Trailer park grow

trailer park guy · #1 05-29-2007, 11:02 AM

Hello everybody,
Well… I was up late one night and saw the infomercial for the Aero Garden. How many times have you heard that?

I have actually been thinking about a hydro garden for 20 years and that just got me going. I finally have a spot where I can set up and now that I found all kinds of info on the web I’m going to give it a try.

I saw a set up a long time ago in high times mag and figured I could do it a lot cheaper than an aero garden. I found a site with same set up, pvc pipe and 2 litre bottles, and got started. As I found more and more research and videos on the web, my little set up turned into a $1000 project. Hopefully it will be all worth it in the end.

Right now, I’m almost four weeks into the grow. I’m vegging with two hanging fluorescents with two grow lights on the side.
When I go to flowering I will be using a 400 watt sodium. I’m using an 8000 btu window ac to blow air into the flowering room and 2 70cpm bathroom vent fans to take the air out.

I’ve done a lot of outdoor gardening but this is my first hydro grow and first time with weed. Any suggestions would be helpful. This is all for fun and personal use but I want to do it right. I’ve already put more into it than I planned but if a few more little tweaks will help…. What the heck.

Since my little pvc contraption is what got me going, I’m going to use it on my first run. I’m not sure if they’re big enough and I will probably try something different on the next try.

Here are some pics of the setup and my little ones. I’m just using seed that has been lying around for a few years, a pretty mixed bunch. Since it’s the first try I figured I would put the money In the equipment and set up and think about good seed later.

Like I said, any suggestions will be appreciated. Let me know what you think.

Thanks everybody
Mac

recvryjst42day · #2 05-29-2007, 04:29 PM

Looking good man.

trailer park guy · #3 05-29-2007, 04:39 PM

Thanks,
I was beginning to feel like the ugly step child.

So how long do you think I need to go before I start to flower. I've Seen different things and am not sure when they're refering to clones or seeds.
It will be four weeks from planting the germinated seeds on thurs.

Thanks again

midgradeindasouth · #4 05-29-2007, 04:44 PM

Welcome trailer park guy...

So, is the pvc set up some sort of ebb and flow?
If that is what it is I can see what you are doing there.
Looks neat.

It does look like some sort of popular mechanics op for sure.

You want to wait until you have atleast 5 alternating nodes.
Usually 8-12" or within 6 weeks.

The longer you veg the healthier the plants and the bigger and better the bud.

Happy growing..

recvryjst42day · #5 05-29-2007, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trailer park guy

Thanks,
I was beginning to feel like the ugly step child.

So how long do you think I need to go before I start to flower. I've Seen different things and am not sure when they're refering to clones or seeds.
It will be four weeks from planting the germinated seeds on thurs.

Thanks again

Hey, How much grow room do you have? If you have alot of head room then you can wait it out, if not you would be able to flower soon. It's up to you at this point. Flower now, smaller buds,quicker harvest smaller plants all together. Flower when they are 3 foot tall and have a 7 -11 ft monster. Your choice.

trailer park guy · #6 05-29-2007, 04:54 PM

I found this at hydroponicsonline.com. My pic isn't so good but here's another one. It's simple ebb and flow system. I cut it down to make it a little more managable and cut the need for more light.

I only have about three to four feet of grow space. I have punched holes and attached strings to bottles so I can tie them down, but I'm still a little worried about space.

Thanks for all input,
Mac

NO GROW · #7 05-29-2007, 04:56 PM

you can veg now if you want. I flower at about 10''. Or wait til mature it depends on how much space and how big you want the biggest product to be.

trailer park guy · #8 05-30-2007, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NO GROW

you can veg now if you want. I flower at about 10''. Or wait til mature it depends on how much space and how big you want the biggest product to be.

I am vegging now. I think I need to lower the setup. I only have 4' and if I need to keep the light 18" away, these will be some stubby plants.

Any suggestions folks?

Thanks for the input

trailer park guy · #9 05-31-2007, 11:29 AM

It has been 4 weeks today since I planted my sprouts. Everything is looking good. I’ve changed the nutes once and added more as the water level went down. The ph level has risen a few times but I’ve adjusted as needed to keep it between 5.5-6.0.

I have about twenty plants in my tub ranging from 4” – 12”. I when I started the seeds, I started about 25 hoping about half would take off nicely. I ended up with 14 in cups that go to the flowering room and I had about 6 more that were to nice too trash, so I threw them in too.

I’m planning on putting eight of them into flower tonight. I’m starting earlier than I planned because I only have about 4’ between lights and plants. I’m using a 400 watt sodium so I can only go about 30” tall on my plants.

This is all new so I’m learning as I go. I’m keeping the rest of the plants in veg to practice cloning and maybe get some mothers. I can’t wait to start the flowering process so I can see for myself up close the differences and how quickly they grow. It’s amazing how simple and quickly things are going with the hydro system.

Now for the questions. Do you need an air pump or air stone for an ebb and flow system? How often do most people fill and drain there system in a day?

If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks everybody!

bigetupac · #10 05-31-2007, 11:41 AM

ur last plant is looking a little droopy, just a heads up im not a hydro kind of guy