Ghetto grow box - My first attempt

If you have ever traveled to my part of the world, you may know that the weed here is complete CRAP
After a recent stint living in Vancouver, I returned home, and was hell bent on growing something more... Substantial.

These are my tribulations.

Any comments, queries, suggestions or props are all welcomed.

Start date: 23rd May 2010
Number of seeds: 2
Proposed grow method: Veg-Indoors Flowering - Outdoors
Strain: Unknown - Mostly Sativa (deduced from past usage and effects)
Grow box: Cardboard box, LxWxH 3x1.5x2
Reflective agent: Interior walls coated in mylar
Lighting: 3x Osram Duluxstar CFL lamps - 24W - Daylight -
Ventilation: 2 x 5Watt computer fans, one input, one output
Data recording: Thermor digital meter (humidity, temperature and wind speed)
Potting mix: Red soil, Gravel, Styrofoam shreds, Natural composted soil, WORMS!
Nutrients: N:K - 10:10:25 (this is all i can find. Alternatives welcome)!

Fortunately for me, the natural humidity and temperature levels are adequate in my current environment. Gotta love the equator!

This project has been a nightmare from the get go! You would not believe how hard it is to find the necessary materials to set up a grow room, and to maintain plants after that.

For this reason, I have decided to grow my herb indoors, over the vegetative period, and outdoors for the flowering stages.

I have access to a HUGE unshaded rooftop to plant on. Additionally, the climate here is perfect for cannabis to grow.
We receive a steady 11 - 12 hours of daylight all year round, and have a steady temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of about 60%

To start off with, I dug up a bunch of materials from around the house, and got to work.
The purchases I made are as follows:

3x CFL bulbs
3x Pendant bulb outlets, pin type
1x 3 pin square plug (adequate for the sockets in my country)
0.5 guage electrical wire x 5 meters.

I managed to source the remaining materials at no cost.

Construction of the box:

I used a simple cardboard box from some old stereo system.
The entire interior was covered in black duct tape to provide structural integrity, some degree of waterproofing, insulation and of course to block out all light.
The box flaps act as openable doors act as access points to tend to plants when necessary.

The interior of the box was then covered in mylar to provide a reflective surface.
Holes for fans, Parameter probe and light fixtures marked and cut out using a hack saw blade.

All electronics are mounted to the box and are sealed and secured using a high temperature RTV silicone adhesive.

A small shoe box sits inside the grow box. This acts as a platform, bringing the new seedlings to within 2 inches of the lights.

I am growing on a 24 hour vegetative light cycle, somewhat.
Lamps and Fans are attached to a digital timer. This initiates a cycle of ON for 165 minutes, and OFF for 15.

The reason for this is to allow the electronics to have a little bit of a break. This preserves the integrity of the equipment for a longer time.

I will upload some pictures of the set up in a few hours.

Here are the pictures.

I am having trouble with an erratic light supply.
My photoperiod is not remaining constant due to numerous power cuts
Hope this won't harm the plants too much!

View attachment 958286View attachment 958287View attachment 958288

Well, if you see any improvements that can be made, I'd love to hear em!

Looking good so far

Just to clarify what each picture shows;

From left to right -
*Grow box interior. You can see the shoebox that raises the plants closer to the lights. The entire surface is covered in mylar.
*View of plant, small pot with huge holes punched in the bottom, 6 inches wide at the mouth, and 6 inches high.
*Closeup of plant. Potting mixture is somewhat visible too.
*One of the 3 CFL lights I used for the system.
*The exterior of the box. the output fan can be seen (blue LEDS on there). The little digital meter is a probe. It reads temperature and humidity at a high accuracy level.
*The back of the grow box. You can see the light fixtures and the simple wiring.
*More in depth look of the setup. You can see the relative position of the lamps to the plants.
*View of the input fan. Assists in maintaining temperature and humidity. Also keeps lamps cool.


Well there you go!

More updates as things happen!

Current date and time:

26th May 2010 - 10:00PM

EDITS:

I just used a leather punch to make a million 5mm holes all over the shoebox that sits beneath the plants. This is in a bid to provide more adequate circulation. I guess it could only help!

