How to maximize your yield on a low budget?

Hello, I'm new to the community here so I'd like to say thanks for having me first of all. I am going to be a new grower and already before I have even started found a love for it. But being new to something also comes with being absolutely clueless.

I have a budget of around $400 and I would be using a bedroom closet. I would like to know what I would need to harvest about once a month with a high yield rate.

I have learned a few things in my spare time about lighting and I learned LEDs are good for vegging but not for flowering as they do not have enough watts. HPS are always good and generally the favorite, but for someone with a low budget I want to avoid HPS if I can. CFLs are low cast and efficient energy wise. Can I produce a nice harvest with CFLs though?

So I'm asking experienced growers who really know how to produce a good thick bud, if you only had $400 and you wanted to turn a closet into a nice little station you could harvest once a month, what would you purchase and how would you set it up.

Thanks in advanced to everyone for your help!

Well I consider myself experienced, and have done nothing but closet grows over the past 5 years. I have had many bad grows many decent grows a several really good grows.

IMO 400 is cutting it really close but it doable. Also IMO I would not flower with anything other than a HID light if you are looking for decent yield. Vegging with CFL's is just fine, you will need quite a few but they do work pretty well. That being said naturally HID's cause massive heat so ventilation is the next thing to tackle. With this you will need a decent way to exhaust the heat. A couple things come into play here. Sound is one of the major questions. If sound is not an issue then a cage fan is perfect. They are cheaper than centrifugal fans and are just a powerful, but much louder. Seriously you are looking at spending at least 200 on lights and ventilation. Of course there are garage sales and flea markets that you can check out, pawn shops and ebay also. You can buy ballast kits for about 75.00 then you will need a bulb, socket and wire (cut a heavy duty extension cord).

Ok so lets say you do some serious searching and get you lights and ventilation all together for around 200.00, now we need to get a system up and running. Now for a very controversial subject. From my experience hydro is much easier than soil although slighty more of an investment. I have yet to have a successful soil grow. Some are good at it some fail... I fail LOL. Hydro on the other hand I have become pretty damn good at it and it is like second nature for "ME". You can setup and DIY hydro system for about 100.00 using rubber maid bins from Lowes or Walmart. Do not get the Sterilite brand as they are very crappy and leak/crack easy. I used this FAQ but modified to fit my needs.
https://www.rollitup.org/view.php?pg=faq&cmd=article&id=466
The one thing I have that most do not use for ebb&flow is a CAP timer. I doubt you will want one as they are about 75.00. Then again a simple DWC will cost you a lot less and is much easier. Buy buckets, air pumps and air stones and you all set for a DWC LOL. At this point you will have about 100.00-150 for all the small extras, like PH meter, temp meters, reflection material, etc. What I suggest is that you download this program that I have found priceless. MANY MANY people here will agree with me. It is safe and I have it installed on my PC right now. It is a GROWFAQ that has been compiled by many many people and they have weeded out the bullshit.
http://rs785.rapidshare.com/files/219484205/GrowFAQ-Marijuana_Growers_Encyclopedia.033009-Installer.rar
Download that and read read read. I hate to read but I love to learn. Reply back as I am intrested in seeing what you decide to do with the knowledge presented to you.

I would say the biggest contribution to higher yield, would be a longer veg. So whatever equipment you decide to get on your shitty budget, veg for a while.

are you gonna have two diff sections in ur closet? a veg room and a flowering room? if not, ur harvest once a month is not gonna happen. at very least for a good yeild ud be looking at 3 months, and thats if uv got an indica dominant strain. but looking at ur cash, cfl for veg and hps flower is a good idea.

Glasuan said:

I would say the biggest contribution to higher yield, would be a longer veg. So whatever equipment you decide to get on your shitty budget, veg for a while.

Click to expand...

well he doesn't wanna veg for awhile he wants to try and yield about once a month is that even possible im still new but learning. But my setup is dwc i dont have enough cfls yet but i got two a 7500 lumen and a 2700 lumen and my dwc is a four plant setup that i bought off of ebay for 35$ and my bulbs were 20$. 55$ for my setup as of right now im only a week in.

