Attempt one: growing without a growbox?

[django]

yo,

pretty new to this, only grown chillies and stuff before but thought it might be a laugh. at the moment i only have one low ryder seedling on the go. others germinating (hopefully) as we speak.

but, i'm not using any kind of grow room like most of you use. the plants are just on my landing under a blue CFL 125 watt. you guys reckon this will be okay for a while?

i'm gonna make something up in my room when the plants get big and obvious. i live in a student house eo don't wanna get busted!

safe

 

[Bonzi Lighthouse]

yo,

pretty new to this, only grown chillies and stuff before but thought it might be a laugh. at the moment i only have one low ryder seedling on the go. others germinating (hopefully) as we speak.

but, i'm not using any kind of grow room like most of you use. the plants are just on my landing under a blue CFL 125 watt. you guys reckon this will be okay for a while?

i'm gonna make something up in my room when the plants get big and obvious. i live in a student house eo don't wanna get busted!

safe

They are fine until you want to flower them. Then you will need to seal out the light for their 12 hours of darkness.

 

[django]

cheers man. these are an auto-flowering variety though. they're not actually low ryder, just something very similar, apparently. they're big buddha 'automatic' seeds.
what do you recommend?

 

[Bigby]

Its recommended that you give auto flowers a little bit of darkness - say 4 or 6 hours every 24 - just to give them a little bit of a rest. Although they will flower without it.

 

[django]

will do, cheers for the advice. my baby seedling is coming on strong!

about potting.....some people on here seem to go straight for the big pots and some gradually step it up. i heard that root-stressing plants slightly will make them want to grow up and flower. a chilli grower told me that if plants think they cannot spread their roots any more then it means they will soon die and so they spread their seed (flower).

what do you reckon? slowly step it up or not bother?

peace

 

[django]

day 5? i think, maybe 6. somehting like that anyways.

is she coming on as she should?

two more have now sprouted, as i left them a bit longer before planting. one is really small with a couple proper leaves and one is huge and just a stalk!

anything else i should be doing?

 

[jondamon]

HI Django

Welcome to RIU.

Congratulations on your new arrivals.

They are looking good. Make sure now that you only water when they are getting dry on top.

You dont want to cause anything like stem rot.

The only problem i can see from having these plants on your landing is the introduction of any unwanted pests that could get in your house through a window etc.

But other than that whatever works for you man.


J

 

[marcoze]

Where anywhere did you read that you needed a "Grow Box" to begin with??


Looking good man

 

[django]

hi jondamon, cheers for the info. i'll try not to overwater the buggers. i'm using a 50% compost/25% vermiculite/25% perlite mix, how does that sound to you? and what kind of pests should i be looking out for? i live in the UK by the way


hey marcoze, yeah i guess that's a good point. i'm just usd to seeing everyone's pictures of pretty technical setups and feeling left out! cheers for looking in.

 

[jondamon]

hi jondamon, cheers for the info. i'll try not to overwater the buggers. i'm using a 50% compost/25% vermiculite/25% perlite mix, how does that sound to you? and what kind of pests should i be looking out for? i live in the UK by the way


hey marcoze, yeah i guess that's a good point. i'm just usd to seeing everyone's pictures of pretty technical setups and feeling left out! cheers for looking in.

Dont know how that sounds mate im a COCO guy. (COCO COIR ROCKS YOUR WORLD)

Unfortunately in the pests department you are looking for everything and anything. I too am in the UK.

You need to get yourself something like a neem spray to help repel anything.

The most common pests in the UK to be aware of are

FUNGUS GNATS
THRIPS
SPIDER MITES

These are the 3 main ones you can easily get these can all me carried in on you, the wind, or just fly in through a crack in your window.

The main reason people use sealed environments is so that they can completely control the environment that their plants are growing in. there are alot of factors that aid in a successfull grow.

TEMPS
LIGHTS
RH
NUTES
FRESH AIR
Co2

etc etc .

This is why most use a sealed environment because all these variables are easier to control.


