Dan's Dangerous Grow Journal

[DanDanger]

Hello, everyone!

I am a new indoor grower out of the Great White North. Built a cabinet that measures 4ft in length, 4ft high, and has a 2 ft width. 200CFM exhaust fan on the top, with a rubbermaid tote ontop with cute little air holes in it. On the left and back wall, there are passive intake holes with filters on them (gotta keep those clean, they are dust magnets!) A 12CFM computer fan in the lower back for intake. For lighting, I am using 8 T5 florescent bulbs. 4 high output, and 4 3500K bulbs for a mixed spectrum kinda effect.
My soil consists of a bunch of stuff. Red worm castings, fish bone meal, bone meal, blood meal, bat guano, calcium carbonate from sea shells, and egg shells, and Epsom. Also the odd red worm for effect

Like I said earlier, I am new to indoor growing. Playing mother nature so to speak! Right now, for me, it can be pretty difficult at times. As I learn the ins and outs of this wonderful hobby, I am trying to join forums in order to learn, ask, and gain knowledge as I go. And, hey! Maybe even make a few new friends along the way

As I go along. And get more time in the evening. I will try and post some of my earlier pictures. The construction of the cabinet. Some of the problems I've ran into. All the way up to now. Which isn't much. Though it's still something.

While I'm on this journey, you can feel more than free to lend some advice, hints, or tips on bettering my indoor growing skills. Thus gaining me some more skill in growing my medicine

Cheers for now!

 

[misterD]

Hey pal, instead of playing bob the builder why'd you just go online. And buy you a cheap tent on amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/Outsunny-Hydr...e-9992-44c1-9ee0-eb9792e71b5e&pf_rd_i=desktop

Or the size you want, and get you a nice cheap led lamp

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0183Z7Z56/ref=twister_B01KFHCNUM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

t5 and cfl are shit and u'll get shit result!

For the soil, keep it simple. Pro mix or agro mix are way more simple to deal with when your noob!

 

[ChenBenTz]

Hey pal, instead of playing bob the builder why'd you just go online. And buy you a cheap tent on amazon

Why would anyone recommend an expensive (but cheap) plastic tent over a proper home-built grow box?

Maybe you should try "playing bob the builder", lol.

t5 and cfl are shit and u'll get shit result!

Nonsense. T5 (and CFLs in the general sense) are perfectly adequate for veg.

But yeah, get an HPS as soon as reasonably possible.

For 4x2, a 250w would be enough, but if you can handle the heat, get a 400w.

For the soil, keep it simple. Pro mix or agro mix are way more simple to deal with when your noob!

This is usually true. You don't want to overdo the complexity of the soil mixture, lest you have issues you can't hope to appraise.

 

[DanDanger]

Alright. So I'm happy with my T5 bulbs. And am a "noob" to indoor growing. Not outdoor. I use a super soil for outdoor, too. Sometimes I use Pro-Mix, but wanted to stick with a simple soil instead for indoor.
As for the grow tent, I'm not a fan of them. I prefer playing "bob the builder" over buying cheaply made, or real expensive equipment. I built this cabinet for the space that I had. And it was cheaper than buying a grow tent for the space I had.
Again, with the lighting. It gets hot. I have a 400W CMH, and she gets HOT. So I'm sticking with the bulbs I've got for now. Got some of those cheap LED lamps in the past, and had poor results. I use those for cloning now. They do root. But very slowly.
Let me also add the fact that I am dirt poor. Not dirt poor. But most my money goes to my kids, and have barely any left for flashy HPS bulbs, fancy tents, or whatever else. I've got a few grows and harvests under my belt already. So I guess I'm not a complete 'noob'.

 

[DanDanger]

Here are some budshots of the last run. Among them are Green Kush and Gorilla Biscuit. Both produced pretty well under the T5's.

 

[DanDanger]

Pretty shit results, eh?

 

[DanDanger]

I built this box out of some nice, 3/4" Alberta Spruce. Painted it with mould resistant white paint inside.
The fan there works pretty well for the price. I'm still kinda amazed that it manages to hold the door on without me even having to latch it.
I ended up building a rack dealie for my lights, so I can hang them. Moving them up and down when needed with chains. Planning on getting those ratchet strap things from eBay soon. Would be easier with those instead of having to count chain links.
Had some issues in the beginning with what I thought was broad mites. When I was way off, and it was vapor pressure deficit. Added some more vent holes along the side, and a weak intake fan fixed the problem.
The medicine I grew was still very good. And I'm quite proud of it, too. Not gonna lie, my first run sucked. Hahaha! Second one was definitely, and wonderfully smokeable. I'm hoping to step it up soon with some brighter lighting, and a stronger exhaust fan. Just gotta give it time, time, time

 

[DanDanger]

When I first started out, I think I may have rushed in too fast. Started off with some seedlings in my closet at first. Then moved them into the cabinet once it was finished. A few days later, I had cut them down under the belief I had mites. Upon further investigation, I found the problem was VPD, and fixed it. In the fifth photo, it looks like I have a single CFL going. The lights were above it.
Started some new seedlings, and that is when I started slowly figuring things out...