The plan is to cut away at the shoebox, an inch at a time so as to lower the growing plants, to provide a "safe distance between the CFLs and the plant tips.

The reason for the above alteration is to reduce the internal temperature of the box, which after about an hour with everything running, had hit 87 degrees farenheit.
I am considering adding one more fan. The question is, input or extractor? For the moment, I am going to just let it be. hope my babies are ok in the morning!

@Tatan, Thanks.
Woke up early this morning to check on the plants. Both are doing well.


Time of inspection: 4am - may-27-2010

The leaves are now about 3/4 of an inch long, and signs of another pair sprouting from the center of the existing leaves are prevalent!

Crisis: Humidity level dropped drastically. Reading at 4am - 21%
After struggling for an hour to find out what went wrong, I came to the conclusion that the calcium based mineral I was using to control acidity is a severe drying agent

Have installed a simple wick distributor in front of the input fan to increase the humidity factor.
Hope it works!

I also added 1cm of new composted soil to the plants. This should keep them fed for the next week or so. Additionally, I have cut out a disc of mylar that sits over the soil. It has a small opening for the plant to pass through.
This will hopefully direct even more light to the undersides of the leaves.
It should also prevent excess water loss from the soil by evaporation.


Some pictures:

The pictures, in order of appearance:

*Growth - day 4 4am
*Inside the box! The wick apparatus can be seen to the left
*close up of plant day 4 4am
*Wick apparatus - fine gravel holds the wick down. Filled with ionized water to restore humidity and alkalinity
*Wick apparatus + extra wick (cotton)
*Closeup of apparatus inside box. The fan is directly behind the cup
*Seedling day 4 4am, side view.

Comments/suggestions welcome!!

Thanks!

Humidity up to 72% after 3 hours.


I am considering making my own CO2 generator which will be introduced into the grow box via the inlet fan.

Proposal:

Use a live yeast based substrate to generate CO2 through respiration.

Shall post a how to make guide and a few pictures too!

I hope the plants will like it!

Have installed a CO2 supply, driven by active yeast by means of fermentation.

The system is compact, cost effective, and on one mixing will last a fortnight!

It is a collective of a few other similar designs off other forums.
total cost equivalent to $18.40 at current exchange rate.

PARTS LIST:

-2L soda bottle/airtight vessel of similar volume.
-1 tab angle tap, 1/2 inch inlet/outlet
-1 meter PVC hose pipe 1/2 inch outer diameter

INGREDIENTS LIST:

-2 cups warm water
-2 cups cold water
-2 cups sugar
-1 Tbsp bicarbonate of soda
-1 Tbsp white flour
-1 packet instant dry yeast

TOOLS LIST:
-Open flame (I used a gas cooktop)
-Sharp paring knife
-Scissors
-Measuring spoons
-Measuring cup
-PTFE plumbers tape (not a requirement)



The assembly of the unit is pretty simple and self explanatory with the use of the pictures provided.

If any clarification is needed, just ask!
Will have another look at my plants tonight.
Hope the CO2 makes a difference!

5 Hours after introducing the CO2 to the system. Time to open the box up and see whats going on!

Both seedlings have leaves reaching the 1 inch mark! This is twice as long, as when measured 5 hours ago.

One seedling seems to have a slight bend in its stem... Wonder why! (any ideas?) This is a new development.

The smell of fermenting yeast is rather prominent. My extractor fan shall now have to be directed out of my window. Considering the use of a 2 inch diameter
Polypropylene pipe.

I am constructing a conical aluminium chimney to act as a heat sink for my lamps. They seem to be heating the tiny interior space of the box faster than the fan can cool it! (open to suggestions on how else I can cool it down).
P.S - Using a second extractor fan causes the temperature to drop too low (68 deg F) while the current setup has the heat rising to 86 deg F. Maybe some passive intakes could be added?

Also, in regard to the ventilation:
I would like for the extraction levels to be kept as low as possible so as to give the CO2 time to mellow through the chamber.

Pictures later today!

