First Ever Grow. Closet + CFLs. Posts Welcome!!!

High Everyone!!

I have had friends & family that have done box & closet grows. I have read about growing since I was 18 (now 25). This is my first ever attempt at a grow. I will include as many pictures as possible and with as much detail necessary.

I am creating this journal for anyone who is looking for ideas for their closet, or has any input for me. If I get too long winded I apologize that's just me

My Grow Space:
Bedroom closet. Dimensions are approx 30" deep by 72" wide with around 70" of usable height. Below are some pictures:


Equipment So Far (With Pics):

Lights: 6-26w ????k for veg. 2-30w 2700k & 2-3 65w 2700k (the football sized ones) for flowering. I may be adding some 42w 2700k, and possibly a 75w HPS from a friend later. Anyone know what Kelvin rating these 26w GE bulbs are? Im hoping for 5000+



Fixtures: 4 Worklights w/ clamps & reflectors removed. All rated for 150w each. I also bought 2 "Y" adapters rated at 660w. 2 Fixtures pictured.


Medium: Jiffy organic seed starting mix with no added nutrients put into jiffy pots while I wait on my Foxfarm soil to get here, which I will be using once I transplant hopefully.


Reflection: Walls & plant table painted flat white. 46.5" x 72" Magic Fit roller shade to cover the inside of the door, which blocks light from coming in/going out and its solid white for reflecting light. Its not quite long enough to cover the whole door, but its mounted about 8-10 inches above where the max height for the lights is.


Miscellaneous: Intermatic 2 port 3 prong timer. 2 surge strips, one for the lights and another for the fan(s). One adjustable height oscillating fan. Eye hooks to hang the lights by.


I will do this in a 2 part post for today, since it was a 2 day job getting things setup and put in the closet. All the above pictures were taken the day I noticed 5/5 of my seeds that I had germinating cracked open. I have since planted those and have pics in the next post.

I have a few questions for you, does that big 300 bulb fit in a normal socket?Do you have fresh air coming in?What strain are you growing? How did you run the extension cord under the carpet?

OK so even though most of the things I will describe were in the first posts pictures it wasnt until day 2 (today) that I actually added them.

For example the weather stripping on the top & side of the door. This was done more for my wife & I so that as little light as possible peeks through while were trying to sleep, but it helped some at the top where the curtain doesn't cover, so that no light gets in. I also added a lock to the door, which is a must have for anyone growing in a closet imo.


I ran an 8ft extension cord from a nearby outlet straight down to the floor and under the trim. Luckily there was enough room for me to stay under the trim all the way around the door frame so you cant see a cord at all when the door is closed.


The 5 seeds that all germinated beautifully are in jiffy pots stuck in some tupperware type containers with plastic wrap & a rubber band on top. Im not sure if I should water these before they sprout or not, its been 2 days and I haven't taken the plastic off yet, everything still looks pretty moist. No sprouts yet. I had them up in the top of the closet (as you can see in the last pic here) with some rigged up lamps keeping them warm while I got the closet ready.



A friend and I put together a growing table out of a 30x30 sheet of plywood and some 2x4s. We painted it flat white. The idea is to cut holes in the plywood when I get to bigger pots, and have a resevior of some sort to collect water underneath the table to avoid pooling & root rot. I have yet to find anything to put under it, I have about 24"x28"x3" ish to work with, any ideas would be great. As of now I have the tupperware containers with my 5 jiffy pots, and a plate with about 10 or more seeds germinating in a paper towel. I checked before going to bed and 4 already had taproots. My digital temp/barometer reading is off from the door being open for a long time, but I am currently getting an avg 80 degrees and about 45% humidity. I am hoping the humidity will rise soon, this is with no air circulation or other bulbs of course, so time will tell.


And finally, a supply shelf up top which Im sure will continue to fill. I will probably end up turning half of this shelf into a veg/clone growing spot somehow.


