Noob looking for advice on CFL closet grow

So, I am going to be doing a closet grow and I'm dealing with a space about 9ft by 3ft and about 6 ft tall. I have a few questions I am hoping the experts could answer.
1: how many plants do you think i could fit in this space? I will post a picture of what im dealing with in a few days.
2: how much wattage do you think i will need for this grow and what light fixtures should i get? I just bought a 3back 100watt of 2700k and a 3 pack 100watt 6500k CFL bulbs and was thinking about using 4 bulbs (3 2700k 1 6500k while budding) and 3 6500k and 1 2700k during veg. thoughts? I was considering buying standard work light fixtures with the 6ft cord so i could adjust the lights more easily. thoughts?
3: for ventilation i was considering two standard box fans you can buy at walmart, one blowing into the closet and one blowing out. I would leave the sliding doors of the closet open just enough to fit the fans between the door and the moulding, and put a car dashboard protector (i think that's what they are called) hanging above it to keep light from escaping too badly.
4:I am clueless on nutes! when should i start using nutes and what kind? from what ive gathered online 15-30-15 seems to be good after veg has started but id like to hear it from some more experienced growers. I was planning on using compost made of rotting leaves and other organic shit .

Thanks so much for your input and toke on!!

THC Instructs Cancer Cells to KILL ITSELF = Autophagy ... & Start a SEED & GROW~AWAY = Miracle Grow Tastes FINE. In a HURRY After Harvest ? Vegetable DeHydrator Works OVERNIGHT. GOOD Plants NEED NO TIME to "Cure" = W'sMyDoobie? WMD ? Oh, THC is TheHappyCOOKIE ... Water-Filtered HOOKAH (Empty Glass Jar & Metal Cover w/ Lamp-Bolt HOLLOW THREADED ROD & Surgical Rubber Tubing or BRASS BRAKE LINE) ... Call me CONSTANT CLOGGER Every Few Days, but BEER-CAN SCREEN Needs to be BURNED CLEAN - BURN OFF COLOR or BREATH COLOR ? OMBlue iz Yummy if NOT SMOKED, but BURNED~AWAY ... like Me

I would use 1000 watt HPS for that amount of space. just gotta get a good airflow setup so heat doesn't build up.

thanks for the input but im broke and went with CFL because its cheap

I cant really make any kind of call on this but I can give you an idea via what I have. My "Closet is 19" wide x 21" deep and 64" tall. For that size I do one plant. For vegging I use 3 CFL's. All of them are 6500k and 23 watts each. For nutes I use Miracle Grow tomato food every 2nd watering. My last grow yeilded me just about 1/2 OZ dried but I had problems with powerdered mildew and threw alot of it away that got infected. That took about 4 months. I need to find a strain that is mildew resistant for the next one. This is what that room looks like. Note the cheapness. It works.
BTW the "reflectors" are nothing but computer paper backed with cardboard and the speaker wire is what I hang the bud on to dry.

did you top your plant? it looks like a straight stick :/ 1/2OZ isn't much my friend, Im looking for 2-5 OZ per plant! I will be sure to learn from your mistakes and watch the humidity so i don't get the mildew problems. obviously my space is a bit bigger so ill have more opportunity to test things out. thanks for the reply/pics!

420noobie said:

did you top your plant? it looks like a straight stick :/ 1/2OZ isn't much my friend, Im looking for 2-5 OZ per plant! I will be sure to learn from your mistakes and watch the humidity so i don't get the mildew problems. obviously my space is a bit bigger so ill have more opportunity to test things out. thanks for the reply/pics!

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The tops were all that survived the mildew. So yea it was just the tops. The humidity was only at an average of 50% for the most part. This part of the State has a huge mildew problem. Most of the growers have it one time or another. Im absolutely sure that with some better lighting and a good draining system I can do 4-5oz for each. Im in the same boat as you when it comes to the $. I have only $40 into this one so far. Almost forgot Im also going to change out the fans. I have 3 120mm 120v fans going in for the next one.

That's a pretty large grow box in which to be using CFLs. The downside to using these bulbs is that the usable light they emit doesn't travel very far, so CFLs are usually reserved for growers in tight spaces. The upside to using CFLs is small growing environments is that they don't produce much heat, and therefore the plants can grow to within close proximity of the bulbs without the risk of the leaves/buds burning.

Unless you plan on increasing the amount of bulbs you currently have, I wouldn't recommend you attempt to grow more than two plants. Any more than that and I think you'll run into difficulties when trying to spread the light to all your developing bud sites during the flowering cycle. You certainly have the space to grow more plants, but as was suggested in a previous post, you'll want to invest in HPS to make use of all the available growing space in your grow box. Or buy more CFLs to spread them around.

