SpruceZeus
Well-Known Member
DISCLAIMER This is by no means a comprehensive list of every last screw and cord you'll need to set up a growroom. Nor is all this shit neccesary. Its simply a list of crap i've bought for my grow that is a hopefully decent reference for new growers. There are a million ways to effectively grow weed successfully. I grow mostly in soil but am also establishing a 2 2x4 ebb&flow table SOG so i will talk about both.
I know, I know. In theory all you need are some seeds in the ground and some help from mr sunshine. But some of us live in cities, don't have outdoor space or just plain want to grow inside.
It always starts simple, but this should skip some of the "beginner" products (miracle gro etc.) and focus on what you need to do this right. I've wasted alot of money on stuff i outgrew or never really found a use for, hopefully i can save you some trouble.
This is just a recipe, by no means are the the things i'm saying absolute (unless specifically stated)
I'm going to assume that anyone reading this has read the FAQ. If you havn't, stop reading this, scroll to the top of your screen. see the little button that says FAQ? okay press it. Then read everything there and come back. Feel smarter? you should, theres alot of good usefull info in there.
Having said that, i'm going to assume a basic amount of knowledge on the growers part. Understanding that 12\12 induces flowering and so forth. But by all means if i skip past something, feel free to ask.
Really in the grand scheme of things, i'm not a very "effecient" grower, in that, with the amount of light i'm using i could be pulling alot more. I am however working towards that. Its all about finding a balance between ease of maintenance, yield, quality, not breaking the bank, stealth (not that i'm at all stealth.) and keeping it fun.
Its great to have homegrown weed, if you put the time and love into it, it will come out the best weed you've ever smoked. Eventually it will pay for itself just in weed you didnt have to buy. This grow supplies 3 heavy (and generous) smokers with all the weed they need (and then some). Its not a commercial grow-op. Although you could make some mad skrillah if you put in the work. At the end of the day, this is a hobby that i'm passionate about, not a business.
Now that we've got that out of the way.
I'll give you a run down of all the stuff i can think of and throw a rough price your way.
You're gonna need some soil.
This is sunshine #4, Its actually a "soilless mix" composed mainly of peat and pearlite.
It comes to about $30 a bale, which will keep you going for a while.
You need food for your plants.
I use the holland secret line, it was about $60 bucks for the 3 part plus addatives. In dirt, this will last you a loooooong time. However, with hydro it adds up pretty quickly. You don't have to use the same nutes that I do, but i do recommend at least an A+B formula if not going for the 3 part. It allows for alot more tailoring to your plants needs throughout its life.
It is a lie that you can't use miracle gro/shultz/whathaveyou, I grew my first crop using MG and it came out great. Having said that, you should really use something specifically for marijuana (officially, not many are, but use your common sense. ie: Advanced, GH, Foxfarm, etc.) They tend to contain more of the micronutrients your plants need to thrive and survive.
I use h202 in my reservoir, but not at nearly the amount that Al b. fuct suggests, watch out, it will burn the shit out of your hands if you get it on you. $15 bucks at the hydro store.
Ph strips. $14 for a few months worth. My tap water usually comes out at 6.8
Granted they are a little less convienient than the meters, but every PH meter i've ever seen has been very inaccurate. Small tip, trying to read the colour under an hps is futile, go to the MH or flouros.
Phdown, $8. pretty self explanitory.
Although i'm sure there have been leaps and bounds in the way of organic ferts, i opt away from them as they are a bit messier to work with in hydro and also tend to stink. If you want to mix your own rabbit poop organic bloodmeal bat guano soil that is awesome, i just can't help you with that in any way.
They say organic tastes better, i say my bud tastes pretty good.
You need airflow.
here is an inline duct booster, i use it as a exaust from my (typically very cool) veg room. It doesn't move alot of air, but in this case it doesn't really need to. it was about $30 from a hardware store.
You need oscillating fans blowing on your plants, without air blowing on them they will do very poorly. Not to mention that a stiff breeze strengthens stalks, deters pests and makes your hair blow in the wind looking bitching awesome. $25 x 3.
This is my pride and joy air mover. These things do a world of good. In my case, this one is exausting my flower room, cooling my cooltube and blowing through my odorsok.
Its an elicent 309cfm centrifugal 6" I believe it came to about $250.
I paid $100 for the odorsok and it does work pretty damn well. When my flowering room is full it'll be kinda like a bandaid on a bullet wound, but in any event, theres plans for a $3 carbon filter up around here somewhere.
