First Grow Attempt: 4x3 Tent

[WoodyHarrison]

So I’ve finally decided to give a hand at growing my own medicine rather than getting it through other means. Hoping that everything goes smoothly as I really don’t want such a large investment to go to waste! Please feel free to share with me any input that you may have!

Here’s what I’m working with:

- vivosun 4’x3’x6’ tent w/propagation room (1’x3’x6’). - I’m thinking 4 plants should do fine...
- 2 pairs of Adjustable rope clip hangers
- 2 VIPARSPECTRA UL Certified Reflector Series 450W LED Full Spectrum Grow Lights Veg/Flower
- AC Infinity Cloudline T6 6” In-line Fan w/Temp & Humidity Controller
- Vivosun 6” Carbon Filter w/ Australian Charcoal
- Vivosun 6” clip-on oscillating fan (plan on buying another)
- General Hydroponics pH control kit
- HANNA combo pH/TDS/temp meter
-General Hydroponics Liquid Nutrient Trio Formula: FloraGrow | FloraBloom | FloraMicro
- LED Illuminated Jewelers Loupe
- Garden Twine
- Trellis Netting
- 2 Vivosun microtip pruning shears
- baggie of some seeds from a bag of an unknown strain

What I’m still debating on:
- I’ve been on the fence about whether or not I should use 3gal or 5gal smart pots for the final home of my plants once everything is up and running.
- A trustworthy hygrometer to order.
- Whether or not to go ahead and use super soil as the bulk of the media in the pot or whether to keep the General Hydroponics Nutrient Trio Formula that I already have. I’m leaning a little towards the super soil and would love to hear any feedback on that especially.
- A more reliable pair of glasses as the Both styles of the Apollo UV400 glasses don’t really seem to provide me as much protection as I’d like. After a couple minutes of being in the room with the lights on I had a headache coming on.

Other than beginning to amass a large supply of distilled water I think I have just about everything except for the few things above. If there’s anything else that would be worthwhile for me to look into or just may be of possible interest to me I am all ears! Thanks for taking the time to look through everyone

 

[TorturedSoul]

So turn the blurples off when performing maintenance, lol. Utility lights are cheap. They also allow you to take pictures of your plants that allow others to actually see how the plants look.

You might enjoy posting a grow journal thread in the appropriate section of the forum. It can be helpful to have additional sets of eyes on things to spot, help diagnose, and offer suggestions for dealing with any issues, and most people like the ability to show their gardens to others in a safe manner.

I considered buying that model of tent for a while, but ended up buying one from Mars-Hydro (one of our forum sponsors). I liked the idea of having the separate area, but decided I would be better off using a different space for that. Is the partition light-tight? And what do you think of the tent's features and quality in general?

Good luck with your grow!

 

[Alafornia]

Welcome, WH.

I chose soil because of the simplicity once mixed of just adding water.

Looks like a nice start to things. What strain(s) do you intent to grow? (errr, nm, just saw the answer)

 

[WoodyHarrison]

So turn the blurples off when performing maintenance, lol. Utility lights are cheap. They also allow you to take pictures of your plants that allow others to actually see how the plants look.

You might enjoy posting a grow journal thread in the appropriate section of the forum. It can be helpful to have additional sets of eyes on things to spot, help diagnose, and offer suggestions for dealing with any issues, and most people like the ability to show their gardens to others in a safe manner.

I considered buying that model of tent for a while, but ended up buying one from Mars-Hydro (one of our forum sponsors). I liked the idea of having the separate area, but decided I would be better off using a different space for that. Is the partition light-tight? And what do you think of the tent's features and quality in general?

Good luck with your grow!

Hello Tortured Soul, thank you for taking the time to stop in!

I have been strongly considering doing a grow journal as a lot of my time spent trying to find information regarding certain things has brought me to these forums through the various links I've clicked.

In regards to the Vivosun tent, there are only a couple negative remarks that I have for it. Those being the strength of the frame and the difficulty of getting a proper fit of the partition onto the Velcro lining inside the tent. The frame is very thin aluminum and will hold for about a year, but I really don't see it lasting much longer than that with 20+ lbs strung from the top of it. The partition is very thick and sturdy material, but it is a two person job to fit it onto the Velcro lining. Some of the lining is behind the tent poles so not all of the Velcro will be stuck together, preventing an entire seal. While I do not have plans of using the side room to start seedlings for at least a couple grows it would be nice to properly seal it off as advertised without modifying the partition. I plan on using the extra space for more work room/clip-on fan space and easier access to the back plants. Only other remarks would be a smoother zipper as the inside seam occasionally drags, but if you put your finger in and act as a guide it pulls like butter. A viewing window on the front would also be nice, but since I have the partition down I can use the viewing window on the side. Other than that the tent seems pretty great. It has a fistful of vent openings for whatever configuration you can imagine. Just wish it was a little more rugged, but for the price I guess it's pretty fair deal.

There isn't much natural light in the room I'm utilizing so I have a light tree in there currently. Was only using the LEDs after setup to ensure that everything functioned properly and to ensure that the glasses were of sufficient quality, which I found them not to be :/

Thank you again for your input!

-WH

 

[WoodyHarrison]

Good day Alafornia!

The simplicity of the medium is definitely very appealing to me. As few things as possible for me to screw up is what I'm aiming for haha. I have been wanting to order some pure sativas and a mix of hybrids, but I have been struggling to find a bank that will accept more than just MasterCard when it comes to accepting bank cards for payment methods.

Would you recommend transplanting from the seedling container straight into the final pot or would you suggest doing additional pot sizes in between as they continue to grow?

 

[Alafornia]

1. Excellent and detailed review and makes me happy I did not go with that tent (got iPower 5x5 instead and like it)

2. Since I am about to begin my first grow I'll refrain from making my own recommendation, but most soil growers around here seem to prefer upsizing in stages to promote root growth though some say it has never mattered to them. Grow bags seem to be preferred and that's what I'll be trying.

Soil is a bit more work on the front end and mine is slightly alkaline just now (ph 7.1 or so) so I have to get that sorted out but then it should be just water. Time is a concern for me so less work and simplicity (and less to screw up) works for me as well.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Soil is a bit more work on the front end and mine is slightly alkaline just now (ph 7.1 or so) so I have to get that sorted out

I'm going from memory here, so check my statement, but: Elemental sulfur, aluminum sulfate, peat moss, and some manures (possibly all of them) can be mixed in to the soil to lower pH. Might not be fast-acting enough for you, IDK.

 

[Alafornia]

I'm going from memory here, so check my statement, but: Elemental sulfur, aluminum sulfate, peat moss, and some manures (possibly all of them) can be mixed in to the soil to lower pH. Might not be fast-acting enough for you, IDK.

I'm in the middle of re-testing now to make sure I'm not just reading the water pH. I pulled some out to dry and will test again. I have about a week, give or take, to get ready.