J

 

[marcoze]

hey marcoze, yeah i guess that's a good point. i'm just usd to seeing everyone's pictures of pretty technical setups and feeling left out! cheers for looking in.

And this is what the cannabis growing big business industry BANKS on. Good luck in your endeavor my man!

 

[sheapdog420]

My first try ever I did without a grow box or any knowledge, they did fine for about the first 4 weeks. Then I started finding a spider here and there, then a few bees, and within a week I practically had a swarm of bees in my basement. I think the weed killed them though because they would not move after sitting on the plant for a length of time. Bottom line is a grow box is good for a variety of reasons; pests, heat, concealment, etc..

 

[django]

Dont know how that sounds mate im a COCO guy. (COCO COIR ROCKS YOUR WORLD)

Unfortunately in the pests department you are looking for everything and anything. I too am in the UK.

You need to get yourself something like a neem spray to help repel anything.

The most common pests in the UK to be aware of are

FUNGUS GNATS
THRIPS
SPIDER MITES

These are the 3 main ones you can easily get these can all me carried in on you, the wind, or just fly in through a crack in your window.

The main reason people use sealed environments is so that they can completely control the environment that their plants are growing in. there are alot of factors that aid in a successfull grow.

TEMPS
LIGHTS
RH
NUTES
FRESH AIR
Co2

etc etc .

This is why most use a sealed environment because all these variables are easier to control.


J

sweeeet. repped for good info man, cheers for all that! what's neem spray though? is that a brand or just a type of spray? i'll buy some just in case.

what's the deal with coco coir? i've seen it but not sure how it works. i bought some little coco blocks today (i think) for seed germination so will give em a go.

think i might get myself a grow tent at some point too, seen a 60x60x140 on ebay quite cheap.

 

[django]

And this is what the cannabis growing big business industry BANKS on. Good luck in your endeavor my man!

haha true true. so you don't really think there's much point? what about bugs and stuff? i think i have a fair bit of room at the moment but its gonna start stinking out the place soon, might neeeeed to get me a box!

 

[django]

My first try ever I did without a grow box or any knowledge, they did fine for about the first 4 weeks. Then I started finding a spider here and there, then a few bees, and within a week I practically had a swarm of bees in my basement. I think the weed killed them though because they would not move after sitting on the plant for a length of time. Bottom line is a grow box is good for a variety of reasons; pests, heat, concealment, etc..

oh shit, that sounds nasty. does weed tend to attract more pests than other plants then? i've been growing chillies for a while and no problems. don't fancy a swarm of bees in my house though! maybe they were just mega stoned?

hmmmmm........to box or not to box?

 

[jondamon]

Neem is an oil pressed from the Neem tree native to africa. It helps to repel pests and it also is absorbed by your plant to make the leaves etc taste bad. Neem is a well documented natural pesticide it has the ability to disrupt the reproductive cycle of alot of insects.

In the UK you can buy your own Neem oil and make your own mix. Or you can buy something like neem repel which is already mixed and you just mix it with water.


COCO COIR is the husks and fibres that encase a coconut that have been ground up to make a growing medium. It is usually devoid of any nutrients so you have to pre load it with some.

The easiest way to tell you how it works it to tell you my feeding schedule.

I feed with an EC level of between 0.5 and 2.0 depending on the stage of my plants. EC is the level of electrical conductivity in your nutrient solution this tells you how much dissolved salts there are in your feed.

I use coco just like Soil in the fact that i hand water as i only grow 4 plants at a time. But basically with coco it is like a hydro setup and you just find the right strength of nutes that they like and keep them on it. So you Feed feed feed feed feed.

Its pretty cool.

I use just coco in my pots and nothing else. Its also really hard to over water when you use coco infact its near impossible unless you flush every single day lol.

If you want any more info about anything send me a PM and i'll help you however i can.


J

 

[jondamon]

Also forgot to mention this is my latest grow from seed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>> https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/325988-4-plants-seed-experiment.html <<<<<<<<<<

I was planning on only vegging these for around 3weeks but hot weather slowed me down until i bought a decent fan etc.

Check it out everything from germination on the 28-4-10 to date.

