First time grow. From winter prep to first season harvest

[dman049162]

Been a while since I updated on this. But I officially started indoors(well attempting to at least). Im gonna do a soft start with one plant pineapple og atuo. Then in the spring ill grow more for outdoors.

No pics as of yet. This is mainly to kinda acclimate myself. Also if anything goes awry on me ill just reset and try again closer to spring for an outdoor grow.

The electric cost potential still scares me with the way our electric company has been to us in our area lately(some peoples I know jumped over $800 in one month and their lifestyle didnt change and wasnt extreme environmental factors). So i am damn afraid of that.

Basement grow in a 3x3 tent found on lowes website. Winado I think is the brand, not sure on brand or anything but im thinking 250 watt each, alphagrow 4 inch 2n1 inline fan couple of heat mats ferry morse brand, mainstays 400w space heater(without it the tent averaged 59-62° with a steady 73° with the fan on. Next issue to address is the humidity. Right now is like 27-29% i know it needs to go up I have a humidifier. But im afraid its too big. I could turn up the fan and that help with humidity? Also a dollar general 8 inch fan for circulation.


I went extremely primitive to start. Not sure if indoors is for me. But im getting antsy to try it. I also impulse ordered more seeds got it on a good deal got probably 5 or 6 freebies because of a couple promotions I was unaware of.

Im excited to take try this out but also hope I didnt waste my money

 

[Oldchucky]

Been a while since I updated on this. But I officially started indoors(well attempting to at least). Im gonna do a soft start with one plant pineapple og atuo. Then in the spring ill grow more for outdoors.

No pics as of yet. This is mainly to kinda acclimate myself. Also if anything goes awry on me ill just reset and try again closer to spring for an outdoor grow.

The electric cost potential still scares me with the way our electric company has been to us in our area lately(some peoples I know jumped over $800 in one month and their lifestyle didnt change and wasnt extreme environmental factors). So i am damn afraid of that.

Basement grow in a 3x3 tent found on lowes website. Winado I think is the brand, not sure on brand or anything but im thinking 250 watt each, alphagrow 4 inch 2n1 inline fan couple of heat mats ferry morse brand, mainstays 400w space heater(without it the tent averaged 59-62° with a steady 73° with the fan on. Next issue to address is the humidity. Right now is like 27-29% i know it needs to go up I have a humidifier. But im afraid its too big. I could turn up the fan and that help with humidity? Also a dollar general 8 inch fan for circulation.


I went extremely primitive to start. Not sure if indoors is for me. But im getting antsy to try it. I also impulse ordered more seeds got it on a good deal got probably 5 or 6 freebies because of a couple promotions I was unaware of.

Im excited to take try this out but also hope I didnt waste my money

What was the make and model light that you settled on? I don’t think a $20 light is gonna get it done!

 

[dman049162]

What was the make and model light that you settled on? I don’t think a $20 light is gonna get it done!

Not sure, no brand name and no wattage indication. My neighbor has used them successfully with like 5 plants. Took it apart to see the board no wattage on there either.

 

[Oldchucky]

Not sure, no brand name and no wattage indication. My neighbor has used them successfully with like 5 plants. Took it apart to see the board no wattage on there either.

Right on!

 

[dman049162]

Right on!

Im guessing theyre 250 a piece. Not sure of a way to tell when it comes to individual diodes.

 

[Oldchucky]

Im guessing theyre 250 a piece. Not sure of a way to tell when it comes to individual diodes.

Well, you have the input wattage and the output wattage! The input wattage is the true watts! The output wattage is the number they like to cheat on or mislead you on! Reputable light manufacturers don’t! For example, a 100 W spider farmer light is 100 W input! But a cheapo 500 W on the box might only be 50 input watts! And that is getting pretty weak! If it works for your neighbor, that’s a good sign! Not having seen his plants though! Reckon you’ll find out! The input watts are also known as the true watts! The output watts is where you can get suckered in and misled! They can make a light look a lot better than it actually is!

 

[F1cultivator]

This thread is bringing back a whole bunch of memories from 1989! My first attempts where made thru a spider hole dug out under a trap door in a closet...used 24 inch florescent lights.
Just gotta keep trying different things!
good thing is you have loads of information at your fingertips!!!
I wish you all the luck in the world!

 

[dman049162]

This thread is bringing back a whole bunch of memories from 1989! My first attempts where made thru a spider hole dug out under a trap door in a closet...used 24 inch florescent lights.
Just gotta keep trying different things!
good thing is you have loads of information at your fingertips!!!
I wish you all the luck in the world!

Thank you so much! Trying on a shoestring budget. Way I see it if i can do it on a budget as i progress i can justify better equipment and it'll make things incredibly easier. Im the type up for a challenge and identify pitfalls and successes and grow(no pun intended) from there.

