Recent content by cmate

Nice! I found a way to keep my plants from burning - I took half a 2 liter soda bottle (cut in half) and attached it over the cfl bulb. It acts as a sort of a hood. One end is open, so I find the heat is not too bad for the light, and the plants do not get burnt. I will try to take a pic...

During the whole grow cycle, did you ever have to totally drain the water/nutes and completely replace to keep ph/ppm in balance?

I personally have been having good luck with Technaflora products - the BC Boost / BC Bloom / BC Grow.

When does a seedling (from seed) need fertilizer? If I use a soil-less mix like pro-mix, which has no nutrients and my water has little or nothing in it, the seed sprouts, seedling with two leaves appears, when do I need to start feeding it? After the next (true?) set of leaves appears...

I am wondering about wick length also - has anyone successfully used a wick where the length from water to soil (pro-mix) is 6-8 (or even 12) inches? I am not having much luck with my wicks. I have tried nylon rope and also just set one up with 100% cotton strip of towel. I have about...

I switched out my wick on one of the bags (3 gallon bag) with a "100% cotton" strip of towel. It is about 1" wide, a foot long. There is about 6" inside the bag, 6 inches from the bag down in to the water. Still not really seeing any good wicking action....??

So I have a plastic tub with about 6" of water on the bottom. I built a platform right above the water and the bags sit on that (not actually touching the water). I tried running some nylon rope inside the bag, out through the bottom - most hole and in to the water. The rope feels pretty...

I am trying to find a good material to use for a wick - I have plastic panda bags filled with pro-mix. I tried using some nylon rope, but it does not seem like it is working. What is the trick, or what is a good material / source of wicks for a wicking hydro system?

So I am pretty sure this is ready to harvest, based on the color - maybe even a little past due? HOWEVER, I was hoping to get some seeds - can you tell from this picture if I have seeds or not? I assume if I have seeds I need to keep waiting, otherwise I guess I just harvest now?

So I just discovered the easy to get 400w hps and mh bulbs at home depot. They sell the bulbs, but do they sell any ballasts ? Really, my question is what is the cheapest way for me to get the components to put together a 400w ballast? (I am good with electricity)

If I take some cuttings, what is best? Low wattage, 6500k? Doing some reading that is what I gather. I put in a small 8w cfl, is that too low wattage? I was thinking I would use that for the couple weeks it takes for them to root, then swap in my normal bulbs.

I know temperature has an impact on humidity, but can humidity have an impact on temperature? I ask, because I am trying to figure out why today when the lights went on my temps are naturally hanging around 73-76 f, when I have had to use a heater for the last 2 weeks to keep it between...

the mini split looks cool, but a little out of my budget, it looks like they run $400+? I might be able to swallow $200 if I had to, but ideally less. The problem I have ultimately comes down to ambient temperature - my grow cabinet is in a garage, so during the summer it gets above 80...

I would probably need a chiller for my setup, can you recommend some brands / sources? Anything reasonably cheap ($100 <)?

:) I would like to prepare for the summer now, and I have a small closet that I need to cool by 10-15 degrees. I have a dehumidifier, and I was thinking how great it would be if I could run the cold coils in to the closet, blow a fan across them and have the hot compressor / electronics on...