Is it really that complicated?

[Gebr'el]

jump in bro and dont worry bout anything negative that anyone has to say.....life is trial and error, it all just boils down to experience. easy or hard is just the way you look at things and what you expect to get from those experiences. grow on bro, stay safe above all things cuz it dont matter if your weed is good or not to the police.
peace n luv

 

[CANNATOPIA]

look its possible ta grow a weed with practically nothing but its expensive ta grow good quality MMJ.

 

[CANNATOPIA]

I have a pretty small set up compared to many & I roughly spent on inital set up 3,000. Not including reoccurring purchases like soil, electric etc. and Honestly I needed every bit of it to make it work properly and will prob put more into it later.

 

[pinecone]

I have a pretty small set up compared to many & I roughly spent on inital set up 3,000.

Ok - but if you are setting up a small non-commercial grow to supply you and some of your family and friends with quality bud you don't need to spend $3,000. Someone who just grows for themselves needs to harvest less than 1lb per year. A setup capable producing 1 lb (or .5 Kg for the Euros) of grade A bud can easily be constructed for much less than $3,000.

Pine

 

[CANNATOPIA]

My opinion its kinda like sports, you practice & keep putting into it or ya fall behind & quality lacks.(Unless Out doors)
You get what ya put into it. & yes It can be done cheaper but ....it will show in some way. I'm no professional either and I know many who get better results than I, but they have far more in-depth set ups than myself. Not knocking small grows I've been there, Just stating what I've learned going through it myself. I have been an out door veggie farmer for 15 years and same goes with them. Ya get what ya put into it. Effort INcluded of course Peace & Farming

 

[CANNATOPIA]

oh & Im a patient & ony grow for myself Hep- C it sucks -Peace

 

[tip staff]

in my 2 cents....the biggest advantage is having your own place with a room you can dedicate to growing. if you're trying to grow in your mom's house in an underwear drawer without her knowing things like ventilation, temp, and smell would be a nightmare

 

[CANNATOPIA]

if you're trying to grow in your mom's house in an underwear drawer without her knowing things like ventilation, temp, and smell would be a nightmare

lol nice point!

 

[pinecone]

You get what ya put into it. & yes It can be done cheaper but ....it will show in some way.

My only point is that as long as the light is 400w or larger and the bulb is reasonable fresh, the extra money you spend on a setup is likely to show up in output and efficiency, rather than the quality of the finished product. For a lot of personal growers maximizing output and achieving optimal efficiency aren't a large concern because power is cheap, they can already produce more than they need, and they don't have any commercial interest.

Pine

 

[CANNATOPIA]

I respectfully Agree & disagree slightly,"My only point is - output and efficiency, rather than the quality of the finished product."
In my first few grows I used the same small standard sized closet. Used many different bulbs.Fans etc. many different floros at first then 250 MH, 400MH, 600HPS & now a 1000HPS and slightly bigger set up now 4x4x8 the old closet was 3x2x8.
Product was better each time I switched lights & reflective material & rooms. Ive used white paint, panda plastic,then mylar. To me All of these things made a big difference in my end products density & flavor. IN all set ups I produced good meds, which would be deemed sasfactory for many, but not near as good end product as I do with the current set up which is still very small in comparison to many of the nicer set ups here on IC.
You can prob achive a cheeper price as long as your a smart shopper but it does get pricy buying all new euipment and it dosent help the good equipment is pretty pricy ta begin with.

 

[staff11]

No it's really not that hard for a small closet grow. Less is more, just stick to that. It's when people start doing to much when they have major problems. I have grown under t-12 floros to CFL's to my current 250 watt HPS.

I still use my small cabinet with 5, 42 watt CFL's to veg in then throw them under the 250 watt for flower with decent results. Again I am not trying to be commercial or make money off this, it's personal.

 

[pinecone]

I respectfully Agree & disagree slightly,"My only point is - output and efficiency, rather than the quality of the finished product."
In my first few grows I used the same small standard sized closet. Used many different bulbs.Fans etc. many different floros at first then 250 MH, 400MH, 600HPS & now a 1000HPS and slightly bigger set up now 4x4x8 the old closet was 3x2x8. Product was better each time I switched lights & reflective material & rooms.

You probably learned how to grow better. The advantage of the smaller lamps with smaller square foot setups is that you can drop them right on the plant; a 400w light 1ft above plants delivers more light to the tops than a 1000w lamp 2ft above. The 1000 lamp will penetrate farther (at 3ft the 1000w delivers more light than the 400w at 2ft), but if you are primary concerned about the quality of the "tops" there isn't going to be any difference.

You can prob achive a cheeper price as long as your a smart shopper but it does get pricy buying all new euipment and it dosent help the good equipment is pretty pricy ta begin with.

600w ballast, hood and bulb ($450)
enclosure ($200)
6" fan ($200)
carbon filter ($200)
assorted tools - some rented ($100)
plastic pots $(50)
dirt and nutrients ($100)
darkroom filters and assorted other supplies ($100)
seeds ($100)

So for $1,600 (give or take) you can buy top notch equipment and build something capable of much more than 1lb per year.

Pine

 

[Spl1fftast1ck]

LOL

LOL

Nah, growing is simple. The only thing you have to do is cope with bad water, high and low temps, high humidity, pests of all sorts, security, odor, air circulation, power bills, nutrients, disposing of trash, hiding evidence, trimming, gene selection, nutrient selections, lighting concerns, reservoir maintenance and health, cleaning, foliar spraying, light leaks, sagging branches, re-ordering supplies, and about a hundred other things.

Piece of cake, I'm sure it doesn't cost more than $23.

Who says a sarcastic voice can't put into written word.

 

[supermanlives]

for me having experience in the horticulture industry made it easy. growing is easy

 

[bipotato]

When I first started not too long ago I had no idea how to grow a plant, let alone properly handle a screwdriver. I sucked at it but through trial, error, and ICMag I figured it out. Just takes a bit of dedication and work to learn the ins and outs. After that it's really simple. Like everything else. Usually when it doesn't come natural, hard work + follow-through = success.

Strong financial incentives can also help drive motivation (which usually means quicker success).

 

[AOD2012]

i personally feel like lazy does, this isnt something you can just throw together in your spare time and expect to get good results. as a teenager i did the closet thing for a few years, never did ph, didnt do any sort of training, forgot to water my plants, all types of stress. now that i am much older, and have matured, i started doing things right. i spend at least 1-2 hours a day in the room, depending on what i am doing. i had a pretty big initial investment due to my controller, digital ballasts plus hoods, and all the other little things. right now i am in my third week of my first real grow in a dedicated room, and the plants are looking ten times better then they ever have before. so in theory it may be simple, but in reality it takes a lot of time and hard work to be able to consistently produce a top notch product. consistency is the key. its fine and dandy to be able to bang out one nice crop and then complete fail the next time, but being able to constantly pulling primo bud, and improving each and everytime is not something that can be done easily in my opinion. i am a little anal with things, so i might be blowing things out of proportion a little, but i personally take it real serious and and have put a lot of time and effort into this. so is it simple? i think that all depends on who you are talking to.

aod

 

[Snagglepuss]

If your just starting ,I would start with compact flourecents or flouro tubes.Read up on the forums ..Try a few runs ,and see if your interested in the whole process ..Once your sure your commited ,then drop some money on a good light .

Its not that growing it is that difficult,its just that it requires some level of commitment .like anything in life.....Once you decide ,you want to deal with the tasks / issues/requirments involved.Make a box or buy a tent ,then I would go out out and buy a 600 hps light and portable air conditioner.(if you can afford it)

The 600 because if your sure your gonna grow for awhile , you wont have to upgrade from a 250 or a 400.....unless you go with 1000 watt

The air conditioner cause it seemed to fix all the discouraging beginner problems i was having ,with heat /fans ect ect .Im convinced its the quickest way to make great pot,as long as you feed properly.

Once you start growing ,and get a few harvests ..chances are you will catch the bug ....then thats it ...your hooked...its even more addictive than smoking.....

 

[smokeymacpot]

look its possible ta grow a weed with practically nothing but its expensive ta grow good quality MMJ.

no its really not expensive to grow good quality bud. you should not even say that!

 

[enjia2000]

If your just starting ,I would start with compact flourecents or flouro tubes.Read up on the forums ..Try a few runs ,and see if your interested in the whole process ..Once your sure your commited ,then drop some money on a good light .

Its not that growing it is that difficult,its just that it requires some level of commitment .like anything in life.....Once you decide ,you want to deal with the tasks / issues/requirments involved.Make a box or buy a tent ,then I would go out out and buy a 600 hps light and portable air conditioner.(if you can afford it)

The 600 because if your sure your gonna grow for awhile , you wont have to upgrade from a 250 or a 400.....unless you go with 1000 watt

The air conditioner cause it seemed to fix all the discouraging beginner problems i was having ,with heat /fans ect ect .Im convinced its the quickest way to make great pot,as long as you feed properly.

Once you start growing ,and get a few harvests ..chances are you will catch the bug ....then thats it ...your hooked...its even more addictive than smoking.....

I've got a little micro grow going right now with 4 CFLs if that works out and I get some more room we'll see what happens after that. Looking forward to catching the bug.

 

[redneck shogun]

I personally feel that the less you are willing to spend the more informed and practiced you will need to be. Alot of people just let their local hydro store grow their crop for them but they don't generally know how it all actually works if you took away that access. The best advice I can give is to always have the attitude of the novice and never stop learning.