New guy....but willing to learn with your help please.

Hi there.
Well, me.....new to all this as of now.
Please cut me a bit of slack. And to all you old hands out there. Please remember that you once, like me, knew nothing much.
Now I have read the forum for quite some time now and watched a video about setting up and growing. I have also spoken to shop owners about the same. So I have tried to do my homework and I don't feel like I am coming here and taking the piss just by asking you guys to do all the work for me. No, I am here because I need your help please.

OK, so I have a very nice grow room. It is 4.5M Long x 2.15M wide. Height at 2.2M ( 14.5' x7' x 7' ).
I am very keen to use LED technology, please don't flame me, I do have valid reasons for this. Maybe grow in coconut type medium?
Looking for high quality product. Bearing in mind it is my first crop ever. I am very patient and very disciplined.

I have read many different yield amounts per plant and plants per ligth and plants per floor area, all here on this forum.
eg. 1 plant for each square foot of floor space no more than 2 plants deep around the outer edge of the room.
I was surprised to read of such a huge amount of difference from plant to plant yield for the same plant on this forum. The problem for me is information overload.
So I want to get going step by step.
If I go for the 2 plants deep around the edge of my room and still leave a lot of room for working area in the middle, bit like a train carriage you see? I would end up with plants to 3 of the 4 walls all the way along the walls and some plants to a part of the 4th wall of my room. Have to be able to get into the room.
If I space at 1 plant per square foot I would get the following.

The short wall at 7 feet long would take 14 plants at 2 deep and of course the same at the other end, total 28 plants. The long wall at 14' less the end wall plants would take 20 = 48 plants. And part of the 4th wall would take 4 plants.
So my total of plats at 2 plants deep around the walls will be 52 plants.
OK, so what do you think so far?

Lighting. Now I guess that a lot of you will not agree with the LED system.
But I can only report what I have read. And it would SEEM that to the reader that this IS the technology to embrace.
So please positive information about LED. Because this is what I want to use.

Growing medium....thought about this please. Not hydroponics. Not yet anyway.

OK, well that I hope will get some feed back from you guys with the knowledge that I want to learn from.
I will be asking more questions as I go along. So if anyone wants to take me under their wing as it where I would be very grateful.

Thank you for reading this post and thank you in advance for any help I receive from you all.

Querty.

thats quite a grow that u want..but l.e.d. is gunna cost u alot of money for that space you have mh for veg and hps for flower is deffo the way to go...subbed ill give you all the help i can..as for the medium if you want cocunut fibre then canna coco and what nutrints you thinking of using..

same thing i was thinking. if you have the means to make it happen it will be a beautiful thing. thats a large space and can accommodate quite a few plants. but it will take quite a few led's to get the results you are going to want. im not an led user but i respect the tech. if you can put this grow into fruition id be interested in seeing it through. goodluck with it. im sure the led growers would welcome a huge garden to add to their proof that led is the way of the future. goodluck

yeah, im with the boys above.. LED is a geat idea but i think it end there, just an idea. if you want proper weed then the variables are many, starting with the best lights for purpose. hps all the way.. good luck... (wish i had space for that tent, i would be laughing)

Hi there.
Thank you for the fast reply.
I am having trouble with the following though.
mh for veg hps for flower....subbed?

Nutrients ....house of ? do not have my notes with me, sorry.
Initial cost for set up is not a concern for me, but thank you for the warrning about it.
And thank you for the offer of help, I will need it.
I do feel confident about the project though.

Example. If my 2 plants deep from the wall idea is OK. Then the light above the plants. Would a light "feed" 4 or 6 plants at a time at my 1 plant per sq foot
So many different threads say so many different things. Like a standrd non LED, 600 Watt light is good for 1.2M square and will produce 600 grams when you know what you are doing.
Well OK, but how many plants do you put into that 1.2M squared area to reach 600 grams. They are saying 1 Watt = 1 gram.

Told you I knew very little.
But I do know good return to outlay figures.

Thank you.
Querty.

hi mate. i have a dr120 tent. 1.2m square. i have 1x 600w hps and 2x 300w cfl(suppliment) in there.. four plants, 6 week veg(under 250w cfl blue), getting over 20oz always.. great weed too... we all do it different, and you have to find your own way, but this is the place to hone your skills..
why do you NEED to use LED??

querty said:

Hi there.
Thank you for the fast reply.
I am having trouble with the following though.
mh for veg hps for flower....subbed?

Nutrients ....house of ? do not have my notes with me, sorry.
Initial cost for set up is not a concern for me, but thank you for the warrning about it.
And thank you for the offer of help, I will need it.
I do feel confident about the project though.

Example. If my 2 plants deep from the wall idea is OK. Then the light above the plants. Would a light "feed" 4 or 6 plants at a time at my 1 plant per sq foot
So many different threads say so many different things. Like a standrd non LED, 600 Watt light is good for 1.2M square and will produce 600 grams when you know what you are doing.
Well OK, but how many plants do you put into that 1.2M squared area to reach 600 grams. They are saying 1 Watt = 1 gram.

Told you I knew very little.
But I do know go return to outlay figures.

Thank you.
Querty.