I had some autoflowering beans that I wanted to try out. The 10th photo is a Grape Muerte that I really enjoyed growing...

 

[DanDanger]

The Grape Muerte was the only that really turned out. Still, 11g from such a small plant was impressive. I knew I had to step up the amount of plants that I had going at once...

 

[DanDanger]

I started some new seedlings. Culled males. Waited for a little too long (8wks), and flipped to flower.
Out of 6 plants. I was able to get a little over 53g in total.
The strains in the cabinet here were:
Grand Daddy Purple, Gorilla Biscuit, Sugar Tits, Purple Pain Killer x Querkle, and Green Kush...

The Green Kush and Gorilla Biscuit were my favourites. Last photo is a nice sized bud of Gorilla Biscuit. That bud dried to be 3.8g alone. Pretty impressed with myself

 

[DanDanger]

And a little look into what I'm up to now.
Some weird strains, and some strains you totally have heard of.
CO2 bottle things are there just making CO2. I ended up saying "fuck it" and taking the lids off to just seep CO2 most the time. Smells funny after awhile...

 

[DanDanger]

Oh, yeah! I tried to do the whole "big bright light" thing. It got so damn hot! Woo! So hot! So, I had to say "fuck that shit!" and went right back to the T5... A man can dream though! A man can dream...

 

[DanDanger]

Moved the lights up today. Clean the cabinet out in preparation for flowering within the next few weeks. Hoping for less smell this time around

 

[TheGodFather]

Good luck. I have a thread in this section of my first grow and now my second. Check it out. How many cfm is your fan?

 

[DanDanger]

Good luck. I have a thread in this section of my first grow and now my second. Check it out. How many cfm is your fan?

Nice! My fan is a 200CFM fan. Does the job. Having some issues with heat this time around... Maybe because I grew during the winter in the beginning. So my plants are a little bummed about the heat, but it's nothing serious at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and then 79 at night. Can't wait for this heat wave to finally be over.

 

[Thcvhunter]

Very nice, buddy.

Careful using CO2 in that small space. Actually, dont use it. The CO2 displaces O2 and will cause anaerobic conditions (or reduce the available O2).
If anything, use O2 bottles ;-)

I'm sure you know to go real light with food being that you're not using a lot of lumens.
Low metabolism, low food.
But, dont go light on minerals as they buffer your pH and since the plants will have low metabolism then they wont be able to control the pH's soil on their own.

How you liking that Gorrilla Biscuit?
I still havent run or smoked her....I'll remedy that in the future

 

[DanDanger]

Dude! I loved the Gorilla Biscuit. Handled low light conditions. Didn't care about any of my fuck ups, just let them roll off like water over a duck's back.
I have no money right now. My plants are hurtin' for some Epsom, and a few doses of mineral water.
Since reading about growing under low light conditions, I've found that feeding the plants less is better. I haven't even used any kind of nutrient except for the fish emulsion, which was once. And recently watered with some added molasses. Haven't touched the Earth Juice yet. I may just use it twice during flower like I did before.
Pictures are coming, dude. I'm gonna take some today.
I've been using the CO2 and have been noticing good results. Especially since the cabinet is running a little hot lately.

The next outdoor grow will hopefully yield me some cash for an actual, store bought grow cabinet.

 

[ChenBenTz]

If you want to run an HPS you need either a large space or an AC.

That, or live in a really cold place. In winter, I place 1,200 watts in a small room and the plants are fine.

 

[420somewhere]

I have a 3 X 4 box

I have a 3 X 4 box

If you want to run an HPS you need either a large space or an AC.

That, or live in a really cold place. In winter, I place 1,200 watts in a small room and the plants are fine.

I have a 3 X 4 box Which I run with 600 watt HPS. I don't run air and it is very hot here. I have been running it for about 6 years.

I flower at night and if it still gets too hot I switch to 400 watt.


Good Luck on your grow

 

[Thcvhunter]

Sounds good, Dan.
Yea, having your plants at the right temps are more important than light intensity.
If it is too hot, then yea, the CO2 will help. Just go with minimal amounts.

Earth Juice?!? I dont think we can be friends anymore.
Rofl, jk