When I was a newbie

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
I bought my first indoor hydroponic grow kit out of High Times magazine. Lived in a tiny ass town in Southern Colorado. UPS dropped it off and the guy saw me before I got home. “Almost got a hernia. Order another anvil?”

This is 1981 mind you. It’s here! Just in time because it had started freezing. I got a kitty litter box, a bag of red barbecue grill lava, an aquarium pump, 2 tiny bottles of nutes and this magnetic ballast the size of a suitcase. The light was an actual 400 watt HPS streetlight with the streetlight reflector.

Over $400. Live and learn.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
A buddy loaned me one of his Sun Argo lamps 20 years ago, but I didn't really know what I was doing, even though I was reading Rosenthal's books. Used miracle grow fert, harvested was to early, etc.

The Sun Agro lights were supposed to be kinda like CMH today. A mix of MH and HPS.

I actually started my plants hydroponically with miracle grow using aquarium gravel as the media. I had an aquarium air pump that would push air into a gallon jug that had tubes going to each cup that would turn on every 15 minutes. Ghetto hydro, but it actually worked pretty good. So basically it was flood and drain, recirculating.

My original little closet had t8's in all the corners like a wannabe Phototron.

The Internet and technology has helped me tremendously, lol.
 

budman410

Well-Known Member
How did the first harvest turn out? What caused you to keep with it?
It was bag seed, most end up males and the rest was so insignificant for me to remember. Couple years later another batch of bag seed from “mid” az. Did a outdoor grow that went great. Some “reggie” 6ft tall plants(someone stole them before they were ready)and 3-4ft exotic which was ready earlier all from the same bag seed. I was hooked from then on. I’m interesting in aquaponics and hydro lettuces so it fit my interest lol. These last couple years I’ve switched to indoor and now more active on the forum
 
20 years back, a friend say I could get loads of free weed, just let my mate grow in your loft, they dropped around 4 x 600w hps magnetic ballasts and 30 plants in a 2m x 2m room built out of insulation boards

Took too many leaves off, temps 3c at night and 35c light on, pulled 25oz's not great when I look back lol
But I was really happy at the time
 
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