A new beginning... mostly autos!

wil2279

Well-Known Member
So I am going to build a new grow space in my new house. It will be a work in progress... I am building it in the corner of the basement. My basement is an ICF basement so it shouldn't ever get super cold in there. I'll insulate the 2 interior walls to help keep the environment somewhat stable. I will update with progress pics of the construction. I am hoping to start growing the first week of December. It will not be my first indoor grow but it will be the first indoor grow I have full control over.
 

PopAndSonGrows

Well-Known Member
Damn, super clean. Why not just throw a couple tents up though, why build a full on room? Don't get me wrong I'm impressed and interested, just wondering why not go with tents?
 

RobCat

Well-Known Member
Im yet to deal with autos but theyve become so popular. My question is will a despensary be willing to buy the final product like photo strains? Atleast if they know its auto weed?
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
I am
Damn, super clean. Why not just throw a couple tents up though, why build a full on room? Don't get me wrong I'm impressed and interested, just wondering why not go with tents?
Going to use tents. This is going to be a storage closet. In the back of this room I will have a 4x4 and possibly a 2x4 grow tent. This just breaks my basement up into a smaller 8x12 area so I don't have to heat the whole basement. I can just maintain environment in this small room. And it will keep my grow hidden because there are windows in my basement.
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
Got the other half wall up. Now I have 1 more 8 ft wall to put up with the door. I already have drywall I can install to close off the space. I haven't decided yet how I am venting my exhaust fan out of this room. I may install a drop ceiling and exhaust into that and allow the air to naturally exit through the ceiling joists into the rest of the basement.PXL_20211104_023710877.jpgPXL_20211104_023652787.jpg
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
Im yet to deal with autos but theyve become so popular. My question is will a despensary be willing to buy the final product like photo strains? Atleast if they know its auto weed?
You have to grow autos from seed and when growing from seed you will always get a little difference between plants. I think if you are growing for a dispensary, it's still probably best to use clones from photo strains to get a consistent product. But if you are just a care giver or growing for yourself autos make a lot of sense. Keep in mind, it is not the quality of the product that makes me say go with clones for selling to a dispensary. It is the overall consistency of the final harvest that makes me say that. Auto breeding has come a long way but the finished product still isn't as consistent as growing from clones.
 

Oldreefer

Well-Known Member
With an area like that, I'd be hog wild with growing. When I started 20 years ago, I used a 20x16 area and several hps lights. All autos then. Actually never used a tent until I downsized a few years ago but then changed once again to a 'closet' type grow in a 4x4 area with several led/cobs/qbs... still my want-tos far outpace my space....

Being a perpetual marijuana grower all these years, ya figger out autos don't give a shit about schedules so why not throw in photos and make autos adapt to their schedule! So I did. No problem. Makes for easy cultivation of all plants on a timely schedule and rewards to a patient grower.

Don't limit yourself to a certain schedule....yes, that means I grow everything on 12/12. Allows growing anything anytime...no limits...just mark the photos and feed accordingly....autos feed a lil less. A well grown auto will equal a well grown photo most of the time in potency, sometimes even exceed....doesn't that idea open up possibilities? I've shown for 20 yrs that it works very well.
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
Bro....brand new basement, clean and all that room....that's awesome, man! All that room and you're messing w/ autos....come on, man...:)
Well there are a lot of reasons I am using autos. Where I live it is not uncommon to lose electricity for a few minutes or hours occasionally. So having plants that aren't sensitive to changes in light cycles is a good thing. (I do have some quality photo genetics also to play with if I want to. They may run as a scrog in the 2x4 if I get that running.) Also I want to run a perpetual grow in the 1 4x4 tent. Can't do that with photos unless you just pop everything under a 12x12 light cycle. And if you are doing that autos have a strong advantage. Also I don't feel the autos from good quality breeders such as mephisto, fastbuds, night owl, dutch passion, and others are inferior genetics. I know people who smoke all the time and they don't think my auto buds are any less potent than the stuff they normally get. For me the light sensitivity is the biggest factor. I don't have to worry about what time of day I am in the garden. Light leaks aren't a concern. And I do have a whole basement but I plan on building a guest bedroom down there as well as a nice big man cave... And this storage closet. As well as a utility area. The back wall of the basement has a double door that is floor to ceiling windows. And there is 1 other small window in the basement. That will be in the man cave area in case I want to run a window ac unit during the summer months. 20210430_193910.jpg
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
With an area like that, I'd be hog wild with growing. When I started 20 years ago, I used a 20x16 area and several hps lights. All autos then. Actually never used a tent until I downsized a few years ago but then changed once again to a 'closet' type grow in a 4x4 area with several led/cobs/qbs... still my want-tos far outpace my space....

