1st Grow... Working with what I got!

[budlover13]

When I get inquiries regarding my medicine, I have said one of two things:

I grow my own meds like I grow my own tomatoes." and although some would see it as a racist statement, I had a friend tell his son "Oh, those are his Mexican Tomato plants."

 

[captbooyah]

Well, thus far, she understands that they are momma's flowers, and that she is not allowed to go into the 'kitchen' part of our basement (were we spend most of the day bc its the only space to put all of her damn toys LOL) Hard to explain the basement set up... but she is young enough to not really know whats going on, and I intend to make it so she has NO IDEA... lol. Love the mexican tomato plant thing... lol, we actually grow tomatoes and raspberries every year outside, and she picks them for me, but I can't have that be an option with my 'babies'.

 

[captbooyah]

LMAO... for sure. What did you think about the fish tank? IDK... it seems all to simplistic really. Maybe thats what my rookie ass needs... simple and easy. But it wouldn't be much fun if there wasn't anything I could learn from. Maybe it's because I have lots of time on my hands, or maybe I just like doing stuff the difficult way. Either way, I am having a lot of fun experimenting, learning and coming up with other ways I can do this. Everyone is so full of great ideas for growing, I really want to do everything once, to see what i prefer. Maybe i'm too ambitious...

 

[budlover13]

You can never be too ambitious unless that ambition becomes a distraction. I like the fishtank idea. Makes me want to pull my son's out of storage. A lot of people use bubble cloners for cuttings so I don't see why the tank wouldn't work provided you light-proof it.

 

[dbkick]

The cheaper way to do it (if i dont get the kit) would be to do a floating fish tank hydro system... lol I dont know how widely used it is, but I have seen my father-in-law do it... Its amazing! All you need for that would be a air stone for a fish tank vs. the irrigation pump ($12-$30 vs $50-$200) lol I found a pic on-line. Same concept as the hydro, but hell if you have a fish tank at home... you are good to go. They say Styrofoam is the best floating platform.
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Update: took the covers off my fluros... thanks everyone! Going to be replanting with new soil either wednesday or thursday (whenever I actually get to the store). I am also going to be clearing out a 5' x 5' storage 'closet' in my basement and re-furbishing for growing. There are only storage containers in there now. It has brand new drywall in it that is already painted flat white, and I can control the space a bit better than a counter top. (that, and keep it better closed off from the 3 yr old who keeps inquiring about my flowers... yikes!) But, all should be going much better after this little move. Hope to have it all done after x-mas (4 days away- yikes again).

aquariums are pretty transparent and you'll be wanting something opaque, I'm pushing igloo coolers at the moment.....
Welcome to RIU and happy growing

 

[dbkick]

Its always best to be able to control the temp of your water, that big cooler up above cost me about 130 dollars to build. money well spent.

 

[dbkick]

You could do it for a lot less of course(just a cooler with airstones), I can't stand not putting a water pump and all the sprayer heads I can stick in the thing. Others here do DWC in coolers with good results too. Mine isn't DWC but aerospring(can't be called aeroponic because true aeroponics requires a 5 micron droplet and you can't do that with regular pump and sprayers), it works well, I'm having better results plus I can use less nutrients since theres less water than in a true DWC system.

 

[captbooyah]

aquariums are pretty transparent and you'll be wanting something opaque, I'm pushing igloo coolers at the moment.....
Welcome to RIU and happy growing

That is a really great option... mind if i ask how you are running it? (or do you have a thread I can look at?) LOL... If I did the fish tank, i would probably spray paint the outside glass with a good black. I love everyones ingenuity and ideas... it's just amazing.

haha... you updated b4 i could ask... so water pump and sprayers?

 

[Captain Jaz]

LMAO... for sure. What did you think about the fish tank? IDK... it seems all to simplistic really. Maybe thats what my rookie ass needs... simple and easy. But it wouldn't be much fun if there wasn't anything I could learn from. Maybe it's because I have lots of time on my hands, or maybe I just like doing stuff the difficult way. Either way, I am having a lot of fun experimenting, learning and coming up with other ways I can do this. Everyone is so full of great ideas for growing, I really want to do everything once, to see what i prefer. Maybe i'm too ambitious...

Try get your humdity up to 70% for the veg stage. A few ways you can do this, enclose the area more, making the most of the heat and humidity you got, and saving you money too. Build a wooden box, find an old cuboard or just use plastic sheets sealed with tape. Mist the plants with R/O water, + maybe a light Nitrogen nute in there. Also, you could get an electric blanket, with a shallow wide tray of water ontop of it, and some wooden planks ontop of that with you plants on. Lights about all that ofc. Don't forget, CFL's and tube lights work best, once cuttings and seeds have grown a bit, hung about 2" above the plants. Good luck, and try get yourself a nice 400-600w HPS flood light off ebay, or maybe a reclamtion yard, so your ready for flowering. Also, space blankets, (those silver ones ambulance crews give to people in shock) will make much better use of ur light, pick em up online or at a good pharmacy for about $1 each, and hang them around your plants, above and under can't hurt either!

 

[dbkick]

That is a really great option... mind if i ask how you are running it? (or do you have a thread I can look at?) LOL... If I did the fish tank, i would probably spray paint the outside glass with a good black. I love everyones ingenuity and ideas... it's just amazing.

