and Afghani #1 that was available at bcbuddepot. At the time, I was growing commercially. I had a close friend that handled sales so that my exposure was minimal. I fronted him and recieved 50 percent of the profit. Sadly, after only 9 months of doing this, I was forced to shut down operations due to a dispute between my partner and I. I did this based on a "gut feeling" and it was a good thing too, because not even 3 days later the home was raided by narcotics officers.
They found not one single trace of marijuana or grow equipment and I am (still) happy to say that I was never charged with any crimes.
I have since moved to another state where I have recently resumed a much smaller scale grow-op for personal consumption after being diagnosed with full blown AIDS in November. I am only 23 years old. I had been sick since August and unable to work so my op is low budget.
A Breakdown of the Costs of Setting Up:
5 4-foot Workshop fluorescent lights found in the hardware section at Wal-Mart
Cost $9.95 ea. or approx $50 total
3 packs of "daylight" fluorescent tubes emitting the 6500k spectrum, overpriced, at between 9 and 10 dollars per pack of two tubes.
Total cost for these tubes, approx $30
2 packs of "residential" fluorescent tubes emitting 4100k spectrum, priced at approx $3.95 per pack, also at Wal-Mart.
Total cost for these tubes, approx $10
A springfield hygrometer displaying temperature and humidity of grow room, also found in the hardware section of Wal-Mart,
Total cost $2.95
Two packs of hooks that screw into ceilling at 88c ea. also found at wal-mart
Total Cost $2.00
2 packs of hooks to attach to shoplights and chain to hooks in the ceilling, approx $1 each, also found at Wal Mart
Total Cost $2.00
Distilled Water, also found at Wal Mart, 78c per gallon jug.
Total cost so far 78c
Cheap 10ft dog chains to connect lights to hooks in the ceilling x5 at $3.95 each
Total Cost $20
Three six-gallon pots bought from home depot years ago at around $3 each
Total Cost est $9
1 small bag of the dreaded Miracle Grow topsoil bought at Home Depot
Total Cost $4.77 before tax
A large oscillating fanfound at Wal Mart
Total Cost $14
PH pool test kit for water, found in Lawn and Garden section of Wal-Mart
Total cost $5.95
Several bagseeds found in weed being sold locally as "Mid", scrounged.
Total cost $0
The satisfaction of growing your own pot, legally, for medicinal reasons: PRICELESS
(haha had to add a mastercard line there)
Approxiate total setup investment:
$151.45
So why not CFLs?
Why not tubes? Read aboutmy setup below and you'll understand why I opted for tubes.
The Setup
In the beginning, two shoplights with two bulbs each (1 residential, 1 daylight) were chained to the ceilling. Pots were cleaned with bleach water and soil added. Seeds were placed in a damp paper towel and left for 48 hours in a dark warm place.
Because they were bagseed, I added far more seeds than I needed, and rightfully so, since only a fraction of these old seeds germinated.
Seeds where then placed in soild approx 1/4 an inch in and moisture was maintained until they sprouted (usually within 24 - 48 more hours).
It should be noted that when using seedbank seeds in the past I have had a 100 percent germination rate so you'll want to use exactly what you need if you get them from a decent seedbank.
For the first week and a half, plants were watered with tap water. This is NOT advisable even after leaving the water to sit overnight in order to evaporate the chlorine. Tap water is EXTREMELY basic (here, anyways) and will most likely fuck up your PH. I got lucky but that doesn't mean that you will.
Until the plants began developing their second set of leaves, the soil was misted daily with a spray bottle that I scrounged to keep it nice and moist. After this, I began dumping approx a cup of water on the soil and waiting 3-7 days between waterings.
Sidenote: I know, I know, it can be hard to ressist the urge to water them more. After two years I feel like a noob again and I have that urge too. Resist it! I have had the oppurtunity to experiment with this and it seems fullproof. If the plant doesn't ask for it, then DON'T water it.
Within 16 days, the largest of the plants grew to approx 6 inches in height, exhibited significant sidegrowth and developed five fully developed sets of leaves (not counting the initial set you see after germinating).
It has begun to branch and the lower branches are already showing more than one set of leaves.
Because I am using fluorescents, which only penetrate up to about 12 inches, it is time to flower this baby. I first installed an additional shoplight vertically, so as to shine light on the plant from top to bottom. I will rotate 90 degrees every other day, as reccomended in Seemore Bud's book.
I installed the new light by simply chaining one end to a hook in the ceilling so as to keep it standing. At approximately 10pm, the plant begans it's first 12 hour dark cycle and at 10am on 12/29, I was surprised to see that it had grown an additional inch overnight!
Sidenote: In my experience with fluoros, less is more. Why wait another week or two to flower if the plant won't be able to meet it's full potential due to light limitations at that point? The plants will almost certainly triple or even quadruple in size when started at this age by the time they are done.
Grow Room Specs:
Temps are consistently between 78 and 81 degrees, though they spiked to 84 last night for around an hour after a dipshit cut off the A/C.
Walls are covered in aluminum foil.
Grow room consists of a very large walk-in closet, capable of housing about six extremely fat people semi-comfortably if they just stand still (haha I don't have specific dimensions!).
Once flowering is started for the other plants and vertical shoplights installed, there will be a total of 30k lumens shining on them during their light period. Currently, the room has approx 18k lumens in light, more than enough for four two-foot tall plants, one or more of which will AN HERO (die) once I find out they're male. I am convinced that I can achieve maximum yield with this setup.
Whew! That was alot. I need a smoke break. Images coming in about 45 minutes tops.