2.25 sq. ft grow

[InRainbows727]

After large amounts of reading forums and lurking all over the Micro area, I figured I might as well finally put something I'm thinking about making to the test.

So here goes
1.5ft x 1.5ft x 3ft

Amount of Space:
The floor area will be 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft so I'm working with 2.25 sq. ft (floor partitioned into 16 plants per square foot (Thanks Dr.BudGreengenes for showing what is possible in a square foot). As a result I'm looking at having about 36 plants depending on how I alter my box from here on out, if I add a fan then less room overall...etc

The area will be around 3 ft high so I'm dealing with about 6.75 cubic feet.

Lighting:
The lighting will either be 40-42w WW CFL's or two 26w WW CFL's split with a Y-socket splitter. If I choose the 40-42w then all of the lights above will be said bulbs, but if I choose to do 52w per socket, then I will only do 4 Y-socket splitters with two additional 26w on each side. Right now the wattage of my box is looking to be between 240-252 (If I choose only 40-42w), or about 260w total if I choose the 26w--if I so choose I could run this box with 312w, but I think anything over about 250-260 might just be a bit overkill.

Ventilation:
The passive intakes will most likely be 50-60 CFM 120x120mm computer fans, with the exhaust being a 130 CFM axial fan hooked up to a carbon scrubber.

Nutes:
I will be using Techniflora or Fox Farm nutrients (already have the Techniflora but interested in stepping up to getting some FF), also trying to get together some funds for a decent pH meter and a couple other miscellaneous things.

I used to water by using a kind of a drip irrigation system, I have a 215 gph fountain pump(dialed it down, no worries) that I was going to use for aeroponics, but decided instead that I would make my watering schedule easier and just hooked the pump (which was in my rez) to a digital light timer and on the other end a line of piping with individual sprayers over each plantlet. The only problem I had with this system is determining plant needs, if I'm running something that is rather touchy to nutrients I will also have other plants that require all the NPK they possibly can. I'm wondering if anybody has come up with a solution to this problem, because although I will if I have to, I don't intent to spend my time watering 36 plantlets every other day (I love growing, but this becomes time consuming after a while).

My expectations:
In this grow I hope to average about 7 grams per plantlet(once dialed in), totaling 252 grams(or 9 ounces) per cycle I do. I will only need about 4-5ounces in order to be happy, but I would like to get something good going with my friend bubble hash, so extra product would be ideal. I am aware that it takes time to dial in strains, but I'm more than willing to sacrifice some time on some girls'

Please tell me what you think, what you like, and especially what you don't like about this!

Thanks everybody,

Tumuli Shroomaroom

 

[Jnugg]

16 plants per sq/ft?!

How bout one plant scrog?

CFL's aren't as strong as HID's therefore the light cannot penetrate the canopy very much.I think a one plant scrog would suit you best,and I sincerely doubt you will get anywhere near 9oz in a box that small,especialy with CFL's but with a proper scrog I wouldn't doubt you could pull 3oz. then again I don't know anything about micro grows.

I have seen some very nice cfl grows.I can't remember who posted it but there was a nice 800w cfl grow of GDP I think.


I'd rethink the ventilation

Ventilation:
The passive intakes will most likely be 50-60 CFM 120x120mm computer fans, with the exhaust being a 130 CFM axial fan hooked up to a carbon scrubber.

As far as the intakes go,that is an active intake not a passive intake.130cfm I think might do the job for supplying fresh air to the microcab while removing heat,but I doubt it with a carbon scrubber or any real lengths of ducting.

 

[cork144]

i wouldnt jump straight into 16, start with 9, use clones at different sizes before you flip to flower, find the right size for the strain your using, then after each crop start adding some more.

if you keep the plants close to the bulbs, 16 will work.

scrog is good also, but id try 4 plants or somthing, shorter veg time needed.

 

[Lord Doobie]

36 plants?
I don't think you need to grow 'cause you're already waaaaaaaaay high.
If you want to get real and not rich, come down to earth with the rest of us.
Totally unrealistic...

 

[Sir_Nugget]

very good thinking, and great design with the cab.. THIS WILL WORK.. I know who your modelign after too.. the notorious Dr.Bud.. The only thing that seems uncertain is were u will get 30+ nice cuttings, and what medium you will use... I think handwatered coco, would b ideal for this type of Micro SOG.. Or some very good soil work.