My long term plan is to have 4 healthy females in 3&1/2 gallon pots. I figure they will have about 3.5 to 4 feet to grwom from the top of the buckets to the bottom of the lights. And like I mentioned earlier, maybe a clone/veg room up top on the top shelf.

OK, so thats all I have for now. Its been a long day and Im up late/early enough to see the sun rise so that means its my bed time. Any and ALL comments are welcome as long as they are constructive or nice. I will post again tomorrow with an update on my little (hopefully) girls and with any questions I meant to type tonight, but was too tired to remember them Thanks for checkin out my grow!!

so does that big 300 bulb fit in a normal socket?

doobiee said:

I have a few questions for you, does that big 300 bulb fit in a normal socket?Do you have fresh air coming in?What strain are you growing? How did you run the extension cord under the carpet?

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Hey doobie, shoulda stuck around for 20 more minutes I made another post talking about the cord under the trim haha. If you dont have enough room under your trim Im told it can all be pulled up, lay your cord and nail it back down pretty easily.

As for the monster CFL, yes it fits in a regular socket. Its a 65w bulb that is a 300w replacement. I bought them at home depot for like $15 each. They are 2700k so i wont be using till Im ready to flower, they look absolutely hilarious in a regular fixture, but they are made to fit one.

I have no fresh air coming in which was my main concern from the beginning, but reading up on other closet journals I find that simply opening your closet on a regular basis provides enough CO2 to suppliment your plants through the day, assuming you have good air circulation within the closet.

As for the strain, your guess is as good as mine, its some bagseed form some great mids I got about 2 weeks ago, so far 100% germination rate though

Thanks for the interest

KB

doobiee said:

so does that big 300 bulb fit in a normal socket?

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look at the picture it's right next to a normal bulb and you can clearly see that it does fit in the same socket, and it's not a 300watt it's a 68watt

I've got a 125watt cfl and it fits in the same size socket as a hps which is annoying

rEdDe4d said:

look at the picture it's right next to a normal bulb and you can clearly see that it does fit in the same socket, and it's not a 300watt it's a 68watt

I've got a 125watt cfl and it fits in the same size socket as a hps which is annoying

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Errr yeah what he said...68watt not 65watt haha. Thanks for the correction rEd

KolorBlind said:

Errr yeah what he said...68watt not 65watt haha. Thanks for the correction rEd

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your lookin like your on the right track KolorBlind...i also got one of those monster 68 watters...using it as a 2700 among my 6500 veg lights...plan on gettin 2 more for flowering...keep us posted on your progress best of luck!

o yeah totally subscribed!

Subscribed. Looks very nice! Cant wait to see those babies break soil. You have a decent amount of room for four plants - those things should be CFL monsters! Make sure to post pics of your DIY carbon filter when you get around to that - I love seeing what diff people do.

You started off very well! will be watching this!

Hey guys thanks so much for the interest and the +rep, its MUCH appreciated.

I wanted to point out my main concern as I forgot last night, and that would be safety. The only way I see this grow going bad is if I get a call from the fire dept. I am doing everything in my power to be safe as possible, so if anyone sees something that looks like a fire hazard, or has any suggestions in that area I am open to any and all suggestions.

Gastanker said:

Subscribed. Looks very nice! Cant wait to see those babies break soil. You have a decent amount of room for four plants - those things should be CFL monsters! Make sure to post pics of your DIY carbon filter when you get around to that - I love seeing what diff people do.

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Well I had first planned on doing a micro grow box, and was going to use WolfmanZen's DIY filter here https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html
But I don't really have any way of venting the closet while its closed. If I made the filter anyway and put it in there with a blower attached to it, would it function like an air purifier? I haven't seen anyone do this and don't know if it would make any difference.

The wife is just getting up and around so I will go peek in the closet and check on my pots & my plate of seeds to see if anymore have germinated. If so I may possibly plant them today. I should have an update soon.

good luck man ill be watchin

High again everyone.