Really it depends on the size of his grow space. If he has enough space to make a mother chamber w/ clones, and a flower chamber then a fat harvest every 45 days is not that unheard of. Again it really depends on his closet size more than any other factor. Either way he needs to do his research, and figure out what he can afford, and what he wants to do. Ventilation and lighting will be the same regardless of system and setup so that will be the first obstacle. 400.00 is low but one piece at a time and it can be done, harvest every month very doubtful but none the less he is in the right place to get started.

I spent about a grand on my whole system. That includes everything and I have a very nice fan, pump, and timer. I built my box from the ground up but lack any environmental controls aside from a fan/scrubber LOL. I went a bit over board, but either way I have built a closet grow before with nothing but 300.00 invested, it fails though cause I suck at soil growing.

EDIT: Here is a CHEAP ballast kit for 400w ballasts.
http://www.advancedtechlighting.com/so400-71c-211.htm

Well, I think I'm guna go with a CFL setup. I'm going to try to avoid HPS atm due to heating and what not. I have read a little bit of the faq guide that was listed above. I have looked into a few journals and cfl is managable for a decent size harvest. Also noise would be a large factor as I have suspicious neighbors already. The high level of heat from the HPS would also create a lot of odor causing me to spend more $ on odor repellants.

My closet has a compartment at the top with a height of about 2 feet. I'd say the closet is about 6 or 7 feet widewith 3 or 4 feet of depth. I'm not really sure but I can't find my measuring tape. Would the top compartment be big enough for germination and cloning? If need be I can build a divider but I want to avoid that.

With that being said I'm thinking about a 4 plant system, how many CFLs would I need for the 4 main plants? I would assume 1 CFL for germination and 1 CFL for the clones would be acceptable? Then again not sure of what bulbs to get either.

When I can clean out the closet I'll take a pic to show you guys what I'm working with.

your 400 bucks is enough to get you growing, for the nice thick buds you want you need an hps for flowering and some cfl's or tube floros will be fine for veg, for the once a month harvest you will need 2 seperate rooms or spaces so you can constantly be taking clones every few weeks or so, check out the green mans vids on youtube, he shows how to set up a cheap simple room

Arrite, so say I purchase a HPS light setup, how much would I have to spend to flower 4 plants? Also what's a good site to purchase these light setup from. I have poked around htg supply but I am not sure if those are the best prices around.

400w hps for 4 plants. i can get one for around £120, so thats like $250.

get t5 or t8 flurescents little fan pots and promix hp dirt, use advanced nutrients but since your on a budget get the grow a and b then get small bottle of the connaseur bud blood to kick start ur blom and big bud with overdrive for wekk 6 and 7 and you will do very nicely low heat and get some mylar to cover your space for reflexion of light. 400w hps gets expensive cause you et heat issues specially int he summer, ive seen guys pull qps of those t5's so that about 2 ounces a month for you to smoke.

try and get the one with 8 lights fuckng prety sweet man http://pgsgrow.com/blog/2009/04/07/t5-fluorescent-grow-lights/

So I've been pokin around the internet, and I stumbled on this CFL setup. I was wondering if you guys could help me break it down price wise. Here's the link https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/51417-diy-4oz-minimum-yield-grow.html. I really like what he's doing here as it produces a nice amount with very low heat production. It's a small chamber that could fit in my closet. I'm also wondering would I be able to somehow turn this into a hydroponics system?

Seriously if you buy a ballast kit like I linked you can get a 400w HPS for less that 100.00. The local electric shop sells 400w HPS bulbs for 16.00, I have a brand new one here never used send me a 10.00 MO to pay for shipping and it is yours. So at that point all you will need is a kit and I linked one for 54.00 new, then get the wiring from and old extention cord and you have a HID light for about 75.00 as you will need to buy a mogul socket, locally here about 7 bucks.

For ventilation I guessed your closet is 7x7x4 and it came to about 200 cubic feet. You will need a fan that can vent about 250-300CFM if you use a scrubber. What you need to keep in mind is that not everything need to be bought at one time. Get you lights fans and materials for your system. Then in later vegging and definately before you flower get a scubber so they don't stink up you house. Trust me a closet grow will stink up your whole house during flowering... you will need odor control no matter how you look at it, and that is another 50-100 bucks. I can give you links to everything you need but you need to look around locally to find good deals. Also keep in mind that you can use craigslist. I seen a 400w light system with aircooled hood and 265CFM fan for 150.00. Honestly you anyone can grow and 400 is plenty to get started, but no matter how you see it in the end you will need to invest more than 400. One peice at a time remember that. Alternately you can hold off on the light and buy the CFL's and the whole ventilation system... ducts, fan, scrubber, then buy your HID when you start to flower. That way you will have at least 6 weeks to save your cash if you are starting from seed (about a month if from clones).

