Newbie starting up farm please help

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Samd5

New Member
Hi I am new and am looking to start an indoor and outdoor growing space. I am hoping to test which area works better. I am planning on doing auto outside and half auto half photo inside. I have bought 5 lights one fluorescent two t5 bulbs and 4 other LED ones quite like the tautronics (Im pretty sure I spelled that wrong) LED bulb.

I built my own green house that is pretty nice and suitable for the outside. And I set up an area inside with the lights connected to a timer to run the lights for the timing required for photo plants during the day and night and a reflective insulated surface along the walls. I also bought coco coir, cal-mag, perlite, and Perfect Sensi Bloom Coco Part A+B.

I am a total newbie but am really hoping to actually grow something but am worried it will fail. I live in Chicago and am really hoping to be able to harvest the autos before September. Do you guys have any recommendations for strains and places to buy seeds that ship quickly and have strains that are good for first time growers or quick harvest? I’m sorry I know that’s a lot but anything helps! Thank you!

Also are there any other things I should watch out for or that you recommend?
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Samd5 said:
Hi I am new and am looking to start an indoor and outdoor growing space. I am hoping to test which area works better. I am planning on doing auto outside and half auto half photo inside. I have bought 5 lights one fluorescent two t5 bulbs and 4 other LED ones quite like the tautronics (Im pretty sure I spelled that wrong) LED bulb.

I built my own green house that is pretty nice and suitable for the outside. And I set up an area inside with the lights connected to a timer to run the lights for the timing required for photo plants during the day and night and a reflective insulated surface along the walls. I also bought coco coir, cal-mag, perlite, and Perfect Sensi Bloom Coco Part A+B.

I am a total newbie but am really hoping to actually grow something but am worried it will fail. I live in Chicago and am really hoping to be able to harvest the autos before September. Do you guys have any recommendations for strains and places to buy seeds that ship quickly and have strains that are good for first time growers or quick harvest? I’m sorry I know that’s a lot but anything helps! Thank you!

Also are there any other things I should watch out for or that you recommend?
Click to expand...
Is it these lights?
 
Silver 6

Silver 6

Active Member
Going through similar process myself man, don't overwhelm yourself haha you'll wind up spending a lot of time trying to do nutes and shit but it's good practice if you have the time :)
And again with cheap LEDs I did the same thing and watched a plant trail out slowly, I had DWC skull dragging it to grow aswell, I added a few CFL and she doubled in no time. But I did also get an EC Reader at same time and correct that aswell so was probably both (if you don't have one get one!)
 

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TreeFarmerCharlie

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
I would suggest you do a ton of research before you start because you are making all the mistakes that are common for new growers. New grower + Autos + Cheap Garbage LED Lights = Disaster...every...single...time.

Start with a few photo period plants, in soil, in a small to medium sized tent, under QUALITY LED (if you have the cash to spend) or just go with HPS/HID if you don't want to spend the money on LED.
 
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Samd5

New Member
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
I would suggest you do a ton of research before you start because you are making all the mistakes that are common for new growers. New grower + Autos + Cheap Garbage LED Lights = Disaster...every...single...time.

What soil would you suggest?
Start with a few photo period plants, in soil, in a small to medium sized tent, under QUALITY LED (if you have the cash to spend) or just go with HPS/HID if you don't want to spend the money on LED.
Click to expand...
 
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Samd5

New Member

My reply got lost in the quote I think.. what soil do you suggest? Also what lights that aren’t super expensive?
 
TreeFarmerCharlie

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Samd5 said:
My reply got lost in the quote I think.. what soil do you suggest? Also what lights that aren’t super expensive?
Click to expand...
If you plan on using bottled nutrients then a lot of people like ProMix HP, since it doesn't come with any nutrients in it. If you go organic then there are a lot of different options out there to choose from. Quality LED lights that are ready to hang and plug in are all pretty expensive unless you build your own. I just built my own lights for my 4x4 and it still cost me around $500 just for the materials. If you don't want to spend close to that to light up a similar footprint then seriously just forget about going with LED.
 
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Samd5

New Member
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
I would suggest you do a ton of research before you start because you are making all the mistakes that are common for new growers. New grower + Autos + Cheap Garbage LED Lights = Disaster...every...single...time.

Start with a few photo period plants, in soil, in a small to medium sized tent, under QUALITY LED (if you have the cash to spend) or just go with HPS/HID if you don't want to spend the money on LED.
Click to expand...

Also I already have coco coir and all the above nutrients for it because a friend gave it to me do you think I’d be able to use that as a beginner?
 
S

Samd5

New Member
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
If you plan on using bottled nutrients then a lot of people like ProMix HP, since it doesn't come with any nutrients in it. If you go organic then there are a lot of different options out there to choose from. Quality LED lights that are ready to hang and plug in are all pretty expensive unless you build your own. I just built my own lights for my 4x4 and it still cost me around $500 just for the materials. If you don't want to spend close to that to light up a similar footprint then seriously just forget about going with LED.
Click to expand...
What do you suggest in terms of quality and cheap lights? Sorry for persisting and nagging with this question thank u so much for the help so far
 
TreeFarmerCharlie

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Samd5 said:
Also I already have coco coir and all the above nutrients for it because a friend gave it to me do you think I’d be able to use that as a beginner?
Click to expand...
You definitely can, but I would suggest going over to www.cocoforcannabis.com to learn how to properly grow in coco, because you can't treat a coco grow like a soil grow...and new growers make that mistake all the time.
 
TreeFarmerCharlie

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Samd5 said:
What do you suggest in terms of quality and cheap lights? Sorry for persisting and nagging with this question thank u so much for the help so far
Click to expand...
when it comes to LED "quality" and "cheap" don't go together. If you want a prebuilt ready to go unit then look into HLG or Timber. Some people like SpiderFarmer, but I personally think they are overpriced for that they are.
 
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Samd5

New Member
TreeFarmerCharlie said:
when it comes to LED "quality" and "cheap" don't go together. If you want a prebuilt ready to go unit then look into HLG or Timber. Some people like SpiderFarmer, but I personally think they are overpriced for that they are.
Click to expand...

Do you suggest any other lighting units that are quality and cheap?
 
Silver 6

Silver 6

Active Member
Just looked again and that doesn't come with MH bulb just sneakily shows it lol so have a look but you see the price range
 
Kassiopeija

Kassiopeija

Well-Known Member
^^ quite expensive, try to half that and you should be good.... quality wise their mostly the same... just shun magnetic ballasts....

@OP do the basic readings, and get inspiration about materials from grow reports... some stuff/materials better align with others... follow the growers that keep their plants happy & healthy... its the result that matters at the end of the day, many roads lead there... but some may lead astray...

Good luck + keep it simple! :D
 
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