indogrow420 said:

You could run one plant , divide the closet in half with drywall or something so 2x3 with 210watts both lights, lst or top with long veg but idk its up to you my dude. or run both with 1 light per plant

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Newbgrower1 said:

Thank you. Are you saying to shorten the room so I have 2 different areas? One for each plant? Or just cuz the room is too big for my lights? I think I’m just going to stick to 1 plant for now till I figure out what I’m doing. I appreciate your help.

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PipeCarver said:

Hi, welcome to the farm, in veg you don't need both lights and the SF1000 without a dimmer should be about 24" above the plants, maybe even higher when they're seedlings. I use t5 fluorescent for veg and I can keep them close but not with the led's. It will depend on the size of plants you grow but I'd use both lights in flower. I had the SF1000 with a dimmer and at the end of flowering they were within a foot of the light. Epsom Salts are needed with the leds for the added magnesium I find, I use 1/4 tsp/gallon

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Newbgrower1 said:

Thank you I appreciate your help. So you think I have enough light for 2 plants? And I have cal mag from the summer grow. Would that work or should I just stick to the epsom salt? My thought was to start the seedings with the dimmable light so I have a little control. Then switch to both lights for veg and flower. You think 1 light would be good enough in veg for 2 plants? As this is my first indoor run I’m going to be experimenting some but I’m just looking for enough info that I won’t make any stupid mistake that are easily avoidable. I appreciate the help on the height as well. I have a rough idea for light height but I was just gonna wing it and let the plant talk to me lol

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PipeCarver said:

Hi, welcome to the farm, in veg you don't need both lights and the SF1000 without a dimmer should be about 24" above the plants, maybe even higher when they're seedlings. I use t5 fluorescent for veg and I can keep them close but not with the led's. It will depend on the size of plants you grow but I'd use both lights in flower. I had the SF1000 with a dimmer and at the end of flowering they were within a foot of the light. Epsom Salts are needed with the leds for the added magnesium I find, I use 1/4 tsp/gallo

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J.dub said:

What's your budget? Invest in a PAR meter and small humidifier if you have the funds. Get the meter used, save you some scratch. Using a PAR meter to dial in your DLI for each stage of growth will take ALL the guesswork out. It's not hard, either -- there's resources online that you can plug in your readings and it will tell you your DLI based on light cycle hours. Get some adjustable hangers and a torpedo level for your light height, ensuring that between adjusting the light height and dimmer that you have an even PPFD across the whole grow area (or, as even as you can get). If, no matter what you adjust, your PPFD is too low on the outer parts of your grow footprint, then you have your answer -- not enough light power.
The humidifier will allow you to get your VPD correct, which, combined with your DLI being right, gives your plants the best chance at optimum growth (adding CO2 optimizes even more, but another discussion). Get a cheap hygrometer to stick in the area; a small 1-2 liter humidifier is fine if you keep up with it daily. Put the humidifier on a timer with your light cycle so it's off with the lights, but be sure to be exhausting air and oscillating air at all times. The advantage of indoors is how much the environment can be dialed in, which is even more important with us sod-busters -- bringing dirt, and worms, and bugs in the house and shit. You don't want your environment inside running wild. Rein it in. Doing all of this will maximize your yield and quality, which in turn pays for whatever instruments and tools you use to get there after 1 grow.
As for your bud density, don't sweat it. I've only ever been an organic grower, and no matter how tasty or greasy or potent my buds came out, I was always chasing after those dense nugs that I was used to seeing off the street, and, now, from the dispos. Make peace with the fact that your yield and bud structure are probably not going to match what hydro can do, no matter what expensive bloom boosters and carb loaders and nutes and all that other expensive stuff tells you. Some of it helps, but there's no magic bullet except dialing in your own methods and learning the cultivars you grow. Organic soil methods have their own advantages, as it's more forgiving in some ways, and the terps and colors and expressions that the plant displays are unparalleled. If it's bag appeal and commercialized buds you're after, and you think you'll stick with indoor growing, then look into different hydro methods. This is all just advice from an old head, YMMV, but good luck!

