My first grow plan

I am planning on starting my first grow in a couple of weeks. I have been watching videos and reading stuff online about growing for around 2+years now. I've seen and heard a lot of different techniques and ways that other people like to grow and now with all the information I have gathered in mind, I am now going try my own.

I know this is my first grow and it should be more about the experience but I really want to get it right first time and hopefully produce a fine quality. Which is why I am here looking for help from experienced grower's and hopefully gain some valuable knowledge at the same time.

My Plan
I have been looking around locally and trying to find good quality easy to access equipment to start. I am on a low budget but may be able to stretch if needed.

So far I have planned to spend £152 on :
Black and white reflective sheeting
7.5L pots
Soil
All nutes needed from start to finish
Ph test kit with up and down
2 mini LCD humidity and temperature meters
Seeds

I plan to grow 9 plants . I'm undecided if I'm having 1 or 2 600w hps lights.
Grow space is large and I plan to cut off room half way
(Unsure exact measurement ATM)

And then comes the carbon filter fan which I am seeing are very pricey .
Odour control is a big factor to me so I am looking for the most practical equipment I can use.

Any help on my plan would be great.
And any good information for newbies.
Mainly need a good carbon filter setup with 1 or 2 lights for around £200


Thanks for reading

Few new growers spend the time to actually make a plan. Good go.

You have chosen "smallish" pots so that should speed up the length of time between germinating and harvesting. Generally, I figure one gallon of pot dirt properly services a plant for one month. So you should plan on harvesting around 3 months in dirt.

I have not found reflective sheeting to be economically worthwhile. I experimented with silver-sided sheeting and saw no difference with or without. What did help was a set of tall skinny mirrors (like on the back of doors) behind the plants. I aimed them so the light reflected directly onto the back of the plants and did notice greater bud development with the mirrors.

9 plants is perfect for a single light set-up. Doubling your wattage from 600 to 1200 will not pay for itself. Put the 9 in a diamond formation with the middle plant directly under the bulb.

If you decide to keep a perpetual grow going you should dedicate 3-4 times the space for flowering as for vegging. My veg "room" is a 3 x 5 foot space in my laundry room while I take an entire 8 x 8 foot room for flowering.

The bigger your space the less you need a filter set-up. I wouldn't spend anything on filters until you think you can smell the plants. There is not as much odor as many people expect so hang on to your quid.

I just paid $150 US on a complete 400W set-up that included a combo MH/HPS ballast, 2 bulbs, light fixture, timer and everything needed to start short of seeds and dirt. You should be able to get a complete 600W set-up for around 100-125 pounds. Look around but insist on all new equipment. Used bulbs are worthless, I've found. Off topic but,... both my larger set-ups 1000W and 400W, bulbs last 2-3 years each. Make sure you always have at least one replacement bulb. Avoid tripping the timer on-off-on-off when the bulb is plugged in. Nothing "burns out" a HD bulb like turning it on and off. Have your timer set up before turning the bulb on. I use a small electric hand drill to plug in and make sure my timer is set correctly.

Good luck, BigSteve.

good advice ^^^

my blog: https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/12-week-grow-sceneario-by-jorge-cervantas.30164/

Thanks for the reply's. Some really helpful info cheers.

My plan is to not use a timer and turn the light on off myself. I am very confident that I can consistently turn the lights on and off at the exact same time everyday give or take a couple of minutes. Would you recommended not doing this ? And why?

Also I forgot to mention the strain I am leaning towards is a northern lights #5 x haze hybrid 70% satvia and 30% indica. I plan on having little or non vegative stage due to the following information about this strain . 65-75 days flower

"Expect significant height gain from feminized Northern Lights#5 x Haze. Indoor plants can be flowered with little or no vegetation period, which compensates for their extra time in blooming. Rooted clones and even seedlings can be flowered immediately and may go on to exceed 1m by harvest time."

I also read this strain is not too hard to grow and that people have had their best yields from this strain.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Sativa's, are a bitch IMO. I would recommend a indica dominant all day long. On the other note of not using a timer, im sure u r a very dedicated person, and would probably do just fine at flipping the lights, but it the end, its just not worth it. Just get one, eventually you will, but if u wanna try first, im not going to say anything......oh and use bigger pots......just trust me

Sweeve said:

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Sativa's, are a bitch IMO. I would recommend a indica dominant all day long. On the other note of not using a timer, im sure u r a very dedicated person, and would probably do just fine at flipping the lights, but it the end, its just not worth it. Just get one, eventually you will, but if u wanna try first, im not going to say anything......oh and use bigger pots......just trust me

Click to expand...

Thanks, what size pots would you recommended ?

BigG420 said:

I am planning on starting my first grow in a couple of weeks. I have been watching videos and reading stuff online about growing for around 2+years now. I've seen and heard a lot of different techniques and ways that other people like to grow and now with all the information I have gathered in mind, I am now going try my own.

I know this is my first grow and it should be more about the experience but I really want to get it right first time and hopefully produce a fine quality. Which is why I am here looking for help from experienced grower's and hopefully gain some valuable knowledge at the same time.

My Plan
I have been looking around locally and trying to find good quality easy to access equipment to start. I am on a low budget but may be able to stretch if needed.

So far I have planned to spend £152 on :
Black and white reflective sheeting
7.5L pots
Soil
All nutes needed from start to finish
Ph test kit with up and down
2 mini LCD humidity and temperature meters
Seeds

I plan to grow 9 plants . I'm undecided if I'm having 1 or 2 600w hps lights.
Grow space is large and I plan to cut off room half way
(Unsure exact measurement ATM)

And then comes the carbon filter fan which I am seeing are very pricey .
Odour control is a big factor to me so I am looking for the most practical equipment I can use.

Any help on my plan would be great.
And any good information for newbies.
Mainly need a good carbon filter setup with 1 or 2 lights for around £200


Thanks for reading

Click to expand...

u could substitute the reflective sheets for FLAT WHITE PAINT and save a few bucks..... and get a used 600w for around 90 us dollars on amazon im not sure in ur currency but i think around 60pounds.... that should help u out with a carbon filter

i use 5 gallons, so thats what like 18L...and i get around 5-7 oz per....in soil

analog timers work good and arent as expensive..... u def need a timer what if u have an emergency? anything could happen u could dose off and fuck your self while ur dreaming about not turning off your lights and fucking urself

its all about the size of the root ball and quality of the root system. n 7.5L is just not big enough to be worth it in the end

dont they say like about a gallon per every 12 inches of plant?in anycase if your growing decent sized plants id def go with 5 gallons (19L pots)

every strain is different, i just like the 5 gallons because then i can go to lowes or home depot and buy 5 gallon buckets no problem....get home and take a paddle bit and punch some holes.....now im not paying 5.99 or 7.99 for the grow store pot, i just paid 1.68 and made the holes myself. Fucking hydro stores man, so much bullshit for stuff u can do at home with any sense if u really think about it. Like for DWC they got ridiculous prices for pumps and lines, shit go to a pet store and say ur getting an aquarium and spend half the money and ur not walking outta the 'grow' store with a bunch of shit lol

im with u buddy D.i.Y everything.... made my own dwc from walmart supplies..... also same as u when i switched to soil only i had my own 5 gallon buckets in the garage... used a paddle bit as well... built my own room with 2x4 and left over dry wall from a job.... using a extra window a/c i had laying around lol...i only had to buy lights/ fans / soil / seeds /nutes / microscope which was 7 buccks lol and ph meters

If you've never grown before maybe look for mentor.