The Hemp Goddess said:
Boy it will be something to see this work. For that kind of money, I would come to your house and be your personal gardener. The unit itself is so short (you said 3' growing space?) that you are going to be handicapped by the height. Unfortunately, Shiva Skunk is listed as an indica/sativa cross that grows tall. It is hard to see that strain working in a grow box that only affords 3' growing height (is this actual growing height? 3' looks like the total height). I couldn't find the size of the unit on the link you provided and it is hard to tell from the description what came with this. It says 2 400W HPS bulbs--does it have a ballast and reflector. It also says 2 125W (actual wattage) CFL bulbs--what about sockets and reflectors? One T5 bulb set-up--what is that? Can you tell us more about the unit? It is hard for me to see anything that justifies a $5200 price tag. Is there a reason that you picked this particular unit other than the USDA thing?
I recommend ordering some different seeds. Look for a pure indica that will stay short.
Fortunately, most Northern Lights strains can be flowered beginning at 8-10 inches in height (some shorter) and are very good candidates for "Screen of Green" type grows. The plants can be trained to grow horizontally as they approach the lights.
I've read of White Widow grows in the Producer that went well, as long as "Screen of Green" methods were employed. As I'm sure you know, White Widow plants grow very tall.
The unit has a 125-watt CFL bulb for seed-popping and propogation. It has 2 400-watt MH bulbs for vegetation, and 2 400-watt HPS bulbs for flowering. Additionally, if has two T5 HO bulbs at the bottom (shining "upward") to supplement flowering.
The 2 MH/HPS ballasts are manufactured by "Quantum", which is a good ballast as far as I've read.
Yes, it has all the sockets necessary to use the described bulbs. And it has a nice reflector. And the entire inside is powder-coated steel (flat white) for good reflectivity.
The unit also has several ventilation fans, and an odor-control system (filters). Oh, and a Carbon Dioxide supplement system.
And all circuits were designed by professional Electrical Engineers (i.e. no worries about house fires from bad wiring or overloaded circuits).
The unit also came with an electronic dryer unit. And with high-quality trimming scissors, scalpel, rockwool cubes (small and big - a year's supply), PH and TDS pens, and a year's supply of very expensive nutrients. And 3-year's 365-day 24-hour phone support for machine operation and growing questions.
As for the 3 feet of total growing height, studies show that MH/HPS lights can't penetrate more than 3 feet through the canopy of marijuana plants anyway. So any more height is pretty much wasted space.
The $5200 price tag didn't really bother me, since I've been wise with money most of my life (until now!!!). And I'm a TERRIBLE "Do-It-Yourself'er" (I'm a Software Engineer, i.e. useless for anything practical around the house).
Plus, when I move to a new house (within a year if all goes as planned), all I do is roll my Producer into the moving van (it has wheels), drive it to a new location, roll it out, plug it up, and I'm ready to grow again. I could even do this
mid-grow. Thus I save the expense and effort of disassembling one grow room, and building another.
Maybe I'll find that I made a mistake. I don't know. Time will tell. Wish me luck.