Lets recap what I think is the best decision...

Get your complete ventilation system including a scrubber, and your grow system soil/hydro whatever, also get your CFL's for germination and vegging. At this point you can start your grow once you get your nutrients. While you wait for everything to get on a roll save for a HID light system so that you are covered for flowering.

Did I leave anything out????????

CARBON SCRUBBER 50.00
http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=49749
You will need at least a 6" fans for that size closet.
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-CFM-Inline-Exhaust-cooling-Fan-Vent-System-6-inch_W0QQitemZ260422486053QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca263c825&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A30

2 5 gallon buckets 4.00 each at Walmart.
2 Dual outlet air pumps 9.00 each at Walmart.
4 6" airstones + hose about 10.00 at Walmart
4 pack CFL's 12.00 at Walmart
2 6" netpot 1.00 at hydroshop
PH meter 15.00 dollars at eBay (Look for the Hanna Checker)
Nutrient can cost different depending what you buy. I suggest getting GH Flora series and follow Lucas formula If you downloaded the file I linked earlier you can find it in there just do a search, you can even Google it if you want.
All this is less than 400.00 so you will have a head start on the savings for your HID.

best way to up your yield for cheap is use a bunch of little clones that are the same. grow one feminized seed and chop her up making every shoot and fan leaf its own clone. veg for minimum time to get nice roots n flower for short time and repeat. lollipops only. after you have a hps though.

n get a ozone generator for 50 bucks off ebay to cover scent. helps you with not needing a big fan for a scrubber.
also, run your light for 24 hours with a dark spot to put the girls in after 12 hours and have 2 sets a day flowering. double the yield immediately like you have twice the lights.

hydrochetta said:

So I've been pokin around the internet, and I stumbled on this CFL setup. I was wondering if you guys could help me break it down price wise. Here's the link https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/51417-diy-4oz-minimum-yield-grow.html. I really like what he's doing here as it produces a nice amount with very low heat production. It's a small chamber that could fit in my closet. I'm also wondering would I be able to somehow turn this into a hydroponics system?

Click to expand...

To be honest I seriously doubt that he got 4 dried ounces from that but I could be wrong. All I can say is give it a shot. Adapting it to hydro is possible but could be tough.

I only say that because his plants look like they went through hell and back. When I did my last grow I finished 118g from one plant and it looked as beautiful as the day I put it into flowering no yellowing when it was harvested, and this is with a 400w HID. Like I said I could be very wrong about it though.

all these guys are right man - u gotta get an HPS.

Trust me, i'm the cheapest guy you'll find, i wanted to do ,LED, CFL, home made yeast CO2, make my own nutes (well, not that one)etc. And came to the conclusion to quit fucking around.

I have never regretted it - a 400w hps in a cooltube with even a smallish fan produces fuck all heat. And the buds you get will shit all over cfl bull shit.

I'm currently on my third grow, my last in a 3x1.5x6' tent under a 400w got me over 8oz! (check my profile for pics) - now this probably isn't the bees knees - but for my second grow i was wrapped.

a 400w hps ballast w/cooltube + bulb cost less than $180 aus and you'll grow more than $180 more bud than you would from the cfls.

So I've looked into the scrog technique and it is a very nice method and I'll be using that with what ever light setup I decide to use. I am most likely going to go HPS but theres a lot of things about HPS that I don't like. Such as, the noise, say I get 400w HPS setup how loud is that going to be? I want it to be discreet as possible as I'm going to be moving into an apartment soon. Also the heat factor, if I'm venting out this system it will jus be funneling the smell of herb into an area where people will most likely get a smell. HTG has a verry nice price on a 400watt HPS system so I'm ok there. I just want to really consider the fact if I'm going to be able to keep it my little secret with all the factors at play.