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

Im thinking about just putting some yeast, sugar and water in a cup next to my plants

that would work... Somewhat.
There are a few limitations with just using a cup.
First off, you can only really do a small batch at a time (enough to half fill the cup). Without making in a larger quantity, it will end up costing you more.
Next, Your cup would have to be TALL! The stuff goes crazy after the first few hours. It froths up, and you may have overflow. This is messy, and can initiate severe bacterial growth in your grow area if not cleaned well.
And finally, If you do use a cup, and it works out safely and effectively, I would love to know! May give it a try, save myself some fabrication work!

Thanks for visiting! More updates soon!

nice microgrow you should try removing the intake fan and setting 2 fans as extractor fans in the top and leave intake as passive.

as you have a 50\50 ratio of air in and out you end up mixing the hot air with the fresh cold air instead up heat rising too the top to be extracted.
with 2 fans extracting and passive intakes you would make a slight vacuum inside the box ( if its pretty much sealed offcourse) that would suck enough fresh air through intake at bottom.

atleast try it and see during 24 hours how temps are behaving.

this offcourse gives less training for the stems cus you will loose the slight breeze from the intake fan but thats ok since its going outdoors i belive.

maybe even add a small computerfan inside the box just hanging there spinning and blowing att random directions at the lowest speed you can get your hands on.

edit: ah yes, and subbed

@crazeehaze

Thanks for the sub, and the advice too!
Would placing the fans one on top of the other cause a greater suction rate, or do I need to make a whole new cut for the next fan?

I do have a third fan, but it taxes the 5 watt cell phone charger supply I am using if I do add it to the set up. This is strange considering it is a parallel circuit

Hoping to hear from you soon! Can't wait to fix it.

Temp currently at 84 degF
Humidity 61%

Making a larger cabinet to move into soon!

Good to be growing indoors, heavy rain out there today!

More updates by the afternoon.

i would suggest placing 2 fans next to eachother in seperate holes on top of the box on the opposite side of the intake so you extract more hot air and not the fresh air.

placing them on top of eachother... i dont know.. never done it and never seen it done.. i would assume you would get the exact same extraction rate actually cus the second fan can only grab the air allready extracted by the first one, and as theese fans dont operate under any pressure it would not help the first fan as its allready moving air at its full speed.

i would even go the the extent of saying 2 fans on top of eachother would decrease your extraction rates as the first meets a resistance when extracting..

so yes. as far as i can tell by the pictures you have your extraction hole on the side. i would suggest closing this one and putting 2 fans on top as i said earlier. and go from active to passive intake.'

atleast try it and see how it goes.

Well, I have been rummaging through storage, and I have found a few suitable contenders for the grow box!


Take a look at the pictures, and tell me what you guys think I should use!

LxWxH (feet)

The box on the left - 2x2x4.5

the box on the right - 2x1.5x3

The one in the center, you may recognise as my current setup!
I am quite partial to the box on the left.
This will only be used for vegging and I plan to get the plants as short as possible, without excessively compromising yield.

The other pics are some closeups of the seedlings. They look ok, I guess...

Day 5-6



Comments/Suggestions welcome as always!

seedling looks srong buddy

well.. what about this.. take the box on the left. cut a hole in it in the back the same size as box on the right and tape them together just like they stand now.
then you mount your lights on top of left box and mount the extractor fans on the back of the top of box on the left if you know what i mean then you will have nice depth in the box and a taller place for heat to rise and escape.

kinda hard to explain this idea..

My idea using the larger box as expertly drawn on paint

The red line is a drip pan to catch extra water.

The fans are a top the box with passive intakes right at the bottom.

Co2 input area TBD

the pots sit on top of a grate for airflow and drainage.

May add Red/Blue LEDs (with 6 Watt chips) on the walls of the interior

Humidifier?

May consider using it lengthwise too, for training purposes, short and broad plant would be advantageous. I do believe this is a sativa (possibly pure) would hate to have a 10 foot high monster! That'd be awkward to conceal outdoors, seeing as I will plant on the rooftop of my 3 storey house :s