To many choices... need help

I'm new to buying seeds and there are so many options, strains, and companies that it's hard to pin point what I want. So I am here asking people far smarter than myself for recommendations. 'm looking for a good strain to grow indoors under CFL. Yes Yes I know... CFL... pfft.. But, I live in an apartment complex so rigging an effective ventilation system is out of the question. I have a large dog so I do not have to worry about anyone from the apartment complex coming into my apartment. They always call first if they need to do anything so I can put my dog in my room... which is where my little grow is. Anyway, I'm looking for a strain that is easy to grow indoors under CFL and will knock you down and atomic elbow drop you while you're down there. I hear good things of all the Diesels, White Russian, and all the Cheeses. I was also looking into some Alaskan Ice.

What would you recommend?

This is probably a question best for the main forum, a moderator may move it there.

"I'm looking for a good strain to grow indoors under CFL. Yes Yes I know... CFL... pfft.."

An HID light will produce less heat than a collection of CFLs of the same wattage, plus with an HID you can keep your ballast out of the grow room and reduce a lot of heat build up. Go for the CFL if you like but consider a small 150-250W HID. I would really recommend getting a carbon filter and a fan, you can vent heat and reduce smell. Counting multiple bulbs and sockets a small HID may be less expensive, you can pick them up dirt cheap on ebay.

"But, I live in an apartment complex so rigging an effective ventilation system is out of the question."

If you have a window (not a closet grow) cut some plywood to fit, cut out a hole the size of your ducting, fit the rig in the window sill. You have to block the light comming in for your dark periods and the light going out so neighbours aren't blinded by your grow lights and call the policia for visual assistance.

If you're in a closet just vent it to the room and turn your heat down. I have my fan recirulating the hot air in the winter and venting it outside in the summer. Keeps me warm and cool.

In the end, just don't worry about it. Start growing and the rest will take care of itself - instead of planning you'll be bossed around by your garden. I vegged my first grow of 12 x 6' - 8' sativa bag seed plants under 8 x 100W incandescent lights from August until February, I didn't even know that the plants needed 12/12 to flower or where the buds were going to grow. I've done a couple dozen strains since and that bag seed grow was second only to Big Laughing in quality of high.

"I have a large dog so I do not have to worry about anyone from the apartment complex coming into my apartment. They always call first if they need to do anything so I can put my dog in my room... which is where my little grow is."

Your two biggest worries about being caught are:

1. You can't keep your mouth shut.
2. Smell.

The dog will help but you should look for low odor strains like Norhtern Lights and stay away from stinkers like AK47. As above, I would really recommend a carbon filter and fan. Small grow, look at an inexpensive sock filter.

http://www.3countieshydroponics.co.uk/pages/environment/odorsok.htm

"I'm looking for a strain that is easy to grow indoors under CFL and will knock you down and atomic elbow drop you while you're down there."

Can be done but would be much like Mickey Ward squaring off against a prime Mike Tyson and winning the heavy weight tittle. It's going to take a lot of growing skill to produce good bud with CFLs.

"I hear good things of all the Diesels, White Russian, and all the Cheeses. I was also looking into some Alaskan Ice"

All sound good. The original Cheese is a fine Skunk #1 so it might get stinky, White Russian is half AK47 and to be sure it will be stinky. Don't know much about A.I. except the breeder's description, a few people on the forum have been talking about ordering.

I would recommend auto flowering strains like Joint Doctor Diesel Ryder or Blue Ryder. I always like having several strains growing at the same time, you might consider both and look at Pick n Mix if money is tight. Fem seeds make life easier.

Autoflowers
1. Don't need total dark for 12 hours.
2. Short plants
3. Quick bud:

I'm assuming that you're not growing now, 56 days from seed until harvest vs 5 weeks veg + 8+ weeks flower.

http://www.cannabis-seeds-bank.co.uk/automatic-flowering-dwarfs-128-c.asp

http://www.pickandmixseeds.co.uk/

I don't know anything about these guys yet but they seem to be copying P&M web page, I'm going to find out if they're affiliated. Located in Canada.

http://www.marijuana-seeds-canada.com/

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Good luck!
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Wow Hobbes, thanks for all the info. + rep for you...many times over. I am currently growing some bag seeds as my first grow just to get a hands on grow under my belt. I don't expect much from it, just the experience. I'm in the second week of flowering and the ladies are looking great. I kept them short and busy.

Unfortunately, my grow is a closet grow. I kind of have no other choice unless I want to get rid of my bed and sleep on the couch. LOL The only window in my room is on the opposite wall of my room and faces the main drive way so altering the window would cause some suspicion. I do have a small air purifier going and it keeps the smell down unless you get close to the closet. My main concern is the heat as far as HIDs go. How hot does a 150-250w get? Would it be suitable for a small closet? If it doesn't get extremely hot and is manageable I may have to look into it for my next grow.

