# Newbie with questions



## mitkomemish (Feb 3, 2013)

Hi Folks,

Just going to start my "first" grow. Was experimenting with Lowryder 2 seeds (given to me by a friend for free.), had some ladies starting to flower, but had to travel abroad, so they had to go....:C 

In 10 days I want to start either a Big Bang or an Ortega Indica grow. I have a 1.5X1.5 foot cabinet that is 5.5 feet high. Have a 8 gallon pot in it with homemade compost, plus vermiculite in it. My Lowryders seemed to love it. I have a 150 watt hps light with a bake-a-round cooltube. I am planning to use this for a vertical grow. The cooltube is getting quiet hot with light on, the fan isn't on all the time. the stc 1000 keeps things on a constant temperature. My questions are the following:

1. Do I need some kind of netting between the cooltub and the plant(s)? There is not a lot of space....but dont want to burn the plants either. Or just use strings and lst? (tie them branches to the wall)?

2. How many plants would I put in there? I dont want a SOG, cause I bought femmed seeds, have 10 of them (5 each), but they were expensive enough... 

3. Was planning to have 2 plants in there, veg them for 4 weeks,with 18/6 then start flowering with 12/12.

4. I plan on having a temp with lights on: 77-78 f, lights off was 65f, have a one foot tube heater, this is on all the time when lights are off. Is this too low for "night" temp?

Would I want to top the plants or fim them? Or just leave them alone? Read somewhere that topping makes them more wide...is this true?



Any good advice appreciated. Have a nice day and if you can help someone who fights insomnia. Also if I let them flower longer, will it be a more sedating smoke? I am after a huge couchlock feeling!!! The higher the CBD the better for me.

Thanx. Peace.


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## hotrodharley (Feb 3, 2013)

No netting is needed under your tube. A 150 watt HPS might handle one plant OK. Certainly not two or more and especially through flowering where the plants light needs are much more. Temps sound good and good luck controlling them. With your limited experience topping is the way to go although even that is unneeded. I suggest growing one plant from seed to weed without topping or LST. Use that plant to start learning to read the plant and not nutrient labels or RIU posts from questionable sources.


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## GOD HERE (Feb 3, 2013)

1. No
2. Yes
3. Idk
4. Sure.


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## Carlton420 (Feb 7, 2013)

Personally I wouldn't go lower than 400w.. I use 400w MH for grow and 400w HPS for Flowering.. I would have gotten 1000w but I can't afford the entergy bill lol. But if I was going lower than 400w I would just grow outside (Which I am doing also)


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## Scroga (Feb 7, 2013)

Maybe get a few.cfls in there to supplement....not sure where you are but you may be better off taking them outside to veg if possible....yours temps are fine...some strains love toping, some don't, find out first...the amount you can fit in is relative to your lights footprint, the strains growth traits.and how big you intend on letting them get....do what you have to do to keep them off the light, I've had feminized bud (from feminized seed) get burnt and reward me with some seed from the affected area..winning! Have fun mate


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## GinoBiggs (Feb 8, 2013)

Vertical growin ...im finding kinda interrestingg ...can anyone explain a few. Benefits .looks fun tho


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## mitkomemish (Feb 9, 2013)

Hey guys, thanx for the input and info.
I need to run this operation with the following things taken in consideration: ABSOLUTELY no noise or smell whatsoever!!! So I thought having only 1 plant, eliminating the smell would be much easier.
Noisewise: My diy ghetto &#8220;cabinet&#8221; is nearby the neighbours, so I decided to order 2 low noise (20 dbA) Xigmatek 12V fan.
Planning to build a little box on the top of the cabinet, with one of the fans pulling air through activated carbon, the other one pulling out this hot air of the small box, pushing it into the chimney. Want to put some ONA gel into the small box between the 2 fans, and having an ozone generator eliminating any remaining smell in the chimney. (Chimney is not in use any more. Thought it would be a good shot to push the air high, chimney top is 13 feet high). Maybe it is a bit of overkill, but I want to play this game safe.
About my 150w hps: After reading my electricity bill, calculating everything I figured this is the most I can start with without raising any suspicion. As for example with a 250w setup my bill would be doubled. Maybe I won&#8217;t have a huge amount of buds,but thats ok with me, I vaporize 0.00125oz (0.035g) before bedtime daily, so if I get 1 ounce I would be sorted for 2 years....