5 zips per pant is an outrageous target with 400 watts of CFLs. I'm not being a jerk, I just think you should manage your expectations. 2 zips per plant is much more realistic.

Do a dry run to test your environment - leave the bulbs on for 24 hours, and monitor temps and humidity in the box. Digital thermostats/humidity readers are super cheap on ebay. Add/remove cooling/humidity control as the readings dictate.

I can't help with your nute selection. I'm a hydro grower, and I use store-bought premixed veg and bloom nutes (Vitalink Max).

Post pics of your setup!

unfortunately, i do not have 300$ to spend on HPS lights, so i guess ill need more CFL and a lot of reflective material in my closet. thanks for the input!

I'd also like to add that I will be have 5 Pineapple Express seeds and 1 white widow fem, and 1 grand daddy purp. Pictures will be eventually posted

Bill95815 said:

The tops were all that survived the mildew. So yea it was just the tops. The humidity was only at an average of 50% for the most part. This part of the State has a huge mildew problem. Most of the growers have it one time or another. Im absolutely sure that with some better lighting and a good draining system I can do 4-5oz for each. Im in the same boat as you when it comes to the $. I have only $40 into this one so far. Almost forgot Im also going to change out the fans. I have 3 120mm 120v fans going in for the next one.

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you should also consider using emergency blankets you can buy at wal-mart for your reflective surface, they are 1-2$ each and cover a pretty large area. If you don't want to do that you could also tape tin foil to the sides of your box. Food for thought

I've read that flat white paint works too, and avoids the potential for hot spots.

You need at least 1 sq ft per girl not topped. More if you decide to top. This also depends on how long you veg for.

Being a long skinny room you may want to look at 2 400 watts or 600 watts as opposed to 1 1000 watter.

You might want to look into scorg as well.

But just starting out try getting healthy plants first.

yktind said:

You need at least 1 sq ft per girl not topped. More if you decide to top. This also depends on how long you veg for.

Being a long skinny room you may want to look at 2 400 watts or 600 watts as opposed to 1 1000 watter.

You might want to look into scorg as well.

But just starting out try getting healthy plants first.

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what is a scorg?

420noobie said:

you should also consider using emergency blankets you can buy at wal-mart for your reflective surface, they are 1-2$ each and cover a pretty large area. If you don't want to do that you could also tape tin foil to the sides of your box. Food for thought

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I didnt think of the foil. Good idea.

Bill95815 said:

I didnt think of the foil. Good idea.

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Bad idea.. tin foil reflects heat and causes hot spots on your plants.. tin foil is a no no. it doesnt reflect enough light... just regular flat white paint is best if going on the cheap route... its what i used. Mylar is probably the best but its kinda expensive compared to a couple cans of spray paint. lol

but avoid tin foil...

might I reccommend the 55watt CFL from GE. 3800 lumens.. very big bulb... its like having a mini T5.. scatter those around the room... they are around 12 bucks each.. i would do 6 of the 55 watt in desk lamps as side lighting and then 4 10.5 inch clamp lights with the 55 watt CFL... $240... 550 watts... 38000 lumens... be good for growing 4 plants

otherwise

9 2way socket splitters. 3 clamp light sockets. 4 4-packs of 26 watt CFLs and 4 desk lamps... $125... 416 watts... 28000 lumens. still will need to make reflectors for the light sockets that have been split 4 way... you will have 4 lights above each plant and 1.25 lights for the side of each plant..... ideal for growing 3 plants...

or you could get 2 4 foot 2 bulb T8 fluorescent shop lights.. thats 10800 lumens right there for approx 50 bucks including reflectors to boost it even further... then get 8 desk lamps with 26 watt bulbs (sold in 4 packs 12 bucks each)... $130 bucks + 2 power outlet strips = $140 for 24800 lumens with ideal reflection. or get 6 lamps with 55 watt bulbs for about $170 33800 lumens

flat white is best for reflection is what the hydro store dealer told me when i asked about buying mylar... would have to be correct for him to turn down making money... Go get some poster board or something of that nature or just some drywall and a bucket of paint

SCRoG = Screen of green... aka putting a supported net to allow your plants to grow through and eventually lean on to reduce energy spent by the plant supporting itself.

Google Scrog and use the search tool.

Best advice I can give you is read a bunch of grow logs. Most growers have already made mistakes so you don't have to. Reading is your friend.

BeastGrow said:

flat white is best for reflection is what the hydro store dealer told me when i asked about buying mylar... would have to be correct for him to turn down making money... Go get some poster board or something of that nature or just some drywall and a bucket of paint

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This is true

Also here's a fun fact: Mirrors do not reflect light. In fact they absorb light.