Information overload

The first light in my 3x3 was 230w or something like that. Buds were great. Updated to 300w only because I won the light here. Just had to dial it down and back it up a little more than the less powerful. Spider farmer wouldn’t sell the kit if it didn’t work through flower. I really believe that.

Yea I believe to which is why I'm pretty comfortable with my decision to go with it . I do hope to be able to add some supplement lighting though .

In other news , a friend stopped by today and the subject of growing came up .
He offered to give me a brand new 10x12 harbor freight greenhouse his wife bought 4 years ago and has taken up floor space in his garage since .
It's tempting , but the lenght of time and work commitment to an outdoor grow is less then appealing to me

Moistvonlipwig said:

Yea I believe to which is why I'm pretty comfortable with my decision to go with it . I do hope to be able to add some supplement lighting though .

In other news , a friend stopped by today and the subject of growing came up .
He offered to give me a brand new 10x12 harbor freight greenhouse his wife bought 4 years ago and has taken up floor space in his garage since .
It's tempting , but the lenght of time and work commitment to an outdoor grow is less then appealing to me

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I think once you have the money you might think differently, I reckon you’ll probably upgrade or buy another of the same light when ur budget allows

I’d love a green house!
Autos and carefully selected food crops in big beds can be pretty hands off, my mother has 4 6x6 beds and we eat real good from them

Blue brother said:

I think once you have the money you might think differently,

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This is a general truth in life. But my old ford truck with 200k+ miles still does the job. Surely there’s better out there, and if I had the money, I might even consider the upgrade. There’s always better, but that should never be an excuse to simply contemplate rather than act. I agree that the first grow equipment is probably not one and done for anyone, eventually.

DeadHeadX said:

But my old ford truck with 200k+ miles still does the job.

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The old truck analogy would fit cruising CL for an inexpensive, used light fixture with 200 grows on it.

If the job requires a 300 HP truck why start by using a 200W Prius. The supplemental light is like chaining a trailer to the Prius.

rmax said:

The old truck analogy would fit cruising CL for an inexpensive, used light fixture with 200 grows on it.

If the job requires a 300 HP truck why start by using a 200W Prius. The supplemental light is like chaining a trailer to the Prius.

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Cause he’s on a $400 budget, bro.

Moistvonlipwig said:

Yea I believe to which is why I'm pretty comfortable with my decision to go with it . I do hope to be able to add some supplement lighting though .

In other news , a friend stopped by today and the subject of growing came up .
He offered to give me a brand new 10x12 harbor freight greenhouse his wife bought 4 years ago and has taken up floor space in his garage since .
It's tempting , but the lenght of time and work commitment to an outdoor grow is less then appealing to me

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You'll be ok with that light for now. For additional light, anything around 3000K to 5000k will work. A shop light, screw in LED, etc.
Watch ebay, the LED sub-forum and best deals thread for bargains.

DeadHeadX said:

Cause he’s on a $400 budget, bro.

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Oh, sorry.

Soil , I was out and about yesterday and decided to check out what I have available local to me .
Hardware store has mother earth soil , I can cross it off my list .
Added it up and after tax I'd be looking at like $140 to fill three 5 gallon pots ...

So that narrows my choices down to miracle grow ( bleh )
And pro mix in two choices , organic garden mix or moisture mix .
I'd love to be able to start with the good stuff like Fox farms everyone's using it's just a bit to pricey for me right now .

Now to start learning nutrients.

Do not buy Promix Organic garden mix. It doesn't drain as well as Promix HP. I used it once, had poor quality roots at.the end of the grow and deficiencies I never saw with HP.

take a look at these. Black friday sale is on. mini sun 2s. I would opt for (2) 150w but the 500w looks like a beast. Plenty of bang for the buck. I've not tried these but hear great things.

pegboy said:

take a look at these. Black friday sale is on. mini sun 2s. I would opt for (2) 150w but the 500w looks like a beast. Plenty of bang for the buck. I've not tried these but hear great things.