Outside vegging: Its a big nono where I live, no privacy, no garden, no good weather conditions.:C

Any suggestions, ideas really appreciated. Peace to all of you. (A man sleeping deep and peacefully every night thanx to Mother nature and the sacred plant )


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## GOD HERE (Feb 9, 2013)

mitkomemish said:


> Hey guys, thanx for the input and info.
> I need to run this operation with the following things taken in consideration: ABSOLUTELY no noise or smell whatsoever!!! So I thought having only 1 plant, eliminating the smell would be much easier.
> Noisewise: My diy ghetto &#8220;cabinet&#8221; is nearby the neighbours, so I decided to order 2 low noise (20 dbA) Xigmatek 12V fan.
> Planning to build a little box on the top of the cabinet, with one of the fans pulling air through activated carbon, the other one pulling out this hot air of the small box, pushing it into the chimney. Want to put some ONA gel into the small box between the 2 fans, and having an ozone generator eliminating any remaining smell in the chimney. (Chimney is not in use any more. Thought it would be a good shot to push the air high, chimney top is 13 feet high). Maybe it is a bit of overkill, but I want to play this game safe.
> ...


When I added a 400 watt HPS I didn't notice any significant change in my energy bill. None.


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## Ravioli2013 (Feb 12, 2013)

mitkomemish said:


> Hey guys, thanx for the input and info.
> I need to run this operation with the following things taken in consideration: ABSOLUTELY no noise or smell whatsoever!!! So I thought having only 1 plant, eliminating the smell would be much easier.
> Noisewise: My diy ghetto cabinet is nearby the neighbours, so I decided to order 2 low noise (20 dbA) Xigmatek 12V fan.
> Planning to build a little box on the top of the cabinet, with one of the fans pulling air through activated carbon, the other one pulling out this hot air of the small box, pushing it into the chimney. Want to put some ONA gel into the small box between the 2 fans, and having an ozone generator eliminating any remaining smell in the chimney. (Chimney is not in use any more. Thought it would be a good shot to push the air high, chimney top is 13 feet high). Maybe it is a bit of overkill, but I want to play this game safe.
> ...


If 250W setup doubled your bill, i wonder how you live. Light your rooms with candles, having 50L refrigerator, charging your phone with solar energy? 
Seriously tho, personal computers now adays have about 400-800W Power supplies. Thinking that my computer is running 16 hours 7 days a week, i don't see how could HPS make any suspicion about where all the electricity goes to . I think either you did your setup wrong or did the math with the bill wrong. Anyways, good luck with your plants


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## hotrodharley (Feb 12, 2013)

Wow. Talk about paranoia.

[video=youtube;bjSpO2B6G4s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjSpO2B6G4s[/video]


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## hotrodharley (Feb 12, 2013)

No guts, no glory, no smoke. I understand someone being afraid. These people need to just stick to buying.


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## mitkomemish (Feb 13, 2013)

I could do the math wrong, (I hope you're right)but we'll see....just about finishing my cabinet.  Do not really use much electricity, charging my phone at workplace, having a laptop, it's on maybe 6-8 hours a day. Oil heating. Small fridge, mostly working evenings, so I dont need the above mentioned candles.... Some more paint, fixing fans, ready to go before the weekend. Buying is not an option, do not want to buy "just anything". Want to grow medical quality, or at least medical strain. 1 Ortega bean is gonna be sowed tomorrow morning. As soon as I have any progress, I'll post pictures. And yes, I am afraid. Better be afraid than sorry. Peace.


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## El Duderino... (Feb 19, 2013)

GinoBiggs said:


> Vertical growin ...im finding kinda interrestingg ...can anyone explain a few. Benefits .looks fun tho


https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=127881


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## mitkomemish (Feb 22, 2013)

First Ortega never made it, hold her at 72 degrees for 8 days, dark, in soil, lightly misted with filtered rain water. No sign of germination, husk started to rot. Seed inside hollow...small amount of white stuff, but most of it air. :C Could not wait any more, dug it up. Just started the second one. Swear to Mother Nature, as soon as I have one Ortega going will be gonna cut clones (when it is big enough of course.). To make sure I have it continuously... Will update ya if it works out. With pics, if you wanna see. What rooting staff do you recommend?


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## mitkomemish (Feb 23, 2013)

Shell shows hairline cracking. Happy now.  Will put it in soil tonite. Pictures to follow.


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## hotrodharley (Feb 23, 2013)

I suggest and use water in a glass to clone. However nearly all rooting powders and gels contain butyric acid so really they are pretty much the same.


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## bird mcbride (Feb 23, 2013)

hotrodharley said:


> I suggest and use water in a glass to clone. However nearly all rooting powders and gels contain butyric acid so really they are pretty much the same.


Use a #2 rooting powder for semi-hardwood in rockwool (2"x 2" x h") whatever. I've seen them root with paper towel. I use a mini-greenhouse fashioned from a clear plastic garbage bag using a single layer of gravel and an air/drain hole.


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## hotrodharley (Feb 24, 2013)

bird mcbride said:


> Use a #2 rooting powder for semi-hardwood in rockwool (2"x 2" x h") whatever. I've seen them root with paper towel. I use a mini-greenhouse fashioned from a clear plastic garbage bag using a single layer of gravel and an air/drain hole.


