Closet Garden Simple and Cheap - Step 1

palebock

palebock

Active Member
I'm pretty new to growing, but I think that I'm onto a pretty good closet system. I thought that it may help some other newbies to post what I've done.

To start, you'll need lighting. I bought a T-5 high output fluorescent light. I figured that it kicks out a lot of light and it won't heat up my closet. It cost around $100. Also, I'm using blue spectrum bulbs since they're better for vegetative growth.

I decided to go hydroponic since it's an indoor garden. I first started with a pre-made setup, but I think that I've improved on that. Basically, my setup is based on a bubbler system. That is, I get a 2 gallon bucket with lid ($5), a 6" plastic pot ($2), aquarium airline tubing ($5), aquarium air pump ($10), aquarium air stones ($3), rock wool cubes ($10 for a bunch of them), aquarium gang valve ($8), expanded clay pellets ($15 for a big bag of them), zip ties (I already had those), and a fishing weight (I already had that too). Beyond that, I'm using GH Flora Nova Grow for my nutrients ($20).

I took the bucket and drilled a small hole in the top of the side. This is where the airline tubing comes into the bucket. I place an air stone at the end of the tubing and add a fishing weight to hold it down. Then, on the lid to the bucket, I trace the shape of the plastic pot. I cut that out and jam the pot into the hole in the lid. You'll see from the pictures that I have a small piece of a wick going from the pot down into the bucket. An old piece of a shirt or towel will also work for a wick.

More to come in "Step 2"...
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palebock

palebock

Active Member
Step 2 -- Plant some plants.

I bought some clones from my local dispensary and put them into rockwool cubes. The rockwool cubes are held in place by the expanded clay pellets (I use rocks when I'm out of the clay pellets). Also, I'm careful to be sure that the wick is touching the rockwool. This way, while the roots are still short, the nutrient is carried up through the wick to the rockwool and then to the plant.

Hook the aquarium pump to the gang valve so that you can then run one airline tube to each plant (each one in it's own bucket). Then mix up some nutrients. I've found that it's important to start with a very light mixture. I start with 1/4 tsp of GH Flora Nova Grow per gallon of water. After a week or two, I increase the ratio by 1/4 tsp. I keep doing that until the ratio is 1 tsp per gallon of water.

After that, I turn the aquarium air pump on and put the plants under the light. Then add water/nutrient mixture as needed. It's simple, it's easy, and it works great. I use a 24 hour light cycle for vegetative growth. Also, I've lined the walls with a cheap emergency blanket (I think it's made of mylar).

Next -- Step 3 - Flowering
 

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palebock

palebock

Active Member
Step 3 - Flowering

So, after the plants get nice and big and full, and are getting pretty big for my closet, it's time to switch the lights to 12 hours on and 12 hours off. I'll switch my light bulb to something more in the red spectrum because it's supposed to be better for flowering. Also, I'll slowly introduce the GH Flora Nova Bloom nutrients. For that, I'll start at 1/2 tsp per gallon of water and go up gradually from there. I'll max out the ratio at 1 tsp per gallon.

My last harvest was my first one. For that harvest, I yielded somewhere close to 1/2 ounce per plant. I'm looking for a greater yield this time (current photo is below). There are some great articles around that tell how to tell when it's time to harvest. So, I won't go into that here.

Next Post - Step 4 - Cloning the Cheap and Easy Way
 

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