Criticism Please

I am attempting growth of a single plant from a seed I got out of a bag of good commercial "dank", "dro", "beasties", (whatever you may call it in your area). I foiled the entire inside of a 20"Wx48"L rubbermaid container, flipped it up longways and ran 2 lamps into it and an adjustable height 18" T8 6500K fluorescent. In one lamp I have a 300W, 6200L. incandescent and in the other a 30W, 1900L, 2700K CFL bulb. I understand that the incandescent produces very little usable light and that the flourescents' light does not travel very far. But due to certain circumstances and the fact that I don't have the cash immediately for a 400 or 600W HPS (which I plan to get), this is what I'm using. For ventilation, i just have a fan blowing into the bottom of the container and another fan up high blowing out of my closet (if flows the heat out pretty well). I have included a few pictures. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ONLY PLEASE.

If that is aluminum foil rip that down ASAP! it will cause serious heat spots...a better alternative would be mylar, white visquine, or my personal favorite due to how easy it is to aquire is Emergency blanket from wal-mart...yes wal-mart go into the camping section and buy like 4 boxxes of emergency blanket and you wont run out...you can build a whole house for your plants with it. Its got a very good reflective surface.

As for lighting....if money is an issue purchase some surge protectors and 3way splitters. You can go to lowes and find these light sockets that fit the cfl bulbs and put 2 per 3 way...if you go look at my albums you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. For effeciency you want to get anything larger than 23w cfl. I have personally came to the conclusion that I'll be buyying 1 or 2 200watt cfl's of each color one being 6500k and one being 2700k for veg/flower. You also have to remember that CFL lighting is damn near impossible to burn your plants it produces so little heat especially with air circulation that one of my plants leaves grew in between the light bulb over a 3 day period of me being gone and didnt burn. So keep those lights as CLOSE as possible to prevent stretching.

Air circulation...I've noticed that the larger my plants get and the more lights I add to them as they grow it becomes increasingly hotter and hotter not to mention more and more humid, I live really far south and the humidity is already really high. I use an Air conditioned ionizer i picked up from wal-mart that has a thermostat on it for like 40$ not only does it keep the room clean but when your babies start to smell it also works as a air purifier as long as you keep the filter cleaned.

Nutrients...there are a bunch of different types, I personally like the fox farm set up because it is easy and noob friendly and has great results. Just make sure that you start off using a 1/4 teaspoon to a gallon and work your way up by the 1/4-2/4-3/4-4/4-1 1/4...etc all the way up to what it recommends.

Watering.... Make sure and water your babies around 3-5 times a day...it'll vary depending on the climate they are in but keeping it around those numbers should be alright.

I also recommend picking up a copy of the dvd compilation put together by Jorge Cervantes...its a video that will save you alot of trial and error. Plus itll ensure that you are a happy farmer come harvest time.

I move the pot around quite a few times a day to help with the heat spot problem. I'll try out the heat blanket thing. As far as everything else you said, thank you for your input. I am now looking into a 12"x12" LED Panel. I think that if i use that with the 30W CFL bulb (for a little UV), I would be able to attach the lid after attaching a few 112mm computer fans (one top side and one bottom side diagonal) and get much more use of my light.

adding more soil to your pots will help support your stalks.

i agree ditch the foil . even white paint would be better than foil. watering 5 times a day seems excessesive but i guess if its hot in your grow box it might be needed.

the only real way to tell how effective your being man is to invest in a bunch of meters....for example PH meter Light Meter PPM(if you intend on using nutes) humidity meter and temperature guage....now the temperature guages you'll want to get 2 even if your doing a 1 plant set up simply because the heat in the top of the room will be drastically different from the bottom of the room....so get one for low and high...if you've got enough cash get a 3rd one for canopy level

as for led's i know you need a shit ton of them and that they dont produce much heat like the cfl and are easy to conceal so if you feel comfortable messing with the most high tech lighting i think there is for growing marijuana be my guest but I definitely wouldn't recommend it. Id start small with cfl's for a first grow. get one 200watt cfl and you'll be good for the whole grow if ur doing one plant set up....hell a 200watt cfl could carry 4-6 plants if i were to estimate...

Something like this I guess? http://www.1000bulbs.com/150-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorscent/41036/

Only sprout one plant per pot.

soil said:

Something like this I guess? http://www.1000bulbs.com/150-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorscent/41036/

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that one would work but notice that it is a 277volt not a 120volt...you would need to plug that one into a larger outlet I personally am unsure as to what socket would actually run that one because most houses only have a bunch of 120v sockets and then like one or 2 220v sockets for like ur washer and dryer/oven/dishwasher and larger appliances. I would recommend getting this. its the 6500k which is the best for vegetative and you can also buy the 2700k's like this as well

http://cgi.ebay.com/200-200W-WATT-FLUORESCENT-GROW-LIGHT-6500K-CFL-NEW-USA_W0QQitemZ230376413958QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a3811b06&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-200-WATT-CFL-GROW-LIGHT-2700K-6-MO-WARRANTY_W0QQitemZ190335298112QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2c50de2a40&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

definitely transplant that smaller one to another plant I didnt even realize it was in the same pot....do it asap to ensure the root systems dont entertwine

Th3p3st24 said:

Watering.... Make sure and water your babies around 3-5 times a day...it'll vary depending on the climate they are in but keeping it around those numbers should be alright.

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3-5 times a day? Seems like that would be WAY too much water. I usually water every 3-5 days and I live in a climate where the average humidity is 30-40%

fdd2blk said:

adding more soil to your pots will help support your stalks.

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That's what I was going to say.

Next time fill the pots more! But I wouldn't add soil now, because you risk stem rot.

As far as watering, I don't really do it on a daily schedule. I just judge if it needs water with my finger, but I'd say it's roughly every 4 days. The sprout was an accident and has been removed. Because of the size of my grow area I was planning on starting 12/12 as soon as she has her first alternating nodes. However, I only have about 36" of height from soil to light bulbs. Should I wait until she is about 16" or just whichever comes first (alternating nodes or half of desired mature height)?

unfortunately I live where there is usually 100% humidity and well over 100 degrees outside, even inside its a difficult task for me to get the temp down to 75deg but i do it. like I also said it varies on the environment. The finger test is what I usually use as well

Green Cross said:

That's what I was going to say.

Next time fill the pots more! But I wouldn't add soil now, because you risk stem rot.

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NO, add soil NOW to help support the main stalk.

dont believe someone with 39,000 posts. jk

will do on the soil. ill get some tomorrow. Should I fill it up to the first node (which is below the top of my pot) or just under it? also, some opinions on the light. Is it enough for one plant? do i have enough of the necessary spectrum?

soil said:

will do on the soil. ill get some tomorrow. Should I fill it up to the first node (which is below the top of my pot) or just under it? also, some opinions on the light. Is it enough for one plant? do i have enough of the necessary spectrum?

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just below the first node.

thanks very much for the opinions and criticisms thus far. she began growing her first alternating nodes recently so i have switched to a 12/12 cycle to induce flowering. i topped her around the same time i took those other pics and the 2 branches below the topping took off quickly. i tied them down yesterday and already i have noticed nice growth from the nodes that were blocked by the shade leaves up top. she now has a nice canopy working. keep in mind that im trying to keep her under 36 inches max. basically a marijuana bonsai. i added some homemade compost to the top and believe i cured what looked like maybe a phosphorus deficiency. ever since i added the compost all of the new growth has had very nice deep green color. im still using the foil and will probably use it the rest of the way through. i dont get out of the house much but next time im at walmart i plan on buying a couple emergency blankets. here are some current pictures.