EnormousGrowth
Member
First off, the pictures.
I decided to go ahead and do a tax projection for this year, which led to running through all my finances. I never really added it up before, but on a yearly basis, I was spending around $2600, or roughly an eighth (50 bucks here) a week. When it's only 50 bucks a week, it doesn't hit you in the wallet too hard, but seeing that number really made it hit home. I had a big problem, and the solution was definitely not to stop smoking.
It happened that I had a pretty good commission coming in and got with my buddy and said "dude, I'm going to start growing. I'll cover all the startup costs if you'll split the work and consumables with me and we'll split the yield right down the middle." He happily agreed and I got to work with the design. You may be asking at this point why I'm splitting it with a friend when I already have everything covered. It's the right thing to do and I encourage everyone to go in with someone you truly trust. There's an old proverb that says (more or less) "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a friend." People learn and process information differently and an exchange of ideas leads to progress. Plus it's always nice to be able to take a weekend off. Two pairs of eyes and hands better than one.
I walked into this with a budget of around $700 in mind. That didn't happen. At all. As in, I ended up spending around $1700. But I wanted it a specific way. Total consumables per month estimates out to 50 bucks (electricity, nutrients, water, etc.), or $600 a year; a full 2 grand less than my current consumption and with infinitely more yield.
For lighting, I absolutely wanted LED, if for no other reason than because they run cooler. I've read up on the differences between HID and LED yields/quality and what I noticed was that the LEDs usually produce a little less per watt (actual watt, not advertised max), but the trichome production was noticeably higher in side by side comparisons. I don't know if this is true, but that's what the yields seemed to suggest. 4x Mars Hydro first gen 600w, totalling up to $580.
For grow medium, I really wanted to do hydro and rockwool for control reasons. If there's an issue, just dump the water and start fresh. Then I got to reading about root rot and such things, so I wanted to cut the risk of root problems. Ultimately ended up (I'm sure I'm not the first to use this design) making my own ebb and flow setup out of 5 gallon home depot buckets, elevated to provide proper draining back into the external reservoir.
Also, it had to be automatic. As it stands, the only things I really have to do is check the pH/PPM every few days and later do some tucking on the SCRoG net and change the reservoir water weekly.
It can be done for much cheaper, but I want to yield a pound every 3-4 months. Not planning on selling, just nice to be able to unwind after work and not have to worry about things. Plus some gifts for my buddies.
Anyway, I went with Blue Dream, Green Crack, Lemon Skunk, and Cheese. I'll upload pictures every week during this grow. So far I germinated them last Monday 11/9/2015 and they sprouted (3/4, anyway) on Thursday 11/12/2015, so expect updates around Thursdays.
I look forward to any constructive criticism and advice you have to offer. It's going to be a hell of an endeavor.
I decided to go ahead and do a tax projection for this year, which led to running through all my finances. I never really added it up before, but on a yearly basis, I was spending around $2600, or roughly an eighth (50 bucks here) a week. When it's only 50 bucks a week, it doesn't hit you in the wallet too hard, but seeing that number really made it hit home. I had a big problem, and the solution was definitely not to stop smoking.
It happened that I had a pretty good commission coming in and got with my buddy and said "dude, I'm going to start growing. I'll cover all the startup costs if you'll split the work and consumables with me and we'll split the yield right down the middle." He happily agreed and I got to work with the design. You may be asking at this point why I'm splitting it with a friend when I already have everything covered. It's the right thing to do and I encourage everyone to go in with someone you truly trust. There's an old proverb that says (more or less) "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a friend." People learn and process information differently and an exchange of ideas leads to progress. Plus it's always nice to be able to take a weekend off. Two pairs of eyes and hands better than one.
I walked into this with a budget of around $700 in mind. That didn't happen. At all. As in, I ended up spending around $1700. But I wanted it a specific way. Total consumables per month estimates out to 50 bucks (electricity, nutrients, water, etc.), or $600 a year; a full 2 grand less than my current consumption and with infinitely more yield.
For lighting, I absolutely wanted LED, if for no other reason than because they run cooler. I've read up on the differences between HID and LED yields/quality and what I noticed was that the LEDs usually produce a little less per watt (actual watt, not advertised max), but the trichome production was noticeably higher in side by side comparisons. I don't know if this is true, but that's what the yields seemed to suggest. 4x Mars Hydro first gen 600w, totalling up to $580.
For grow medium, I really wanted to do hydro and rockwool for control reasons. If there's an issue, just dump the water and start fresh. Then I got to reading about root rot and such things, so I wanted to cut the risk of root problems. Ultimately ended up (I'm sure I'm not the first to use this design) making my own ebb and flow setup out of 5 gallon home depot buckets, elevated to provide proper draining back into the external reservoir.
Also, it had to be automatic. As it stands, the only things I really have to do is check the pH/PPM every few days and later do some tucking on the SCRoG net and change the reservoir water weekly.
It can be done for much cheaper, but I want to yield a pound every 3-4 months. Not planning on selling, just nice to be able to unwind after work and not have to worry about things. Plus some gifts for my buddies.
Anyway, I went with Blue Dream, Green Crack, Lemon Skunk, and Cheese. I'll upload pictures every week during this grow. So far I germinated them last Monday 11/9/2015 and they sprouted (3/4, anyway) on Thursday 11/12/2015, so expect updates around Thursdays.
I look forward to any constructive criticism and advice you have to offer. It's going to be a hell of an endeavor.
Last edited:
