need help in the uk

[cobalt]

ok here goes, am looking for a cheap lighting solution, for a small indoor grow, i want to grow 3 ladies, but what do a need for light, an where do i buy, a would prefer to go to a shop an buy over the counter. a dont know the dimensions of my area yet, i could build that around the light (any ideas on size would also be very useful) remember only 3 plants.
o as this is going to be my first grow, how stinky can it get, a bought an oz o grass recently an it was smelly, lol, its rare to get bud where a live, a had it smoked it, an know its put me off the crap hash the dealers around here are sellin for way too much cash.
i would be growing in soil, a think an where do a buy the feed for these plants also.
hope this aint a stupid thread, just lookin for help on growin my own
cheers.

 

[cobalt]

c,mon people help lol
bump

 

[Guest]

http://www.elementshydroponics.com/

 

[Harry Gypsna]

Hi there, Id say 3 decent plants( large bushes, 4 would be perfect and not take as long to grow) would go under a 400 watter nicely.
Complete 400 watt HPS setups can be found as cheap as 80 pounds from some uk growshops, and cheaper on e-bay-but id leave e-bay as it can be haphazard buying on there. Google for UK Hydroponics, and you will find a growshop in or close to your area-theyve sprung up everywhere in the past 3 years. Sending money by post and getting ur gear delived is ok from reputable suppliers, i can recommend growell, and Greenfinger, greenfinger were fastest. Ponincs are also a mail order company i have had good luck with.
The feed you can get from the growshop you get your lighting from(If you get it from a groshop, you could get a low bay from an electrical supplier and modify it(or not if u wish) like in my signature at the bottom of my post.
1 x 400 watt lamp will just about perfectly light 1 metre square.
If you wanted to be really basic, you could use a good quality soil like westlands multi purpose, and just use a tomato feed from the garden centre and it will work ok. My mate just finished some lovely Northern Lights using normal growbags and some tomato feed from asda which has added calcium and magnesium. This was one of the simplest grows ive seen someone do and it turned out lovely. Not that im sayin this is something you should do, just that it can be done as simply as this, and i intend to do a demo grow with the asda tom feed to show it.
The light isnt the only real purchase you need to make, another one that is absoloutely compulsory is an extractor fan for ventilation, the plants need fresh air. Good air is vital. For 1 square metre with 400 watts of lighting, id say you want an RVK125 or other 5 inch inline fan. For the smell you will also need a carbon filter for the fan, this goes before the fan and all the air is sucked through the carbon inside-neutralising most odours. www.growell.co.uk do some ok deals on complete ventilation kits with the fan , filter , ducting and clips youll need to set it all up.
The very best advice i can give is to buy a book on growing. A good one for all round growing info with all the basics and a bit more is "European Cannabis Cultivation" by Mel Thomas, that will cost you 15-20 quid
Another book i really do recommend is "Marijuana Botany" by Robert Connell Clarke, this really is fabulous and has everything you need to know about the ganja plant and how it works-not so much about the growing but about the species itself. This book you dont have to buy(although i did anyway) as its out there to be downloaded somewhere, and someone here has the link so watch out for it.
At growell the cheapest comlete 400 watt setup is 85 quid, and the ventilation kits are premium or budget-meaning the budget have a cheaper filter that works just as good but needs to be replaced sooner than the dearer premium ones. With the fan i said the premium complete extraction kit is 173 quid, and the budget version 122 quid.
That gives you a basic idea of what your most basic and mandatory items will cost, but remember to shop around. There'll definately be a growshop somewhere not too far from you, unless you live in the outer hebrides or soething lol, so if you really want to only make over the counter purchases it shouldnt be a problem.
I hope that gives you what you need for now. If you need any more help, dont hesitate to ask, and if you get really stuck with something feel free to pm me.
welcome to IC and soon to be the world of growing ur own.
Be lucky

 

[cobalt]

Harry thanks for the advice, much appreciated, ave been reading your other threads, learning loads, going shopping tomorrow, but only window shopping a dont get paid till tuesday. lol. the nearest grow shop is only 7 miles away, will find out if they sell lights the necessary stuff.
also loved the idea about the heating control in your other threads, ma bro is a plumber he should be able to rig me one o them, again thanks, o an lookin forward to seeing ur grow updated,

 

[Harry Gypsna]

