$7000 Budget - 3000 Watt Basement CGE Setup

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
dammm how u got so much tops and how long did u veg nice grow keep it up brah
They were in veg for a little over 2 months. I let them go that long because I didn't have my flower room setup when I first moved to this house. I wove 4 of my plants plants into a scrog and just for fun I left one plant out of the scrog to see how it would do compared to the others. So far I love scrogging very much! I can't wait to improve my skills even more in future grows! :-D
 

jaydiesle

Active Member
did u top on the 3rd nod im just wondering cuz i wnna start topping mines but dnt no wen is the best time to tp and how much times to top
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
nice thats gon be a nice yield for 4 plants
4 in the scrog under 2000 watts and 1 other plant under a 1000 watt by itself in a 10 gallon. I'm hoping for a half lb off of each plant, but maybe I'm aiming too high. Can't wait to see what the total dry weight is gonna be. Until then I'm gonna continue flushing until my fan leaves yellow out and my trichomes turn 70% amber.

I have been told by an experienced grower that it's not a good idea to use molasses while flushing because he says it will affect taste. I have searched the Internet for information backing up this claim, but I haven't been able to find any. Maybe someone here can tell me from experience?
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
I topped my plants at 9 internodes from the bottom. You could top a little shorter like 7, but it all depends on how bushy you want your plant to be. I personally prefer a plant that isn't too bushy because I know a 1000 watt has decent light penetration. I'll just put more plants in my grow space instead of relying on one plant to cover so much area. I think you'd see better results in bud size overall with more plants to fill the area.
 

jaydiesle

Active Member
i cant see why u wouldnt get half a lb each the shits huge bro im thinking about doing this set up shit lol
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
i cant see why u wouldnt get half a lb each the shits huge bro im thinking about doing this set up shit lol
Yes, I would definitely go with more plants. I used 2 for a 4x4 screen, but that's only beause I had a limited number of plants to work with from the beginning.

If I were you I'd do anywhere from 4-6 plants per 4x4 screen. Have each plant in at least a 5+ gallon. With more plants it will also take less time to fill the screen. I would recommend flipping to flower when your screen is about 50-60% filled especially if you're working with a stretchy sativa strain.
 

Mrfootball420

Well-Known Member
what is the sq footage of the scog nets you have set up?


nvm u answered it 1 min b4 i asked... im going to go with a 8x5 area and i was thinking about putting 6 in that space. you think 8 would be better? i just dont want it to crowded.
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
what is the sq footage of the scog nets you have set up?


nvm u answered it 1 min b4 i asked... im going to go with a 8x5 area and i was thinking about putting 6 in that space. you think 8 would be better? i just dont want it to crowded.
Personally I would do 8 and veg them till the screen is 50% filled and switch it over to flowering. As long as you switched to flower before it becomes filled in too much you should be just fine.One thing I learned through experimentation is not to continue tucking under the screen past the first week of flowering. If for some reason it does get too crowded, no big deal, the crowded parts will shade themselves out and obviously not grow that much during the stretch phase as compared to the less crowded parts.
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
Is that dehumidifier ducted too?

No lol it does have a hose ran from the back of it to a drain pipe though.

It rained today and I can see how this can quickly bring the humidity up in my grow room. Definitely need to look into a 2nd dehumidifier for the next grow :-D Damn, I haven't bought a single piece of clothing ever since I started in this hobby. I take better care of these plants than myself :-P
 

Mrfootball420

Well-Known Member
Personally I would do 8 and veg them till the screen is 50% filled and switch it over to flowering. As long as you switched to flower before it becomes filled in too much you should be just fine.One thing I learned through experimentation is not to continue tucking under the screen past the first week of flowering. If for some reason it does get too crowded, no big deal, the crowded parts will shade themselves out and obviously not grow that much during the stretch phase as compared to the less crowded parts.
im leaning towards the longer veg time and fewer plants because it allows the root mass and branching to get more established and grow bigger(larger diameter stem=more weight). and one old saying i live by is, the bigger the root the bigger the fruit. right now you are getting great nutrient uptake from your plants. but if they were 3 weeks younger would they still be able to produce as well? im not so sure. if it aint broke...
 

420forme

Active Member
Was it hard to add the duct on the a/c? I've been looking at portables but I only need a small 6,000btu . If I could duct a small window model that would be sweet.
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
im leaning towards the longer veg time and fewer plants because it allows the root mass and branching to get more established and grow bigger(larger diameter stem=more weight). and one old saying i live by is, the bigger the root the bigger the fruit. right now you are getting great nutrient uptake from your plants. but if they were 3 weeks younger would they still be able to produce as well? im not so sure. if it aint broke...
Haha, I've never heard that old saying but that does makes sense. I hope that saying is true because the main branches to these plants are huge and I'm sure the root system is too!

I've seen plants that were only vegged for 3 weeks though with HUGE ass nugs on them though, but then again they were in 20 gallon pots of Sunshine #4.

I'm pretty sure if my plants were 3 weeks younger and if I had more plants to compensate for the lack of veg time I think they might possibly do even better than 2 plants having to fill an entire screen. I've read recommendations online for scrogs as having a plant per Sq/ft and vegging them till they start to fill the screen and flip to flower and continue training until the first week of flowering.

This makes sense that it would yield more because if you think about it, with more plants it's kind of like having a Sea of Green and a Screen of Green combined, but not having to use as many plants as you would for a SOG grow.

Don't take my word for it though. This is just my educated guess. :)
 

MedicalJay

Well-Known Member
Was it hard to add the duct on the a/c? I've been looking at portables but I only need a small 6,000btu . If I could duct a small window model that would be sweet.
Not really, the only thing that made it a pain for me was the size of my AC. I work by myself so lifting a 2 ton AC unit around isn't that fun. lol

You're going to need to remove the cover of the AC unit and cover the vents to it (I used some sheet metal I picked up at Lowe's for $10/each and a pack of nuts and bolts). The back exhausts the heat and the side and top vents are the intake. It's extremely efficient. I can drop my room down to 64 (lowest setting) with all my equipment running in a matter of minutes. You will need a booster fan for your exhaust. If you're going for a unit in the 12,000 btu and under range I'd recommend going with a 6" in-line fan for your exhaust. And of course, insulated ducting!! It'll also help reduce noise from your AC and exhaust fan.

You do have to worry about a window unit dripping condensation though. I have my AC unit on a wire shelf and it drips into a drain I have in my basement floor. If you don't have the luxury of a drain, a Bucket and a sump pump should do the trick just fine! At first I wish I got a portable, but after I finished this little project and compared stories with a friend that uses a portable, I'm glad I modified my AC unit. The cooling I'm getting from this setup is great! My AC unit doesn't work that hard at all. Another benefit to window units is they run like beasts. I used to live in California and they used to run all summer long for years without fail.
 
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