Micro femseeds GrapeFruit grow - organic, 180W CFL

[riseup]

Hello fellow growers. This is my first indoor grow and I hope I won't mess it up. In the summer I grew a few lowryders in my outdoor garden, so I'm not a total beginner, those were quite easy to grow though. I didn't have too much to spend on this, so it is on the cheap side, but still I hope to yield enough to keep me satisfied, which is not too much, since I am not a heavy smoker.


Cabinet

The cabinet is really small, It is about 12" deep, 16" wide and 30" high. Walls are painted flat white.
It is quite stealthy, aside from the fan noise. But I got it covered - I have put my computer on top of the cabinet, so that the computer's fan noise covers the noise coming from the cabinet. And my computer is on for most of the time, so that should take care of that.


Lights

I have six 30 watt 6400K CFLs which I ordered from ebay for cheap. I will replace some of the bulbs with a more red spectrum, when flowering comes, but right now I think I'll do fine with a blue spectrum. I still have to make a reflector somehow, I'll figure that out soon enough.


Ventilation

Currently I have only one fan installed and I have to drill some intake holes, but I'll take care of that soon enough. I have one 12V computer fan attached to the outtake hole and it seems like I'll have to attach one fan to cool the bulbs (they do get pretty hot for CFLs) and I'll have another fan blowing air at the plants, for stronger stems, as I have read.


Seeds
Ordered a 4 pack of feminized grapefruit from femaleseeds. I've got only 2 seeds, because we split the order with a friend. So we each got two seeds. Hopefully they will all germinate.


Soil

I looked at quite a few garden stores, but none of them carried perlite or the other stuff that you talk about here. So I bought two premade mixes and mixed them together. It said on the labels that they are organic, contain worm castings, some other stuff and nutrients from other organic sources. That looked fine, so I bought two different ones. I also bought some stuff that is said to improve drainage, It was also said on the label that it can be used as a hydroponic medium. Looks like something I've seen lurking around here in the hydro forums. And I mixed that in with the premade mixes.


Nutrients

For the first weeks, the nutrients from the soil should support them well enough, If I'll see any deficiencies, I'll make some organic teas or something. Right now I'm saving up money for biobizz nutrients, when I save enough money, I'll start using those.

The plan

So my plan goes something like this:
1. Sow the seeds in pots (done)
2. Wait for them to sprout
3. Put the lights on 18/6
4. Wait for them to grow a bit
5. Top them
6. Put a scrog net in the cabinet
7. Train the plants to fill the screen
8. Before flowering put the lights out for 36 hours
9. Put the lights on 12/12
10. Wait
11. Put the lights out for 36 hours again
12. Harvest the goods.

Does this plan sound okay ? I'm still new to growing indoors and to growing in general, so I'll be asking many questions for sure !

 

[riseup]

November 15

I sowed the seeds in the soil, as I read it is the surest method to germinate seeds. The lights are off. I should keep the lights off now, right ?

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a good plan to me. You might want to consider putting those seeds into damp paper towels for a few days. You can continue to check them and when the taproot is exposed then plant them tail down in the soil. Ive personally never had much luck when putting the seeds directly in soil.
How far can you take the lights up? Grapefruit will stretch a bit in flower so be ready for it. Good luck man.... looks like youre on the right track.

 

[riseup]

Well I already sowed the seeds, so I'll just have to wait. The book that I read said that it is the surest way to germinate seeds, I just have to keep the soil moist. Hope they're right.

How much do you think it will stretch up from the scrog net ? The total height of the cabinet is about 30", the largest pots I've got are about 7" in height and the maximum height I can rise my lights is about 25", that leaves about 18 inches for the plants. Is that enough for ScrOG or maybe I should LST them. Which results in shorter plants without sacrificing yield too much ?

 

[NG2k]

sounds like its a good plan you got there!!!
well done on starting growing and cutting out dealers. a nice personnal stash is whats best for all.... good luck.
keep lights off till one sprouts, lighting levels should be low. if u could keep the lights just down to 2 bulbs for a few days or so, that would be a little kinder on the new seedlings.... 180W is quite strong for small plants.
im impressed you started such a challenge mate, 30" for grapefruit.... gonna be pushed for space!!!! are you planning to use any training? LST could be enough... might have to scrog possibly.
30" minus the 8" pots or so and then minus 3" or so for the lights at the top i reckon u may well have to think about some sortta training methods to use.
good luck..... ill be following this thread for sure....
Peace
NG2k

EDIT... i didnt see your write all that

 

[riseup]

November 19

I can see something above the ground, the seeds have germinated and now I'll switch two of the CFLs on.

 

[NG2k]

riseup,
as slickster said, keep CFL's as close as possible as plants stretch to get closer to light.
as you only have 7" pots, 30" max height and the seeds are feminized, switch to flowering as early as possible. you could Scrog, but you may get away with just LSTing the girls. i would look into topping for definite tho, look at these pictures, the bottom plant has been topped twice leaving 4 growing tips rather than just the one.
http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/1759late_060040.jpg
Topping limits the height of the plant and gives you 2 growing tips rather than 1 growing tip every-time you Top..... its very simple and if your have your mind set on doing a Scrog, Topping the plants several times would be a great help as it will give you more growing tips to tie around the Screen.
i think you may have problems with the plant becoming too rootbound during flowering in 7" pots, my guess would be that the lowest to go with is 8", but i cant say for definite tho.
good luck with whatever you do and there are plenty of people on here that will help you along
Peace
NG2k

 

[riseup]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I think I'll probably get a tub that fits the bottom of my cabinet, when the plants outgrow their current pots.

