Insert Obligatory First Grow Title Here (big write up and lots of pics)

[Lesso]

You wont be able to totally neuter the hermies. It isnt even a sure bet that they will herm on you. Just grow them out until you feel comfortable and have dialed in your space. Get the cabinet if thats how you want to grow, get a real light in a cool tube, and research what genetics you want to run. I suggest a hearty indica dominant strain to start out with. Those cfls will be useless in about three weeks. The plants will out grow them if they are happy. Get that light, mate.

 

[SamuelSterns]

For you all that use them - HPS lights get real hot, right? Are they big electricity/energy drains, too? I'd like to get the best lights for my situation/space and there are a few of these that are relatively inexpensive on the ol' CraigsList - but if they're gonna pack too much heat or double my electricity bill, I'll continue exploring the other options.

Here's the one I see available most often: http://www.urbansunshine.com/sun-system-hps-150w-grow-light

The one's on CL are ranged like $50 - 60.

 

[Locked]

That 150W HPS will cover 3 square feet in Flower. Not a lot of space to flower in. You would need to keep your plant well trained.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Actually, when you get the amount of lumens you need in a given space, most lights are going to run hot. You will need an decent exhaust system set up. Like I mentioned, this is not a cheap hobby and while you can save some money by doing things yourself or finding good deals, you are still going to have a fair chunk of money invested. I will be in about $400-500 by the time I get the 5 sq ft space set up like I want, but I will have separate vegging and flowering places.

Like Hamster said, a 150W HPS is only good for about 3 sq ft, there would be enough room for one plant if kept smaller, but not 3. I did do a grow with 2 150W HPS in 4 sq ft and had a decent yield.

You have the specs for lights--a minimum of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and 5000 for flowering. You are going to have to decide how big you want your space and then buy the correct light for your space. Do not scrimp on your lighting! This is the biggest mistake that new growers make. And inadequate lighting absolutely will result in unsatisfactory results. Most of find that it is beneficial to run more than 5000 lumens for flowering. I personally like to be around 7500 lumens or so more. I also highloy recommend an aircoolable hood or a cool tube. This makes all the difference in the world when it comes to cooling your light and space.

How much the it will cost to run the lights is dependent on how much your electrical costs are and how large a light you end up with, but yes it will add to your bill. However, not nearly as much as cannabis costs. I will say this again: This is not an inexpensive hobby. There are no low heat options that will work, except LEDs and good ones are still quite expensive. LEDs will run about the same (working) wattage as HPS, but do run a lot cooler. That is their major advantage, IMO.

You will also need some kind of ventilation set up and proper nutrients. You are still getting quite a bit of stretch. What is the wattage and spectrum of the CFLs you are using?

 

[Lesso]

Hes growing in a cabinet, THG. I would say 400 watts would give him more than satisfactory results. Sam...that will heat up your space..i suggest a cool tube as well as a good exhaust fan.

 

[SamuelSterns]

I really like this DIY cabinet here: http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3260

I would want to go a little less tall, of course, so it'll fit in the space I have. What are your thoughts on that set-up? I like to build things, and this seems like something I could handle. Could make a cool weekend project, once all the necessary bits are gathered.

I think once I've nailed down the space it'll make it easier to determine which lighting scheme to go with. I like your DIY cool tube, THG. It's elegant, even.

 

[Lesso]

Good setup

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I know that I always sound like the naysayer, but that cabinet seems to have more drawbacks the way he set it up than advantages. Hate to tear someone elses work down, but.....not really a good set up at all.

First, the CPU fans will not be nearly enough to cool the space. You will need a decent centrifuge type fan as you will most likely need a filter when you flower. Also, I do not see any way he kept the light from coming in through those fans--you need ducting or something. Ditto the floor grate he is using for intake (I assume) and the hole(s) for the cord. If the entire cabinet is draped with something to keep the light out, this would severely restrict the ventilation. Do not put the surge protector on the floor where it could get wet and short out.

The lights he used are not nearly enough and if he got anything at all with that setup, I would be extremely surprised. It looks like about a 4-5 sq ft space and he has enough light for less than 2 sq ft.

Mylar hung that wrinkled is worse than nothing. Mylar only keeps those wonderful refective percentages if it is hung perfectly smooth without any wrinkles. That is hard to do with mylar. I gave up using mylar many years ago as it is so difficult to work with, it is not tough, and it does not clean well. FLAT (flat is the best by far) white paint works almost as well, is easy to apply, is inexpensive, and is easy to clean.

A cabinet can be a great thing to grow in and can often be disguised so that it looks just like a wardrobe or cabinet, but that one does need some work before you could use it to flower. And more light and better ventilation....

Any of course, you are going to want to size your light and your fan to your space. So, that would be the first step.

 

[SamuelSterns]

I don't know what I did to my pics, but apparently I messed up them up where they're being hosted.

I have quite a few updates to show/tell about, but I still have to take some new pics. The plants are showing early signs of their sex (all 3), but still too soon for me to be able to identify. I'll have more pics soon.

 

[Iams]

Nice start and green mojo to you. THG is so spot on that it first intimidated me, but she was right. (found out by trial and error on my part.) there is a commitment to this that takes up energy, time, space and room for expansion.

She, your plants ,needs to breathe, flower and be given space to bud for her needs, (pollination I mean). deny that.(obviously)

Much like the foundry I am building, I can do it right and be safe or I can do it hap-hazard and get hap-hazard results.

Once this foundry is built right it will serve me for years to come. My grow room is just that. Safe, Reliable and consistent. MP taught me that.

Keep posting the grow and room changes, since it helps us all by trial and error, and I know that not all errors for me may not apply to you, but the wealth of knowledge shared here can only be improved by ALL of us sharing our successes and failures.

In the foundry world they say to plan from the crucible out. That might be a good way for us to look at are grows. What yield are we looking for and build our grow environments from there.

Tail wagging,

 

[SamuelSterns]

So I mentioned that they were preflowering/sexing a little last post, so I snapped the best pic of the best example I could for y'all to see. This just happens to be 'Barbara' - the eldest.
I don't know which way this goes.. M or F?

'Spec' is just tall and wiry. Not a lot of girth.
'Barbara' is just slightly shorter but has become a bush, so I'm wondering when I might be able to start training her branches out from under the canopy. ...Barbara ...bush... ugh.
'Glenda' remains a little on the short side, but has better foliage cover than 'Spec'. My little trooper.

They're on an every-other-day watering schedule. They soak it up quick. Temp remains around 78-80 degrees in their enclosure, even during the 'coldest' nights here - been hitting the 40's at night lately).

And here's a quick snap of the current set-up. There are 2 small fans in there, one up top pumping air in and one on the bottom in the back pumping it out. Snapped the pic mid-Mylar (I gotta reattach the ones on the doors with better adhesive - the double-sided tape I have right now keeps sagging them). The T5 puts out an estimated 2280 lumens, and until I get more, I've kept the 1 CFL stand in there (900x5=4500 lumens... still losing a lot of it because I can't enclose the door until that 2nd fixture gets put in).

Still need to finish the Mylar application on the back wall - that was just an extra chunk I had. This is an inception-cabinet build = a cabinet in a closet. I don't have to worry about light-sealing the cabinet for flowering, because I've taken care of it with the closet). I've got plenty of room to raise the light fixture as they grow taller. I always assumed at least 1 would go male and I'd have more room for the female(s).

I think that's all I have for now. I'll try to get some crotch-shots of the other two if I can focus in well enough on my phone. It's harder when you're high.

More as it happens.

 

[emrldthumb]

Barbara looks like a boy to me.... Though hard to be positive until they're a little larger.

 

[SamuelSterns]

2nd T5 ballast installed last night. Snapped a quick pic of the set-up.

These kick off WAY less heat than the cfl's did, and I can finally close the doors to the cabinet. Still feel like I need more light though - it just doesn't seem as bright in there now. Yeah, I know I need to straighten out the mylar one more 'gain. Might just replace the stuff on the insides of the doors, as it seems to defy me no matter how I try to keep it straight.

I'm now 99% sure Spec is a male. You can see little stems on the preflowers. He's all weird and lanky. Is that a thing with male plants?
'Barbara' and 'Glenda' are harder to read. I'll snap a few pics if I can and post them a little later.

I'm thinking of just putting them on a 12/12 cycle to force them to sex so I can be disappointed and done with whomever is male. Maybe starting tomorrow.

 

[SamuelSterns]

So... pretty sure 'Glenda' should've been named Glenn instead.
See for yourselves (and let me know if I'm wrong - but I don't think so):

 

[orangesunshine]

glen would be appropriate

 

[SamuelSterns]

Looks like it's all three. Males. What great luck.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[Rosebud]

BIG FAT BUMMER on all males.. I hate when that happens. Your plants liked the T5 I see. They looked nice and healthy. Get yourself some good seed and lets do this thing.

 

[SamuelSterns]

Yeah, I'm kinda bummed. I was hoping at least one of them would sprout female for me, but this whole grow was a gamble.

These things EXPLODED under the T5s! Amazing.

Figuring on ordering some AK48 from Nirvana this Friday when I get paid.

 

[Sm0ke]

I had something similar with mine, I just grew them out a bit, trimmed them and threw everything in a Magic Butter 2.

Had a light relaxing effect for me after one cookie, my wife was down for the count on a half cookie.

Might be something to think about.

I like the commentary, I'm on the verge of turning a four foot by four foot closet into a grow room myself.

I'm a newb with good friends.

 

[SamuelSterns]

Hey y'all -

The boys got ditched right after my last post. I couldn't bear to kill them so I dug three holes out in the woods and I'm letting nature do the rest.

I ordered from Seedsman and it should be arriving ...uhm... eventually.

So in the meantime, out of boredom, I planted 3 more bagseeds I'd found. Keeping the lights real close this time to help avoid stretch as much as I can. Maybe these won't turn out to be boys - and if they do - I have some good feminized seeds coming:
- 5 Blue Mystic (autos)
- 1 Mataro Blue
- and the freebie LA Woman Fem

Excited to have the fems coming - hopefully won't lose too many as males.