New Kid On The Block

[Hype]

A quick hello, Englishman living in Canada, just joined up but been reading articles here for a little bit now on how to get set up in the art of growing. Some what new to all this and trying to find out whats good and whats not is making my head spin.. one person says one thing & another says something complete opposite, i get that its trial & error & we all have our own ways of doing things but it just makes desions harder for me lol

I'm not in a position to be blowing money on top of the line equipment just yet so I'm slowly buying bits and bobs but took the plunge & recently bought a second hand 4x4x6'11 Gorilla tent for $260, which i thought was a reasonable price.. I'm not sure what kind of strain I'm going for yet but something that yields decent and that is forgiving..
I also have a Germination Station with the heating pad on the way.
Now here come the annoying newbie questions !

whats the best set up for this size tent ?
Is this a reasonable size for a inexperienced ?

Thanks for reading, any help is apriceated..

 

[Emilya Green]

A quick hello, Englishman living in Canada, just joined up but been reading articles here for a little bit now on how to get set up in the art of growing. Some what new to all this and trying to find out whats good and whats not is making my head spin.. one person says one thing & another says something complete opposite, i get that its trial & error & we all have our own ways of doing things but it just makes desions harder for me lol

I'm not in a position to be blowing money on top of the line equipment just yet so I'm slowly buying bits and bobs but took the plunge & recently bought a second hand 4x4x6'11 Gorilla tent for $260, which i thought was a reasonable price.. I'm not sure what kind of strain I'm going for yet but something that yields decent and that is forgiving..
I also have a Germination Station with the heating pad on the way.
Now here come the annoying newbie questions !

whats the best set up for this size tent ?
Is this a reasonable size for a inexperienced ?

Thanks for reading, any help is apriceated..

Hey there Hype, welcome to the hobby from a Welsh lass living in Missouri!
I know what you mean about everyone having an opinion and no one agreeing on anything... that stuff drove me crazy for a number of years as I got going in this too. You will find that it never changes, and its even worse than that... not even the nutrient and soil companies can all be trusted either! It is a mess out here in this new emerging market and quasi legality... sort of the modern version of the wild wild west.

So, let me weigh in on some of the things you have said and asked... and give you my 2c worth on it. Before I do, let me give you a piece of advice given to me by a good friend in the growing world, he said, "trust nothing, verify what you can." This is how I have approached growing the last few years... I have decided to do my own experimenting, find what works for me, and then report on what I have found.

So first off, congrats on the tent. That is indeed a fine piece of growing equipment, and in the right hands it will really make your gardening experience a more pleasant and productive one. I own three of those tents, after at first thinking that I could build my own cabinet and closet areas to grow in... I found tents just in the nick of time and now own a 4x4, a 2x4 and a 2.5 x1. Each of these tents has a special purpose in my garden, and I could not do what I do without them.

Regarding strain... for now, pay no attention to yield claims, no new grower even gets close to what is usually able to be produced with a quality strain. Go for something easy to grow your first couple of times... the yield will be impressive for you and the quality that can be gotten from modern hybrid seeds is excellent in most cases. Don't get sucked into going for some hard to grow but super potent high thc hybrid, risking failure, when a good beginner strain will most likely be better than anything you have bought on the street. The beginner strains are cheaper too... best to learn cheap.

Your tent is a standard sized tent. They come in that size because lights and hoods also come in that size, and it is very easy to get a 4x4 footprint for a light. If smell will be a concern, you are going to need to invest in a carbon filter and a fan for that filter, before you get to your 4th week of your grow, because the smell of even a few plants can quickly take over a house or apartment building. I recommend starting with the biggest light that you can afford to run, because eventually you will want that light anyway... might as well get it now. I suggest a good digital ballast and at least a 400w light to start with, 600w being your best bang for the buck initial cost and electricity wise, or 1000w if you really want to seriously grow some pot and can afford a little more. Each of these lights will have a cost factor associated with cooling them down too, and most of us buy air cooled (AC) hoods, cool tubes or some other method to keep them cool. I myself use a big hood to direct my light downward, with 2 lights in it, and a dedicated fan to move air from outside of the tent, through the lights and back out of the tent on the other side.

