Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg & More! CFL's - LED - HPS

re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

RainStacks said:
I feel that I am limited by the emoticons available, I have felt that way for some time. I am glad you like them too! Nice score on the pots too, you got a deal! Any idea on a soil? I want to try Vermifire next.
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Hey, Rain. I missed your question on soil, sorry. I think I'm going to stay with what I'm using. I have so far been happy with how it did. My own mistakes is what caused any issues before the nutrient schedule started. It is a locally made blend, so I can get it at a very good price.
We'll see....things may change. LOL
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

Well, the true test of this basement grow is upon me earlier than I anticipated. We have snow. YUK!!!
I sure hope the temperature down there doesn't drop and I wind having to get heat into it. That would be a cost factor that can't be maintained.
So far the lighting and the curtain is keeping temps around 70-72, but I have to wait until the really cold temps start outside to get a true picture of what's going to happen.
I gave all the plants their food and drink yesterday, the humidity was at 57%...this morning it had gone up to 62%. Is this due to the watering of all the plants? heat of the bulbs causing moisture in the air from the wet soil?
I'm hoping the humidity levels start dropping with the cold weather. Running that dehumidifier racks up on my electric bill. :-(
Hope everyone is doing well today and you are happily..... medicated!:Namaste:
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

The humidity will go up after watering as evaporation is happening from the soil, and as the plants metabolism rises they expel moisture also. I wish I had a cheap soil option, but even one bag goes a long way for me. I am thinking I will recycle lots of my soil for a raised bed garden eventually. I will have to work on the amendments too. I am looking forward to seeing how that lovely canopy is coming along!
Oh and sorry about the ✲´*。.❄¨¯`*✲。❄。*。¨¯`*✲
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

I would guess the humidity went up just because it precipitated. If your temperatures drop out of the "optimal" range from time to time or even frequently; remember that there is a ton of wiggle room between "optimal" and "disastrous."

In the event that you have to add some heat to the grow area, do just that. Adding heat to the grow area will be much cheaper than trying to heat the whole basement. For example, I use a small ceramic heater in the greenhouse. I cast like thirty bucks. It has a "thermostat" on it. The thermostat does not allow me to set it for a specific temperature - it's just a knob that you turn up for hotter of down for cooler. It makes the heater cycle on and off. A small heater behind the curtain would be inexpensive to purchase and run compared to heating the whole basement. It would also drop your humidity a little.
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

Thanks PeeJay, those little ceramic heaters are nice.....but they scare the heck out of me. My ex-idiot....er ...former husband almost burned our house down with one. But, you have given me an idea! :cheertwo: Thank you!
I will let you all know later on that. :-)
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

lol. The little one I have has a feature where if it tips over, or even if you bump it, it shuts off. I don't run it right next to the can of lawnmower gas or anything...
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

So true, Rain. I made a roll-back cover for the greenhouse roof out of an old quilted bedspread ziptied to the grommets of a plastic tarp. Keeps the heat in beautifully.
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

As the resident Queen of DIY, there is little doubt that Canna will solve the heat issue. It will be neat, tidy, and cost her almost nothing!
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

Well, thank you PeeJay. LOL
I have an amish fix in mind.......
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

canna i used 3/8 inch fan fold. it's basically a styrophome sheet 2ft x 4ft one side has a decal the other aluminum foil. has a low r value of 2 for insulation but add that with 5/8 inch osb sheeting and seal it with subfloor adhesive ur looking at an r value of 10. when my electric went out the temp dropped to 60 degrees f and it was 35 degrees that day. plus if u use the aluminum side out it make a great reflector wall. just an idea for ya. for 16 dollars you can buy enough to cover 192sqft.

