MACSTER

Well first off i just started here and they sites very informative and helpful. Anyways Im from Boulder Colorado which has some great buds some i have been inspired to grow. My parents know i smoke and theyre cool with the idea of growing. Now heres my setup. corner of my closet, i have put together a box out of sheet metal (dull side facing plants right? i hear shiny side soaks up light rays) it has no top so i can have access. the metal box slides into the corner of my closet and its about 4 feet tall. Ive made it so i can slide a piece out and have easy access to the plants. OK now lighting, (which i dont know much about) , i have one of those blue plant lights thats super bright hanging from a cord from a shelf above directly to the middle of the metal box.
For the planting i have one of those black plastic tray type things with about 12 seperate
slots for planting. (you know, flowers come in em) I plan on scoring some seeds tomorrow. NOW I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SEEDS I KNOW THERES THE TWO KINDS. BUT SHOULD I JUST PICK OUT SOME OUT OF A SHWAG BAG OF POT OR SHOULD SEARCH OUT FOR SOME DANK SEEDS. DOES THIS CHANGE THE WAY MY PLANT WILL BE?!?!
Also right when i plant the seeds how many do i need for planter thats about 22 inches x 10 inches and about 2 inches deep. THis is just to start then i will switch to individual pots.
HERES HOW ILL PUT MY QUESTIONS IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO HELP.

1. Do i need dank seeds or will any do?
2. how many seeds for that size planter?
3. how close should my blue plantlight be right after i
throw in the seeds?
4. Do i need a fan for circulation?
5. Can i tell males from females from the seeds?
or do i have to wait for growth to start first?
6. does my light sound ok or should i improve?
7. And last. does this setup sound good.

PLEASE ANY SUGGESTIONS ,COMMENTS, OR HELPFUL HINTS WOULD REALLY BOOST MY SETUP.

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MACSTER

TonDerudesKa

Hey MACSTER, how ya doin?
I see no one else has answered this yet,so...guess I'll take the plunge.
Before I answer your questions, let me point out a couple of things: Back on the main page of HC.com, there is a section of grow guides. Read them until you understand them. They will give you a good basic knowledge. There is also a thread for first time growers, very informative, read that. Also...up in the right corner of this page is a search icon. Use that to search through this discussion forum for answers to questions. I can guarantee that all your questions have been asked (and answered) many times before. Finally......ease up on the caps bro. That is the equivalent of screaming in someones face.

Now for your questions:
1)Any seeds will do. Bag seeds, you will have questionable genetics..who knows what you will turn up with. Dank seeds...at least you have known genetics and some expectation of what you should end up with quality wise.
First time growers should stick to bag seeds until you know what you are doing. Because if you paid big bucks for seeds...mistakes could be costly.

2) The planter is no good. You said it was 2" deep. The taproot should have at least 4" to start, this increases your probability of having females and just gives your roots more room to grow. Early root developement is very important. The planter also makes it hard to disentangle the roots when you go to transplant. Also, those starter trays don't hold very much dirt and are only about 3" deep.
Try to start with a pot 4-6" across and at least 5-6" deep. After your seeds have germinated, pop them in these pots. One seed per pot.

3)The blue plant light will be ok to start the seedling, but you will soon need to up grade. I will cover that in question 6. The light could probably be pretty close, just put your hand between the bulb and the seedling, if it's too hot for your hand, it's too hot for the plant.

4) Yes! Air circulation is very important. It is good for the plants to have fresh air blowing on them. Keep the fan on low or point it indirectly so that the plants just twitch a little. This improves their stem strength.

5) No. You cannot tell sex from seeds. Only when the plants get their pre-flowers or when you actually start flowering can you tell sex.

6) As stated earlier, you will need to upgrade your lights. You didn't give the dimensions of your cabinet, which is important for figuring what lighting you need. There are many good threads related to lighting that you should read. You can basically go with a) fluorescents- which you can grow with, but you need a lot more fluo's to equal b) MH - metal halide, blue spectrum, good for vegetative growth and c) HPS - high pressure sodium, red/orange spectrum, good for flowering. So your best bet is a mix of MH and HPS. You will need a minimum of 2000 lumens/sqft and 6k-7k would be much more optimal. Again...read the grow guides and any thread related to lighting.

7) Finally......your setup sounds ok. You might want to cover up the hole in the top some, you are going to lose a lot of light lumens through that. (But...be sure there are ventilation holes of some sort for the box) I'm not sure how much sheet metal would reflect heat, but it would help if you could find a flat white sheet metal paint and paint the entire inside of the box white. Flat, not gloss!

Wellllll....sorry if this got a little long-winded....I get that way when I'm baked
Hope I helped a little.

Onward through the fog!
(Freewheelin' Franklin)

cy

MACSTER

Thanks cajun for taking into consideration about all my questions. about my setup it is hard to explain.
ok picture this. when i face my closet directly with the closet door open its the shape of a diamond so the back comes to a point which is where the box is. So i have two sides of the aluminum going flush with the wall and the other two stick out. the dimensions are (not exact) : 20x31 inches and about 3 1/2 feet tall. i also took into consideration already
about the planter i had a feeling it was a little weak. i got a pot about 5 1/2 inches tall and about 6 around.
now im goin for just one plant. no selling no nothing i just wanna put it to the head. how many seedlings do you think i will need for just a pot like this?
by the way youve been a huge help i uderstand the light factor much better now.

