Simple/Cheap first time grow

mrdlouisd

New Member
I recently moved out to a rural part of the country, and decided to try my hand at an indoor crop. Picked up George Cervantes Grow Bible, and buds for less. With the two of them, I started out. At first I didn't have the net, so I dug into the grow bible, and decided to go the cfl route.

I have very little money, and cfl's offer everything I'm looking for. I started out by picking up a couple cfls. 27 watt, and a 30 watt. Figured the lumen output would be alright for what I was starting with. But then I got the net, and found out I was a bit mistaken when it came to lighting and lights. So I did my homework, and went out and found a 42 watt bulb for 16 bucks. Figured that could hold me off till another disability payment, where I could hopefully get a hold of some bigger cfl's.

I bought two waterproof light sockets, some 14 gauge wire, an outdoor light fixture that looked like I could find a use for. For the water proof socket it was about 3.50 a fixture. Thats socket, wire and, plug. I was on my way out the door when I seen the outdoor light fixture for 3 bucks. I was under my budget so I thru it in. Grabbed some zip ties, some organic miracle grow, pots, a ph/fertility checker and, a Jiffy 25 slot peat greenhouse.

I got a lot of that over the course of about 2 1/2 weeks. Grabbed what I needed as I learned. I've looked thru all the fertilizers out there, and think I'll stay organic. I've heard of a multivitamin that has pretty much everything needed for a plant. Im on a very tight budget and am keeping this as cheap as possible. I got caught up in all the hype about having to have a hid light / hydro / aeroponics what have you. I got wrapped up in that for a few days before common sense came back to me. I'm not trying to make a living off this, I plan on selling none of it. I just want good smoke year round, I'll know whats in it, and where it has come from.

I built a box that houses the cfls, timer, surge protector, and reflector. Got to wait till I get some money before I put in something reflective. For the moment I think I'll be alright.

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Heres a look at the timer/surge protector.

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Heres a look at the 4 I have. They were transplanted twice. I took them out of a milk jug that I had started them in. Then put them in a 18q pot. The next morning when I had sobered up a bit I realized I shouldn't have done that. I forgot the part about looking for females/males. So I transplanted a few days after. They are on day 18.

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Just some bag seed I had on hand. I think they look alright, perhaps not and someone will point that out.

My tap water hovers right around 6.5-6.7 ph. The soil is neutral, so I'm sure my water will not be an issue. Its taken from a few wells in the surrounding area, I actually prefer it to store bought water. You can taste the minerals in it. So I'm pretty confident the water is pretty good. Oh yea, it has never smelled/tasted of chlorine. I figure theres a little in there, so I let the water stand at least over night before use. This may sound a bit over the top, but I use my squirt bottle to water. Try to get some oxygen in there with it. Plan on getting a pump sprayer down the line.

Fertility reading on the probe says its a little unfertile, but my plants look fine at the moment. I think I will go on a few more days and see what time brings.

This is just a start to something I have a feeling I'll be enjoying for quite some time to come. Any comments would be appreciated.
 
They look good so far. Strong seedlings. Be cautious with the 42watters and the cardboard. They can generate a fair amount of heat.
Everything else sounds good. Cant wait to see this grow progress.
 
Initially I had thought so as well. So I emulated what it would be put threw in operation for 24hrs, and took temp readings the whole time. I also placed a small strip of duct tape in a few spots above the lights. I spent some time where I wasn't able to get a hold of stuff, so I got innovative with redneck engineering. The adhesive side of the duct tape is sticky, but when warmed up gets gooey. Around 110/120 f. Tape was just fine the whole time as well.

By the end I would stick the back of my hand on the roof of the box. Never got anywhere past warm, its 3 inches between the light and roof. The fan blows as well which removes the warm air from underneath. I will get some computer fans soon and rig them up.
 
They seem to have faired the double transplant fairly well. They all seem to be doing well, with my runt at the bottom left. It shows better growth then one of my larger plants.

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Here is a shot of that new growth.

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Im hoping I haven't stressed them to badly, wanting a female or two if possible.

Have five new sprouts, in some jiffy cubes. Still haven't popped, hopefully tomorrow.
 
I like your reasons for growing and choosing CFL's and your set-up looks good. Just a word of advice, don't outgrow your box. The plants will get much bigger as time goes on and once you flower them. Don't start more seedlings that you won't have room for.

Your plants also look very nice with alot of potential. :Rasta:
 
Yea thats a major concern of mine. I've got something up my sleeve though I want to try out. Do my best to make use of all the light I have, with little or no waste.

I'm going to do my best to keep em that way, I'm sure I have some great help if needed here on the forums.
 
+rep for luck man .. I hope that is safer than it looks with those wires lol the last thing you want is a fire .. Be safe man your plants look great do as boss suggested and get you some 4/4/4 for seedlings helped mine out alot ..
 
No worries on the wiring. Its legit, I just can't find plastic sleeving for them yet. Eventually I will build a wooden box.

Heres some of the growth that went on today.

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Reason I'm vegging them so much is due to the transplants. I don't want to go into flowering with any problems. I'm confident tomorrow will be the last of 24.

About the nutes, I'm really hesitant with nutes right now. I've been looking around in some grow journals and seen some plants get slammed with nutes. That didn't fare to well. I will pick up some nutes around the first. I think the plants are telling me they are fine at the moment. But again I'm a noob and if the new growth looks not so great please tell me.

Thanks for looking out for me. I know cardboard is pretty bad if not handled properly. I ensure you its safe. I got two little ones in the house and wouldn't use it, if I thought there might be a problem.
 
cool bro just making sure ! your plant looks fine to me .also i to am a noob but from what iv seen you right on track .. maybe a little long gated but you could transplant deeper and keep lights close around 2" with clfs .. good luck
 
Did I hear someone sing my tune? Simple? Cheap? I love the sound of those words.lol They look great so far. I wait till I see my 4th set of "true" leaves before starting nutrients which is about where your at right now. If you do decide to apply nutrients do so with a half strength dose and slowly work up. You can always and easily add more nutrients. It's a pain in the butt to remove them though.lol
 
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