Under-Stair Grow Couple Of Questions

[rollablunt]

Hey guys! I'd like to say this forum is pretty darn ace, Nice grows and a lot of help everywhere.!

Iv'e decided after long thinking to get a little grow going, I'm going to have 4 or 5 plants under my stairs
Obviously i'll be cleaning this out :}
EDIT: The photo makes the understairs look a lot smaller than it actually is.

I'm going to line the room with white sheeting as the walls are a bit uneven and have nasty patches all over, i'm going to have an extractor fan drilled into the door to circulate the air with obviously an oscillating fan on the inside.

Im ordering a 400w HPS ballast and reflector included, I'm looking at using this: FoxFarm FX14053 12-Quart Ocean Forest Organic Potting Soil


But i'm sure iv'e read on here to be careful with organic soil as it can cause a few problems for an amateur grower, so if you could leave some suggestions for soil which can be purchased in the UK, would be greatly appreciated :}

Now i know theres a fertilizer/nutrient post on here already but what would you guys suggest for me to use during vegative and budding stages, I'm looking for something relatively easy to use to get to grasps with indoor- growing but what will produce some nice big buds for me to enjoy.

Also is it required to have my light on the seedling straight after germinating? (say on a 18 hour light 6dark)

Thanks For Reading
More Pictures Should Follow

 

[chipmunkproof]

Sometimes FF OF can be to hot for seedlings and sensitive strains. If you worried about it you could mix it with light warrior which is what subcool does. I personally have used roots and felt like it was a really solid product. I have no idea what is available in uk though sorry.OF can have bugs in it, but truthfully that is hard to avoid. How much height do you have in there? what are the dimensions? I would consider maybe painting with flat white paint as this will reflect better than paper will.
Good luck

 

[Slipon]

hi and welcome

fist of, I just love DIY rooms/work .. and your room look perfect for a personal grow ..

tho get maylor instead of white sheets, much better reflexion according to my light meter ..

also .. may I suggest you to get a cool tube or cool hood for your 400W
HID lights produce a lot of heat, will make your grow much more trouble free and give a better end result as your able to move the light closer ..


about soil, do go for a organic soil, I don't know who told/wrote that, but I had a lot less problems after I switch to a good organic SS (super soil) mix, I use a good basic organic soil (Plagron All mix) as my base (70%) and about 30% coco coir to make it light, in that I mix stuff like bone/blood meal, Bat guano, Epsom salt, Mearl (Oceanic Lime) Kelp Meal aso

most importent tho is to get one with in the right PH ranges (6-7) a lot of cheap "super market" soils is full of peetmoss and are low in PH, some lower then 6 and not suited for weed, will just give you problems all grow (lime can be used here to make the PH neutral)

and get one with Perlit in it (lega nuts can be used if Perlit is out)

alternativ is to grow in pure coco, might want to look in to that, can give great results (close to hydro) and is a easy grow medium when your dialed in, soil is more forgiven ..


about nutrient, try to keep it simple,most grow/hydro stores have start kits/grow boxes, with small bottles of all you need..

if you choose canna or plagron or another brand, is not so important, go for the brand available or on sale..

but in short you will need a Veg nut with high N and a bloom nuts high on P/K

this is what I use in Veg/bloom:




hope this answer some of your questions

Slip

 

[sworth]

With "nasty patches" on the walls I'd wash them down with diluted bleach,watery stuff, and put sheeting up. There may be all sorts of spores, dirt etc...
Start with a clean canvas, so to speak

 

[magoo63]

I use under the stairs for my veg room, it works good. I lined it with Mylar as the closet was not finished. I put insulation boards up and then tacked mylar. I do not know if this is good or not but it is working for me. I am almost a month away from harvest in a grow room so when I move these plants I will give it a good cleaning before I put other ones in there. I wish you the best.

 

[rollablunt]

hi and welcome

fist of, I just love DIY rooms/work .. and your room look perfect for a personal grow ..

tho get maylor instead of white sheets, much better reflexion according to my light meter ..

Slip

Yeah that's what I meant, and as for the nuts, i'm gunna take a trip to the local hydroponics store and see what theyv'e got on offer.
I'll get some pics up of building up the room and then some of the plants in the longrun :}

Cheers

 

[Closetgardner]

In my opinion, bio bizz or canna do the best soil available the UK. You can get a light mix or pro mix, depending if u want it pre fertilized or not.

 

[Somersetgrower]

So im using the 'under the stairs' for my set uo - have it half coverd with a curtain which is working really well have just got it into flower - just wondering how you ventitate yours ? Is that gaps in the doors enough or do it need to make a hole in the door ? Also whar temp is your room at ? And whats the best way to regulate this ? Im using 250w CFL at the moment and the temp is pretty consistant - cheers