 

[NG2k]

what size pots are they at the moment? 4" ones arent they?
i wouldnt put 2 plants in the same tub or use a tub that isnt easy to remove from the grow room, incase you get a PH/nute problem and have to flush unexpectedly.
also, white walls reflect light better than foil and dont add excessive heat to the room.... keep it as it is... looks great :wink:!

 

[riseup]

I've made a few changes in the setup:

* changed the way my lights are hung, remade the whole light setup. the first one was falling apart.
* bought one of those cheap cooking pans for a reflector.
* finally made a proper intake hole, with a low voltage computer fan pulling air in
* bought a new outtake fan, a computer fan, it is pretty big and quiet - just what I needed.
* bought a proper thermometer. The temps on ground level (where the seedlings are) are keeping at 27C (80F)

I'll have some pictures when I get my battery charger for the camera fixed.

 

[riseup]

November 20

One of the plants is already 1" high and I can see the first set of the textured leaves forming. The second one hasn't come out of the soil yet, all I see is that white thing I saw yesterday.

NG2k - the pots are 4" in height, 5" diameter.

 

[NG2k]

I've made a few changes in the setup:

* changed the way my lights are hung, remade the whole light setup. the first one was falling apart.
* bought one of those cheap cooking pans for a reflector.
* finally made a proper intake hole, with a low voltage computer fan pulling air in
* bought a new outtake fan, a computer fan, it is pretty big and quiet - just what I needed.
* bought a proper thermometer. The temps on ground level (where the seedlings are) are keeping at 27C (80F)

I'll have some pictures when I get my battery charger for the camera fixed.

that cooking pan idea is a good one, is it really shiny? make sure it isnt too close to the bulbs tho as this will reflect a lot of heat back against the bulbs, if they get too hot, their "life-expectancy" will get a lot shorter.

is your new outtake fan an AKASA PC fan? they are really quiet aswell.... very good for micro-stealth-grows. how big is it?

27*C is good, i think optimum temp at this stage, as roots like warm environments to grow in. is that a reading from in the shade or in direct light?

those pots are a good size too....

keep us posted
Peace
NG2k

 

[riseup]

Yes it is indeed an AKASA 9cm pc fan.

That reading is from direct light, right where the plants are.

 

[NG2k]

AKASA makes great fans...... very quiet.... i use a 12cm for my exhaust... slightly modded tho :wink:.
take your temp readings from the shade my friend, direct light will give you a dodgy reading. under the plant pot or under a piece of paper etc.

 

[NG2k]

a very good point slick, howabout tho if you make a hole in that pan reflector and make your intake a passive. but put your intake fan over the hole in the reflector to push air upwards towards your outtake fan.
that way you would have a box like so

With 2 passive intake holes at the bottom (I), or just one large one. a small fan (F) built into your reflector (R) pushing air upwards and then your exhaust fan (E) somewhere near the top

____E____
|............|
|.....F.....|
|RRR^RRR|
|............|
|_I____I_|

allow a good deal of airflow that way... excuse my cruddy drawing tho.
how are the sprouts doing today riseup?
definitely well done for starting growing, cut out those criminal street dealers with their crap overpriced weed.
good luck again :wink:
NG2k

 

[clowntown]

Foil idea was for over lights only, white side walls are fine. You could use a strip of glass mirror for best reflection over the lamps even touching/laying on top(or foil).

Foil and mirrors are some of the worst reflective surfaces you could use. As NG2k mentioned, he'd be much better off simply paining a board with the flat white as a reflector for diffused light, or some polished aluminum or other highly reflective metal for more specular reflection.

 

[clowntown]

Foil idea was for over lights only, white side walls are fine. You could use a strip of glass mirror for best reflection over the lamps even touching/laying on top(or foil).

Foil and mirrors are some of the worst reflective surfaces you could use. As NG2k mentioned, he'd be much better off simply painting a board with the flat white as a reflector for diffused light, or some polished aluminum or other highly reflective metal (for more specular reflection). I'd stay away from Mylar for the reflector near the bulbs since Mylar is easily flammable.

Edit: Nice cab, by the way; pretty well thought out and designed!

Have you considered growing under a screen (ScrOG)? Not sure how you have your lights wired, but read about Angel Eyes' IKEA cabinet and his almost disasterous experience with wiring!

 

[riseup]

Hey, I finished upgrading my setup. Thans for suggestions, everyone !
Now I have 4 fans. One for the outtake, one for intake, one at the reflector and one that blows air on the plant. This new setup is way more better than the sketchy first one.

The seedling is growing the first pair of leaves, they are getting bigger, I can see every time I look. The lights are running on 24/0, and they are about 2 inches away from the plant. The temperature in the cabinet is keeping at around 25° - 27° C

I draw a diagram of my cabinet, I don't have the battery charger sorted out yet, so no pictures today.
The pink ones are fans, and the scribbled blue and red lines represent cold(room temperature, not cold at all though, whatever) and hot air.

 

[riseup]

The largest (outtake) fan is wired to 12V and running at maximum power, the three other fans are wired to a 7V power source, so the whole setup is quiet, unlike when I tried to run two of the smaller fans on full power.

 

[NG2k]

that is brilliant, cant wait to see pics. im glad u built a fan into the reflector.... will do a lot of good. and also that it is running nice and quietly.
keep the thermometer out of direct light tho, it will read higher than the temp really is. just tape a piece of white paper over it or something if its fixed to the wall.
your seedling is doing fine... just be PATIENT.... something really needed in growing.
have u decided what nutes you will be using or what training method you plan to use?