First indoor grow

Cannacaps4U2

Cannacaps4U2

Well-Known Member
New grower here.
Just a bit of history. I have been using cannabis medically for a year, best method I have found is by making my own cannacaps. (Coconut oil infused weed in 00 size capsules)

For economic as well as consistency reasons I have decided to grow my own.
I live in rural southern Oregon (completely legal)
I have started building my grow cabinet.(pictures below)
This shop is well insulated though not really heated (I have one wall heater I turn on while doing woodworking)

I plan on using 40w CFL bulbs and hopefully grow two plants at a time.
My light source has 6 fixtures and I can probably get 8 or maybe 10 bulbs at a time.
There is an adjustable shelf for my plants.
I plan on using a bathroom vent fan for exhaust (will also have vent holes in bottom for fresh air.

I really don't know how much heat will be generated by the CFL bulbs, but am hoping the vent fan will keep it cool enough.

The cabinet has 1 inch foam insulation covered with ¼ inch melamine.
The doors will be insulated as well.
This is close to a zero budget project ($20.00 so far), I am expecting my light bulbs will be the most expensive part of the cabinet.

I am sure I will have many questions as I start growing.
However one question keeps nagging at me, it has to do with light and darkness.
If my plants are on a 18/6 light cycle and the off time is during the night, do I need to make my cabinet “light tight”?

The inside dimensions are 48”H x 36”W x 20” deep.
Any comments or suggestions greatly appreciated.
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Looks good thus far.

-CFLs do not produce much heat, you may want to have a manual adjustable damper on the exhaust to control heat loss.

- Light leak is a concern on the 12/12 cycle (flowering) . Photoperiod plants can be in 24/0 lighting. When in flower, you will want to ensure there is 0 light leak getting in. While in flower, even a little light will cause the plants to reveg.

-Tip: pick up light splitters to allow more cfl bulbs (2-1, 3-1, or 5-1) it will allow considerable more light.

-Tip: Is your diy light fixture adjustable? If not get a few ratchets or of sorts to be able to adjust it. You want to keep the cfl bulbs super close. (The shelf will work, but far easier to adjust lights vs whole shelf)
 
HonestGR I know I'll have to watch the heat.
I have the cabinet well insulated because for most of the time the shop will be unheated.
I have been more concerned with not enough heat than too hot.
I plan on running my lights for a week or so without plants so I can check the temps.
The area inside the cabinet is 20 cf I have read that my ventilation needs to replace the air inside the cabinet every minute.
I haven't gotten the fan yet so there may be other options besides the bath fan setup
 
Cannacaps4U2 said:
If my plants are on a 18/6 light cycle and the off time is during the night, do I need to make my cabinet “light tight”?
Click to expand...
The answer is that it depends on the season and if you are in flower or veg... during the winter you might be able to put the 12 hours of darkness during the dark period of the actual day, but in the summer time the longer days are going to be problematic.
 
vent well too... those cfls can generate quite a bit of heat in a closed space
 
Updated pictures.
Ready for plants.

Indoor cabinet located in partially heated wood shop.
Cabinet size is 48” H X 36” W X 20” D (inside measurements)
Cabinet is made from ½ “ plywood, it has 1” rigid foam insulation covered by ¼ “ white melamine. Cabinet is on casters for easy moving. The doors are made of ¼ oak plywood (1 ½” solid frame).


You can see the duct work for the PC fan.
Three timers, one for the fan, one for the lights, and one for the heater.
The moving blanket helps hold in heat as well as blocking light from around the doors.

The inside includes
Adjustable lights currently holding 8 ea 42w CFL.
Adjustable shelf.
PC fan (120 mm three speed 12 volt)
Thermostat controls small 250w heater.
I have two thermometers (one connected to my intranet so I can remotely monitor temps, and set alarms for to high or too low)

I currently have the fan running on low and the duct work partially closed, with the lights on I can keep the temperature around 80°, with the ability to raise or lower temperature as needed.
I plan on running my light cycle from 6 PM to 12 noon, using the small heater and thermostat to keep the “dark temperature” around 60° .

I plan on growing GG#4. I will get two clones in about a week.
Will transplant into 1 gal or maybe straight into 2 gallon pots
I have a great local source for all my plant needs.
Soil, pH tester, and nutrients.

I would appreciate any helpful comments or encouragement.
 
Bed for my girls.

I am getting pumped, should get my girls in another week.
I need to make sure everything is ready for their homecoming.

Right now I am thinking about pot and trays (or saucers).
My shelf is 19” by 36”, and I want to utilize the space best I can.
I would imagine my girls will come in solo cups or maybe 4” pots.
Where do I go from there? Transplant into full size containers or work my way up using 1 gallon, then 2 gallon, then full size?
I need to consider how tall the pot is as I want to be able to get the most growth from these ladies.

Also I have read that you need to remove your “runoff” water but not move your plants around a lot. So I am thinking about a single tray for both pots set on a slight angle so runoff water is at the front of the tray for easier removal?

Help please.
 
