Veg Only Grow Room [Help!]

domzilla88

New Member
Good day to all those who come across this thread. I have a small closet [pictures attached; 12" tiles] that I would like to use as a veg room; ideally a new plant will be placed in this room every two weeks. After a plant has been in the veg room for six weeks I will then shift it outside where, due to our current light cycle, flowering will be naturally induced. My question is, since I don't have three/four plants of the same size in there at a time, what size MH should I use? LED is crazy expensive where I live and they only have 250w and 400w MH and they're super expensive as well which is why I'm wondering if 400w is necessary for what I'm doing. At a single time I'll have a plant approaching it's sixth week and getting ready to go outside, a plant approaching it's fourth week, another at week 2, and a newbie coming in like me here, lol. Will 250w MH suffice since it's not like I have four six-week plants in there and I'm not flowering in there as well or do I definitely need the 400w MH? Much thanks in advance for any cooperation; your assistance is greatly appreciated.
 

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domzilla88

New Member
where do you live? if you can DIY there is no need for LED to be "crazy expensive"
I live in Jamaica. All of those lights and their fixtures etc. are really expensive down here as they're imported elsewhere. Furthermore the technology tends to be old. I'm in Jamaica and plants down here go straight into flowering after they reach sexual maturity so I'm trying to veg them out a little longer in a grow room. So yeah for me it is crazy expensive because those technologies must be imported so they're first purchased, cleared with crazy taxes, and then of course a profit has to be made.
 

domzilla88

New Member
We literally pay three to four times the amount for a similar product down here. You'd laugh at the prices of a 250w or 400w MH setup when compared to places like the States, Canada, UK, etc.
 

key4

Well-Known Member
Could you just up your numbers and do a outdoor sog?

If not you dont need anything fancy to get plants ready for outside as a bit of stretch wont matter. Can you get some cheap household 10-20w cfls or led bulbs locally? Just use a few of them.

Im using a double tier strip system to veg my outdoor this year as i do a few but ive used low watt cfls and cmh before no problems.
 

OrionNZ

Member
just put some outdoor lights on the plants for a extra 4 hours and they will stay in veg outdoor
thats what i would do as i think it would cost way more to set up a indoor room
something like a portable floodlight would work good
 

domzilla88

New Member
Key4, honestly I want big, bushy plants to underneath a SCROG and all that. The SOG thing is not for me, at all. And how many CFLS would I need? Thing is, everywhere says MH is better for veg than CFL. And I'm only using one set of lights as I can rely on the sun outside to finish the plant. So I was thinking since I don't have to buy a ton of lights, especially a whole other HPS bulb or something for flowering, then I could just setup an ideal veg room where at any one point a seedling, a two week old plant, and a four week old plant can THRIVE. That's it. I don't think I'm going to veg to six weeks anymore. That's literally it. So I want to know if 250w MH will suffice and what's the best way to set it up. Keep the area as is? Try to reduce the space to 3x3, 2x2. Is it not enough? What? I'm not growing a bunch of plants in their at the same time. A new one is going in every two weeks and once a single plant reaches four weeks it's going outside to induce flowering. What's the best setup for what I'm trying to accomplish guys, please.
 

domzilla88

New Member
There*. And we're only allowed up to five plants really so with that current setup i'll be pushing it already as I'll have three plants of different ages inside [1 seed that just popped, one approaching 2-weeks, and one approaching 4-weeks] and the five plants that the helicopters and so forth will see outside. So unless somebody finds out about my inside grow I should be good, lol. Point is, if they say all I can grow is five then I want the five biggest plants possible. SOG'n isn't really ideal for that. So I really just want to know the best way to get those 3/4 plants in veg to thrive until they're shifted outside.
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
What about strip lighting like t5s? They veg really well. I can understand HID lighting been expensive in Jamaica, T5s shouldn't be too bad. Even kitchen strip lights or school strip lighting would do.

However a 250mh would work, be slower than a 400 though.
 

key4

Well-Known Member
I was just trying to recommend something easy to source and inexpensive. Cfls arent great but they are easy to get and for veg are fine. Just go to any hardware store.

