My first grow... In a computer.

Hello everybody!

I found a bottle of seeds in a old garage about a year ago, (got no clue how old or what strain) and i think its about time to get them growing. Ive ben thinking where to grow, which is a little tricky because i still live with my parents.
I don't want to grow big yields or anything, i want it, a little like a hobby. Just for my own use, and to say "i made this".
All i got this far is the pc, my seeds and some dirt in my garden. I know i have to get a lamp, but i have no clue which lamp/lamps/LEDs i should get.

It would mean a lot to me if some of you pro-growers could give me a tip or help me out a little.

Sincerely

Mikkel.

Hi Mikkel - welcome to the wonderful world of PC Grow.
I'm in the same boat as you, only I'm older and don't live with my parents, but still need to be very stealth.
The first thing I would recommend is read, read, and read some more. I just finished my first PC grow and as we speak, germinating some seeds, but the one thing that surprises me is how much I learn and read - the hard part is putting into practice.

Here's what I would do for your cabinet:

• Read, read and read! There is a billion dollars worth of free knowledge here, take advantage of it all!
• Line the case with mylar. It doesn't have to be expensive. I bought a sunshade form the dollar store and used that. I've read that you can use the inside of Mylar Balloons, in my area I can get these in the dollar store, just need to suck the helium out of them. You can also pick some up at your local hydroponic store.
• Read, read and some more.
• Lights are expensive and since this is your first grow, and you're not even sure if the seeds will grow, keep your costs low and go with CFL. I've got 3 23W 6500K bulbs (I might add a 2700K for added spectrum). CFL are available at Home Depot, Walmart and other hardware stores.
• Read, read and read a bunch more.
• Fans, I've read that they are just as important as lights. They circulate the air and also help strengthen the stem. The biggest issues I had were calculating the CFM and wiring up the fans and finding the right adaptor for them. I picked my fans up for $4.99 each, and has 37 CFM. As far as power adaptor, I found some 12V 1A which allowed my to daisy chain two of my fans for exhaust (each fan is 0.25 mA) and I have a separate power supply for my intake.
• The last piece (thank I can think of) is temp and humidity reader.

From there you can choose your soil, nutes, and style to grow.

The biggest thing - don't get discouraged! Read and post often. We like to see updates and give advice.
I can't wait to see your progress .. I'm subbin' to this one.

Lastly, any of you more experience growers, feel free to correct me ... my wife tells me that I've got thick skin.
Enjoy!!

Happy Smoking!!

Hi Ogonzo - thanks for the respond!

I've been reading a lot, like really much, and im happily surprised how much free knowlegde there is.
It's so nice, i can go from one day to another, starting knowing nothing, and the next day i am understanding what people are talking about.


As it goes with my pc -

I have ripped the cabinet completely, installed light and two fans. View attachment 2668410View attachment 2668412View attachment 2668413

Besides that, I have read that you can use energy saving light bulbs, (CFLs) and i got three of them in my lamp at my room. So i just plugged one of them in the pc, but i don't think it's good enuff... my plant looks certainly died out.View attachment 2668411View attachment 2668414View attachment 2668415View attachment 2668416View attachment 2668417
What goes for fans, i had two from the computer, so i thought "let's just go with them", and i think they work fine. I'd hooked them up to a AC 12V 1A power adaptor.

My backwall is just carton wrapped in tin foil. Can i use that? i didn't knom what else to put in, and i thought "well, it's shiny?" so i ran with that.

And thanks again for the fast and very helpful respond!

Happy blaze!

Hey there and welcome to riu !!

I always love these PC growths, fascinating !!!
Might I suggest you trial run your case a couple of days without a plant in it.
Make sure to add a temp/humidity sensor so you can read the values.

Doing the trial runs will prevent you getting in a situation where you would/could kill your plant(s) because of uncontrolled conditions.

Also, check up on people with other PC growths, there are quite a few and several very succesfull ones.
Dont just read the ones who have no issues, make sure you read a couple where they ran into problems.

People always learn from their mistakes, but if the informtion is layed out here, there is no sense in making the same mistakes as well


Good luck !!

ps your images of the last post are not working.

Hey Mikkel - too bad your pics aren't working, I would love to see them.
I totally agree with automated, sub to other pc grows - not only do you learn a lot but you get excited to see the next phase or your babies.
I wouldn't use tin foil as a reflective surface, I've read that they create heat spots and can do some serious damage to your girls. I purchased one of them sunshades form the dollar store, I'm not sure where you're located but you can get these at Walmart and Target as well ... here's what they look like in case you don't know what I mean - http://carsunshade.blogspot.com/. I just cut it down to fit the panels and used aluminum (not duct tape) tape to seal the edges.

The dry run is a great idea, my temp guage tells me the max and min so I can see how hot/humid it got and how cool/less humid it got. Be sure to run it plant free for a couple of days to get a good solid reading.

With CFL lights, I read that you need about 100 true watts per plant - so if you have one plant you should get by with two 43w 6500k and one 23k (I think) 2700K bulbs. This should give you the right spectrum for your plants.

I'm subbin' to this one.

Hey everybody.

Again, thanks for the delicious greetings and subs!

I had to "shut the pc down" until im getting the right instruments, because i allready killed one plant, (rip) and i dont want other plants to go down that road. I don't got the money right now for the lights, maybe in five days.
The biggest problem is that im studying, and i don't really have that big a budget. Is there anyway you can use other lights besides $200 lamps? I heard someone say something about the lamps from a old warehouse or something? And shouldn't i start flowering stage early when i ain't have more space than this?
And i got one more question. Is the airflow enough with the two fans? i don't know?

And once again, thanks ALOT for the support and greetings!

This i the pictures from the second post (and my little babygirl who died. )
As you guys can see, i got two 8 centimeter fans. I think they're maybe enough when im not growing that big a farm.
Hope you guys can see the pictures!
P.S. Im located in Denmark.

Happy smoking!

if you're using CFL, your plants need to be real close to the light, like 5 to 10 cm away, 10 cm being the max. If you place your hand under the light, and you feel no heat, your plants could be too far.
I'm almost in the same position as you as I think my three girls have died. I'm hoping to see a sprout in the next couple of days.
Keep your chin up.
I'm in Canada.