Happy to help another UK toker give up the evil soapbar lol....
Yes mate if youre bros a plumber he'll have no problem rigging you some enviro controls up, and with his trade card he'll get the components cheaper too you jammy git haha. I can gurantee the growshop near you will sell lights and fans-thats his bread and butter busness not counting the feed and stuff (unless its one of the shops that were only opened to lander crop money through lol ) and they should be able to give you all the help you need Just be careful getting advice from growshops as some of them are more interested in selling you something more expensive than selling you what you need. If you walk in asking for something and they say its carp and recommend something way more expensive you pretty much be sure they are robbing you. Also beware the growshop without any prices on anything. Somne of these arsheoles change their price from person to person ie if they think you look like theyll get away with it theyll charge you 30 quid for a 10 quid nutrient set.... Dont be afraid to tell em if theyre prices are a pisstake- a lot of them will negotiate on big orders or match/beat someone elses price.
Last growshop advice i can give you is DONT BUY FROM ESOTERIC HYDROPONICS they really are the king of being more expensive than anybody else-dont let the nice flash catalogue with free instructional DVD take you in(which is its intent) they use several web addys leading to their site, being blunt.co.uk 1hydroponics.co.uk and the esoteric one. hope you dont live near guildford or they could be that 7 miles away growshop lol...
anyway hope that ramble isnt completely useless.
Be lucky

 

[cobalt]

no am not near guilford, am on the west coast on ther other side o hadrians wall to u , lol. thanks for the help, am gonna keep ma eye on ur grow, looks good too me. again cheers.

 

[ELMO9191]

evil soap bar that is the truth lol unless u like smoking car tyres etc lmao

 

[cobalt]

got a 400w hps lights coming any day, ebay so much for over the counter brand new and half price , filter kit next month.
ma bro has 3 babies under an ordinary 100w bulb in a closet, there maybe a month old, but 1 is as tall an skinny as hell, gonna try it out on them, lol hope they like it. any advice welcomed with open arms

 

[cobalt]

vaportek yes or no??
now going for a cupboard 6ft6in x 2ftx2ft for the first time, then moving house in january.
bump

 

[waydee]

vaportek yes or no??
now going for a cupboard 6ft6in x 2ftx2ft for the first time, then moving house in january.
bump

Stick to the traditional inline fan, ducting and carbon filter rather than the vaportek in this case... imo anyway.

Get your bro to scrap those plants and try again under some proper lighting - normal light bulbs are no use.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

The plants arent going to be getting any benefit from that 100 watt lightbulb mate..
You cant run your 400 watt light until youve got a fan-you'll cook the plants. Just get the fan alone if you cant afford the filter yet-it will be a few weeks before the smell becomes an issue anyway. Vapourtek would be good if you had a lot of plants-it would be in the room that the growbox is in. but for your setup its not worth the 200 quid, a filter will do the job and a few glade plug ins round the house will give peace of mind too.(but not on their own!!) Swap the 100 watt lightbulb for a 20 watt energy saving lightbulb, add a couple more in-you can get em for a pound each at cheapo shops and the fittings will be 50p or so...theyre great for doing cuttings and starting seeds but keep em within 2 inches of the plant tops. this will keep ur plants going a bit better till you can fire up the 400watter. Look at the micro grows for ppl growing their plants under energy saving lightbulbs
Be lucky

 

[cobalt]

ouch first lesson learned, a got the vapourtek from ebay for £89 with 2 replacement cartridges, a hope it will work, cheaper than a carbon kit tho.(if it dont work its goin back on ebay)
got ma lights today, just finished painting the cupboard.
a seen the cfl bulbs for £2.50 each in a local shop, they got the clip on lights for around the same price. gonna get a couple an ma bro is gonna start some of for me, aint got nothin to put in so am still gonna put his in ma cupboard.
a got a fan to push air around the cupboard, but going for a fan to get fresh air in an out, thats ma bros job, lol.
still gotta hang the lamp, an see how fookin hot it will get in there, its sitting on ma living room floor right now, felt like xmas had come early am even fookin dreaming about this stuff now, lol

 

[Harry Gypsna]

I know what u mean about dreaming about it....i was a commerical grower serving half of northern enlgand with 20 vertical systems last week lol and a kate moss looky likey for a wifey hehehe.. Wait til every shop you go in ur thinking oooh i could use that for growing weed, ooh what a great tub for a res, oohh what a wonderful dresser i could make a growbox outta...and so on
If you have a poundstretcher or wilkinsons(low low prices e-every time) nearby the energy savers will be cheaper...wilko do em for a pound ech 20 watts at the moment, a lot of loacal councils give em away free for energy efficieny....
Ok, so u got ur light, ur vapourtek and a circulation fan..... exctractor and a min max thermometer and ur in buisness...
SAnother thing id say buy, wether ur using soil or hydro is a ph and ec meter..although they can wait a bit if you cant afford yet...

 

[cobalt]

today a bought the extractor fan, tomorrow am moving to another cupboard in the kitchen, there is nobody next door to that cupboard, the neighbours bedroom is straight through the wall from the first cupboard. (it was looking pretty good tho) tomorrow the other cupboard will be fitted out.
a got the cfl's today only got 2x20watt ma bro is away home with 4 pots, 1 skunk#1 an 3 carlifornian orange, hes gonna start them tonight under the new cfl's.
maybe smokin for end o feb beginning o march.
i'm moving at the end o january, but already got the cupboard picked out am going to use, after doing it this time should be easier to set up in the new house, an hopefully harvest there, its a pain but fook it, lol.

 

[cobalt]

A had a dream, but its always about bud, lol