Being a perpetual marijuana grower all these years, ya figger out autos don't give a shit about schedules so why not throw in photos and make autos adapt to their schedule! So I did. No problem. Makes for easy cultivation of all plants on a timely schedule and rewards to a patient grower.

Don't limit yourself to a certain schedule....yes, that means I grow everything on 12/12. Allows growing anything anytime...no limits...just mark the photos and feed accordingly....autos feed a lil less. A well grown auto will equal a well grown photo most of the time in potency, sometimes even exceed....doesn't that idea open up possibilities? I've shown for 20 yrs that it works very well.
I have a 2x4 tent with a 4 inch inline fan and carbon filter. I also have an hlg 260 watt quantum board light for in there. If I decide to do any photos it will probably be in this tent and it will probably be either an extreme LST and topping grow or a scrog setup. The autos is what I really want to run though. I'd like to harvest 1 plant every 3-4 weeks if I can pull off 2oz plants. If I can pull bigger harvests of 3 or 4 oz then maybe I only need to harvest once every 6 to 8 weeks.
 

Oldreefer

Well-Known Member
Sounds like you're all set up...autos was definitely a good plan. And you've got a fantastic spot in case you grow monsters. Even though I grow in small 2-3 ltr pots, bonzai style, I still get at least 1-2 oz per plant that's smokable in 3 months from seed most of the time. Personally I start plants every 3 weeks so I have a harvest about every 3 weeks. Of course I can never smoke much of it but the growing is quite addictive...
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
Sounds like you're all set up...autos was definitely a good plan. And you've got a fantastic spot in case you grow monsters. Even though I grow in small 2-3 ltr pots, bonzai style, I still get at least 1-2 oz per plant that's smokable in 3 months from seed most of the time. Personally I start plants every 3 weeks so I have a harvest about every 3 weeks. Of course I can never smoke much of it but the growing is quite addictive...
I am in the same boat. I love growing but I can't really smoke. I get to smoke a handful of times each year and that's it.
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
So I got the other wall built tonight. I just need to install a header and a door... And a little more drywall. I have an electric radiator style heater for the room if I need it. My basement is well insulated and so far hasn't been cold at all .. but we also haven't had any really cold weather yet. It was down in the 20s a couple of mornings. PXL_20211112_051252374.jpgPXL_20211112_051614223.jpg
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
So I have most of it done... I have to install a door header, a door, and a couple more small pieces of drywall and the room with be sealed off for the most part. This i can finish up tomorrow. PXL_20211114_052427339.jpgPXL_20211114_052413569.jpg
 

wil2279

Well-Known Member
Got the door installed and enough drywall to seal off the room. It still needs a little work but I could start my grow if I wanted to. Looking good for a December start. I need to get a final home inspection before I start my grow. Can't be having people in to inspect the house top to bottom with a grow started.
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wil2279

Well-Known Member
My final home inspection is on Monday. After that I should be safe to go ahead and start my grow. I will put up the grow tent and get everything set up. Once I am set up I will run the setup for 24 hours without plants so I can monitor humidity and temps and adjust accordingly. I will continue with this process until I am happy with my environment. Then I will germinate seeds. The first seeds to germinate will be 2 Northern Cheese Haze and 2 Strawberry Nuggets all from Mephisto.
 
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