 

[dman049162]

These are a quick few pictures of my basement setup. Tent was $83 shipped to my door(winado brand), 2n1 inline 4 inch fan by alphagrow was just under $55 shipped to my door, lights were lended to me, mainstays 400w personal heater, 2 heat mats, dollar general 8 inch turbofan.

My curiosity is i know google says anywhere between 24 and 72 hours and avg around 18-42 hours to pop and some cases of 12 hours with the sandwich bag method. Anyone have input on it? Tents averaging 73-75°.

 

[F1cultivator]

I guess my biggest question is does your heat mat have a temperature control? I use paper plates and paper towels, haven't used the plastic bag method...but three things are critical to germination.
Moisture, heat, and oxygen.
I try to keep an 80* F temp, total darkness, damp paper towel (not dripping) with fresh seeds, usually two days time is all it takes.

 

[dman049162]

I guess my biggest question is does your heat mat have a temperature control? I use paper plates and paper towels, haven't used the plastic bag method...but three things are critical to germination.
Moisture, heat, and oxygen.
I try to keep an 80* F temp, total darkness, damp paper towel (not dripping) with fresh seeds, usually two days time is all it takes.

It doesn't have a temp control but brand stated a consistent temp between 70 and 80. Should I not totally seal the bag?

 

[F1cultivator]

I really have no exp on that. You could put a clear humidity dome over the bag and leave it open a little...I don't believe you will have any problems if they are good seeds patience is the hardest thing to learn when growing...

 

[dman049162]

I really have no exp on that. You could put a clear humidity dome over the bag and leave it open a little...I don't believe you will have any problems if they are good seeds patience is the hardest thing to learn when growing...

Yeah im not talking totally open just like one end cracked open to allow air but hold the moisture as much as possible

 

[trygrowup]

@dman049162 about your lights. They look like one i had. Is it one or two cobs with reflectors (Chips on board) pr lamp?
If so they can be the earliest cob design. They are not as effective as new ones of course meaning they use more power than newer leds for same amount of light. Quality of light has also evolved since then. I was not a fan of mine.
Hope they are better.
Have you any idea how old they are?

 

[dman049162]

@dman049162 about your lights. They look like one i had. Is it one or two cobs with reflectors (Chips on board) pr lamp?
If so they can be the earliest cob design. They are not as effective as new ones of course meaning they use more power than newer leds for same amount of light. Quality of light has also evolved since then. I was not a fan of mine.
Hope they are better.
Have you any idea how old they are?

Not a clue. In a little bit I can go take one out and take some pictures. If you're able to help me figure them out thatd be awesome I tried everything as a bus builder I can think of to figure it out and came up empty handed.

 

[trygrowup]

Ok i scrapped mine but i still have the drivers where they write the wattage on.
Mine was same as yours but square with only one cob. All the rest looks same. The hanger system and vent hole and the screws and the electric connection and case is the same, but it's also standard parts. Only thing different is mine had an on/of switch.
So a picture of the diodes would help

 

[dman049162]

Ok i scrapped mine but i still have the drivers where they write the wattage on.
Mine was same as yours but square with only one cob. All the rest looks same. The hanger system and vent hole and the screws and the electric connection and case is the same, but it's also standard parts. Only thing different is mine had an on/of switch.
So a picture of the diodes would help

I just got home with lunch(treated the certain climbers to Chinese takeout for being good since the Mrs had to work this weekend...they usually are a pain for me). So once im done ill message you with detail photos of the lights

 

[Oldchucky]

Yeah im not talking totally open just like one end cracked open to allow air but hold the moisture as much as possible

I seal them up all the way! like the guy above said, I had a lot better luck setting my heat mat between 80 and 85! And using a lot of paper towel!

 

[dman049162]

I seal them up all the way! like the guy above said, I had a lot better luck setting my heat mat between 80 and 85! And using a lot of paper towel!

I didnt use a lot but having it sealed up all the way i figured will hold the moisture in preventing having to moisten again. I know growing anything requires patience lol im excited is all and im excited but also nervous for this new adventure.

 

[dman049162]

This morning when my alarm went off to get ready for the day i was happy to see my pineapple og seed popped! Last night i started a cherry pie seed out of concern the pineapple wasnt viable. When i went to the tent this evening i saw that I have some splitting to the seam of the cherry pie seed as well! So excited to get this going!

Thanks to North Atlantic seed company and capitalizing on some killer sales, i currently have a large variety of seeds, pineapple og auto, cherry pie auto, purple root beer photo, fruit by the foot auto, apple peelz photo, and mephisto headbanger. To start in my eye thats a hell of a variety. In the spring when i can grow outdoors im gonna definitely add more variety! Should I stagger starts so I can harvest without getting mixed up? Lol