Beginner CFL Wardrobe Grow

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
Hi, i am a beginner and would appreciate any comments on improving my setup and also comments if the plants are looking healthy or not

Strain:
  • Black Domina x G13
Grow Medium - Canna Coco professional
125w Blue spectrum CFL
4x approx 24w bulbs
4" TT inlet fan with temperature control
NO OUTAKE - just a 4'' Hole ducted (at top wardrobe)
Nutes - Dutch pro
Rotating Fan

i think thats about everything for the setup, temperature is controlled around 27c, PH level is around 5.0 -6.0 (measured with PH strips) soil ph is unknown as i dont have the equipment to test...

The seedlings are just over a week old and am unsure if they are looking ok, the have been fed with just PH'D water, last feed i gave them low nutes..
IMG_0257.jpgIMG_0258.jpgIMG_0259.jpgIMG_0260.jpgIMG_0261.jpgIMG_0262.jpgIMG_0263.jpgIMG_0264.jpgIMG_0265.jpgIMG_0266.jpg

p.s in pot one there is two seedlings, me and the mrs had a bet wether a bag seed would sprout or not (she won)
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
Looks good to me :) Only input I have is maybe have a small fan blowing on or around the girls.

Thanks, i have a small PC fan wired up around my girls, wasn't in the pics as my little man loves it haha, also i planted seeds straight into large pots is there and significant importance of starting in small pots and re-potting at various growth stages? another question is, as i've planted straight into large pots i'm guessing i'm wasting feed/nutes but would i after use more water? as am currently using 1 litre per feed
 

ii dP ii

Member
well first off, everything looks awesome to me. I am a newb too, I've only completed 1 grow so far. but from what I've learned you're definitely better off planting straight into large pots if you can. less stress from re-potting means happier plants and better weed. also, about the nutes, your babies are so little I wouldn't even bother feeding them for at least a few weeks, and when you do start feeding, use only 1/2 the strength of what the bottle says at first. then work your way up. but what I do is just use the same amount of water/nutes as I would use regular water... I might be wasting nutirents that way but I'm at least sure that my roots are getting fed.
 

yktind

Well-Known Member
Out take fan is much more important then an intake fan. The point is to remove the Oxygen that the girls have been making.

Seedlings look healthy to me.

A quick and dirty way to test the soil PH is to water them and measure the water that drains out.

Also, how big are those pots?
 

yktind

Well-Known Member
well first off, everything looks awesome to me. I am a newb too, I've only completed 1 grow so far. but from what I've learned you're definitely better off planting straight into large pots if you can. less stress from re-potting means happier plants and better weed. also, about the nutes, your babies are so little I wouldn't even bother feeding them for at least a few weeks, and when you do start feeding, use only 1/2 the strength of what the bottle says at first. then work your way up. but what I do is just use the same amount of water/nutes as I would use regular water... I might be wasting nutirents that way but I'm at least sure that my roots are getting fed.
I agree with that except I start at 1/4 strength. I usually wait until they start drooping from lack of nutes before increasing from under 300 ppm. I have burned way to many plants by trying to pump them with nutes too soon. Make your goal a healthy plant not massive buds. Then work your way up. Its better to have to little then way to much imo.

One more thing are you in soil or 100% coco?

Do your self a favor and grab a ph meter from the hydro store or amazon. I think their 20 bucks. Saves a lot of head ache. Just don't check the Ph over the rez. Always use a separate glass and test somewhere safe. These things are not water proof and I have broken 2 or 3 of them, haha :eyesmoke:
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the reply and info dp, what i meant by feeding more (if i can explain it lol) is i've read on here that people feed there seedling with half cups of water with there seedlings being in a plastic throw away beakers (cups) which am guessing only contains a hand full of soil, would i after over compensate water for the amount of soil in my pot (i'm thinking not) im using 0.5ml of nutes in 15l of water as am almost sure the soil isnt at the same quality as 1st bought months ago (was never opened but unattended for a while)
 

zubey91

Well-Known Member
Looks good!

I usually dont seed in large pots, the plant seems to get root bound faster, i have a 3 pot system 9L , 1 gallon then 3 gallon
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
Thanks zubey, just thrown together ATM, when i believe ive got just about everything i need ill get it more organized

also could i complete this grow without outake fan and carbon filter or are they too important - realised you basically answered this, would you suggest me swapping the inlet to an outlet?

soil - View attachment 2828117
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
I agree with that except I start at 1/4 strength. I usually wait until they start drooping from lack of nutes before increasing from under 300 ppm. I have burned way to many plants by trying to pump them with nutes too soon. Make your goal a healthy plant not massive buds. Then work your way up. Its better to have to little then way to much imo.

One more thing are you in soil or 100% coco?

