First Journal and First Grow.

First off I want to thank Rollitup for this site and to its users for all the information you guys have been able to help me with.

I have always thought about growing a couple of plants, but have always had an assumption that It required a lot more space and skill. After reading this site and many others grow journals, it is actually very easy sounding, barring problems. I have gotten my hands on some pirated books and now have a nice library to wrap my head around for knowledge containing.

-Marijana Horticulture
-Big book of buds
-Cannabis Alchemy
-Cannabis Grow Guide Nirvana
-Cannabis Handboken
-Closet Cultivator- Ed Rosenthal
-Marijuana Growing Tips - Ed rosenthal
-How to be a pot star like me
-How to grow medical Marijuana- Todd Mccormick
-The emperor wears no clothes - Jack Herre
-Lab Manual for applied botany
-Marijuana Chemistry and Genetics
-Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthals- The marijuanas growers guide
-SeedBank1- New World
-SeedBank4- Africa
-SeedBank3- Asia
-Seedbank2- Europe
-The cannabis grow bible 4th edition
-The total synthesis of Cannabinoids
-The art and science of cooking with cannabis

I figure the more you know the better off you are in preventing or fixing any problems that might arise. I'm not sure if any of these books are bad if so please fill me in or let me know if I should add another to my collection.

So I have decided to grow in my own space and stop buying bud. My grow space is a 4Lx2Wx5H closet. It has large doors for air circulation and another half I wont be using to help with keeping things cool. Above the initial 5' Height I have an extra 6' of space above where the lights will be to help naturally disperse heat as well. I plan on receiving 10 feminized seeds. I know this has the chance of giving me hermes and I must look out for it but what other mutations may I have to deal with, with feminized seeds?

I plan on using a 1000w HPS. and lining my walls with mylar or aluminum foil. I also plan on using the hempy method in 3-5 gallon containers
(space is the determining factor) with 75% perlite and 25% veri. Still not sure on my nuts so I'm still open to suggestions especially with using this method. Is fox farms nuts good for this method? I plan on using a Co2 method I read here to save money and provide Co2 for the plants. I also plan to practice LST to produce a better yeild.

Now to my questions, I have done a little reading on strains and have found my self wanting to try Big Bang, the main prescribed marijuana strain in Holland. (I may be wrong) I was wondering if anyone here has tried growing it, smoking it, or know more about it. It has a very nice THC content and seems easy to grow and manage.

I should have pics and more soon once all gets situated and things arrive.

Can anyone tell me what kind of heat I may be running into in that kind of space with a 1000w HPS and a couple of cool CFLs for vegging. If my doors are closed and a couple of fans are on keeping the air circulation going. (Ballast will be out side of closet to not add heat into room)

Also do you guys think 10 is to much for that space or with proper pruning and training it should be okay?

Also a little update I think I will be going with the BBCheese and the Violator Kush. I will also be going with the FF Nutrients.

I'm still waiting to get things going and all should be up and running soon hopefully. With time I have thought about trying a diff method with 70% soil and 30% perlite and some water crystals along with an air pump under neath to give the roots direct air. I have seen some results of this method and very pleased with the results that I might try it. I was also thinking that I can perhaps stick with the hempy method and still insert the air pump to take the main component from the air basket and pump method. Just an Idea I have been tossing around in my head for the past few days, so if anyone wants to give there opinion on this regarding what might be easier and have less risk of giving the plant problems I'm all blood shot eyes.

Please post and comment or offer some suggestions so I can still make any alterations if needed. This will be my first grow so please all info is appreciated.

A 1000 watt lamp will require adequate cooling and the heat will need to be removed especially from a cupboard space even if it is a big cupboard those 1000watter kick out a lot of heat.

If your only goring 10 plants max i would say go for a 600watt switchable ballast that takes the new 7200k MH bulbs for veg and and hps bulbs for flowering.
Use the money that you've saved from needing to exhaust the 1000watt and from actually buying a 1000watt lamp in the first place and buy some pro cfls and hang them in between your plants.

In all reality you don't need an airbasket so to speak,you could just put the sponge and pump into any pot or kind of setup that you wanted to add air to the roots.

Anyway man best of luck with it all.

I think it's to late to go back on the 1000 hps set up, I was hoping the heat wouldn't get to hot, I plan on having fans pushing the heat out but never did try so not sure how hard it will be. Would be nice to have a chart of how hot a 1000w bulb gets a various sized space.

use two fans - one just to cool off that light (it is enclosed with tempered glass and has duct fittings, right? if not - get them) and the other fan is to use as an exhaust.

