First time growing, prepping box now to set up my area

Hello everyone, this is my first time growing, but I have a little help at home from a family member. He had success back in the 90's growing a couple plants, one well above his height (6'3''), but stopped until this year. We have two plants growing now, one of which he is putting in our garden, and I want to put the other in the grow box I am constructing now. Btw, it is just some bag seed I got lucky with.

My grow box has two compartments, one is roughly 14-16'' height / 10" depth / ~26-28" length. I want to use this one for future 'veg?' stage, the one for when they first start to break ground and grow. On top of that, there is a compartment that has the same dimensions, except it is about triple the height.

I am lining the bigger of the compartments right now with reflective tape from home depot, just that basic hvac tape I believe. I have 4 CFL's I plan on using, but am not entirely sure if I have the correct ones. They are: 120v 23w 5000k. The plant I have now I'd like to continue in the veg state for 1-2 more weeks, then switch to 'flowering?' stage.

I do not have any ventilation set up as of yet, but I have 2 computer fans I took from an old comp that I can use. I do not have any electrical experience, apart from occasionally messing with pool pumps at work, which is sparse.

As of right now, the plant I intend on using is about 10'' tall, and I think I'd like to get it to 18-20'' if possible. I plan on asking my uncle to help me set up a pool timer for the box I am constructing, but am not entirely sure if that would be very safe considering the box is sitting in my closet LOL. I will post pictures later on of what I have already.

Anyway, I am just looking for any pointers to help me on my first grow. I apologize if I am breaking any forum rules by posting this. I have perused a few threads already, and figured it would be okay to post this here.

-CNQR

I don't think you are breaking any rules. Welcome and best of luck with your venture!

Don't forget to factor in height of the pot and for your lights. People grow in small places but I wouldn't be able pull it off.

i wouldnt use hvac foil tape. paint the walls flat white, not gloss white, or use some panda film (black/white plastic sheeting). tape reflects alot more heat and generates hot spots which can burn or harm plants. you can pick up a 10'x10' sheet of panda film from a grow shop for 10.00.

Thank you!

Good point, I didn't account for the space the lights are going to take up. Still shouldn't be all that bad however.

DemonTrich said:

i wouldnt use hvac foil tape. paint the walls flat white, not gloss white, or use some panda film (black/white plastic sheeting). tape reflects alot more heat and generates hot spots which can burn or harm plants. you can pick up a 10'x10' sheet of panda film from a grow shop for 10.00.

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I don't have any grow/hydro stores near me. I may just give this a whirl, and if I see it isn't working, I can try cloning the plant I will have growing outside and just start over with your idea. I appreciate the insight!

Are my 100w cfl lights okay to use though? I plan on using four total.

It's perfectly fine to ask for advice here. The number one advice you're going to get is that you need more lights and with more lights you're going to have to get your ventilation system worked out because it's going to hey hot in a enclosed space. Go to the DIY section here to get some good ideas on how to build out the cabinet theres a bunch of thread that will give you am idea of what you're in for. It's not a humongous undertaking but you'll need some tools time and common sense. For the timer you can save time by buying a digital one at a home improvement store for about 20 bucks, you can set it up in 5-10 mins. Good luck with the build!

Galvatron said:

It's perfectly fine to ask for advice here. The number one advice you're going to get is that you need more lights and with more lights you're going to have to get your ventilation system worked out because it's going to hey hot in a enclosed space. Go to the DIY section here to get some good ideas on how to build out the cabinet theres a bunch of thread that will give you am idea of what you're in for. It's not a humongous undertaking but you'll need some tools time and common sense. For the timer you can save time by buying a digital one at a home improvement store for about 20 bucks, you can set it up in 5-10 mins. Good luck with the build!

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I will go browse there now and see what I can't find.

Also, my buddy told me I should get the flood light CFL's, but I do not know if they will fit onto my power strip. Right now I have the four crammed on there, and I am afraid 400w just will not be enough, even with the reflective tape.

since you have no grow stores, why not buy from amazon. i bought about 80% of my entire grow stuff from amazon. from light systems, tents, testers, ect. amazons alot cheaper. you can even buy soil on amazon, but i dont trust them for soil.

DemonTrich said:

since you have no grow stores, why not buy from amazon. i bought about 80% of my entire grow stuff from amazon. from light systems, tents, testers, ect. amazons alot cheaper. you can even buy soil on amazon, but i dont trust them for soil.

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Good thinking, I have bought worse stuff on there before that turned out to be g2g.

I am looking to just keep the grow in this cabinet I have already, but what kind of items should I pick up? Any certain cfl bulbs?

Here is what I've got going on right now. Those are four 23w 5000k bulbs. The plant was started by someone else under an unknown light, and I noticed the light was rather far from the plant so I figured I might as well move it to mine since I could control the height far easier. I am going to let this go for a couple weeks more I think, then I will pick up some 42w 2700 lumen bulbs I found at walmart when I decide to switch to flower. Any suggestions appreciated fellas!

The lower leaves of my plant are cringing up, real dry, and browning/yellowing. Also the upper part of the stems are purple. What do you guys think is wrong; someone in another thread said it sounds like too much nutrients, or perhaps I misread that.

Also, I think I need to move it to a bigger pot soon. It looks like the roots are coming through the bottom of this and that is what's keeping it from growing possibly.

iirc, 6500k is best for veg and seedlings

I was reading the cfl guide and it said 5000k would suffice, but I will look for 6500k's at my local store. These 5k's will have to do for now though. I just moved the plant to a much bigger container, probably 5x the size, so hopefully that will help some.

/e thinking my plant has 'soil/nute burn' idk if that is the correct term, but seems like the plant is getting burnt out from the first person watering it too much, so i will water it every other day instead of every morning now and see if that helps.

/e2 just ordered 3 6.5k 42w cfl's, will use those in addition to the four I already have, will just mount another power strip.

i might be wrong on the 6500k. but thats the nukber i keep seeing and seeing. i use 2 4' 6500k t8 bulbs for my seedlings and future clones. then my 600's for my veg tent and flower tent.

well I was reading in the cfl tutorial that 5000k and 6500k were the best for veg growth, then switch to 2700k 3000k for flowering.

Right now I am a bit more worried about my plant starting to die. Looks like it may have some sort of deficiency, although I am really not all that sure. Reading through the nutrient guide and it looks like it matches a few nute deficiencies so I am thinking of running by home depot and seeing if they have something that can help it out.

Okay, I think I narrowed it down to a phosphorus deficiency by the stem changing to a purpleish and the leaves browning. Going to get some bone meal now and will have to find some good nute mix somewhere I guess.