Thanks Simpson, very informative.

+rep just for the time that must have taken...

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Journal-------------->Blue Cheese, PPP, and Thai Super Skunk...Jerry's Second Grow New Pics 11/22
Go Bengals! WHODEY!!!

I am looking to start growing for the first time this weekend. I've been reading alot on this website and it's amazing the amount of resources that are on here...I just have a couple of questions because I haven't seen a question like it yet but I'm sure there is somewhere on here...I am only looking to grow about 2 plants and will be growing in my closet in my apartment. Just for personal uses. I think its safer than buying haha. What type of light(s) would you recommend for that? Also as for ventilation, I cannot install one because I rent my apartment so I was wondering if their were some alternatives to that? Like having my bedroom window open and closet door and what not? I think I pretty much got the basics down as long as I don't nuke it...Just what how I water it, the amount of nutrients in the water, levels of PH, temperature, pests and water and grow? haha. Thank you and anymore information would be appreciated towards indoor growing in a closet lol. Thanks.

not a problem... glad to help!

it took a few days... appriciate the reconginization for that..

for lighting you have a couple options... biggest thing is budget.. if you are going to have possible heat issues you might want to consider getting some CFLs... 2x 300w cfls will give you a ton of light and very little heat... and its not really 600ws.. its the equivalent of 600ws.. so it will be a lot less than that... that takes care of not needing any exhaust fans and takes away the heat worry.. make sure you get a couple daylight or cool cfls (blue spectrums) for germination/vegging and a couple warm ones for flowering (red spectrum).. you will only need to use one to get through germination and then use both when starting veg... this will give you the most amount of light with the smallest amount of heat.. a small fan moving the air inside the closet with a cracked closet door should be plenty of ventilation... plus i assume you have a/c in your apartment.. so this will help keep the air cool also as long as it is being moved through the closet by a fan... if you can afford a little more you may want to check into a 250w or 400w hps ballast and set up.. this will add a lot more heat, so you might have to do some playing with temps to keep them down, using the open closet and bedroom door.. but this will also yield you the more.. the cfls will give you a good yield too, but not as much as the hps... so you have to weight those 2 options and decide what works best.. i would say tho in your situation cfls might be best... plus you can add more cfls as you want with little affect to temps... **size will play into this as well.. if you want larger plants you are going to need bigger/more lights.. take into consideration what you want your final plant size to be and buy lighting accordingly**

watering is simple and probably the most overly complicated thing new growers worry about... first suggestion would be just to spend 10 bucks at a gardening center and get a moisture meter.. this takes all the guessing out of watering.. it will tell you if its wet or dry so you will know whether to water or not.. if you cant get ahold of one there are a couple other ways to tell..

first way is to stick your finger in the top inch of soil.. if its dry there try to stick your finger into a drain hole in the bottom of the pot.. if its dry there as well you should water... the other way is to lift your pot before and after watering to get an idea of how much it weighs.. then just lift it a few days later.. as it drys out it will lighten... when it feels like it did before watering then water.. if not, then wait... your plant will start to droop if it gets thristy.. this is another way to tell, but you have to be VERY vigilant and not let it go too long without water...

when you water, just gently break the top layer of soil up to allow more even penetration of the water... water the plants until you see water coming out of the bottom of the drain holes and into the drainage tray.. once that happens allow it to sit for about 10 minutes, and water some more... once you have more water pushing out the bottom you can stop.. allowing it to set will help the soil absorb the water in the drain tray.. sometimes water can run straight through the soil without actually being absorbed properly.. this will help take care of it... how much and how often to water will depend on the soil and amendments in them.. some will hold moisture better than others.. just remember its better to underwater than to over water.. you cant take water out of soil once its in.. but you can always add it..

soil ph you want between 6.0 and 7.0... again you will want to get a ph test kit... 1 for you solution and 1 for your soil will be best.. but not needed.. if you check the ph of the water/nute solution you are using before you water, and check the ph of the run off when you water, you will have a good idea where your soil ph is... most nute related problems come from an inbalance in ph... when lockout (the nute become unabsorbable or less absorbable) occurs you can end up with a build up of some nutes in the soil while other become deficient... different nutes get used at different rates and get locked out at different phs.. trying to maintain a solid 6.5 ph will help eliminate lockout and help to discover if you really have a nute def/nute burn from over/under feeding, or if its all caused from lockout...

