pakaloloha
New Member
Hey All!
First time poster here.
I've been doing some research and have some questions I was hoping the experts could shed some light on (full pun intended).
I'll give some background info first. I've been starting to plan my first grow (for personal use), and will be setting up indoors in Southern Ontario. Unless I get a medical exemption (which I hope to soon) I'll only be allowed to produce 4 plants. I'd like a setup that can flower 4 plants with a good yield, but I also want to plan a small veg room for clones/mothers within the room in case I decide to have a couple vegging and a couple flowering down the road. My goal is to generate a supply of 3-4lbs of high quality bud annually.
I have a large lower level/basement that is half built into a hill, with a walkout from the back. It's roughly ¾ finished with a few rooms that are not. The room I think is best is a 12'x12' room with 8' ceilings on the side built into the hill. The walls are mostly surrounded by soil. No Windows. Concrete foundation half way up to framing with insulation, vapor barrier, etc. The room has access to intake air from the rest of the lower level, as well as the central air ducting, access to a drain and water, and it's right beside my electrical panel which has lots of room. It's slightly cooler than the finished room it attaches to, but not by much, which I've read is a good thing for when the plants are sleeping.
Two things I know for sure:
- I'll want to go the LED route for multiple reasons, and am looking at using ViparSpectra Reflector Series lights.
- I need to keep my plants under 1m tall, so I'll be doing a SCROG.
I want to build this setup for as little as possible, without cutting too many corners, which brings me to my questions:
1) I know I don't need anywhere near the whole space in the unfinished room I'm working with, and will be assembling my grow room within that room. Is there anything obvious I may be overlooking regarding that space that wouldn't make it viable?
2) If it is viable, which I think it is, should I build an actual room that's split something like ¾ for flowering and ¼ for veg, or just buy 2 tents and connect them with some ducting? I'm thinking roughly a 5'x5'x7' space for flowering, and a 5'x2'4' space for veg? (I own the home, mostly wondering if building a room will be cheaper and give better results... I'm ok getting my hands dirty and building stuff).
2) Should a ViparSpectra 600W Reflector series give me the results I'm looking for in the flower room? My thoughts were to use that for flowering, and the 300W model in the clone/mother/veg room? (I'll veg the plants with the 600W for a bit before switching the light cycle).
3) Is it possible to do a SCROG with Indicas and Sativas (or hybrids with different dominances) in the same flower room, or is it a pain in the ass and not worth the hassle? I've seen some have done it, but I'm concerned about the Sativa taking over the room.
4) As long as I regulate temps and humidity properly, should I be able to intake air from outside of the main room (inside the house) through a filter, and exhaust it through a carbon filter, out of the tents/garden room and into the unfinished room without any issues? Or do I have to exhaust outside? I don't want to put any holes through the house if I don't have to.
5) I'll be starting from seeds. Fem vs auto fem? Leaning towards fem for max yield and clone ability.
6) Lastly, does anyone have any strain suggestions that should do well in this setup?
I greatly appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and offer some advice. I'll be back with pictures along the way!
First time poster here.
I've been doing some research and have some questions I was hoping the experts could shed some light on (full pun intended).
I'll give some background info first. I've been starting to plan my first grow (for personal use), and will be setting up indoors in Southern Ontario. Unless I get a medical exemption (which I hope to soon) I'll only be allowed to produce 4 plants. I'd like a setup that can flower 4 plants with a good yield, but I also want to plan a small veg room for clones/mothers within the room in case I decide to have a couple vegging and a couple flowering down the road. My goal is to generate a supply of 3-4lbs of high quality bud annually.
I have a large lower level/basement that is half built into a hill, with a walkout from the back. It's roughly ¾ finished with a few rooms that are not. The room I think is best is a 12'x12' room with 8' ceilings on the side built into the hill. The walls are mostly surrounded by soil. No Windows. Concrete foundation half way up to framing with insulation, vapor barrier, etc. The room has access to intake air from the rest of the lower level, as well as the central air ducting, access to a drain and water, and it's right beside my electrical panel which has lots of room. It's slightly cooler than the finished room it attaches to, but not by much, which I've read is a good thing for when the plants are sleeping.
Two things I know for sure:
- I'll want to go the LED route for multiple reasons, and am looking at using ViparSpectra Reflector Series lights.
- I need to keep my plants under 1m tall, so I'll be doing a SCROG.
I want to build this setup for as little as possible, without cutting too many corners, which brings me to my questions:
1) I know I don't need anywhere near the whole space in the unfinished room I'm working with, and will be assembling my grow room within that room. Is there anything obvious I may be overlooking regarding that space that wouldn't make it viable?
2) If it is viable, which I think it is, should I build an actual room that's split something like ¾ for flowering and ¼ for veg, or just buy 2 tents and connect them with some ducting? I'm thinking roughly a 5'x5'x7' space for flowering, and a 5'x2'4' space for veg? (I own the home, mostly wondering if building a room will be cheaper and give better results... I'm ok getting my hands dirty and building stuff).
2) Should a ViparSpectra 600W Reflector series give me the results I'm looking for in the flower room? My thoughts were to use that for flowering, and the 300W model in the clone/mother/veg room? (I'll veg the plants with the 600W for a bit before switching the light cycle).
3) Is it possible to do a SCROG with Indicas and Sativas (or hybrids with different dominances) in the same flower room, or is it a pain in the ass and not worth the hassle? I've seen some have done it, but I'm concerned about the Sativa taking over the room.
4) As long as I regulate temps and humidity properly, should I be able to intake air from outside of the main room (inside the house) through a filter, and exhaust it through a carbon filter, out of the tents/garden room and into the unfinished room without any issues? Or do I have to exhaust outside? I don't want to put any holes through the house if I don't have to.
5) I'll be starting from seeds. Fem vs auto fem? Leaning towards fem for max yield and clone ability.
6) Lastly, does anyone have any strain suggestions that should do well in this setup?
I greatly appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and offer some advice. I'll be back with pictures along the way!
