GrowGreenGreen
Well-Known Member
Okay, so when I decided it was time to get my scrip and get to work making my own medicine, I had a buddy to use as an example and the Internet to get other ideas. I've created what I believe is a pretty cool operation. Now I'd like to show it off a little.
It started out a little more rudimentary than it is now, and it will become even more sophisticated as time and money allow.
Where to start. At the beginning, there's usually about 15 or 20 clones in the humidity dome, which is equipped with a heater to keep the little tykes warm. We like to use RapidRooter peat pucks because they're organic, firm and easy to handle and so far we've had 100% rooting success without rooting hormones. Snip, dip, stick. Seven to 10 days later, they go into their containers, or into 6" CocoTek baskets while they wait for a container. At this point they go into the Vegetation Tent.
The tent itself is a tent. A camping tent. I got it online for $35 delivered. It's about 5' x 6' and about 5' tall. In it I constructed a framework to carry my CFLs. Currently I'm running six 27W 5500K CFLs. Each light can be vertically adjusted independently, or the whole thing can ride up and down on the Easy Gliders I bought from the UK (all-metal, holds much more weight than the plastic yoyo-type light hangers and they cost less even with shipping form the UK.) The tent also is equipped with a CO2 Boost bucket and fans. The plants seem to like it in the tent. The babies and kids get a synchronized 18/6 photoperiod.
I grow the adolescents for 6 to 8 weeks before dragging them out of the tent and into... The Bud Reactor.
The Bud Reactor is really just a 2x4 and plywood shed, on steroids. It's light-tight, almost air-tight and generally, just tight. Inside there is a Light Rail 3.5 light mover (the 6 RPM model) moving a Theoreme Innovation SmartLamp 600 ProBloom LED grow lamp, the star of the show. A couple CFLs and a 24" T8 fixture provide supplemental photons and spectrum, as well as correcting the color of the light in the room for taking better pictures. Ventilation is handled by a single 630 CFM Ostberg/Eclipse fan. It pulls air through two 6" filtered inlets low on one of the walls and then out through the ceiling of the chamber using 6" ducting. When the stink gets too delicious for comfort, I attach the Deau Passe Activated Carbon filter to the fan, which doesn't so much slow down as simply get quieter. This room is also equipped with its own CO2 Boost bucket.
The three-tiered system gives us more flexibility with our timing of crops than if we had only one or two chambers. But now, I'm looking at the intriguing world of plant husbandry. I would love to design my own strain. Or just be able to get seeds from clones. So I anticipate setting up another zone or two for males and for pollinating, etc.
All of the areas are in a finished attic space. Stealthy, handy, convenient! I keep tabs on the temp and humidity in each of the three zones by glancing at the wireless weather station that receives data from each of the three transmitters, one in humi-dome, veg tent and Reactor. The base unit also displays the temp and humidity in whatever room it's in and tracks min and max (which are resettable) for both temp and humidity for all four data sets, in addition to the non-resettable 24H hi temp and 24H low temp. It has a fairly useless indicator for whether the atmospheric pressure is rising or falling, but doesn't tell you the pressure. It uses this to predict the day's weather and tries to give you an iconized display to let you know if you'll need a scarf or a beach ball when you go out. I ignore the little LCD dude. But I recommend anyone doing an indoor grow get one of these wireless deals.
The plants ride around in EarthBox containers. There are a number of reasons I chose to go this route (soil, organic, LED.) One thing about the EarthBox is that it has a reservoir and it's design actually eliminates overwatering and underwatering; the soil is always exactly how the green beasts like it. I'm using Sunleaves Guanos on top, letting it leach in over the season, as per the EarthBox instructions. But I also feed in the water with Iguana Juice and occasionally will do a top-watering with the food or Azatrol (an OMRI listed Neem-based product).
Take a look a the photos and let me know what you think! Also look for other threads or grow journals...!
Cheers, and happy growing!
It started out a little more rudimentary than it is now, and it will become even more sophisticated as time and money allow.
Where to start. At the beginning, there's usually about 15 or 20 clones in the humidity dome, which is equipped with a heater to keep the little tykes warm. We like to use RapidRooter peat pucks because they're organic, firm and easy to handle and so far we've had 100% rooting success without rooting hormones. Snip, dip, stick. Seven to 10 days later, they go into their containers, or into 6" CocoTek baskets while they wait for a container. At this point they go into the Vegetation Tent.
The tent itself is a tent. A camping tent. I got it online for $35 delivered. It's about 5' x 6' and about 5' tall. In it I constructed a framework to carry my CFLs. Currently I'm running six 27W 5500K CFLs. Each light can be vertically adjusted independently, or the whole thing can ride up and down on the Easy Gliders I bought from the UK (all-metal, holds much more weight than the plastic yoyo-type light hangers and they cost less even with shipping form the UK.) The tent also is equipped with a CO2 Boost bucket and fans. The plants seem to like it in the tent. The babies and kids get a synchronized 18/6 photoperiod.
I grow the adolescents for 6 to 8 weeks before dragging them out of the tent and into... The Bud Reactor.
The Bud Reactor is really just a 2x4 and plywood shed, on steroids. It's light-tight, almost air-tight and generally, just tight. Inside there is a Light Rail 3.5 light mover (the 6 RPM model) moving a Theoreme Innovation SmartLamp 600 ProBloom LED grow lamp, the star of the show. A couple CFLs and a 24" T8 fixture provide supplemental photons and spectrum, as well as correcting the color of the light in the room for taking better pictures. Ventilation is handled by a single 630 CFM Ostberg/Eclipse fan. It pulls air through two 6" filtered inlets low on one of the walls and then out through the ceiling of the chamber using 6" ducting. When the stink gets too delicious for comfort, I attach the Deau Passe Activated Carbon filter to the fan, which doesn't so much slow down as simply get quieter. This room is also equipped with its own CO2 Boost bucket.
The three-tiered system gives us more flexibility with our timing of crops than if we had only one or two chambers. But now, I'm looking at the intriguing world of plant husbandry. I would love to design my own strain. Or just be able to get seeds from clones. So I anticipate setting up another zone or two for males and for pollinating, etc.
All of the areas are in a finished attic space. Stealthy, handy, convenient! I keep tabs on the temp and humidity in each of the three zones by glancing at the wireless weather station that receives data from each of the three transmitters, one in humi-dome, veg tent and Reactor. The base unit also displays the temp and humidity in whatever room it's in and tracks min and max (which are resettable) for both temp and humidity for all four data sets, in addition to the non-resettable 24H hi temp and 24H low temp. It has a fairly useless indicator for whether the atmospheric pressure is rising or falling, but doesn't tell you the pressure. It uses this to predict the day's weather and tries to give you an iconized display to let you know if you'll need a scarf or a beach ball when you go out. I ignore the little LCD dude. But I recommend anyone doing an indoor grow get one of these wireless deals.
The plants ride around in EarthBox containers. There are a number of reasons I chose to go this route (soil, organic, LED.) One thing about the EarthBox is that it has a reservoir and it's design actually eliminates overwatering and underwatering; the soil is always exactly how the green beasts like it. I'm using Sunleaves Guanos on top, letting it leach in over the season, as per the EarthBox instructions. But I also feed in the water with Iguana Juice and occasionally will do a top-watering with the food or Azatrol (an OMRI listed Neem-based product).
Take a look a the photos and let me know what you think! Also look for other threads or grow journals...!
Cheers, and happy growing!