Thanks for checkin out my lil thread everyone. I'm thankful to have some subscribers for sure!!

I had a long day today and wasn't able to post these pics till now, but I have great news, we've broken soil!! 3 of the 5 seeds I had planted sprouted overnight and one in particular is nice n tall for being only hours old. One that sprouted is in a container with the 2 others that haven't so I didn't really get and good pictures of it. I didn't want to remove the plastic till the others sprouted or the one touches the plastic. Top picture is the tallest one, which is also the one in the right on the bottom picture.


Also, I had 15 seeds germinating and a few had cracked already, well 11/15 have officially grown tap roots. the other 4 are split open slightly but you cant tell in the pic.


For shits & tickles I put 3 of the germinated ones out by my AC unit, and I plopped the rest of em into some Jiffy pots with the Jiffy organic seed starter mix. I placed 7 of the Jiffy pots in a tupperware container and 1 in a plastic cup with plastic wrap over both. The 3 jiffy pots on the right side of the container I sprayed with some soil additive made from cow manure. I cannot give away the name of the product for my own privacy reasons but we'll see how they do. In the middle picture you can see the newly planted ones in the back, as well as 1 up front. I took the plastic off the container that both plants had popped up, and hung the light pretty close....is it too close? The bottom picture is a bit of a closer view of the one I am referring to.


I made a trip to the local nursery today to pickup some stuff for an herb garden my wife and I are going to start in our kitchen bay window. I figured it would be the perfect time to pick out a soil. I simply told the woman about our herb garden, and said we would also like to plant some tomatoes and cucumber outside. I have really been overwhelmed with what soils to and/or not to use, and decided against ordering FF online when I saw the $30 S&H. I purchased one 1.5cu ft bag of Sunshine planting mix, a 40Lb bag of Garden Magic topsoil, and a small bag of bone meal. I noticed that the topsoil has sand in it, is that ok for cannabis? If not no biggie I bought it for my herb garden and a couple house plants mainly. But the sunshine...is that ok stuff? Should I mix some bone meal in with it, and if so about how much? Anyhow, heres a picture of the 3.

KolorBlind said:

Hey guys thanks so much for the interest and the +rep, its MUCH appreciated.

I wanted to point out my main concern as I forgot last night, and that would be safety. The only way I see this grow going bad is if I get a call from the fire dept. I am doing everything in my power to be safe as possible, so if anyone sees something that looks like a fire hazard, or has any suggestions in that area I am open to any and all suggestions.



Well I had first planned on doing a micro grow box, and was going to use WolfmanZen's DIY filter here https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html
But I don't really have any way of venting the closet while its closed. If I made the filter anyway and put it in there with a blower attached to it, would it function like an air purifier? I haven't seen anyone do this and don't know if it would make any difference.

The wife is just getting up and around so I will go peek in the closet and check on my pots & my plate of seeds to see if anymore have germinated. If so I may possibly plant them today. I should have an update soon.

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Did exactly what you are talking about. Made the very same filter (cept my outer container is different and I use cheese cloth) and I just have it stuck in the closet - not attached to a vent. Works alittle. I'm sure if I had made it bigger and put a bigger fan on it that it might do the job. I should probably have it sucking from the top as well and filtering out down towards the bottom - heh, whatever. You've got a bit of time but when it comes let me know how it works out. I got 4 of those odor eliminating fresh2 bulbs and they help a considerable amount.

Safetly wise you look fine. Just make sure you don't put to many y splitters on those 150w sockets. Shoulda paid the extra $5 and gone with the ceramic

lookin good buddy

Gastanker said:

Did exactly what you are talking about. Made the very same filter (cept my outer container is different and I use cheese cloth) and I just have it stuck in the closet - not attached to a vent. Works alittle. I'm sure if I had made it bigger and put a bigger fan on it that it might do the job. I should probably have it sucking from the top as well and filtering out down towards the bottom - heh, whatever. You've got a bit of time but when it comes let me know how it works out. I got 4 of those odor eliminating fresh2 bulbs and they help a considerable amount.