You'll need some real duct tape, the kind that has a backing you peel off. $12
You need light.
Ignoring the wicked awesome bud in the fron of this picture. In the back you can see my 400w hps. With a decent reflector you can get some pretty good intense spread of light. I built mine from spare bits i had lying around and an unwired ballast i got for like $70. lets say $120 total.
Here's my cooltubed 1000w hps. I got some pretty stellar deals and paid about $250 total for this rig.
and another $20 for some dryer duct.
And my 400w MH. This one was actually a freebee, i believe they go for about $150 though.
Generic 4 foot fluorescent shop light for cloning $30
I'd like to take a minute to talk about reflectors.
I grew for quite a while using my bulbs mounted vertically. But unless you're growing in a stadium style, i just dont see a use for them. There are a couple in my trash right now.
I wouldnt recomend the big wide umbrella reflector unless you're in a vertical growing situation and i wouldnt recommend the tall parabolic reflector for any purposes.
I've heard mixed things about cfls and have no experience using them so i can't speak from experience, but i dont like the idea of poor light penetration.
You need pots.
2 gallon black pots, nothing fancy. $0.69 x oh lets say 40 at my local grow shop.
6" netpots, a buck each x 42.
Bluelab truncheon TDS meter. $125. You can get cheaper ones, but this one comes factory calibrated, is completely idiot proof and comes with a 5 year warranty. I like to go by EC rather than PPMs as ppms are different based on which brand of meter you're using, too much room for confusion if you ask me.
2 2x4 tables $60 each. 2 rubbermaid roughneck reservoirs $20 each.
6' vinyl hose $12
Hydroton $30 a bag, one bag should fill both tables.
You need the pumps for your tables.
I got these suckers for $28 bucks a piece, they are rated 185 gph but have trouble lifting water any higher than about 3'. This is the smallest pump i would reccomend.
I also purchased a third 398 gph pump which i use to drain my reservoirs. $45
I bought this aerocloner for $200 but could easily have built one for about half that. But you can read all about aerocloners here
Airpump and airstones for reservoirs $17
50' garden hose with inline shutoff and adaptor to hook up to the pump $35
TIMERS!!!!!!!
I'm pretty partial to intermatic timers, i have 3 digital. $30 x 3
and 2 of the old school ones. $20 x 2
I must insist that under no circumstances you use globe brand timers. I have owned 3 and all of them failed within 1 week of setting them up. Don't waste your money.
Gonna need some jack chain to hang all them lights. $25 for a bucket full.
I've used the better part of 2 50' rolls of panda film aka poly aka black and white plastic sheeting. $40 x 2
With all that poly to put up you're gonna want a staple gun. $20 dont forget to put squares of carboard between the stapler and the wall or the staples will rip right through.
You'll need some powerbars $10 x 3
Gotta get a thermometer and hygrometer. $12
Good to have a few of these water-cooler bottle dealys around to hold your water and mix your nutes. somehow i've aquired several of these over the years and i dont even have a water cooler.
a spray bottle is required to mist your vegging plants and to foliar feed. $3
And a whooooole lot of patience: priceless!
I almost forgot.
Some good genetics.
If you know an established grower with good strains who is willing to toss some clones your way, awesome.
Most of us aren't this fortunate. I've had really good luck with everything i've grown from greenhouse. I am currently growing some bargain breeder stuff right now (nirvana's jock horror & white rhino as well as KCbrains mango.) and am pretty certain you get what you pay for. I'll be lucky to get one good mother from all 3 packs.
Splurge for the good stuff, if you feel you can't justify $150 packs of seeds, try pick n' mix. Its a great way to sample alot of strains and figure out what you like, although i would have to say stick with feminized seeds from them.
Alot of people bash feminized seeds, but the fact is if you get them from breeders who are producing them properly, there is almost zero chance of hermaphodism. There is also the advantage that because they are breeding 2 females they can really narrow down and isolate specific desireable traits that would be near impossible to do with your standar boy girl humpiehumpie.
Having said all that about buying seeds. Bagseed can be amazing.
Heres a couple pics of different phenotypes of the bagseed strain i've been working with since i got into growing.
Anyways. As i think of more crap i've bought i will add it to this thread.
I promise i will get to the actual growing of marijuana soon, maybe tomorrow.
I'm gonna take a break and smoke some dope.
All Questions, comments, suggestions and insults are welcome. actually scratch the insults part.
Good luck and happy growing.