J

 

[marcoze]

haha true true. so you don't really think there's much point? what about bugs and stuff? i think i have a fair bit of room at the moment but its gonna start stinking out the place soon, might neeeeed to get me a box!

well to be completely honest, growing with some kind of reflectivity and easy way to control air flow and temp......wich is using some kind of box IS actually better than just growing with none. and cannabis grows outside with no box. yeah it has a gagillionwatt light, but think about it.

however

i was just making a point about what you were thinking i already knew thats why you were set on having a box....because you see people dropping hundreds of dollars on honestly bullshit fucking garbage.

i hate the cannabis industry man.

but, dude get dirty and spend the money on quality craftsmanship and build it yourself.
in this process, also please adopt the practice of never buying anything that is marketed as meant for cannabis. feeding their profits just feeds their egos.






as to the guy who was talking about bees................hahaha. dude, i think you had a few other problems than just not having your crop in a box rofl.

 

[django]

well to be completely honest, growing with some kind of reflectivity and easy way to control air flow and temp......wich is using some kind of box IS actually better than just growing with none. and cannabis grows outside with no box. yeah it has a gagillionwatt light, but think about it.

however

i was just making a point about what you were thinking i already knew thats why you were set on having a box....because you see people dropping hundreds of dollars on honestly bullshit fucking garbage.

i hate the cannabis industry man.

but, dude get dirty and spend the money on quality craftsmanship and build it yourself.
in this process, also please adopt the practice of never buying anything that is marketed as meant for cannabis. feeding their profits just feeds their egos.






as to the guy who was talking about bees................hahaha. dude, i think you had a few other problems than just not having your crop in a box rofl.

yeah i think i could build myself a box pretty well, or modify a small cupboard type thing. but the fact that i could get a good box cheap on ebay and it be collapsible is quite a bonus. people do seem to be spending an awful lot of money but then those are usuallt the people who use HPS and so need ventilation etc. anyway i'm gonna stick with CFL for now and handbuild all i can. it might have to come to a box though, for reasons of not having a constantly blaring light in my room, keeping me awake, keeping a more constant temp etc.

if someone could just figure out cold fusion sharpish...
i went to a grow shop earlier and they had some silly 1x1x2 grow box and the guy asked £40 for it! haha what a pisstake. but, with google shopping/ebay, you can find some good deals. especially if you ask opinions on here prior to buying.

so, let's see how i go from here!


bee swarm? nasty......

 

[django]

Neem is an oil pressed from the Neem tree native to africa. It helps to repel pests and it also is absorbed by your plant to make the leaves etc taste bad. Neem is a well documented natural pesticide it has the ability to disrupt the reproductive cycle of alot of insects.

In the UK you can buy your own Neem oil and make your own mix. Or you can buy something like neem repel which is already mixed and you just mix it with water.


COCO COIR is the husks and fibres that encase a coconut that have been ground up to make a growing medium. It is usually devoid of any nutrients so you have to pre load it with some.

The easiest way to tell you how it works it to tell you my feeding schedule.

I feed with an EC level of between 0.5 and 2.0 depending on the stage of my plants. EC is the level of electrical conductivity in your nutrient solution this tells you how much dissolved salts there are in your feed.

I use coco just like Soil in the fact that i hand water as i only grow 4 plants at a time. But basically with coco it is like a hydro setup and you just find the right strength of nutes that they like and keep them on it. So you Feed feed feed feed feed.

Its pretty cool.

I use just coco in my pots and nothing else. Its also really hard to over water when you use coco infact its near impossible unless you flush every single day lol.

If you want any more info about anything send me a PM and i'll help you however i can.


J

you're a star! rep rep rep. to be really honest i haven't even though about nutes yet. they're in normal compost (plus perlite etc) atm so are being fed with something or other for a few weeks. i use distilled water to wet 'em. do weed plants really need all these special nutes? it seems really technical and expensive. can i not use organic chilli food? actually thats probably a silly question. i would prefer to go chemical free if that's a possibility. what are the basic nutrient requirements?

i'll PM you tomorrow man, gonna crash now.

peace