IMG_049417.JPG

this shows the stuff in use
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

Okay, so here's the scenario...If I keep the reflective curtains closed at night, there will be heat from the CFL bulbs but possibly not enough if it gets too cold down there, due to the brick wall the shelf is attached to. (It stays very cold as it is an outside wall) If I burn an oil lamp...say 3-4 feet away from the flower area which has styrofoam reflective walls and the curtains, it will produce some heat and keep the chill off the area. I'm going to close it into a kind of smaller room with blankets like Rain suggested If I can figure out how to hang them. But there will be a small amount of light from the oil lamp seeping through there. Very little...but it will.
Is there enough lumens in burning an oil lamp to disturb the darkness the plants need during 12/12?
It would save on my fear of compact heaters and my electric bill. LOL
Now, tell me how silly I am for thinking of such a thing.....but I thought it was worth throwing out there. I burn oil lamps all the time, love them.
The next grow is probably going to run through the winter months too, we don't see decent temp changes here until April-ish, so I would like to plan for that.
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

USMC0420grow said:
canna i used 3/8 inch fan fold. it's basically a styrophome sheet 2ft x 4ft one side has a decal the other aluminum foil. has a low r value of 2 for insulation but add that with 5/8 inch osb sheeting and seal it with subfloor adhesive ur looking at an r value of 10. when my electric went out the temp dropped to 60 degrees f and it was 35 degrees that day. plus if u use the aluminum side out it make a great reflector wall. just an idea for ya. for 16 dollars you can buy enough to cover 192sqft.

IMG_049417.JPG

this shows the stuff in use
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Hey USMCO, I think we're using the same thing. I used that for the two side walls. My flower area is a lot larger though. And the room is quite large. I like your DIY light, I did the same things. :-)
Here's my flower area:
New_reflector_curtain.jpg

It's about 6' in length and about 5' to the ceiling.
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

do you have central air or a duct system? if so you could drape the grow area with blankets or a tarp. then run a duct or dryer tube to your plants this would help. as long as you don't accidentally tap into a return duct you won't get the smell of the plants.
IMG_056310.JPG
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

if no furnace your heating source if you use a fire stove idk... but they so have these space heaters that are amazingly energy efficient an quiet as hell. they can keep a 24 x 16 sqft space at 70-80 degrees easily. down side they can range from 100-200 dollars, sometime more some less it depends on the season. buy it during the summer if it interests u. they are completely fire safe. uses IR heating.
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

Actually, now that you said that...I remember about ten years ago the former idiot...er former husband had tapped into a duct vent to heat that very room! I'm going to dig into the ceiling insulation down there tomorrow and see where he sealed that up. Must have sealed it tight, cuz it gets brrrrr cold down there. With the blankets to make the area smaller, that would work out perfectly!
You all area awesome! I believe I've said that a time or two. LOL

I have central air..propane heat and I also have an outdoor wood burner. Wasn't going to use that this year....the work to keep it going was too much for the harsh winter we had and as much wood as I had to re-order, I would have been better off with the propane bill. I need a break. :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

There ya' go. You've got your mad scientist lab coat on and you're experimenting. See how it works. It's really important to remember that the plants can go well below 50 degrees without suffering any damage. They won't grow fast if it's that cold, but they'll still grow - just slower.

I've let the ones I have out in the greenhouse go down as low as 38 overnight a couple of times. I'm sure that's not great for them! They go down into the upper 50's frequently. My current target is ~60 overnight and they are cranking out new growth.

You'll experiment with insulating the area, providing a little extra heat, and you'll solve the problem. Finding solutions to our unique situational challenges is one of the many entertaining aspects of this hobby. Cooler than "optimal" temperatures is not going to kill them while you work it out.:peace:
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

lol I work as an HVAC tech for a year and i may have learned a few thing. Plus I'm a Construction Engineer. hope all work well for ya Canna
 
re: Cannafan's Perpetual Grow White Widow-Master Kush Reveg and More! CFL's/LED/HPS

Hey Uscmo,
next time you go picking up "little things for the grow" pick yourself up some of those double jointed sockets. Y-socket adapters, officially called. LOL You can get two bulbs into each socket and they will sit an angle so the light can get to the plants better. The most output of light on CFL's comes from the sides of the bulbs, as I'm told here. Double the power of light to those plants too!
Like the one in this DIY pic:
MiscLighting.jpg
 
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