CFL 12/12 WW Soil

Well I've finally started my first journal. For this grow I will be doing a CFL 12/12 micro in soil. Since this is my first grow indoors, I decided to experiment with the basics. I have a bigger space that I am working on for flowering. That space is a closet that is 19"D x 23"W x 5'H. I plan to flower 2 plants in there if this works and I am successful at cloning in soil. Here is a run down of the grow space(first image).

Grow Space

The grow space is actually a corner cabinet. It is 25"W x 18"D x 27"H and triangular. I plan to keep 4 plants squeezed into this space at all times. During setup, I had many problems with heat which was to be expected. I added a computer fan to the top of the cabinet in the back corner. It pulls heat out but is not the CFM that I want so that will be upgraded soon. I also moved the hinges up to create a passive intake near the bottom of the cabinet. In addition to this I added a small desk fan to the interior of the cabinet and set it up to blow air across the lights and the plants(second image). With the door closed, temperatures are still reaching above 90 F, so a exhaust fan with a higher CFM rating is a must. I will be adding one next week that I found at Radio shack. It is a 4" 120v fan that I believe will do the job. On to the lights.

Lights
26w CFL x2
13w CFL x2
18" 17w aquarium lights x2

As stated in the title of this thread I am using CFL's for the entire grow and plan to have them under a 12/12 lighting schedule. I read somewhere that 3,000 lumens per sq. ft. of grow space was sufficient. As of now I have over 4,000. As I fix the temperature problems I will be experimenting with more lights, or more lumens. My goal is to try to get as close to sun light(10,000 lumens per sq. ft.) as possible without harming my babies.

Soil
Scott's Premium Top Soil
Jiffy Plant Mix (All Purpose)

I chose a soil with no nutrients because I read somewhere that you do not want to subject seedlings to nutes until they are at least 3 weeks old. I mix 3 parts soil to 1 part jiffy mix. I have a mountain stream behind my trailer that I use to water my plants. Before watering I let the water stand in a cup for three days. I plan to pickup a Ph testing kit from Wal-Mart soon.

Nutrients
??????

I have not decided what to feed them yet. They are in their first week of life so I have about 2 or 3 weeks to figure this out. I live in a small mountain town, so my only options are Wal-Mart and Lowes. I have been researching this quite extensively and have found plenty of nutrient information on two part growing cycles, but not much on growing 12/12 all the way. They will still be young when I switch them to 12/12 so I will probably just put them on a low dosage of flowering nutes and gradually increase the dosage as they grow. Any input on this is greatly appreciated.

Seeds
20 White Widow

I bought these from Cannabissedds.com for $20. I know these are a very good strain so I want to be careful not to waste them by making stupid mistakes. That is the main reason I started this journal so I could benefit from your experience along the way(and because it's fun).

Well this is my plan so far. This is a learning experience for me and I am very excited about my first grow. I want to approach this grow with a lot of patience and enthusiasm and my overall plan is to make this a perpetual grow to provide me and my wife with a steady supply of decent smoke that we do not have to pay out the ass for. Please feel free to add any comments you wish. I have decided that posting pics every day or two would be monotonous, so I will only be posting them once a week, unless of course something goes wrong and I need help. Thanks in advance for any help you offer and wish me luck! Enjoy the pics.

Just for shits and giggles here is a couple of pics of my Large Mouth Bass.
He is about 3 mo. old.

your going to need ventilation in the future

Yeah I plan to upgrade the exhaust next week to a much higher CFM

Well I made some additions to the cabinet today. I added a vent on each side. One behind the aeration fan and another opposite of it. Hopefully these will help move fresh air in and hot air out. I will be monitoring temps for the next two hours with the door closed to see if there is an improvement. If not then I will upgrade the fan and seal it to the intake vent to improve suction. Here are the pics of the improvements.

The ventilation improvements are working great. Temps in there with the lights on and the door shut are steady at 80F. The plants don't seem to be stretching so it looks like I have enough light. It's looking as if everything is a go. Now we'll just see what the next few weeks bring. Finger's crossed.

data said:

your going to need ventilation in the future

Click to expand...

Id get some proper lighting too.

I plan to upgrade to 4 40w CFL and 2 26w CFL next week. Remember this grow space has a little over 1 sq. ft. of floor so the required lumens is a minimum of 3,000. The lights I have now give me over 4,000. Testament to these figures is the fact that my youngins are not stretching. Remember also that heat is a problem in spaces as small as this and that it is a decrotive cabinet, so I can't just go and tear huge holes in it for huge exhaust fans. Doing this would ruin the concept of the grow which is stealth. Besides, this cabinet has now become temporary. Last night I made a much larger space that is 23" x 19" x 5'. This space will be utilized in the near future and will allow me to grow in two cycles. Ventilation will be vastly improved since I will be able to use two 70 CFM exhaust fans easily. I will use one to vent hot air out through the roof and one to bring fresh air in from outside. There is also enough room to utilize a oscillating fan for improved aeration. I'll have pics of the move as soon as it is completed. Actually I am undecided as to whether or not to use both spaces simultaneously. I may continue to use the smaller cabinet to grow a perpetual harvest and use the larger closet to grow clones to their full potential. We will see how things play out.

I have discovered a nitrogen deficiency in my choice of soil. I am kicking myself for my decision to stay away from soils with nutrients. I read that seedlings should not be given nutrients until they are at least 3 weeks old, but overlooked the fact that this only pertains to watering schedules. I need an efficient way to treat the soil with nitrogen without harming the plants. I read that fish tank water has nitrogen and other essential nutrients for plant development and have been giving them small doses of it to see if they improve. They are not wilting or anything they just have slightly purple stems. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

interested to see how a cfl grow will turn out with a 12/12 light schedule man. Thanks for posting your journal for all of us! +rep

-K1

Thanks for the support guys, I'll keep you updated regularly.

Upon inspection today, the plants seem to have responded well to the fish tank water and have increased growth speed. I have also begun diluting small amounts of 10-10-10 fertilizer into a gallon jug. I will be treating the soil with this very slowly and will report any changes.

I added a 42w CFL($9.00 at Wal-Mart) to the cabinet tonight for a grand total of 8,051 lumens. That shit is bright as fuck. One more 26w and I will have achieved artificial sunlight at 10,000 lumens. The plants don't seem to mind though so as long as they are happy, that's all that matters. I think I'll start wearing sunglasses when working in the cabinet LOL.

This is the start of week 2 and not much to update other than some minor changes to the cabinet and the addition of 4 new babies. Everything is going according to plan, no problems to report. Here are the weekly pics I promised.

lookin good...my plants are like the same age

*Subscribed* Good luck. WIll keep my eye on this one.

I think it would be cool if you took 1 picture a day of the same plant from the same side of its body. Put this in a seperate folder on your PC and then at the end you could make a slide show of the hole process..... Oh love the fish

any updates bud?

This early in the game things move pretty slowly so I will be posting updates every Friday. This keeps it on a week to week basis so changes are more clear. But not to worry everyone is doing great and responding very well to their enviroment and watering schedules. I'll have new pics up this Friday. Again thanks for your support and interest.

It seems we were both lucky to have stumbled upon the White Widow seeds of cannabisseeds.com and received them. I'm growing my beans in a hydro system under CFLs, will tell you how it goes. Subscribed.