Thanks for the info on the strains too. I didn't realize that some strains would smell more than others. Again... noob. That's one attribute I almost never see in a plants description so it never really crossed my mind that the smell may be very potent. I have been looking at some of the low rider strains as a next grow. Although my closet isn't that deep (1 1/2'), it is pretty wide (5') and tall (7') so I think I may be able to get away with a decent sized plant or two. I've rigged the shelf in the top of the closet so I can raise and lower it as needed because I have the lights strapped to it.

Again, thanks for the wealth of info. You gave me a lot to think about!

" How hot does a 150-250w get?"

They all get hot, you could probably boil water on a 150W bulb if it didn't break. But a 150W or 250W arent that bad, think about a 100W incandescent bulb and how much heat that puts out - the basic equation is Energy In = Light + Heat (I know that the technology is different but humor me), an HPS puts out multiples more lumens than an equivalent wattage incandescent or CFL, there's less heat generated per watt with an HPS than a CFL.


"Would it be suitable for a small closet?"

They're made for small grows. Check out these grow cabinets, they're close to your closets dimensions and use a 400W light.

http://www.sunlightsheds.com/cool-cab.htm

You will need to either ventilate your closet or leave the door open with a fan blowing over the tops of the plants, they'll cook otherwise.


What kind of high/stone are you after? Couch lock, soaring, trippy, euphoric, body, cerebral?
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IMHO you just need to make a short list of priorities.

1. Size of plant. Yours is a closet grow like mine so keep them medium to short in stature.

2. Type and strength of high you want. Mind or body? Both?
(Most strains are mixes of the two MAJOR types of mj sativa and indica) Sativa being more mind...indica being more body...sativa grows VERY tall...Indica much shorter and bushier)

3. Ease of growth. I like something a little rugged and able to bounce back from grower error.

I'd recommend AK48. Strong high, short, bushy, easy to grow.

Paradise Rox grows fine and you get a nice indica lull after smoking it...couchlock high after 9-10 weeks flowering

CATALYST317 said:

But, I live in an apartment complex so rigging an effective ventilation system is out of the question.

What would you recommend?

Click to expand...

I live in an apartment and have grown in the spare bedroom(full room grow) i had no trouble with ventilation. Do you have someone above you? I did not, what i did was run the 6' ducting from the inline fan up through the roof(Sheetrock) in the closet. i noticed from the outside that there were vents for the attic above my place. It is only a 2 story complex and i was upstairs. so I just vented the air which didn't even smell from the carbon canister filter and the the extra air in the attic went out the vents .was a big enough air draw to keep the temps down on a 1000w and a 250w plus other equipment as well.

Venting air from a closet grow room out a bedroom front window: "The only window in my room is on the opposite wall of my room and faces the main drive way so altering the window would cause some suspicion."

1. Take a piece of board at least 8" high and as wide as your window - the board can be wood or cloroplast board.
2. Cut hole for air duct tube, fit tube in hole and duct tape in place from the rear (no tape inside tube - comes loose)
3. Camouflage the board and making it look like a speaker sitting in your window - some type of cheese cloth type covering, or an old speaker taken apart and the ducting fitting in where the speaker use to be. Every once in a while put a real speaker in and wake your neighbours about 4 in the morning - add some realism.

You'll need some type of dryer vent on the end of the ducting to angle the air down, and so wind coming at the window doesn't blow back up the ducting.

Be creative.

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ps - I'm joking about 4 AM music, you don't want the cops at the door

Hobbes said:

Venting air from a closet grow room out a bedroom front window: "The only window in my room is on the opposite wall of my room and faces the main drive way so altering the window would cause some suspicion."

1. Take a piece of board at least 8" high and as wide as your window - the board can be wood or cloroplast board.
2. Cut hole for air duct tube, fit tube in hole and duct tape in place from the rear (no tape inside tube - comes loose)
3. Camouflage the board and making it look like a speaker sitting in your window - some type of cheese cloth type covering, or an old speaker taken apart and the ducting fitting in where the speaker use to be. Every once in a while put a real speaker in and wake your neighbours about 4 in the morning - add some realism.

You'll need some type of dryer vent on the end of the ducting to angle the air down, and so wind coming at the window doesn't blow back up the ducting.

Be creative.

.



.

ps - I'm joking about 4 AM music, you don't want the cops at the door

Click to expand...

lol...I don't know about this. For one thing , who has a big speaker just sitting in there window facing outside? I think this would be hard to pull off. I think it would just cause suspicion more than take it away. What if someone walks up to the window and the air is just blasting out of that "cool" speaker that doesnt look so speaker like from 1 foot away?
No attic? if not, you would be better off cutting a whole "somehow" "somewhere" that will not be found. I recommend the roof or the crawl space(floor).If your exhuast air is being cleaned and doesnt smell , then the only way you would get caught would be if some one asked themselves.. "gee, why is hot air blasting out of this speaker?"

www.worldwide-marijuana-seeds.com great selection and you can buy in packs or single seeds. White widow is a all around fav. also blueberry... AK-47, trainwrewck are great strains to grow.

you have smoked NOTHING to give a report on.... wtf is this doing here????