Glass breaks, Glass conducts heat and cold, Igloo. I'll answer any questions you have if I'm able. Feel free to have a look at my stuff here.... https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/346967-my-first-grow.html
It may help a little although the coolers are new to me this grow you just do them the same way you would a storage tote, but you won't have much control of the temperature of your water and this is said to be important, personally on my first grow temps were way out of hand(100 f room temps and res temps not far beihnd), h202 and co2 got me through that one and I actually came out with a pretty decent product, against all odds, those were crazy temps ,not to mention the humidity, I got a grasp on all that now and my grows seem to be more difficult for some reason :/

 

[Captain Jaz]

Also, using some cardboard, space blanket/mylar, and some tape, u can make a reflector for you tube lights. Cut a piece of cardboard as long as the tube, and about 6-8" wide, cover one side with space blanket and tape it down. Bend the card along its longest axis to make a nice curve (maybe tape some wire to it if it won't keep its shape) and then stick it to the tube ligh fitting, above the tube to reflact more light to where its needed.

 

[Bonzi Lighthouse]

I want to add some inspiration (and pitch for large single CFLs).

You don't have to spend a ton of money to grow some nice bud.

Single 250w 2700k CFL:


This is my development cabinet (same as above) and I added a $40 Hydro kit to it for the One Seed Garden Grow.


If you are going to go soil this grow skip the Ph meter purchase, you will have enough to worry about and Ph in soil is should be last on your list.

 

[dbkick]

That is a really great option... mind if i ask how you are running it? (or do you have a thread I can look at?) LOL... If I did the fish tank, i would probably spray paint the outside glass with a good black. I love everyones ingenuity and ideas... it's just amazing.

haha... you updated b4 i could ask... so water pump and sprayers?

yes ma'am, that would be a 400 gph water pump with sprayers , I've recently gone to all threaded plumbing which I'm liking a lot. pvc glue makes me dizzy! let me look up some links , I buy everything for the coolers from home depot except the coolers and the water pumps, they do have the water pumps but they're proud of them.

 

[captbooyah]

dbkick... Your right about the glass! In all honesty, it was a random idea to bounce around, so thanks for the input. I probably won't be using that anytime soon, but i like to have options. LOL... question: what is the ideal temp for water in most hydro-like systems? i.e the cooler or storage tote

Captain Jazz... first of all, nice to have another Capt on board. lol, thank you for your advice. I do need to get my light reflected better, and humidity has been a big concern. The space i have right now is very narrow, so it was closed up with plastic shower curtain liners on both sides, but the tape sucks and i had to open it up a bit to allow for my fan. I hope to be moving my grow spot all together so I can set it up better. This was the first spot that I had that didn't need an excessive amount of moving, cleaning and so forth... would an aluminum baking pan (disposable) work for the bottom to up humidity? or would the aluminum possibly cause bad reflection spots that could cause burn?

 

[dbkick]

err, home depot! adjustable Digs sprinkler heads( buy a 10-32 tap to drill the pvc for threads),orbit piping, they have cut-off pieces that are like 12 inches long and cut at every inch, you just snap them apart at the length you need, they also have various lengths , any submersible water pump from a hydro shop thats rated 400 gph or more , one thing I haven't put in the coolers that I do have in my totes that have not been put out of service quite yet ( but will) is filters. I'm finding they may not really be needed if you buy the right sprinkler heads. The sprinkler heads and pump aren't even really needed like I was saying, some here do real well with just the cooler and massive air pumped into it.

 

[dbkick]

dbkick... Your right about the glass! In all honesty, it was a random idea to bounce around, so thanks for the input. I probably won't be using that anytime soon, but i like to have options. LOL... question: what is the ideal temp for water in most hydro-like systems? i.e the cooler or storage tote

Captain Jazz... first of all, nice to have another Capt on board. lol, thank you for your advice. I do need to get my light reflected better, and humidity has been a big concern. The space i have right now is very narrow, so it was closed up with plastic shower curtain liners on both sides, but the tape sucks and i had to open it up a bit to allow for my fan. I hope to be moving my grow spot all together so I can set it up better. This was the first spot that I had that didn't need an excessive amount of moving, cleaning and so forth... would an aluminum baking pan (disposable) work for the bottom to up humidity? or would the aluminum possibly cause bad reflection spots that could cause burn?

Its all about DO(dissolved O2) and how much of it water can retain at what temps, I've read several things but 58 f being the lowest and 72 the highest, at 72 the DO isn't all that much of an issue BUT bad shit can start to grow at that temp. It need light to grow though so theres the reason for opaque.

 

[captbooyah]

Bonzi... that is sweet dude! Great looking buds! I'm starting to like theses types of grows more and more. LOL. Q: should I still be checking the ph of the water regardless - using soil or not?

 

[dbkick]

man I didn't even see bonzi's post I been so busy jacking my jaw, bonzi called me a show off and gave me some +rep!! show me some shit I can return the favor bonzi!

 

[dbkick]

ah there it is and not an Igloo in sight!! shame on you , you should have one in the pic even if its just chilling your beers! but seriously, +rep!

 

[Bonzi Lighthouse]

Bonzi... that is sweet dude! Great looking buds! I'm starting to like theses types of grows more and more. LOL. Q: should I still be checking the Ph of the water regardless - using soil or not?

If you are growing soil and you are drinking the same water then I will quote FDD "Whats Ph?", I would recommend you spend the money you have budgeted for the meter and put it into lights, as I previously said you are going to have enough to worry about and Ph should be last on the list IMO.

Soil acts a a buffer and is very forgiving, the sings of any def or Ph issue (very rare in soil) will slowly manifest them selfs and are usually corrected with a flush.

Good luck I'll be along for the ride with my fellow gander. FTR I'm a work at home grand dad.

*edit - If you already bought it obv use it but keep in mind, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail".