Prepping for first grow! :)

[Dr. Green Fang]

im not trying to push you into hydro. i'm a hydro guy. i've just recently taken up organic soil, and i am quickly thinking i should go all organic, i love it. dont be afraid of organic, its the cheapest! of all the growing styles. an added benefit of going organic. you dont just have to grow pot, grow your wife some flowers and i bet your "growing pot budget" will go up! hahahaha :48:


i'm growing my wife tulips, tiger lilies, and strawberries(choc covered strawberries her fav.). i'm growing my daughter roses, and my son wanted pumpkins.

This is awesome.. you are awesome. I'd rep you again if I could. Excellent idea!

Yeah I'm thinking of soil surely, but the 5gal DWC seems good too.

 

[Locked]

Looks like our peeps have given you some great advice...I am a soil grower who has 3 hydro grows, all DWC under my belt. I have stayed with soil because for me it is more forgiving if you make a mistake or slack off on something. No matter if you choose soil or hydro if you are not Organic you will need a good ph meter,not those crappy strips. Ph is ultra important when running chemical nutrients. You really need to keep the ph within range for your plants to uptake the right nutrients and thrive. If you go the hydro route you will also need a good ppm meter. I buy all my meters at Eseasongear.com as they have great prices, quick shipping and good customer service. Good luck and green mojo.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

Thats great advice Hampster...Was going to add that I started soil...did a few DWC as well for my own thinking..I too choose the soil/organic...

EllisD....I started in a 16x12 Shed with 1000MH and christmas tree timer...lol...I grabbed ahold this site and the addvice from the community and have many stories along the way....some good ..some not...but main thing is what was said all ready...find a setup here simular to what you have and build upon it:aok:...and dont give up....and if your not legal than DONT TELL NO ONE!!!!! do your braggin here...enjoy the journey...

:48:

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Thanks 4u! Yeah I'm just growing for my own medical purposes. I'm purchasing not so legally right now, at TOP cost, and not even nearly enough to sustain.

I'm quite sick of it.. own 5.5 acres of land and have an area with full power, insulated above my garage not attached to my house. I think I have the perfect amount of space needed for a comfortable sized grow area for my own personal needs. I just need as much help as possible maximizing my area and process. Nutes and certain organic soil scares me, but I'm ready. More ready than I've ever been.

Thanks for chiming in Hamster. With so many suggestions, maybe I should just give soil a shot for my first grow. Just need to attain as much info / parts list / setup ideas as possible as quick as possible. I'm a decently fast learner at least, so hopefully my first grow will yield something worth at least smoking!

 

[ShOrTbUs]

so soil with synthetic nutes or organic?

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

so soil with synthetic nutes or organic?

Actually I'm going to go off of the general consensus with really everything. This will basically be a collaborative Passion experience.

I want it to be easy enough, yield enough, be decently potent enough and stable. I want to do what the general mind thinks here. I'll consider everyones post.

 

[ShOrTbUs]

well if you decide to go organic. to do it proper you'll need 3weeks to a month to cook some soil. which might be helpful since you still have to build your entire grow room still.

if your thinking you want to order everything and have it set up and ready to go in 1 week. synthetic nutes will get you going right away.

if keeping it simple is important then i'd lean more towards synthetic as well. i feel like theres a lot more to learn with organic.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

well if you decide to go organic. to do it proper you'll need 3weeks to a month to cook some soil. which might be helpful since you still have to build your entire grow room still.

if your thinking you want to order everything and have it set up and ready to go in 1 week. synthetic nutes will get you going right away.

if keeping it simple is important then i'd lean more towards synthetic as well. i feel like theres a lot more to learn with organic.

Yeah I thought I saw organic has a bit more to it. I was looking for a quicker setup time when it happens too.

So, now, I'll have to sort out nutes to be purchasing.. so I have them ready when it's time.

 

[Locked]

Yeah I thought I saw organic has a bit more to it. I was looking for a quicker setup time when it happens too.

So, now, I'll have to sort out nutes to be purchasing.. so I have them ready when it's time.

Might I suggest General Hydroponic 3 part system? It is cheap, easy to use, and does a great job. You can also purchase it on Amazon and if you are a Prime member you get free 2 day shipping. I buy the one gallon bottles of it to get the best bang for my buck. Jmo

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I'm going to say this again because I feel it is real important....Buy good genetics. You do not want to take a chance with seeds from unknown sources. Hermies are horrible and can ruin an entire crop. It is going to take 4-5 months to go from seed to cured bud. Don't risk your entire grow with bagseed. Later down the road when you are more familiar with growing and have your space dialed in (stress brings out hermies) and know how to spot males and nanners, then....maybe....you may want to try some of those bagseed you have been saving. But start with something that you are going to know what to expect--does it like heavy or light nutes, how long does it take to flower, what kind of high does it have.

So, you have decided on soil? I personally find single bucket DWC as easier or easier than soil, but that is just me. Soil does tend to be more forgiving. I would recommend GH Flora series nutes. You can also use these if you decide to go DWC down the road. Next you will have to decide on a soil brand and the amendments you want to add.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Might I suggest General Hydroponic 3 part system? It is cheap, easy to use, and does a great job. You can also purchase it on Amazon and if you are a Prime member you get free 2 day shipping. I buy the one gallon bottles of it to get the best bang for my buck. Jmo

hxxp://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0024NDVRA/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

That stuff?

 

[Locked]

hxxp://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0024NDVRA/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

That stuff?

Yeppers...that be it. Like THG said, don't overlook getting good genetics.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Like THG said, don't overlook getting good genetics.

Just hard to know who to trust to buy from really. Also, I do have some seeds that I do really want to give a try. Worst case scenario is they are male yes? Even if they aren't the greatest of strain (tho I'm quite sure I have some good ones) it would still be a yield yes? And I can throw em away and buy new seeds. Even buy new seeds really at any point and just have them.

Would love a recommendation. I believe indicas are what I'm looking for. I love Pineapple Express / Cheese / Skunk etc.

 

[Locked]

Just hard to know who to trust to buy from really. Also, I do have some seeds that I do really want to give a try. Worst case scenario is they are male yes? Even if they aren't the greatest of strain (tho I'm quite sure I have some good ones) it would still be a yield yes? And I can throw em away and buy new seeds. Even buy new seeds really at any point and just have them.

Would love a recommendation. I believe indicas are what I'm looking for. I love Pineapple Express / Cheese / Skunk etc.

Yes you could do a practice run with bag seed and you could yield well, the smoke could be good, and you would learn a lot. My first time I bought beans but had no clue what I was doing. I got some beans called Dutch Dope I believe. Now I would know to steer clear of anything with the word Dutch or Dope in it. Then I wasn't so wise and wound up with some pretty lame smoke, but I yielded well. I had this huge cola on one that looked like a three foot long 2 x 4. My point is, you can't go wrong either way because you will learn a hell of a lot over the course of your first grow, and you will have become self sufficient at providing your own meds.... however, if someone had steered me in the right directions before I purchased and popped my beans I would be ever so grateful to them for helping me to not waste 4 months of my life for sub par bud when good bud was just key strokes away.

You can get pretty good strains from our sponsor Nirvana. Just click the add at the top. It's pretty much discount beans in the sense of price as their prices are really really good. They do their versions of strains and there are some gems in their gear. You do also get duds and under performers. IMHO it is a great place for new growers on a budget to start at. Another place is The Attitude Seed Bank...which is probably the most popular. There you can get all the basics and some of the higher end breeders. When you get into the high end the Beans cost a lot more but the reward and smoke is usually worth it. I would not want my first grow to be with a 150 dollar ten pack. Talk about pressure.

I would have a look at Nirvana and see if anything piques your interest....especially if you are on a budget.

 

[HighBrixMMJ]

If you know someone else who grows or is a medical marijuana patient have him or her hook you uup with clones. That is the easiest and fastest way provided they dont have pwdery mold or mites. Growing from seed like THG says is quite a long process, 4-6 months before you get any bud. Bagseed is great sometimes but its really hit or miss. Genetics genetics genetics. Its really the most important thing when one decides to grow. This is an expensive hobbie even going the cheap route and takes alot of time and patience. Id hate to see you discouraged on your first grow if it turns out like crap or hermies out and you get seeded bud. seeded bud is somokeable but all that energy that goes intio seeds is taking away from weight and trichome production. Basically you end up with schwagg weed and then youll have to start the whole process over afain. I dont know about you but with all the time money and effort i put into my grow id be pissed to get seedy schwagg! If you get good genetics and it turns out great after the initial grow you could be harvesting some killer smoke every two months or even 2 weeks in a perpetual grow like someone mentioned earlier and never have to waste any money, instead make a little money to recoup some of the expense it takes to get going. Ive seen this happen to so many people who try to grow using bagseed and end up broken down morally and never try growing again. We all want you to succeed! I know its a pain to access genetics but so worth it. At this point youve made up your mind you wanna grow and get some good stuff, so dont cut corners. order seeds or obtain clones somehow, trust me youll be so happy you did. youre about to make one of the biggest rookie mistakes next to over and under watering. We wouldnt steer you wrong, weve been where you are before. If anything give it some real hard thought. Once you get things dialed in and growing well, then try and pop a few of those bagseeds, youll love me for it I promise you! I know youre gonna do what you want I just really care to see you succeed! Go to attitude seedbanks website! trust me.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Just hard to know who to trust to buy from really. Also, I do have some seeds that I do really want to give a try. Worst case scenario is they are male yes? Even if they aren't the greatest of strain (tho I'm quite sure I have some good ones) it would still be a yield yes? And I can throw em away and buy new seeds. Even buy new seeds really at any point and just have them.

Would love a recommendation. I believe indicas are what I'm looking for. I love Pineapple Express / Cheese / Skunk etc.

We can steer you to good seed distributors.

Worse case scenario? Hermies and/or poor quality. Good yield? Who knows as you really know nothing about the genetics. Part of the problem with bag seeds is that you do not know how or what pollinated the seeds. In other words, 1/2 of the genetics is totally unknown. The female could have been pollinated by ditch weed blowing on the wind or the plant could have selfed, making hermies a real possibilities. In addition until you get a space dialed in and some experience, you are most likely going to be stressing your plants, which increases the chances of hermies.

Attitude will have PE, Cheese, and different skunks. Nirvana has some good prices on seeds, too.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

You are all very convincing and so appreciated I can't even explain how much. I'm going to plant my seeds later down the line "for fun" and purchase some for my first grow. I can see paying $35 for 5 good fem seeds as a good investment for sure.

I'll chime in with which strand I choose in a few moments. I wanted to try 2 kinds, but I've read they each will require different things at different times most likely so don't try multiple strands at once for now would be my best bet I'd assume?

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

After checking both Nirvana and Attitude, it's looking like I'll be purchasing G13 Labs Pineapple Express and getting UFO for free.


Read the combo of what UFO is and it sounds great to me!


Now the final decision is seeming soil with nutes (not organic).

 

[HighBrixMMJ]

I like pro mix bx as it doesnt contain any nutes to begin with. then you are in total control with what she gets. Its a soil less mix made up of peat and humus and perlite. I like to add a lil dolomite lime to help buffer ph and some extra perlite for good drainage. Like hamster lewis said you should go with General Hydroponics 3 part line of nutes, cheap, and easy to use, but very effective. also with chem ferts youll want a ph pen to monitor ph, They sell for 30 bucks on ebay. Hanna is a good one. Also General hydroponics sells a ph up and down solution for adjusting the ph. Ideal for soil is 6.3-6.8. 6.5 being the sweet spot. Different nutes are uptaken at different ph levels so its very important to monitor this as it will look like nutrient defficiencies cuz the plant is not uptaking them properly. hope this helps.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Thanks HighBrix! It surely all helps.. I'll be looking into all that stuff to get purchased immediately.

As for a light, I am highest bidder on this, what did you all think? (I'm sure it will go up out of my range, but I think it's worth taking a chance)

hxxp//ebay.com/itm/600W-MH-HPS-GROW-LIGHT-SYSTEM-DIMMABLE-REVOLT-DIGITAL-BALLAST-BULBS-INCLUDED-/181090318893?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a29d2fa2d&autorefresh=true

Also, is this the ph meter I'll need?

hxxp://eseasongear.com/hahipophtehi.html