The 250mh will do just fine if you want to pay for it.
 

domzilla88

New Member
Slower? As in growth speed? So the 250w can work but it's not ideal like the 400w? I want a room ideal for what I'm doing. Again, not keeping plants of the same age but really one "big" plant at almost 4 weeks, one literally half the age of that one, and a seed. If people are growing and flowering using 400w alone I don't see why I can't get away with using a 250w because I won't need the light to manage as many plants or carry them through their entire life cycle. I just don't understand it right now. And T5's I've seen; expensive as well but if you have an ideal setup in mind tell me and I can go out there and price it up. I know I'm not gonna like it but whatever, lol. I've heard MH are better for plant development overall in veg and since it's just one light I have to buy I wanted to go with the best. Thing is, I'm not trying to overkill as I don't have the money, and obviously I want it it to be adequate for what I'm doing. So I'm just confused man. How is it that people have entire rooms running under 400w and all I'm keeping at a time is two plants and a seed that just popped and I need the same 400w because 250 will be slow? I don't get it.
 

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
Just my $.02.
I think you will be much better off with two lamp in there. Maybe a 250W right above the biggest plants and a 100W MH over the seedlings?
1 lamp at those lower powers isn't going to cover that 4' width very well ;)
 

domzilla88

New Member
That's true so that's why I was wondering if I should reduce the space somehow, either try and get a 3x3 grow tent or maybe a 2.5x2.5? Either that or insert some panels or something to shrink the space. I haven't come across any 100w at all though, :/ 250w and 400w but I can keep looking. So if I reduce the space will the one lamp work? Thanks to everybody's contribution so far, :)
 

HydoDan

Well-Known Member
I believe your 250 watt MH will do exactly what you want it to.. I've grown some pretty big plants with 150 watt
MH with a 20/4 light period..
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
315W Ceramic Metal Halide. This should give about the minimum watts/sq/ft. I believe 37w per sq foot is minimum. This would be 35w in a 3 x 3, but the CMH is very efficient, and would work.

In a 2.5 x 2.5 it would be 50w, which is good enough to strongly veg most any plant for a month, and can be stretched to 3 x 3 with great success.

Next up would be the 400w Hortilux Blue Metal Halide. 400w in 3 x 3 is 44.4w sq/ft

Also don't forget to slowly introduce them to the sun, as they have never been exposed to UVA/UVB, and could possibly burn them up.

Also if you veg them longer than the minimum hours it takes to keep them vegging, without flowering, they will flower when you put them outside.
 
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domzilla88

New Member
That's precisely what I want them to do. The problem with growing outside now is that once you plant a seed or throw a clone out there as soon as it matures it starts to bud. As you can imagine one ends up with smaller plants since they really had no veg time, or time to actually grow before budding. So that I don't mind at all; it's exactly what I know will happen and calculated for. As soon as they reach outside and start budding I can count down the weeks depending on the strain and proceed with a flowering schedule in terms of feeding and nutrients and so forth. HydoDan is saying it will suffice; is that if the area is left as is or reduced somehow? And Jimi i saying to go higher AND to reduce the space. Oh boy, lol. But Jimi I'll definitely keep that in mind; any particular method of introduction you can recommend? Bring them out for an hour and back in or something, I don't know. It's like, right now I'll plant a seed [A]. One week later it's just whatever light we decide to go with and plant A. A week after that, that light has to be able to deal with Plant A, which is now two weeks old, and a new seed, B. A week later I have a three-week old plant [A] and a one-week old plant, B. One week later, on the day plant A reaches four weeks old, I'll be moving her outside, which means at the MOST, and not for long, I have a plant approaching/at four weeks, [A], a plant approaching/at two weeks, and a little thing that just popped up or a clone, [C]. That's it. Outside now will be the five plants that they can see in their sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, and possibly fourteenth week, which really translates to 8-10 weeks of flowering, depending on the strain [but obviously I'm accounting for that time]. So I'm wondering, based off what's been said, that if I decide to leave the closet as is, which is a 4' area then I'd need the 400w MH but if I can find a way to reduce that space to say 2.5'/3' then I can get away with the 250w? Guys, this is the one room I have to setup. Thankfully mother nature is dealing with the "lights" for the flowering room [sun/outside]. I say this to say that since this is just the one room I have to setup I wanna make it ideal. However, I'm also not rich. I'm willing to reduce the area however I can if it means the new area will be ideal for a 250w setup and save me some money at the same time. But if reducing the area and using a 250w bulb is actually INFERIOR to keeping the area as is and using a 400w then I won't do it because I want the setup ideal. I want those plants in veg havin' the time of their lives, lol. I wanna do it right and not cut any corners, I'm just not made of money to where I can afford to be spending more than I have to. I want perfect conditions, I just don't want to spend more than I have to for it and, as we all know, one of the biggest issues us newbies have with lights is spending too much, lol.
 