Traditional transplanting rules work here in the cannabis world too. Transplanting is all about growing a solid rootball, and to do so you need to stay in a smaller container until watering needs to be done every 24 hours or less, and then move up to the next size. I go solo cup, 1 gallon, 3 or 5 gallon. If you move up too fast you lose control of the watering and the wet/dry cycle that these weeds thrive on. Regarding container dimensions, this is a deep rooting plant, and it prefers a taller rather than a wider container, which is one reason beer/solo cups work so well.
If you are watering correctly, you shouldnt have much runoff. If you are having to remove water after watering you are going way too fast and are wasting money on any nutes you may have supplied. I am of course assuming you are going to growing in soil, so I invite you to read my work on how to properly water, the link is in my signature. Good luck, and I can sense your excitement in beginning this new hobby!
 
Emilya said:
Traditional transplanting rules work here in the cannabis world too. Transplanting is all about growing a solid rootball, and to do so you need to stay in a smaller container until watering needs to be done every 24 hours or less, and then move up to the next size. I go solo cup, 1 gallon, 3 or 5 gallon. If you move up too fast you lose control of the watering and the wet/dry cycle that these weeds thrive on. Regarding container dimensions, this is a deep rooting plant, and it prefers a taller rather than a wider container, which is one reason beer/solo cups work so well.
If you are watering correctly, you shouldnt have much runoff. If you are having to remove water after watering you are going way too fast and are wasting money on any nutes you may have supplied. I am of course assuming you are going to growing in soil, so I invite you to read my work on how to properly water, the link is in my signature. Good luck, and I can sense your excitement in beginning this new hobby!
Click to expand...
Emilya
Thank you for the response I will refer back to this
I am now thinking about "super soil" or adding my own nutrients.
Also what is your opinion about "smart pots"
 
Cannacaps4U2 said:
Emilya
Thank you for the response I will refer back to this
I am now thinking about "super soil" or adding my own nutrients.
Also what is your opinion about "smart pots"
Click to expand...
I like smart pots a lot, and once stated that I would never use anything else for a final container, yet here I am this time in hard sided containers. Smart pots are great but they are a little bit of a pain to work with, don't sit in pans correctly, hard to get plants out of for transplant... so these days I run hot and cold on them. I have realized that the quality of the rootball has a lot more to do with how you water and how you build the container than the type of container itself, and the hard sided containers just hold up better and are easier to manage in a crowded room and to cleanup afterward.
 
February 13th, 2019:
The grower I was working with for the clones has not come through.
I purchased this beautiful girl.

I have already started training her to spread out.
I want to fill my cabinet as much as possible.
She has been on 24hr lights, so my first task is to slowly change to 18 on and 6 off.
I will change an hour every two days (hopefully this will not put her into flower mode)

My biggest question now is how aggressive can I be in cutting her back. I need to keep her short so I have enough room to flower.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
Cloning my girl:
So I decided to be aggressive in topping my girl.
Just to get an Idea here are before and after pictures.
This is my very first grow and and first try in cloning.

So we will see how many of these six actually root, or rot

I am thinking that I have a bit of a conundrum, with one cabinet, how do I grow the mother while also growing the clones?

I would like to keep this as my mother plant.
I read someplace that I can flower this mother then “re-veg” and take some more clones.

I am trying to find a way of eventually getting all my cannabis from my own grows, including clones.

Any suggestions?
 
I wanted to update my grow journal.

I am continuing to train my plant as I want to make it fairly even across the top.
Hoping to spread even more.

It has been 7 days since I cut these clones.
No roots showing yet, but I am keeping them misted and covered.
Hope to see roots in another week.

My main concern right now is when I should start giving my main plant some nutrients.
When should I start, and do you have a recommendation for a first time grower?
What type of nutes should I use and how often?
Currently I am watering every three days with pH 6.5 water.

Thanks for your assistance.
 
I added the top of a tomato cage to my 3 gallon pot. This gives me the advantage of being able to tie the branches down and will hopefully allow me to complete the flowering process without my plant getting too tall.
I also took my last 4 cuttings from this plant. I am trying a new rooting solution, organic raw honey.
I have trimmed a few upper fan leaves to allow more light to penetrate.

Planning on flipping to 12/12 next weekend.
I added “big bloom” and “grow big” to water today.
I will get a small fan to add a bit more air movement.
 
Pictures of my second cabinet. This will be used for keeping a mother plant. Will also be used for starting and vegging clones.
The cabinet is 24” wide, 22” deep, and 36” high.
I am using a 2ft t-5 light with 4 43 watt 6500k bulbs.
There is a flat panel heater setup with a thermostat to keep the (dark) temps between 63 and 65.
You can also see that there is a 3” vent fan, as well as vent holes on bottom of right side.
I have placed weather stripping all the way around the door. Not so much for light prevention, as this will be 18/6 lights, but to keep heat in while lights are on.
I'll be using 4” pots and rectangle tray.

Best news of the day, 5 out of 6 of the very first cuttings are showing roots, after 30 days.
 
Drying and curing.

I know I have probably 3 to 4 weeks left of flowering. (Just guessing)

However I have been looking for information on drying and curing.
Seems most of what I have found is based on users who inhale LOL

I am growing for edibles only (mainly coconut oil capsules, and the occasional Canna butter).
It seems to me that the drying and curing process might be different for me?

Any special instructions for medical edibles growers?
If you grow just for edibles how do you dry/cure?
 

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