Click to expand...

seems like ur on track. A few things. 52 plants is a lot considering ur not using hydro. That means , more than likely u will be hand watering. It becomes even more aggravating if u have nute to mix up and figuring out how much water u need total.(5 gal bucket or 48 gal drum?). I have an led and I can tell u for the price it doesn't do that much and with that kind of space u would need at least 6 to 8 90w ufos . I made a cab with the ufo and two cfls hangin beside it. Cab was bout 3ft tall 14 inches deep and 2ft wide. I put a pure kush (familiar strain) in there and it did ok if u don't smoke nothing but a joint every few days. Got around a zone.... but I have to say it was poorly taken care of.. anyways unless ur keeping plants around 1ft after stretch they will be effective. Kind of a waste compared to an hps or mh which can double that yield at a lower price in exchange for heat issues. And I guess if a strong fan is needed for the heat they come out to be the same. Check nano metersand try to get one wit red blue and white light ( white light is closest to the suns rays ..... gud luk cuzzin

I hear what you say about the LED technology.
And it may be that the technology is at fault. However from a scientifc stand point it does make proper scientific sense.
I am bringing my knowledge of other industry to this project. Industry where we always embrace the latest technology.
If it fails then I shall not suffer. But, if it succeds then I shall be very pleased indeed.

I am happy to be the one that tests the newish LED system and report back good or bad.
I feel that way I am becoming a part of this community and not just taking fron it.
I am drawn to the lack of heat side of it and the science of the light quality it is SUPPOSED to have. We shall see.

Querty.

I do not have a tent, it is a specific designed and built room for the purpose.

if you have the knowledge of your grow space and genetics dialed in then an expected yield wouldnt be a bad idea. rule of thumb is trying for a gram a watt. me [still a noob] imo wouldnt try for yield just yet. yield being determined by so many diff factors it doesnt seem practical to set a goal so high with a space so large. i would recommend using only a portion of your space with a few plants to learn the process as well as testing the gram per watt theory for the lights you use per the seeds you have. as far as nutes go i dont understand what your asking. but the best advice is not to overthink it, it will drive you crazy and your garden will suffer. too often a new gardener has an expectation of the plant that the plant wont comply to. understand the plant will grow on its own you are there to give what it needs not what you want it to have. hope this helps a bit

good luck, seems your very focused. let me know how your donkey does in the horse race.. (no offence)

querty said:

I hear what you say about the LED technology.
And it may be that the technology is at fault. However from a scientifc stand point it does make proper scientific sense.
I am bringing my knowledge of other industry to this project. Industry where we always embrace the latest technology.
If it fails then I shall not suffer. But, if it succeds then I shall be very pleased indeed.

I am happy to be the one that tests the newish LED system and report back good or bad.
I feel that way I am becoming a part of this community and not just taking fron it.
I am drawn to the lack of heat side of it and the science of the light quality it is SUPPOSED to have. We shall see.

Querty.

I do not have a tent, it is a specific designed and built room for the purpose.

Click to expand...

elonar rigny tututututut haha im subbed i want to see this get sum pics up of the grow room full views so we know what we looking at

sorry kev. sorry riu. im not convinced, but you prob guessed that.. hehe..

hahaha was jokin hun lol...

52 plants is a lot of plants for a first time grower, are you starting all these plants from seed or buying clones? LED is not new technology and has been proven in some environment and because this will be your first grow you have nothing to compare your LED results to.

Good luck with your plans, I will be here cheering you on.

regards,

go for i i grew 64 on my first grow and it went fine,just read read read and ask ask ask youll be fine..life is meant for risks not playing it safe lol

If you're asking for advice on your grow room, I need to ask a lot of questions first.

Are you planning on having a 2 room setup (veg and flower), a 3 room setup (drying room), or trying to stay with one? One room means you'll be growing from seed at least 16 weeks. I would recommend splitting your room and getting a perpetual harvest every 8 weeks.

Are you trying to seal the room or provide intake/exhaust? How are you planning on maintaining your humidity levels? That many plants will give off a lot of water.

You say you want to start with soil, but for 50 plants, you need 20 large bags of soil, mixed by hand for drainage, and you need to use fresh soil every grow. Are you sure you don't want hydro? It's easier on the back man. Haul around 20 gallons of water and you'll understand.

Where are you dumping your dirt, and burning your stems and roots?

I can't comment on led other than it looks promising but, for me, it doesn't match up to hid lighting.

Now comes the question of strain, genetics, and type of grow.

Do you have a preference in indic a or sativa? How about a specific strain? Do you want bushes or trees? With led, I definitely recommend short and squat which is ok, because it leads into my next question.

Sea of green, straight grow, screen of green, low stress training, or topping?

Sog is the method of a bunch of tiny plants you could probably fit 4 per square foot. This method is only with clones and you go straight to flower 10 weeks total.

Straight grow is a full 16 weeks, one plant per sq/ft

Screen of green is for developing some trees. Mostly sativas here, I'd say you're looking at 20 weeks.

Lst and topping will also bush a plant out. Which do you prefer?

Yea I would say if u are doing it for experimental purposes it can get expensive. I started with an led then got a 259 hps and saw the difference in a matter of hours. The technology may be gud but def not worth the price I have since gotten an additional 600 hps. Now I use the ufo for clones or small plants to start their veg in before moving to the 250 n 600. U can see how they appreciate hid light more than ufo. The other gud things bout ufos is that they support extremely short internodes (my pure kush had five arms and resembled a hand coming out of the ground. Each arm being one complete bud due to the short internodes. Idea veg under ufo flower under ufo first 2 -3 wks then switch to hid. And if the top of ur plants touch ufo they will also get heat stressed. The lighy is bright as shit and while not hot like hid s. They still put out heat but a space as big as urs shouldn't be a problem. Also its hard to see some stresses that manifest themselves (leaf discoloration pests etc) not the best light for observation so it would be gud to be able to flip a white light on for mainten