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domzilla88

New Member
So the idea here is to always have five plants outside that the good ol' helicopters will see. Every two weeks I'll be cutting down one plant from outside, replacing it with a plant from inside [maintaining my five-plant limit, lol; I'll have eight in total, it's not that bad, lol], and planting a new seed or clone. When they fly over they'll always see five plants and they'll be five big plants and I'll have a crop every two weeks. That's the goal here so once I can get this veg room setup I can get this show on the road. Thank you so much for the help so far guys; can't thank you all enough really.
 

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
That's precisely what I want them to do. The problem with growing outside now is that once you plant a seed or throw a clone out there as soon as it matures it starts to bud. As you can imagine one ends up with smaller plants since they really had no veg time, or time to actually grow before budding. So that I don't mind at all; it's exactly what I know will happen and calculated for. As soon as they reach outside and start budding I can count down the weeks depending on the strain and proceed with a flowering schedule in terms of feeding and nutrients and so forth. HydoDan is saying it will suffice; is that if the area is left as is or reduced somehow? And Jimi i saying to go higher AND to reduce the space. Oh boy, lol. But Jimi I'll definitely keep that in mind; any particular method of introduction you can recommend? Bring them out for an hour and back in or something, I don't know. It's like, right now I'll plant a seed [A]. One week later it's just whatever light we decide to go with and plant A. A week after that, that light has to be able to deal with Plant A, which is now two weeks old, and a new seed, B. A week later I have a three-week old plant [A] and a one-week old plant, B. One week later, on the day plant A reaches four weeks old, I'll be moving her outside, which means at the MOST, and not for long, I have a plant approaching/at four weeks, [A], a plant approaching/at two weeks, and a little thing that just popped up or a clone, [C]. That's it. Outside now will be the five plants that they can see in their sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, and possibly fourteenth week, which really translates to 8-10 weeks of flowering, depending on the strain [but obviously I'm accounting for that time]. So I'm wondering, based off what's been said, that if I decide to leave the closet as is, which is a 4' area then I'd need the 400w MH but if I can find a way to reduce that space to say 2.5'/3' then I can get away with the 250w? Guys, this is the one room I have to setup. Thankfully mother nature is dealing with the "lights" for the flowering room [sun/outside]. I say this to say that since this is just the one room I have to setup I wanna make it ideal. However, I'm also not rich. I'm willing to reduce the area however I can if it means the new area will be ideal for a 250w setup and save me some money at the same time. But if reducing the area and using a 250w bulb is actually INFERIOR to keeping the area as is and using a 400w then I won't do it because I want the setup ideal. I want those plants in veg havin' the time of their lives, lol. I wanna do it right and not cut any corners, I'm just not made of money to where I can afford to be spending more than I have to. I want perfect conditions, I just don't want to spend more than I have to for it and, as we all know, one of the biggest issues us newbies have with lights is spending too much, lol.
If you could find 2ft T5's for one half and pop your seeds there and a 250W Metal Halide for the other side and largest of the plants you would be dialed in.
In my experience T5 seems to produce more compact seedlings than going straight to MH even with a top of the line lamp
 

domzilla88

New Member
Oh man, that makes sense because aren't you able to bring them closer with T5's whereas with the MH you'd have to keep them at a distance as that heat can cause leggy seedlings? Nice. Okay so say I go with the 2ft T5's.. They'd be sufficient to cover the seedling/clone for how long until we have to shift them to the big boy lights [MH]?
 

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
Oh man, that makes sense because aren't you able to bring them closer with T5's whereas with the MH you'd have to keep them at a distance as that heat can cause leggy seedlings? Nice. Okay so say I go with the 2ft T5's.. They'd be sufficient to cover the seedling/clone for how long until we have to shift them to the big boy lights [MH]?
It's also a spectrum thing, the intensity is obviously higher under MH but 6500K fluorescent makes young sprouts thrive in my experience
Depending on how many tubes you use you can go a foot plus. Shit, people flower with them.
Actually with the shape of that space a 6 or 8 lamp 4ft t5 makes perfect sense.
Just make sure you have the with to accommodate the overall fixture length
You could even mix in some uv lamps if hardening for the sun seems to be an issue
 
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