Half my closet grow plans / CFL's

[uefear]

Hey guys first here is a picture of the space I will be using. This is half of my closet.

http://i42.invalid.com/id5gfq.jpg

This second picture shows my measurements (in inches) of usable space.

http://i39.invalid.com/adkdia.jpg

My set up is going to consist of the following...
2 40watt full spectrum t5 fluorescent tube lights.
8 42watt 2700K cfls
3 Round reflective shrouds
5 (3 with y adaptors) simple fixtures with cord attached
3 y adapters to run multiple cfl's on one fixture
3 or 4 Cognition Seeds and a whole lotta luck
1 Mini floor fan for minor air movement
1 Automatic timer

I am going to be running 24/0 to start with then switch to 18/6 after 2 weeks. From here I will prob let them veg for a good 4 or 5 weeks and then put them outside for flowering. If I run into a little more money than I may get a HPS and just finish them inside.

I still have not decided what PREMIXED soil to use although I know I am looking for the following ingredients all together.... Perlite, vermiculite and peat moss.

Any input is greatly appreciated as this is going to be my first grow.

 

[tophmaster]

cool yo how many plants and what strains u runnin in there?

 

[uefear]

cool yo how many plants and what strains u runnin in there?

The strain is Cognition ( Congo x Nepal ) from Tropical Seeds.

I plan on dropping 3 or 4 seeds but only keeping the female(s).

My ideal grow would be 2 females in that space because Cognition is quite a large strain sativa.

I will be tying the plant down and trying to control its growth so that it does not get to wide for the 23" of space between the back wall and the front wall. If anything they can go straight up and I will start cropping them so they won't go above four feet.

 

[StonedOwl]

missed an "IF"

6, 42 watt cfls is what I'm using right now. It works well I suppose, but It can't hurt to get more light. I saw these things called "florescent plant lights" at wall-fart for like $10, I'm thinking about using my five finger discount. Just to see if they are any good.

Anyone seen these things in the light bulb isle?

 

[uefear]

What K rating are the CFLs you are using? Also are you using anything reflective such as shrouds or mylar? Trying to get an idea of how much light I need.

 

[StonedOwl]

Yeah, right now I'm experimenting with white printing paper to reflect light. Seems to be working....but anything with a clean white color will do. (I think, don't quote me.)

Don't know the K rating, I'm just using the 42 watts from walmart.

Check out Patriot's grow, he is only using 2, 42 watt CFL's, and his plants look pretty good. Probably not the best, but hell, it seems to be working.

 

[snake383]

sounds like a good plan to me. Im doing something similar with 4 23 watt cfls in a 3 sf room. Have not started yet but hope to soon when my cuts root. With the info you provided above you will be getting 36 watts per square foot, which is reasonable to veg i suppose. Im only getting 25 wpsf with a 4ft t5 fixture in my veg room. I think the problem with cfls is penetration, IMHO you will need to LST and flip them early. that way you could do the whole grow in the closet. Maybe a scrog would work well in there also. This is my 2 cents hope it helps.

 

[uefear]

Good info guys keep it coming. I have decided to use EIGHT lights instead of SIX. So that means 8 x 42 = 336 of pure CFL power. I will prob hang two of the CFL's a little lower on the sides to get some of the under foliage of the plants. LST and flip them early? What does this mean exactly? I know LST is Low Stress Training.

 

[snake383]

lst zoos quick way check this thread out. By flip them early i mean change the light schedule with out much veg time. sativa dom tends to stretch alot in flower.

 

[uefear]

lst zoos quick way check this thread out. By flip them early i mean change the light schedule with out much veg time. sativa dom tends to stretch alot in flower.

Ah I see. I do have a good bit of space growing upward though, about 5 feet or so. How long is a normal veg for a sativa dominant strain? I will prob go a little less than what is normal because I am really not concerned with getting a huge yield my first time.