Place your exhaust at the top of the box.. above the lights.. like a ceiling exhaust

 

[medmaker420]

I would add up the cost of buying all of those cfls and the entire setup in general, as well as the effort needed to do the regular husbandry for each and every one crammed in there VERSUS an hps grow and the cost savings and overall growth benefits compared to it.

cfl's are cheap when you are thinking one or two but when you get up in the numbers that does add up pretty damn quick.

I have played in the cfl grows and sure they work and are a ton of fun but the time and effort reduction going with mh/hps grows and single lighting really is a stress reliever.

If you can get the cfls and most everything for free then I would say go for it until you can afford a simpler setup. Not saying that cfl's don't produce, it is just less stress leaving your light just hanging there and beaming that light down from a 400 or 600 hps versus trying to get 40 cfls within an inch of this and that, dealing with temps and everything else that goes with it.

 

[kiwiboy]

Have you got a link to the Dr.Bud thread, that you are emulating.

Thanks

 

[InRainbows727]

These are the two threads that I am emulating, the first is on a small scale, and the second is basically the same setup, with a bigger platform to play with.

Compact SOG with CFL's....**3/4 to 2.25OZ's per WEEK**

***DrBud Takes CFL SOG to the Next Level 1176 Watts***

 

[InRainbows727]

Jnugg-I'm currently thinking over the ventilation, I mention some stuff about plans later in this post, I'm thinking about redoing the ventilation--I have only read a couple things on ventilation on here (I believe it was redgreenery's guide??), regardless I'm still trying to decipher all of the technicality of the articles...especially two bowls deep

Cork-Thanks for the recommendation, that is a decent idea and pending on the yields I can achieve with that I may choose to work my way up--considering this is a perpetual grow I will have a lot of time to make adjustments (doing 3-4 clones per week). I'm thinking of doing large batches, recording my results and find which are most successful at time of harvest (while keeping moms around in a veg box) and then just applying it to the next grow cycle. Plus, so what if I don't get over 4 ounces the first grow, then I just smoke a bit less in anticipation of getting new product every week to two weeks.

Lord Doobie- I once thought the same, but after being educated in the fine arts of micro grows, I honestly believe after dialing my system in I will be able to get a good 7-9 ounces from this tiny area. I appreciate the constructive criticism though, and I only hope that my box is as big as my mouth is.

Medmaker-Thanks for your input, however I have purchased all of these CFL's from previous grows--not to mention if any of my CFL's burn out, then I can take them back to Lowe's and get brand new replacements with no cost to me(thank god fur that 9 year warranty)! I am well aware of all the hassle that goes with the CFL's, but am willing to trek through all the burdens. In order to get ready for the ever looming closet grow, I will probably be getting overkill in the fan area, I'm thinking about purchasing a Dayton 265 CFM(or something that is completely overkill, but will still keep my oven grow real cool).

I am well aware of the ease of using a HPS, but for the time I do not think it is an adequate fit for me. Once I develop enough space for a closet grow I want to do two levels, the level on top with a 150-250 HPS, and the bottom 3 feet of the closet would be entirely CFL growing--from there I would switch out this 1.5*1.5 cab and convert that into a veg platform for all the little babes that will go to market--currently I have two bubble cloners that I made from the 2.5L Ziploc containers and 4-5 airstones with a 10 gallon air pump hooked up to it.

Thanks everybody for all the input, I'm glad to see that everybody is so willing to lend a hand in order to help me grow some grade A buds

 

[InRainbows727]

Sir Nugget-I'm thinking of doing traditional soil in the 20 oz. soda bottles cut down to size--if I encounter enough funds, I'm thinking of purchasing some Fox Farm soil, the Ocean Forest to be specific. I've been having a bit of trouble with my bubble cloners as of yet, I've once heard cloning described as "voodoo science", I'm sorry I can't give credit to who said that, because I'm at a loss of some memory currently. Depending on how I can work these bubble cloners (only 5-10 bucks invested in them) I may just use perlite in two liter bottles and mist the bottle for humidity every day.