water temps when you water should be cool... 65 to 75... cooler water holds more oxygen, which the roots need.. so try to keep the water cooler when you do water... air temps ideally should stay in the 70 to 75 range if you cant have a good exhaust system of fresh air intake set up... with as small of a grow are you are talking, and the ability to keep your entire apartment cooler, you shouldnt have any heat issues...

there shouldnt be any pest problems that you run into... and depending on the pest will depend on the treatment... so as far as those go its kind of hard to get into since who knows what, if any, you'll run into... just make a plant check for bugs part of the daily routine... check the leaves for signs of damage... if you see anything that doesnt look "normal" look under the leaves... look for anything crawling, moving, anything that looks like eggs, anything flying, moving on the soil... if you see anything like that then its easy to identify and treat them.. but again you probably wont have to worry about them.. but if you are playing outside, or go walking in some woods, or something like that, shower and change your clothes before working with your plants at all..

nutes are another area that is kind of hard to get into.. it depends on what you choose to use as to how much you use... a basic rule of thumb tho is this... start with 1/4 strength applications and build from there.... when vegging, dont start adding nutes until you see growth slowed/stopped or you begin to see yellowing of the leaves.. both of those are signs its ready to start feeding.. this is usually around 3 weeks into solid veg.. any earlier can result in nute burn or possible plant death.. when switching to flowering, wait to start feeding nutes until you see budsites appearing.. this will tell you its got enough flowering hormones to properly start using the flowering nutes... this is somewhere around the 2nd week of flowering.... you can introduce the flowering nutes earlier than this.. just use 1/8 applications along with 1/8 applications of veg nutes.. but as soon as you start 1/4 strength+ flowering nutes, stop using the veg nutes all together..

only other piece of advise i can give you is to line your closet with either mylar, white poly, or paint them flat white... this will help reflect the light back onto the plants and increase their efficiency...

anything else i can help with feel free to ask..

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i only want to say the most important aspect of the plant has been left out of this WHOLE thread, and that is the life and processes of the soil( roots and etcetera) that should be in a lot of areas throughout the thread, other then that pretty good job, with a lot of things to debate about, but still good job, looks like you read a few familiar books, greetz syze

good call with the roots.. ill have to edit in a part for that... said it in the beginning.. i knew id forget some stuff and have to add in... and most everything when it comes to growing is debateable to some extent.. and as the writer it is hard not to interject personal habbits or opinions in without knowing.. i didnt really proof read it to see how it came across either.. thanks for the heads up tho...

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http://www.rollitup.org/general-mari...blueberry.html weed will get you through times with no money better than money will get you through times with no weed new you tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFZ-xHId1c

so thanks to syze i am putting in a post about roots... cant believe i forgot.. but i am just a stoner... it happens...


roots are the means by which nutes and water are absorb by the plant.. the bigger and stronger the root system the bigger the plant will grow, the stronger it will be, and the heavier it will yield.. poor root systems will result in slower growth, smaller plants, and a lighter yields...

when starting from a seed, the root system will grow out from the taproot... the tap root is the beginning to what will be the entire root system.. clones will start popping a root system straight from where the exposed flesh of the clone is... in either case it takes around 5 to 10 days to develop a root system big enough to be ready for vegetative growth.. this can be sped up by using some sort of rooting stimulator/hormone...

the biggest influence on root growth is the environment they are in... roots grow best in cooler environments... this means warm soil and reservoir temps can/will slow root development... if temps are to high it can actually cook and kill the roots... they also need oxygen.. if you dont have good aeration in your growing medium the roots will not be able to breath and will die... same goes with moisture.. they grow best in an environment that goes from wet to dry... overwatering in soil and over flooding in a hydro system can slow root growth and/or drowned them out... cooler water holds more oxygen than warmer water, so water with 65F to 70F water can increase the amount of oxygen to them and lower the temp.. as i said, make sure you have good aeration.. also make sure you have quality soil that is not to heavy and has some sort of amendments, like perlite, sand, ect. in it.. not only does this help with moisture control and aeration, but it also keeps the soil from becoming to heavy.. heavy soil will make it difficult for the roots to push and grow through..

another issue to talk about is light... it is generally agreed on the dark is better for roots.. but they will grow in light... roots will die if they stay too wet (root rot/drowning) or dry from lack of moisture (air contact/dry medium).. but they will grow in direct light.. now im going to try to explain this as best as i can.. but it may bounce a little bit...