 

[snake383]

im not sure but some peeps go 12/12 from seed with good buds. i dont think you will have good results with cfls over a foot tall. I cant back that up its just my opinion.
What i will be doing is root 12 cuts and put them in asap. Shooting for finished heights of 6 to 8 inchs, with 5-7 grams per plant.
Good luck with what ever you do.

 

[uefear]

Hmm I have seen people finish all the way through with CFL's and get around 25-29 grams dried per plant so its possible, I am sure its just not the most efficient and probably takes forever.

 

[darookie2000]

Lots of the CFL growers I've seen (in fact, I'd say almost all) use a scrog to keep the buds lighted. Basically, you put a screen over the top of the plant, let the buds grow through the screen vertically, and keep pushing leaves below the screen to keep filling the plant out, and then prune everything below right before flowering (please research this further if you decide to use the technique, I am only recalling what I've read, I haven't used it yet, only read about it a bunch and watched some youtube videos). CFLs have a VERY limited penetration depth (most aren't really effective over 1 ft of distance, and that is far weaker than right by the bulb) so you want to make sure that you don't have too many layers because you'll get a lot of stretching and other difficulties.

 

[darookie2000]

The ones that don't do scrog tend to use some other technique to train the plant short and bushy. I have heard that CFL tends to lead to a lot more stretching so you want to minimize that by directing the growth.

 

[uefear]

Well more than likely I will be putting them outside for flowering after I veg them in the closet. If I can get my hands on a HPS light in time for flowering, then I will use that and all should be well.

 

[darookie2000]

Well more than likely I will be putting them outside for flowering after I veg them in the closet. If I can get my hands on a HPS light in time for flowering, then I will use that and all should be well.

Either option will work well. If you decide to use a pot for outdoor, make sure it's big enough to support that big base you will end up with :)

 

[darookie2000]

Make sure you figure out the ventilation really well for HPS. A big light is just a big heat source if you can't ventilate completely. My original plan was to pick up a 400W but the guy at the shop talked me into a 600. I ended up taking back the hood he suggested because it was huge and too tough to cool. Now I've got a cooltube and a computer fan blowing across it with just passive exhaust. I got a blower from lowes which keeps it all cool.

 

[darookie2000]

I'm using Fox Farms ocean forest amended with perlite (probably about 25%) and it works well, as long as you make sure your water is pHed correctly. I have heard a couple of people say they didn't like FFOF, but I've heard a bunch that swear by it. Try to avoid potting soils with time release nutrients because you are going to have a harder time controlling nutrient levels (I've read a bunch of reports lamenting the use of Miracle Grow Moisture Control - apparently miracle grow organic is the safe bet if you're going with an MG soil).

 

[uefear]

Yeah I am gonna stay away from MG for sure. I will look into Foxfarms if I can find it locally. I just want personals so I dont really care about pumping the plant with a lot of nuts or anything. I just want good organic buds ya know? I have heard that using the tap water from ur house if you have a water softener can be a problem. I got one here so dang, dunno what I am gonna do about that, might have a ph problem.

 

[darookie2000]

Yeah I am gonna stay away from MG for sure. I will look into Foxfarms if I can find it locally. I just want personals so I dont really care about pumping the plant with a lot of nuts or anything. I just want good organic buds ya know? I have heard that using the tap water from ur house if you have a water softener can be a problem. I got one here so dang, dunno what I am gonna do about that, might have a ph problem.

The option that I will be using eventually (my tap pH is about 9 - very alkaline) is an RO filter, but I just haven't talked myself into spending the money for one. There are a couple options for water - I have been using a brita filter, which is not a great option, but it does lower the pH to a suitable range (it lowers to about 7). It may not have a profound effect on dissolved solids, but I believe it lowers the chlorine content, which means that I don't have to age my water for a day before using it (many people let their water sit for a day to allow chlorine to dissipate).

Other options - buy a big jug of distilled water. You can get distilled water from a supermarket or wal mart or a bunch of other places. I'd suggest a Cal/Mag addition (I use MagiCal because the guys at my hydro shop gave me a couple freebies, so I haven't tried anything else yet), since a few of the micronutrients the plant needs come from tap water.