Safetly wise you look fine. Just make sure you don't put to many y splitters on those 150w sockets. Shoulda paid the extra $5 and gone with the ceramic

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Man I looked ALL OVER for ceramic y splitters and I couldn't find any at all. I looked at Ace, Lowes and Home Depot. I found plenty of single ceramic fixtures but no splitters. I will keep an eye on them and see if they feel to hot.

Yeah I will probably just do what you did then on the air filter, and try to find a good high power blower or something. Putting it up high would definately be a good idea.

I have somewhat of another problem though. Im not 100% postitive, but Im almost certain the 26w bulbs I bought are 2700k Which will be great supplement light for flowering, but I need a veg light. Have a look at this http://www.buylighting.com/85-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-5000K-Full-Spectrum-p/sp85-50-med.htm
Says it fits in a regular light socket, and its 5000k. That would be excellent for vegging right? Maybe that with a few of the 26w 2700k Im currently using? If anyone knows of this size bulb or thinks it would/wouldnt be a good idea let me know.

Thanks
KB

OK after a bunch of searching around I found this AWESOME spreadsheet that lists every (I think) Energy Star qualified CFL, along with wattage, kelvin rating, lumens, etc.

If ANYONE is not able to find the kelvin rating on their bulb, this is the spreadsheet for it. I wish someone would have shown me this 5 days ago I wouldnt have bought a 6 pack of freakin 2700k bulbs to veg with lol.

Here is the spreadsheet link: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=cfls.display_products_excel

And if you dont have a spreadsheet program, well...go download openoffice.org because its 100% FREE and as good as office. but if you dont want to then heres a link for the same info in html, but its a bit harder to read: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=cfls.display_products_text

So it looks like Im on the hunt for some veg bulbs before my babies get any bigger Still need some input on that monster 85w CFL if anyone can help me out.

Nice grow journal I have subscribed to this thread I will be watching your progress. Great job so far I look forward to seeing your plants mature.

KolorBlind said:

Man I looked ALL OVER for ceramic y splitters and I couldn't find any at all. I looked at Ace, Lowes and Home Depot. I found plenty of single ceramic fixtures but no splitters. I will keep an eye on them and see if they feel to hot.

Yeah I will probably just do what you did then on the air filter, and try to find a good high power blower or something. Putting it up high would definately be a good idea.

I have somewhat of another problem though. Im not 100% postitive, but Im almost certain the 26w bulbs I bought are 2700k Which will be great supplement light for flowering, but I need a veg light. Have a look at this http://www.buylighting.com/85-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-5000K-Full-Spectrum-p/sp85-50-med.htm
Says it fits in a regular light socket, and its 5000k. That would be excellent for vegging right? Maybe that with a few of the 26w 2700k Im currently using? If anyone knows of this size bulb or thinks it would/wouldnt be a good idea let me know.

Thanks
KB

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Was talking about the actualy powercord/socket, not the splitters Haven't seen ceramic splitters anywere or Ide be all over those suckers Don't think you have anythign to worry about regardless.

That 80w looks like a beast. According to my reading 5000k is a decent sprectrum but only supplementally to 2700 durring flowering. It would probably be great for vegging in addition to some 6500s. You can never go wrong with a broad spectrum right?

Oh - Not sure if you know this but 'full spectrum' is an industry term meaning 'in the middle of the spectrum'. I hate industry terms used for marketing! I'm in the olive oil industry and they have 'lite' olive oil. People think its low fat oil! OIL IS PURE FAT! 'lite oil' = 'pure' oil = heavily refined with chemicals. God damn marketing ass-holes.

But fawk - a couple of those 80w 5000k along with some 68w 2700k and you'll have some crazy ass buds i'm sure.

Did you see the 105w for $5 more? http://www.buylighting.com/105-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-5000K-Full-Spectrum-p/sp105-50-med.htm