Planning for my first grow.

(I posted this in the Newbie Central section with no response, so I figured I'd try here)

Hello all,

I've been reading these forums for the last two days trying to get a general idea of what I need to start my first grow. As this is my first grow (and I'm unsure I want to do this for any extended period) I want to keep it cheap.

My intention is to grow 4-6 plants at a time (closet grow) and I am unsure on how to build my grow box. I believe I want something at minimum 2x2x4' in dimension but I am unsure if that will be large enough to accommodate the plants.

For cost/energy/heat reasons I have decided on using CFLs (HPS is too expensive). After some reading I decided that the 42W CFLs are probably a good choice. I'm aiming for 4-8 lights. In a box that size (as previously mentioned) would 4, 42W CFLs be enough light for 4-6 plants?

Additionally, I don't know what to build my box out of. I want to keep it as cheap as possible for now. I have access to common hardware stores in the US such as Lowes and Home Depot. I read a post early about using door skins, though I have no idea what those are or if they would be structurally sound enough. Additionally, I live in an apartment building with no access to tools beyond perhaps a drill.

Lastly, I would like some opinions on what strain of seed to purchase. I've been looking at Nirvana shop and would like to get something from there, but unsure what would be a good seed based on my requirements (4-6 plants, 2x2x4 box, CFLs).

Thanks for any help.

(Additionally, I decided to order some PPP, was this a bad strain to start with?)

the reason you haven't got any answers is that your questions are still pretty general. have you read the faq section and the stickies in each forum? they have alot more info than you'll get reading individual posts.

that said, i'll give what help i can - you are not going to be able to grow 4 reasonable sized plants with the box size and number of lights you're planning. an average indica plant needs at least 2 square ft of ground space and 2 to 3 feet of height for the plant alone. if you add the height of the pots and the space for the lights you need at least 5 ft of height.

and you need more light - at least 3 of those cfl's per plant.

you can downsize all of this if you have a pygmy strain but you are not going to get very much weed from the set-up.

hope that helps

desertrat said:

the reason you haven't got any answers is that your questions are still pretty general. have you read the faq section and the stickies in each forum? they have alot more info than you'll get reading individual posts.

that said, i'll give what help i can - you are not going to be able to grow 4 reasonable sized plants with the box size and number of lights you're planning. an average indica plant needs at least 2 square ft of ground space and 2 to 3 feet of height for the plant alone. if you add the height of the pots and the space for the lights you need at least 5 ft of height.

and you need more light - at least 3 of those cfl's per plant.

you can downsize all of this if you have a pygmy strain but you are not going to get very much weed from the set-up.

hope that helps

Click to expand...

Well a big portion of my question (to me anyway) is the cabinet itself. I'm not sure of the best/cheap way to build a box. I'll probably start with 12 of the 23w or 26w CFLs or scale it down to 2 plants (I plan on using feminized seeds) to start. I don't want this to be overly complicated or expensive.

Additionally, I bought the PPP strain, how might that fair?

I would really appreciate more input regarding the cabinet itself. I can always buy more CFLs but redoing the cab might be a PITA

Thanks for the response!

Fine. Build something that looks like this.

Also, you should start with bagseed. You say you want to keep costs low, and you drop prob $30 on 5 seeds? Why not use free seeds that can easily be replaced if the grow goes wrong.

Draw your cabinet on a peice of paper first. Make sure you can get into it. Figure out how you are going to attach the lights.

Heres a hint: Clamp lights, hooks, bulb splitters, and a surge protector. Keep in mind that you are going to need space for your planter and plenty of headroom for the lights to move up and down as the plant grows.

greensister said:

Fine. Build something that looks like this.

Also, you should start with bagseed. You say you want to keep costs low, and you drop prob $30 on 5 seeds? Why not use free seeds that can easily be replaced if the grow goes wrong.

Draw your cabinet on a peice of paper first. Make sure you can get into it. Figure out how you are going to attach the lights.

Heres a hint: Clamp lights, hooks, bulb splitters, and a surge protector. Keep in mind that you are going to need space for your planter and plenty of headroom for the lights to move up and down as the plant grows.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply greensister.

Build something that looks like what exactly?

I don't have bag seed because I don't have access to pot period where I am so starting with with seeds from nirvana is my only option currently.

Regarding the cabinet, I may just go 'all out' and buy something like this: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ5zarz/R-100573854/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 (Any thoughts on how suitable this would be?)

Although it is fairly expensive. Otherwise, I'm not sure how to build a cabinet and what the specifications. I also don't have access to the tools required to build anything complex.

Thanks for all your help, appreciate it.