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MACSTER

TonDerudesKa

Lets see here.....20 x 31" = aprox. 6 sq.ft. Make it 5.5 sq.ft. since it's not quite 2 ft x 3 ft. If you shoot for figuring it out in lumens....you need approx. 36k lumens (5.5 sq.ftx6500 lumens sq.ft = 35750 lumens.)All bulbs have a rating for lumens and wattage. Just add up the lumens of all your bulbs and shoot for the 36k.
Or....if you want to figure it in watts......if possible, you want to shoot for at least 50 watts/sq.ft. to get that you would need 275 watts of lights. 50 watts x 5.5 sq.ft.
Keep in mind also that it takes 148 watts of fluoro's to equal 38 watts of MH and/or HPS.

It would prob. be best if you planted as many seeds as you can get in there. Because they won't all be females, you'll be getting rid of any males which will free up some space. Since you have a small space, you will only be able to grow 2-3 plants to maturity,max. Maybe even just one.
Why? Because they get BIG. You might need some more height,too. Unless you tie them down and train them.

Well, there you go. Hoped this helped some. If not, there are much more knowledgable people around here than me. So... do your reading and ask away...that's what we are all here for.

cy

MACSTER

great i think im gettin it together quite well.
so do you think it would be in my best interest to get a combo of HPS and MH bulbs and just get my lumens up to 36k and try to make it an equal amout of lumens between the two bulbs, or should one be more powerful than the other?
Im sorry to do this but also would you know for a setup with these two types of bulbs just an estimate of what wattage you think that would be with the lumens equalling 36k?

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MACSTER

TonDerudesKa

Otay now.....
Yes, your BEST bet is to go with a combo of mh & hps.
It doesn't matter if one bulb is stronger than the other, as long as the lumens or wattage add up to the target numbers.

Let's take my lights for instance: I have 4 70 watt hps@5600 lumens ea. that's 280 watts and 22400 lumens.
Also I have 2 50 watt MH @ 5000 lumens ea. = 100 watts and 10000 lumens. So total is 380 watts and 324000 lumens. I also have a fluorescent fixture hanging vertically, so thats 80 watts and 6000 more lumens. grand total = 38400 lumens. Watts are gonnna be different cause remember it takes 148 watts of fluo. to = 38 watts of HID (MH and HPS)
Hid means High intensity discharge. I think that most people use the lumens method of figuring their lights, cause this is what you are looking for, how many lumens of light can get to your plant, the more the better. If you figure it in watts, your lumens should fall right in line.

So....follow that formula for figuring out how many lights you need for your space. Check out Home DePot or Lowes, etc. for security lights. Make sure they are hps and mh. Don't get the MV (mercury vapor). You can also find good deals on ebay (look under grow lights/lamps etc.) or cbay sells those kind of accessories too. http://www.cbay.com.
At the stores, the lights sell for about $50 +/- but you're gonna have to wire them up yourself (not hard)

Well, I hope I didn't confuse you with all this stuff.
Come on back for more questions and keep us posted on how your grow is going.

Peace
cy

lilbuddie

Good job on the explanations!!

Thanks for picking up the thread I've been kinda busy lately

LB

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Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope
Pass the Roots and Hit the Culture
Catagory 5 Survivor

MACSTER

hugetime helped. Well I'll keep ya updated!

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MACSTER

Delta-9

Hey man.Sounds like you are in the same boat I am.I have the same size grow setup,and here is my story and advice.
I have a 2.5/1.5/3.5ft grow box,with 5 babes.From the top I have a 70 watt HPS bulb.On the sides I have a donut shaped flo light,which produces 70 watts,and a flo tube on the other side.Total watts:210,in red and blue light spectrums for max growth.The sides of the box are lined with tin-foil(dull side),but you got metal so its good.For air I use a fan on my plants 20 mins a day(fresh air no prob with the area my box is in),and also it strengthens the plants and makes them bushy.I have only been growing these for 2 weeks,and already they are on their 3-4th set of leaves.For soil I used a bag of peat/sand/soil and a bag of African Violet soil containing vermiculite(airy and loose,what you want)and mixed the 2 types and then put in 4 liter ice cream containers.The lights stay on 24/7,until I decide to flower then they are 13 off/11 on.This is a fertilizer idea I cooked up with a buddy thats in hoticulture and agriculture.When I used it,even the immature budz were enough to make my buddy talk to the moon and believe it was replying.

I used it like this:
2 liters of water
use 1/2 the normal(what you put in 2L of water) amount fertilizer for either bloom/veg
use 1/3 hydro fertilizer(I use 3/3/3)of what you would use in 2L of water
1-2 vitamin/mineral pills(get the ones with as many trace elements,vitamins,and minerals as you can)

mix it all up,let it sit for a day so all the elements mix,and then use every OTHER feeding,as some minerals and elements may build up.EX:If you feed every 6 days,change to using HALF the amount of the mix on day 1,and then 1/2 the amount of water you would use on day 3,and repeat.Watch out you do not overwater.If you use 500ml every 6 days,use only 300ml mix day 1 and 300ml water day 3.

The reason for the vitamin pills is that most ferts do not have these elements,minerals,and vitamins in them that the plants need,and get in nature.
I hope that this info will help you,as I have done A LOT to get all the proper information for myself,and it is doing excellent for me.Good luck!!

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lots o budz

TonDerudesKa

Hey LB,
Glad to see ya back. Got your computer probs straightened out?

MACSTER
Glad I was able to help. You'll find that there are a lot of people around here willing to help. This is a great site.

D-9
Very interesting about the mineral/vitamin pills. Might have to check that out. Thanks for the info.

I peeked inside of the open door
Looked around - don't know what for
Way too bright - could hardly see
oh no - can't believe it
oh yeah - could almost see it
In a dream in blue
(Los Lobos)

cy