You will also need some other equipment to get started. You will need a pH meter, and don't let anyone tell you that you don't need it... because you do. You will need some containers, starting at the beer/solo cup size, to 1 gallon, to 3 or 5 or 7 gallon containers. You will need to decide on what grow medium you are going to use, soil, soilless or hydro... and there are several sub flavors of all of those to choose from, each with their own quirks, tricks and pitfalls. You will need at least one timer so you can automatically control your lights. You will need an oscillating fan to put in the tent to blow your plants around a bit and move heat and moisture away from the plants. You will need a thermometer and humidity meter and later, after your harvest, you will need a small hygrometer to measure relative humidity in your curing jar. Lastly, you are going to need a big pipe and a comfy chair, because you are going to get very stoned.

Still lots of basics to learn, and we all made mistakes at first. Don't let it get you down, just learn from your mistakes, ask lots of questions, find someone you can trust to give you good advice, and go for it. My best advice to you is that most new growers of weeds water too often, thinking that they are growing vegetables. They also seem to be confused and think that plants need synthetic nutrients to survive, and actually call this stuff, food. New plants only need soil, and that is the second most common mistake that new growers make, they over fertilize, thinking they have to add things to their gardens. So read... read till your eyeballs fall out, pick them up, rinse them off, and read some more. Make this knowledge yours by not trusting any of it, and experimenting on your own. It will take a few grows, but you will be an expert in no time. Weeds are pretty hardy plants, some of the most robust on the planet. We just need to learn to be patient with them, and stay out of their way, realizing that they know what to do.

Good luck new friend... there are many of us here if you get in trouble and need some advice.

 

[ShiggityFlip]

That's a great post Em, you really have covered 99% and I fully concur. I would add that what a new grower needs to do is to subscribe to a lot of grow journals on the site. There are many 4x4 tent grows and just by watching them you will pick up knowledge. Emiliya's grow is one, major PITA, Graytail (both just about 4x4 areas not in a tent but fantastic grows). Look around, they will all teach you things just by following, even down to what products have worked well, soil recipes, cloning techniques, nutrient types whether hydro, organic soil, or organic liquid ferts.

Em is spot on in her recommendation for lights, a 600wsodium has a very low start up cost though you must add a fan to that as well. I recommend going to her new or Bonza seeds and looking for feminized strains that are easy to grow. Some plants are very tolerant of pH fluctuations and differing conditions. They will put out a decent harvest even with mistakes.

 

[Major PITA]

Hype!

You've gotten some great advice already. Take my suggestion for whatever it might be worth. I'd get a 600W or 1000W HPS light for that tent and over-size the exhaust fan a little so you can keep it cool. A variable speed control for the fan will let you run it at a reduced rate so you can adjust heat and/or noise. You may have already made a decision, but I'd recommend a soil grow. I find it the most simple way to grow and the most "newbie-proof". Add a little (lot) of patience and you can get a nice harvest first time out. In a 4'x4' tent, I would grow no more than 4 plants and don't allow them to get more than about 18" tall before you flip them or they will be up in your light(s). Best of luck and have fun!

 

[OlderGrower]

Well dang nab it. Not much left to say other then to since these gals and guys pretty much covered every base possible.
Though if you look at each one, you will find one key word in them all. Patience. Live it, breath it become one with it young Jedi-master

 

[Hype]

Thank you for you're input & kind words guys, appreciate it !!

 

[Rifleman]

to Hype. Ditto everything that was said above. Being retired and having nearly all the time in the world, I spend a considerable amount of it reading in the different forums. The faq, and completed journals being my favorite for real world experience. Lots to learn but you have found the best place to learn it. We all eagerly await your successful growing experience.

 

[millergd77]

Hype,

Good luck with your grow... I keep reading here, a lot to learn