 

[Sir_Nugget]

try cloning in perlite, rockwool or coco. Dont forget to get a strain that has a nice fat main cola.. an indica like white rhino.. 2 gallons of botanicare coco is only 3 dollars.. and coco is rlly better than soil, and u get to watre ur plants everyday..

the box should only need 2 large pc fans.. an exhaust out the top, and an intake at trunk level.. make sure to put reflective material all inside the box, and that theres no light leaks

 

[dbfr3sh]

double post. he didnt like what everyone told him in his last thread so he thot hed come here and people would tell him that 16plants in a square foot would be ok.

first grow....take it easy otherwise youll have 36 twigs to make tea with.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=127638 "personal stash flower box"

 

[InRainbows727]

dbfr3sh-I'm truly sorry about the duplicate posting and any arrogance that may have came across, however I wanted to see what everyone had to say about my grow box--not the fact that I'm trying to pull off 16 plants per square foot. Does it not make sense to try to get multiple inputs on my box, especially from other types of growers? Not to mention there are numerous tidbits of information that do not have to deal solely with the number of plants I have per sq/ft;just to name a few-- ventilation, lighting, materials to line the box with, watering method. I am aware that plant numbers dictate the total amount of watts and everything, but I would hope to set the wattage and ventilation to be able to adapt to any type of growing type.

If you look at the post times between the two threads, there is about two hours difference between the two posts I made; during said two hours there was only one post made about the invalidity of the 16 plants per square foot (which I also expected some resistance on, considering I'm not in a micro grow room), and that was from Jnugg. If you also look closer upon the one that was posted later, you will notice subtle differences between the two threads--after Jnugg posted, I recognized multiple grammatical errors within my thesis and decided to correct it and post it on a different board. Not only that, but this thread so far is both a growbox/design as well as an application of Micro Growing, so I figured it would be a valuable experience to see what Micro Growers have to say about my box.

I don't quite know why you are stepping on my toes--I don't think I did anything to personally offend you, not to mention I apologized for being stubborn to the idea of having 16 plants per sq/ft, plus I thanked you and facelift for your input on the other thread. I only ask for constructive criticism, not statements like "36 twigs to make tea with".

I'm sorry again if I did insult you, but I do not believe I have as of yet.

As for everyone else, what do you think of my box? I'm currently rethinking ventilation--my budget is pretty open, but obviously I would rather spend little money rather than a lot of money. Currently I have 1 120mm*120mm computer fan that runs at 56 CFM that is in my clone box, I also have a couple other computer fans but the 56 is the only one I would probably utilize. From there I'm looking to have an exhaust blower with enough CFM to empty a small closet (100 cu. ft) at the top of my box in a tupperware container that would additionally my carbon scrubber. I'm looking to upgrade after this grow into a closet, so I'm looking to get a blower that I can then switch over to a closet and replace this blower with a comp fan, making this box into a clone/veg box.

 

[InRainbows727]

Sir Nugget-Thanks for the suggestion on cloning, however, I do think I found the problem in my cloning setup. I still do think I might buy some perlite though, just in case I want to learn how to clone in multiple formats (not to mention perlite can help out soil on occasion). My clone box was slightly on the high side of temperatures, plus I was using a crappy pair of scissors to make all of my cuts, since then I have stepped up to sterilized razor blades. I took 9 clones 4 days ago and already 2 have good, established root systems (with 3-4 others with still developing puny root systems), so I think I finally found the best way for myself to clone. I am so thrilled!

As for strains, I was actually looking at a lot more sativa based strains. Due to cash though, I think I may only be able to run one classic sativa, with newer hybrids worked in there in addition to a classic indica stoner cannabis. I am somewhat partial towards Shantibaba/Nevilla/Mr. Nice seeds just because there are a lot of great original genetics in their bank of strains. I'm looking into Mandala seeds as a less costly competitor (interested in Satori, Kalichakra, Mandala # 1 and kind of Hashberry). I am also looking at GHSC as a backup.

So far my list looks like such:
Definitely: Medicine Man, SSH, Neville's Haze(my dad used to grow this, so hopefully I will be able to save a couple hundred bucks and just hit him up for seeds--but alas, then I will not have the original seed genetics)

Maybe: Mango Haze, DJ Shorts blueberry, S.S. AK-47, Bubblegum, or Kali Mist(another one my pops grew, so hopefully I can get some viable seeds from him)

I'm kind of interested in Coco Coir, other than the yield and good drainage properties are there any advantages that I am unaware of? I might consider doing it in Coco, but then again I already have a couple 20 pound bags of potting soil lying around here, so I guess only time will tell.

I am thinking of putting the carbon scrubber/exhaust on top of my box inside a rubbermaid--I've seen a couple threads on here that do the same, and it does look pretty inconspicuous. Depending on what temps are in there, I may just have one intake and have two fans inside my box--I think until my box is up and running I won't know how many computer fans there will be inside my box, but I do intend to have at least one intake fan.