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Newbgrower1 said:

Lots of good info. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I’m not really on a budget but with that being said I don’t want to spend much more for the moment. This is really just a test run to see how my setup is working out. I am going to order a par meter tho and I have a humidifier on the way. hopefully I can learn a lot from this grow, And fellow farmers. thanks again.

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Newbgrower1 said:

Hey guys. I’m getting my first indoor grow all ready. Ill have a 4” exhaust fan 1 5” fan and 1 10” fan. I have two lights a sf1000 pre dimmer and a cheap Amazon light (pics below) it does have a dimmer. I’m planning on growing 1 00 kush fem and 1 seedsman og kush fem. One in fox farm happy frog 3 gallon fabric pot and the other in a soil, coco,perlite mix. Should I just use both lights on one plant or do you think I can get away with both plants? I’m not planning on letting plants get too big. I have a 4x3 Closet that’s only 5’ tall. And with the lights it doesn’t leave me much height. Also, how often and for how long should I run my exhaust? Waiting on plastic to show up so I can make my door and really dial in the temp/humidity. as of now I can keep it at a constant 75 but I need to raise my humidity. Thinking of getting a small humidifier (any suggestions are helpful). Hoping to start germinating by the beginning of November I’ll be back with updates. Added some photos of this past harvest. Outdoor Durban poison. It came out great and now I’m hooked lol. It didn’t have many fat buds but that’s my goal for this one. Smaller plants fatter denser buds. View attachment 1293286View attachment 1293287View attachment 1293288View attachment 1293289

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Newbgrower1 said:

View attachment 1293389

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Newbgrower1 said:

And do you recommend any par meters? I just looked and some of them are pretty pricey. Would the cheap ones still do what I need?

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J.dub said:

Yeah, the cheaper ones will do just fine. I got a decent one used on fleabay for just under $100, but I bet you could find one in the classifieds either here on the farm, or another grow forum. Maybe even make a post, see if another grower has an old one lying around that they'll sell you. I think it will only accelerate how much you learn on this grow.
In saying that, I would def make it a priority to get one to use for this grow, regardless of whether it's the deal of a lifetime, or not. It relieves so many headaches if you do have problems by knowing it's not your lighting being too intense or weak causing an issue. Especially in the crucial stages, like seedlings, and late in flower when there's plant all over the place.

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J.dub said:

Yeah, the cheaper ones will do just fine. I got a decent one used on fleabay for just under $100, but I bet you could find one in the classifieds either here on the farm, or another grow forum. Maybe even make a post, see if another grower has an old one lying around that they'll sell you. I think it will only accelerate how much you learn on this grow.
In saying that, I would def make it a priority to get one to use for this grow, regardless of whether it's the deal of a lifetime, or not. It relieves so many headaches if you do have problems by knowing it's not your lighting being too intense or weak causing an issue. Especially in the crucial stages, like seedlings, and late in flower when there's plant all over the place.

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Newbgrower1 said:

Can I figure out the par based on the lux? Is so can I just get a Liz reader and do the math?

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J.dub said:

Yeah, good luck with your PAR meter search! I'll keep a keen eye out for one and let you know. In the meantime, I wouldn't hesitate to pop those beans if you have the booklet that came with your light has a PPFD chart, that gives different readings based on light height distance and approximate dimmer setting. They're not always super-accurate, but they'll get you close until you can get your hands on a PAR meter. You'll see when you get one, but, especially when keeping your DLI low for seedlings, that little movements of the meter sensor make a big difference. I literally move the top of the plant slightly and put the sensor in its place, as even just measuring above it to take the reading can add 50umol/m2/s. A big difference when you're trying to keep around 200-300 for seedlings. Sweet looking setup, though, I like the attention you're giving it. You're gonna have to change your username after this run!

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