Email it doesn't have fittings, I was thinking about putting temperd glass between the light and plant but not sure if that will help with the over all heat in the space. I got a decent kit with ballast, hood, and bulb for 145 and jumped on it, got to love ebay. Now I'm thinking about getting this cool tube (COOL TUBE GROW LIGHT REFLECTOR 400 600 1000 watt hps mh - eBay (item 180228072830 end time Apr-07-08 07:35:56 PDT)) what do you think?

I am having the same issues with releasing heat in a small space. I have a 400w MH running in a tent 36" X 20" X 64"...I already have 4 seedlings in my tent running under cfls. I tried to switch to my MH but the internal temp got to 95F (with the fan) so I switched back top the cfls and I am now going to buy a better fan than the one that came with my kit.

I am interested to see how you bring the temp down under a 1000w HPS.

So you are only using cfl's for vegging??

no i plan on adding cfls for more blue light for vegging to promote better growth. (I think that's right doubting my self)

DragonsBreath said:

Email it doesn't have fittings, I was thinking about putting temperd glass between the light and plant but not sure if that will help with the over all heat in the space. I got a decent kit with ballast, hood, and bulb for 145 and jumped on it, got to love ebay. Now I'm thinking about getting this cool tube (COOL TUBE GROW LIGHT REFLECTOR 400 600 1000 watt hps mh - eBay (item 180228072830 end time Apr-07-08 07:35:56 PDT)) what do you think?

Click to expand...

I saw one of those (in use) in the hydro store yesterday. Pretty slick if you don't mind paying for it.

DragonsBreath said:

no i plan on adding cfls for more blue light for vegging to promote better growth. (I think that's right doubting my self)

Click to expand...

I've learned through my readings and conversations that you want the kelvin temp of your cfl's around 6500. I am using 2 65w cfl's on 4 seedlings and they are responding great.

nice, I'm thinking about giving them 4 100W cfl's with the 1000w hps... hope that works out good and is more then enough light for 10 plants minus the ones that don't make it if any.

DragonsBreath said:

nice, I'm thinking about giving them 4 100W cfl's with the 1000w hps... hope that works out good and is more then enough light for 10 plants minus the ones that don't make it if any.

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are you going to use a T5?

what is t5 exactly?

edit: just read it... I would if I had a smaller space and or the resources to buy 4 of those but I think I will go with normal cfls. mainly only for the veg then maybe for some under lighting. Do they really help for flowering or will the hps alone be fine?

DragonsBreath said:

Email it doesn't have fittings, I was thinking about putting temperd glass between the light and plant but not sure if that will help with the over all heat in the space. I got a decent kit with ballast, hood, and bulb for 145 and jumped on it, got to love ebay. Now I'm thinking about getting this cool tube (COOL TUBE GROW LIGHT REFLECTOR 400 600 1000 watt hps mh - eBay (item 180228072830 end time Apr-07-08 07:35:56 PDT)) what do you think?

Click to expand...

Cool tubes (or equivalent) are highly recommended for using HIDs in a small space. i have a 1000w of light (600w HPS and a 400w MH that burn through the whole grow) and in the winter - no problem keeping things cool (with air-cooled fittings) but in the summer - even with an exhaust - it can be a struggle.

Without cooling tubes,glass plating and extractors your plants will fry in a cupboard with a 1000watter and a few cfls the heat would be unshiftable with 2 crappy fans unless the door to the cupboard was left open all the time

yeah I'm going to get a cooling tube to just remove the heat from the bulb out the closet. with a fan between the bulb and the plants to get it even closer. I can actually leave my doors open if i wanted but I'm shooting not to.

your 1000w is all you will need in closet if its a standard sodium lamp i would advise to change to a growlux or a son t planta etc theirs a few to choose from instead of adding cfls or t5s as these have been developed for growing and have extra blue in light in spec are good for veg and flower just use cfls or t5 on seedlings i grow on 600w from seed to finnish dont put your seedlings under hid its took me ages to get wright but if u do start on hid about 5 or 6 foot above the seedlings and lower gradually first grow would use 2 4ft t5 tubes for seedlings after 2 week put on hid

what kind of wattage will I need in cfls to grow the seedlings under? I suppose I would want to grow them for a week before I put on the hps since it could damage it. Max height I could be from the plants at start would be like 4.5' is that enough of a distance to grow the seeds under or is that harmful?

garden knowm started a thread about starting seedlings under HPS and there are a few of us who do it and have success. i can't seem to find the thread now but i'll try to look for it...