Boy! Do I ever need HELP.

[Pompey_Monkey]

I still need to buy nutes (KISS is even $60 for the 2)

Aladdinsane's point exactly. $60 for ferts on your first grow? What a joke. Spend $5 on a box of miracle grow and perhaps another $5 on some tomato food for flowering max.

Don't go overboard on seeds either - $20-$30 on a packet of ten, easy to grow, Indica dominant beans will get you on your way nicely. Many vendors associated with this site will have suitable varieties.

I would, however, still recommend the outlay on a 400W HID and associated ventilation. Light, sufficient fresh air and suitable temperatures are the most important variables to tie down for a successful grow. These factors are waaayy more important than special ferts and esoteric strains. Until you get the environment dialled-in, don't worry about the fine details. As an analogy, you wouldn't worry if a car had a turbo-charger if you weren't already sure that it had an engine, wheels and gearbox!

Get the environment right and the fun will follow

 

[ericcalif]

AladdinSane,

Thank-you for keeping some perspective to things. But unfortunately his estimate might not be all that high. Remember that i am starting with NOTHING to build up a good grow area. I still need to buy nutes (KISS is even $60 for the 2), Ph tester and adjusters, still not sure what sizes of pots to use, Lights, now exhaust and filter, a good therm/humidy reader, the cab itself, and who knows what i am forgetting. If i get all of this done for $500 i will be suprised.

Hey Doc,
I'll chime in with my $.02 I'm somewhat new at this myself and started out to help a cancer patient friend and as something new to do. I hear you about budget but it sounds like you're good with your hands if you did the work you talked about and your first post sounds like you understand the basics of electricity.
First, I would dismiss using HPS because of heat issues. I think all the posters talking about setting up HPS forgot what you said about the area size and difficulty of ventilation. CFLs will grow just fine and remember, you're not trying to grow flowers with pretty bag appeal like dispensaries. Here is a thread about CFL basics at another site. http://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html
CFLs can be the cheapest way to go with lighting but you will make up for it with time. Putting something together, moving them around during the grow, etc. But if you have more time than money, it might be the best way for you to go.
I put up this post on what I do for cfl's. It's hard to get cheaper than this.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=175373
Search DIY CFLs here, there's some good threads.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=78046

Dollar per watt, you'll do best with the 23-32 watt range, the big ones get expensive.

The next cheapest option may be something like this.
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-GrowBright-2-Foot-4-Lamp-High-Output-T5-With-Choice-of-Bulbs.asp
I have 2 fixtures like this. They put out alot of light, very little heat, and can be used from start to finish.
This was what I did under floro lights only, on my second grow.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=16280&pictureid=332838

For air, be creative. A small fan to move stuff around, cheap. I can't picture the details of your closet, but you sound smart. You dont need alot of air, just keep it fresh. Maybe you could vent down instead of up? A slight suction downward to keep the air fresh, and a small fan in the closet to move it around? Cheap.
The cheapest inline fan I've found is...
http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-4in-Inline-Duct-Fan.asp
I have 2, they are pretty quiet and have worked fine for some time now.

The next suggestion I would have is look up your local garden center. You will find a whole lot of stuff there for much much less than stuff sold for MJ. You can get a good sized bag of organic soil for 10-12 bucks that will work just fine. I stay away from Miracle Grow but alot of people do fine with it. Nutes dont have to cost you 100's of dollars. Alot of growers like this stuff...
http://www.jacksclassic.com/ and you can find it alot of places and $10 will do you great for several grows.
Ph tester? http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-Instruments-PH600-PH-Tester/dp/B000O3B52U Cheap. And you dont need that to start, maybe never. Get much rain? You're safer with rainwater than tap water if you don't want to spend money for a meter, if you can collect it regularly.


There is light, air, food, water and dirt. All the basics. I know you can do it for much less than $600.

As for what to start with... you have access to dispensaries so you could try 2 diff clones, since your Dr recommended a sativa and an indica.
You can get seeds in the US from Europe, google Attitude, they are one of the few that ship here. I've used them once with no problem. Buying seeds like that will up your initial cost considerably but might be the way you want to go. You can order individual fem seeds and keep your costs down. Just an option.

Like most things, theres a million ways to grow. You're reading alot so like its been said, keep it simple and go with what sounds good to you. It can be done.

 

[vonforne]

Follow the link in my signature for a great simple soil mix.

As far as the room goes follow this link.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=40637

Good Luck and Merry Xmas.

V