LED Grow Lights | Best Indoor Grow Lights for Plants | Medic Grow LED

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I'd put my entire budget into a light at the beginning and buy anything else as I went along. That's a nice sale and those are legit lights. I love my HLGs but there are many GREAT lights out there that are far less expensive and turn out great results. This is a good time to buy a light with all the Black Friday sales.

Another HLG proponent here too and curious2garden is right on.
IDK there's a huge difference between the prices but HLG is probably the most expensive for sure, though I can't complain about the prices I've paid for all DIY fixtures I have.

Spend your $ on your light. Thats the one thing you can’t “fake” or create a work-around for. You don’t need expensive soil. Gooeybreeder has made a life of breeding - growing in 1-2 gallon pots, and using “cheap store bought soil and some cow shit” (according to his Potcast interviews). I keep tubs of soil amended and ready to plant in.

You can build your own soil pretty easily - (/3 peat, 1/3 compost/castings, 1/3 aeration - is a pretty good base). I keep big bags of peat, vermiculite, perlite, and some coarse builders sand. I buy cheap soil and just amend it as needed, and recycle it after I’m done. If it’s too heavy, it gets more aeration. If its mostly peat, add some compost/castings/composted manure. If it clumps up, add some sand/aeration. If it holds too much water, add more aeration. If it dries and cakes quickly, add some vermiculite and a bunch of compost to hold more water. You can make soil “by feel”. It doesn’t have to be an exact ratio.

shnkrmn said:

Do not buy Promix Organic garden mix. It doesn't drain as well as Promix HP. I used it once, had poor quality roots at.the end of the grow and deficiencies I never saw with HP.

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I concur, tried it and ended up emergency transplanting into some regular potting soil. Don't sneer at miracle grow it works fine if that's all you got.

The poor mans grow tent:
Mars Hydro 2x 4 x 6 tent 89 dollars
two Viparspectre XS 1500 Pro lights @ 80 bucks each[on sale right now]
Two Vivosun oscillating fans at 39 each.
One vivosun T4 exhaust fan 210 cfm 63 dollars
I power 4" filter 36 dollars
4" ducting 11 dollars.
2 timers 10 bucks each
Four 5 gallon buckets at 4 each at Ace hardware
Grand total of 400 dollars plus tax.

Don't use the pro mix organic , got it . Makes that an easy choice then .

I know spend money on a light is good advice .
However blowing 80% of my budget on a light and the rest as I go along doesn't quite work .... a light I can't use is rather worthless .
Sure I can use it a few months down the road when I've scraped together everything else I'll need .... December 7th is a few weeks away , not months away .

I'd just love to start with a top of the line set up . I can afford a minimal beginner set up . I'm happy with my choice .
I have PayPal if you want to upgrade my shit on your wallet .

Moistvonlipwig said:

Don't use the pro mix organic , got it . Makes that an easy choice then .

I know spend money on a light is good advice .
However blowing 80% of my budget on a light and the rest as I go along doesn't quite work .... a light I can't use is rather worthless .
Sure I can use it a few months down the road when I've scraped together everything else I'll need .... December 7th is a few weeks away , not months away .

I'd just love to start with a top of the line set up . I can afford a minimal beginner set up . I'm happy with my choice .
I have PayPal if you want to upgrade my shit on your wallet .

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The kit you got is fine. You should be able to grow plenty of good pot with it. May I suggest North Atlantic Seed Companies 2 dollar specials for some seeds.

Moistvonlipwig said:

Soil , I was out and about yesterday and decided to check out what I have available local to me .

So that narrows my choices down to miracle grow ( bleh )

Now to start learning nutrients.

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Some of us do okay with 25 year old seeds, Miracle-Gro and/or Sta Green (Lowe's brand) potting soil and Peter's/Jacks 20/20/20 :



I would spend the _majority_ of my money on lights but... I'm a dinosaur, so what do I know?

Of course I've no experience with pot in miracle grow .. I've had less then stellar experiences with it for house plants and such .

Not to be arguemental , but how does having a kick ass light I can't use do me any good ?