New Grower advice needed please

[d7reu]

Hi, I am starting my FIRST grow using auto. I will be growing ONE plant inside of a stealth grow box that I will be building myself. The seeds are feminized.

What soil/nutrients should I use?
and
What light should I use?

Once planted and having a 18/6 light cycle, all I need to do is water it daily until its ready to harvest right?

I would like the setup to be as simple as possible.

Thanks.

 

[blue]

Welcome D7

Hi D7

Welcome to AFN!
Why not pop up a "hello" over at introductions for a nice warm welcome from our members.

I'll see if i can get some answers for you, but we may need a little more information.

What size is the Cab?
What is your budget?

Soil - Something with very little nutes in. Like Biobizz Light Mix, or Plagron Light

Light - Cheapest are CFLs, HPS lights are more expensive but perform better but with at the cost of extra heat! LEDs are getting popular - the most expensive option to begin with but come with lots of benefits (IMO)

18/6 will be fine start to finish, but over watering wont do the plant any good.

I would suggest reading the stickies in the new growers forums and then maybe starting up and getting a grow journal going in the new growers forums. Lots of knowledgeable people here at AFN will be willing to help you through your grow.

Don't forget to budget for an out take fan, carbon filter and PH meter - all very important bits

Hope this helped a bit
All the best
Blue ^_^

:styles rasta::styles rasta:

 

[Larky.Derry]

i would get a light mix soil like bio bizz light mix or plagron light, the type of light will be dependant on the size of your grow box, what size is it? 18/6 light cycle will be perfect, you only have to feed plain water the first few weeks until they get a few leaf sets then you can introduce nutrients at a small amount, hope this helps

 

[d7reu]

My grow room will roughly be 60x60x120.
I have a big budget, however don't need to spend it all.

Still a bit confused on what light to use. :S

The fan will be there to give the plant fresh air and the carbon filter to prevent smell?

 

[blue]

That's a nice size.
With a decent budget, it would be worth you looking at some of the LED grows here at AFN.
I have a similar sized cab and I've just switched from HPS to LED and lots my problems controlling the environment have been solved. And it wasn't that expensive

There's some LED forums here to check out, and if you click the black cream grow in my signature, I show off mine a bit there ^_^ (last page)

The carbon filter will be needed to clean the smelly air, you'll need a reasonable out take fan and some ducting to hook it up :High 5:

 

[late]

Like the others said, get a good potting soil, I've been using Pot of Gold.
Ask here before you buy. There are hot mixes, and there is also potting soil
that is just plain bad.

Read a bunch of posts about light. It's a tough choice. LEDs are best, but very expensive.
HPS lights are the most popular when you are growing a number of plants. Get one that
has adjustable wattage. You may not want that feature later, but it can be very handy.

Which reminds me, exactly how big is the grow space for your first grow going to be?
Pot can really stink up a house. I know one guy that doesn't use a tent. His fan simply
sucks in the air, pushes it through a filter, and he holds the smell down that way.

You don't water every day with potting soil. Not usually, anyway. There's lots of good
info in the forums, read some posts and see what people are doing. Best to wait 2 or 3
days for it to dry out a bit, and then give it a good drenching.

You could also try a self watering pot.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053NKHDY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Basically, you need to learn how to garden. Life is easier using organic fertiliser, don't buy
expensive stuff with a fancy label. Get a box of epsom salts at the drugstore, go to a regular
garden store (not the kind that caters to pot growers) and see what they have. Then tell us.
One of the expensive things I would have you get is liquid fish fertiliser. Buy a small bag of perlite.
You can worry about the rest later.

 

[d7reu]

I will be growing in a stealth box, with a carbon filter, so shouldn't get smelly. I picked an auto seed that doesn't grow tall, so should be o.k in my 60x60x120 box.

Blue could i ask what problems you had controlling the environment? Is temperature a big factor as the stealth grow box will be in the garage?

Ill probably be going for the HPS lights. Will one type of light be OK for the whole 8 week cycle? And how many watts should I get?

Also what soil should I ask for at the garden center? organic fertiliser?

 

[late]

I will be growing in a stealth box, with a carbon filter, so shouldn't get smelly. I picked an auto seed that doesn't grow tall, so should be o.k in my 60x60x120 box.

Blue could i ask what problems you had controlling the environment? Is temperature a big factor as the stealth grow box will be in the garage?

Ill probably be going for the HPS lights. Will one type of light be OK for the whole 8 week cycle? And how many watts should I get?

Also what soil should I ask for at the garden center? organic fertiliser?

Just to be clear, is that in inches? So it's 5x5x10 feet?
That will help us understand what options make sense for lights.

Write down the brands of the good potting soil. Cheap stuff and Rapid Gro you can ignore.
The liquid fish fertiliser is what I would get.

If it winds up being HPS, you will need MH or CFL for vegging.

Temp is a big factor, over 90F and you have trouble. It's also trouble if the girls get too cold.

 

[d7reu]

60cm x 60cm x 120cm. Can make it bigger or smaller.

Im from UK and will be getting the soil from B&Q.
Fertilisers & Plant Food, Grow Your Own, Garden

I thought autos needed the same light for its whole cycle, veg and flowering.

How would I control temp?

 

[blue]

60cm x 60cm x 120cm. Can make it bigger or smaller.

Hi Reu

If you can make it taller by 60cm, the head room will definately come in handy!

Im from UK and will be getting the soil from B&Q.

Slow down there chief! Maybe before going to get some general soil at B&Q you should look at what the grow shops have to offer. Biobizz Light Mix and Plagron Light are both available in the UK.

I thought autos needed the same light for its whole cycle, veg and flowering.

You can use one light through the whole grow. Some people like to do it the old school photoperiod way - (Blue) 6400k MH/CFL to start and Red 2700k HPS/CFL for flowering.
I've tried most methods of lighting now. You can grow start to finish on 2700k, but a mixed spectrum would be better.

How would I control temp?

With a HPS in there - You'll probably need a cool tube and decent extraction. Windows open or an Air conditioner in your room.
With a decent LED it's lots easier, it runs at about room temp - you'll still need to crack a window slightly for some fresh air. But to put it in perspective, I forgot to open a window, was away all day - walked into my room in the evening and it seemed really hot! I was expecting to look in my cab and see temps in the 90s (like i would have done if the room was that hot when i had my HPS)

The temp was 77.

You can get extration fans with automatic thermostats that you can set to a certain temp. when it gets hotter the fan speeds up and gets rid of the hot air!

Hope this helps
Blue ^_^