Do your self a favor and grab a ph meter from the hydro store or amazon. I think their 20 bucks. Saves a lot of head ache. Just don't check the Ph over the rez. Always use a separate glass and test somewhere safe. These things are not water proof and I have broken 2 or 3 of them, haha :eyesmoke:

Thanks for the input and the soil is Canna Coco professional COCO_PRO_PLUS-228x228.jpgand am pretty sure yht pot is 10/11 litres and also would you recomend that i change the inlet to a outlet until i have enough funds for both? if i do this i will have trouble with temps
 

yktind

Well-Known Member
Thanks zubey, just thrown together ATM, when i believe ive got just about everything i need ill get it more organized

also could i complete this grow without outake fan and carbon filter or are they too important - realised you basically answered this, would you suggest me swapping the inlet to an outlet?

soil - View attachment 2828117
It's less about completing and more about quality and happy plants.
Imagine you lock yourself in a closet with no fresh air, after a couple of days you won't be very happy. Probably won't kill you but you won't like it.

The leaves need fresh CO2 in order to photosynthesis properly. This is also why we add moving fans to keep the air rolling. That way the leaves have a constant supply.

Removing the Oxygen that the leaves release is important so that they don't feel like they are suffocating.

Edit: And yes If it were my grow I would switch the inlet to an out let. The only reason you would need a carbon filter is to block the smell. But it looks like you only have a couple of girls. I wouldn't be to worried about the smell.

I have 6 girls in full flower and yeah it stink in my room but you barely smell it outside. Like someone might be blazing down the road or something.

Also, I only have an outlet fan because it sucks out all the air in my tent fairly quickly it also forces fresh air in through my "passive intake" <------ Look up passive intake. That's all you need unless you are completely sealed off from the outside world.
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
Nice article ive read through a bit of it but will have a have a good luck tomorrow, however what ive read i know that we cant get foxfarm over here in the UK at the moment but can get biobizz which ive heard good and bad about, as you can probably see by the outside picture of the wardrode it is not entirely air/light tight so i presume some CO2 is escaping (in a spare room so no light in night cycle), i will definitely have a good look at making my own soil in future and its key element
 

TheDude0007

Active Member
Is the extractor hooked up to take hot air out or is it blowing air in? Sorry if this is a stupid question but I thought I saw the arrow pointing in a direction that looks as if you are blow air in not sucking the hot air out. Maybe you could clarify that part of your setup for me. Overall I think you have done a great job. If the extractor is blowing air in I would recommend turning that around.
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
Is the extractor hooked up to take hot air out or is it blowing air in? Sorry if this is a stupid question but I thought I saw the arrow pointing in a direction that looks as if you are blow air in not sucking the hot air out. Maybe you could clarify that part of your setup for me. Overall I think you have done a great job. If the extractor is blowing air in I would recommend turning that around.
Thanks for the info thedude, I've followed one of your journals :), it's currently blowing cool air in keeping temps at 27c as the TT fan has temperature control, I'm guessing if I did it as a outtake it would be better and also keep temps controlled....

away for a few days but will upload some updated pictures when am back
 

yktind

Well-Known Member
Nice article ive read through a bit of it but will have a have a good luck tomorrow, however what ive read i know that we cant get foxfarm over here in the UK at the moment but can get biobizz which ive heard good and bad about, as you can probably see by the outside picture of the wardrode it is not entirely air/light tight so i presume some CO2 is escaping (in a spare room so no light in night cycle), i will definitely have a good look at making my own soil in future and its key element
It doesn't necessarily have to be fox farm. But know that there is a huge difference in dirt and in soil.

Your soil is alive with micros and good bacteria. When you water you actually feed them not the plant (in theory anyway). When you are in hydro, aero, coco, etc. You don't have the same endos and ectos. So we use synthetic nutes to deliver directly to the plant.
 

Dcheald

Well-Known Member
It doesn't necessarily have to be fox farm. But know that there is a huge difference in dirt and in soil.

Your soil is alive with micros and good bacteria. When you water you actually feed them not the plant (in theory anyway). When you are in hydro, aero, coco, etc. You don't have the same endos and ectos. So we use synthetic nutes to deliver directly to the plant.
Ye I've read up a lot on hydro as I bought a DWC plant!t pot which sucked as I couldn't manage to keep water temperatures down without a chiller, and a chiller is way out of my budget, getting a good setup for 2 healthy plants is my aim for personal use
 

TheDude0007

Active Member
Thanks for the info thedude, I've followed one of your journals :), it's currently blowing cool air in keeping temps at 27c as the TT fan has temperature control, I'm guessing if I did it as a outtake it would be better and also keep temps controlled....

away for a few days but will upload some updated pictures when am back
If you do decide to turn it around, your airflow could actually be better. To explain, when the extractor sucks air out of your cab it creates a sort of vacuum (not a real vacuum), air is extracted creating negative air pressure. So air from outside is forced in. It will basicly suck air in through any little crack and gap in your cab, this way fresh air is sucked in and hot air is sucked out. Blowing it in is fine, but later if you see your temps are climbing, remember the tip. :-)
 
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