For those who have never cloned - do the water glass. I swear to Jesus. KISS. I use water glass, aerocloner, and rockwool or peat plugs. The water glass is almost self-care if you simply empty the water and change it every other day at least.


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## bird mcbride (Feb 25, 2013)

hotrodharley said:


> For those who have never cloned - do the water glass. I swear to Jesus. KISS. I use water glass, aerocloner, and rockwool or peat plugs. The water glass is almost self-care if you simply empty the water and change it every other day at least.


Without meaning any disrespect I would like to say that my ex wife was great at rooting snips; using the glass method. If it wasn't for all her failures I never would have figure out what was needed to clone this mj plant. The other thing is I figured it must be a distant relation to maple, a semi-hardwood because as sapplings they have very similar bark and the wood is very similar because my friends could not tell the trunk of the small maples from the trunks of the mj plants. This is what I have experienced.


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## hotrodharley (Feb 25, 2013)

bird mcbride said:


> Without meaning any disrespect I would like to say that my ex wife was great at rooting snips; using the glass method. If it wasn't for all her failures I never would have figure out what was needed to clone this mj plant. The other thing is I figured it must be a distant relation to maple, a semi-hardwood because as sapplings they have very similar bark and the wood is very similar because my friends could not tell the trunk of the small maples from the trunks of the mj plants. This is what I have experienced.


Please note: virtually all cloning powders and gels are butyric acid of some percentage or contain it as the major ingredient. It was developed by and for the hardwood industry. Pot is more closely related to bamboo as a grass but still . . .. I'm advocating for the newer grower attempting to clone to use the simple water glass. It's cheap and it does work.


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## mitkomemish (Mar 16, 2013)

Hey guys, update on my progress: February 25[SUP]th[/SUP] she emerged from the soil. Put her under the 150w hps on the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] of March. She is in a huge container filled with perlite, some sand and compost from our compost bin. (Kitchen waste, grass clippings all from last year. ) Temperature 78-78.5 F or 26-26.5 C. Feeding her every 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] day with rain water and tomato feed plus some home made &#8220;fertilizer&#8221; (eggshells powder, orange and grapefruit rinds, molasses, rain water, left together for 4 weeks.) Fans are almost always on, to keep the constant temperature. Started with a 24 hours light on schedule, yesterday started to reduce these hours. Planning to reduce half an hour every day gradually. (Trying to mimic nature). If everything goes well, she will be on 12/12 by the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] of April. I managed to burn 1 leaf with the HPS, but just an area of a 1 cent coin. My only concern is the V-shape of the newer leaves. Tried to google, what could be the problem, couldn&#8217;t figure it out. Someone wrote, too much humidity. My humidity is 25-35%, which is low (did my research on that, I know it should be 45-50-60%). I put in a tray of water to increase humidity levels. Increased it 5%. Not much I know, would need a humidifier. The new growth is significantly lighter green than the older leaves. But I read that this is not a problem.

Should I be concerned about the curling of the leaves? What do you think? Thanx. Will keep you updated.


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## 509Zman420 (Mar 18, 2013)

mitkomemish said:


> Hey guys, update on my progress: February 25[SUP]th[/SUP] she emerged from the soil. Put her under the 150w hps on the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] of March. She is in a huge container filled with perlite, some sand and compost from our compost bin. (Kitchen waste, grass clippings all from last year. ) Temperature 78-78.5 F or 26-26.5 C. Feeding her every 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] day with rain water and tomato feed plus some home made &#8220;fertilizer&#8221; (eggshells powder, orange and grapefruit rinds, molasses, rain water, left together for 4 weeks.) Fans are almost always on, to keep the constant temperature. Started with a 24 hours light on schedule, yesterday started to reduce these hours. Planning to reduce half an hour every day gradually. (Trying to mimic nature). If everything goes well, she will be on 12/12 by the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] of April. I managed to burn 1 leaf with the HPS, but just an area of a 1 cent coin. My only concern is the V-shape of the newer leaves. Tried to google, what could be the problem, couldn&#8217;t figure it out. Someone wrote, too much humidity. My humidity is 25-35%, which is low (did my research on that, I know it should be 45-50-60%). I put in a tray of water to increase humidity levels. Increased it 5%. Not much I know, would need a humidifier. The new growth is significantly lighter green than the older leaves. But I read that this is not a problem.
> 
> Should I be concerned about the curling of the leaves? What do you think? Thanx. Will keep you updated.
> 
> View attachment 2571525


You need to pull that light up a few... that curling is due to overheating... leaves perspire from the underside of the leaf, by curling they are creating more surface area on the bottom to be able to perspire faster... I bet you have been needing to water very frequently?


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## mitkomemish (Mar 18, 2013)

Done that in the meantime, solved the problem, leaves are flat now. NIcely growing, she likes my homemade "fertilizer"...


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## mitkomemish (Mar 18, 2013)

Thanx for the input. And yes, I had to water frequently, despite she is in a 8 gallon tub...


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