if you ever root, or have rooted, a plant in a starter tray that has a little bit of water in the bottom you may have seen, or might see, roots growing along the bottom.. this is because roots CAN grow in lights.. this doesnt mean they SHOULD tho.. more on that in a minute... but it is possible to grow a plant in a clear container where light hits the roots... now to explain why this is not a good idea...

since soil is of course going to keep the roots in the dark, this is more for dwc style grows where the roots have no real medium to grow... in a dwc system the water and roots are contained in their own area so water doesnt splash out... this means its a high humdity area that can be get warm.. if the container was clear, which would let light in of course, the humidity high, and the temp warm, it would create the perfect environment for mold, mildew, or fungus... keeping your root zone dark will avoid that entire problem... again IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE LIGHT HITTING YOUR ROOTS... roots that grow above soil will dry out and become unviable.. but with harden up like the stem of the plant..

also its worth mentioning that plants DO NOT NEED a dark period to grow roots.. they will grow them all the time regardless of light or dark... now, if given a plant that is given a dark period may develope a larger root system because the plant will have time to focus on root growth more than foliage growth during the dark period... but they will grow roots just as well in a 24/0 lighting environment...

i am sure the above info will cause some debate about root growth... and im ready for it... but again, and i stress this, do not attempt to grow a plant in an environment that light can constantly hit them.. it is a recipie for disaster... i just wanted to clear up the myth about them ONLY growing in dark environments and ONLY during the dark cycle, while letting you know the main factors for root death come from to much/not water and drying out from not enough water or air contact..


also there are other things that happen in the soil.. soil contains millions of micro organisms that are beneficial... these are the things that break down organic matter within the soil into the nutes that your plant will absorb and use to grow... they live throughout the soil and all around the root system.. they also help keep a strong healthy root system for your plant...

now these beneficials are much different than mold or fungus that would grow on your soil... you actually want to keep these beneficials alive and kicking... the more you have in your soil, the better and quicker nutes will become available to your plant and the healthier the roots will be...

using too much nutes, a poor growing environment, or having ph issues can all decrease the amount of and efficiency of the work these beneficials will do.. keeping them happy and working well are very important..

again, keep soil temps down to a safe zone... 7o to 75 is good... not overwatering/underwatering will help.. keep ph around 6.5.. you can also feed them with molasses... they sugars in the molasses will supercharge them and help them mulitply and increase the job they do... make sure to use unsulfured molasses tho.. about 1 tsp per gallon of water.. it can be used every time you water...

hope this helped cover what i missed... anything else anyone would like to see added, or even debate about, feel free to post!

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http://www.rollitup.org/general-mari...blueberry.html weed will get you through times with no money better than money will get you through times with no weed new you tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFZ-xHId1c

How do you lollipop a marijuana plant? i'v allways been interested in the process, but never knew how to pull it off. You mentioned it in the report. just never explained it.

i responded to your PM.. but will answer for anyone else interested...

lollipopping itself is removing the lower branches of your plant before/at the start of flowering so the plant focuses on the larger top buds and not waste the energy on lower buds you know will be small...

you can lollipop at 2 different times... first is about a week prior to flowering... this will give the plant time to recoup and repair, and if removing a large amount of branches, the ideal time to do it.. the second time is about a week into flowering, when stretching and new growth are slowing, and bud sites start appearing... this works well if you are only removing a few branches (5 or less)... the plant will have less to repair and it wont stress it out to much.. but if you do remove a lot, 5+ branches, you'll want to allow it to fix itself a little bit...

in order to actually lollipop use a sharp cutting utensil (razor, exacto, trimming prunes) and cut the branch off at the main stem.. thats it.. sterlize them in rubbing alcohol in between cuts to keep from causing an infection at the cut site... but its really that easy..

this will stress your plant out and can cause hermies in weak genetics or certain strains... you may want to try it on one plant to see how it responds before trying it with the rest of them..

you can use the cut off branches for clones if you want, or throw them out if you dont need them..

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http://www.rollitup.org/general-mari...blueberry.html weed will get you through times with no money better than money will get you through times with no weed new you tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFZ-xHId1c

thanks man, really enjoyed your input.... learned something new!!! what are the advatages of lollipoping? I have very limmited space and i'm thinking this tecnique might maximize my yeild.