Need help in preparation for first grow starting soon

[jackdingle]

Hi All,

First post on the autoflower network and a first time grower who will be starting their first grow in the next 2 weeks with a few questions. Setup details are -

• Tent - 1.2m x 1.2m x 2.0 m
• Lighting - Spider Farmer SF 4000
• Medium - Biobizz Light mix
• Nutrients - Biobizz full range
• Pots - 5 Gallon Fabric Pots
• Exhaust/Odour - 100mm 284 m3/h fan coupled with a 450mm can lite carbon filter (all exhausted out of the grow room)
• Strains- Royal Queen Seeds - Northern Lights Auto + 1 Fast Eddy Automatic CBD
• Air Circulation - l 80cm tower fan

After research going to keep it simple this grow and focus on LST with some leaf tucking and maybe look at more advanced methods a bit further down the line. Still unsure on a few things -

1. Air intake - Should I be looking to pick up an intake fan for this grow space or will it be enough to leave one of the vents slightly open and let the exhaust fan do all of the work
2. Plant Numbers - How many plants should I be looking to grow in the space given the setup above to maximise yield ? I definitely will grow just 1 of the fast eddys but unsure how many of the Northern lights I should grow alongside her
3. Nutrients - I've read varying things about the best way to grow autos with the Biobizz range including following their full feeding schedule even when using the light mix

Appreciate all help with this and any other tips / suggestions anyone can offer based on the above plans. After nosing around the forum this seems like a very helpful + welcoming community :smoking:

 

[Jpkindbud]

So basically 4x4’ tent. And these are autos... if you are a first timer then 3-4 would fit easily but you don’t want to overextend yourself. Keep it small until you have a grow or two under your belt. You setup looks good. I use passive intake and that seems to do the job. Never used biobizz nutes, follow their schedule and keep an eye on them. With 2 different strains you may have to feed them different. You came to the right place! Very helpful and instructive. Peace! Any other questions don’t hesitate to ask!

 

[Big Sul]

I too am a first time grower, 4-5 weeks in, and the 1 thing I will say with confidence is that yield will come when you understand the grow process and create the optimum environment. The amount I have learned with the help from AFN is fantastic. I'm down to 2 plants in a 4'x 4' tent 3 gal pots. My outlook has dramatically changed to LEARN and develop patience.

I wish u luck.

 

[DCLXVI]

Welcome to the forum! Very helpful place indeed. I would suggest two things before getting started. I didn't think they would be as necessary as they are: A ph pen/meter and a ppm/EC meter. Either separately or combo. They will save you from mistakes and help you correct when things go wrong.

1) pH pen/meter - test your water and your nutrient/water mix before giving it to your plants.
- With this you will need

A) Storage solution
B) Calibration Fluid

It runs about $40-50 total off amazon.

pH pen: There are some extremely cheap pH pens on amazon. I don't know if they are any good or not. I bought the Milwaukee ph600aq. It's around $22 on amazon and it's made in Romania instead of China. Is it better? Maybe. Works great and is accurate with calibration fluid. It did have a break in period so you will need to calibrate it at least once a week until it settles in.

Amazon product

Calibration fluid: I like to set the pen in a small shotglass and then fill until the glass sensor bulb is submerged. You stick a small screwdriver in the back and turn until the meter reads the same as the cal fluid.

Amazon product

Storage solution: Just rinse the probe after use and add a few drops to the cap. If you put too much it will just squirt out the sides and you will see the white salt crust climb up the sides. It rinses off really easy so don't worry about it too much.

Amazon product

2) PPM/EC meter - so you can know the amount of feed you are giving your plants and also how much "stuff" is already in your water.

There are tons to choose from. I was recommended the HM Digital Com-80
No storage solution needed. I did buy the cal fluid but I haven't needed it yet.

~$30-ish on amazon.

Amazon product


There are loads of expensive ones out there and several combo ph/ec meters also. Just depends on what you want or can afford. I went middle of the road cost wise. I think the cheap China made stuff probably works but needs to be calibrated every use. BlueLabs and Apera are popular brands as well with good reputations and products.

Happy shopping, and growing!

 

[low_and_slow]

I second the recommendation to start with one strain, ideally one plant. If you have fems, then I'd definitely do one seed, if you have regular seeds then I'd start 2 or 3. The point about different strains needing different nutrition is a big deal, and a lot of folks get weird results growing multiple plants on one fertilizer regimen when they're still learning to grow and read the plants.

I'll just warn you that BioBizz is experiencing some serious quality control issues with their products, you might want to look elsewhere for your medium and nutrients. There are dozens of threads in the infirmary of people struggling to even get seedlings going with their stuff. Not sure what's going on, but just from the last month of reading infirmary threads, it seems like it's totally hit or miss...usually miss.

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

2nd that on fewer plants especially if your gonna practice LST. Did 4 plants in 3 gal. buckets in a 2 x 4 x 5 tent and the colas were tight. Would've probably got bigger nugs if I could've spread them more.

 

[Arthur]

Figure 4 square feet per plant. A 4x4 is 16 sqft, so 4 plants. Have run 6 in that space and was REAL tight and caused me airflow issues. The problems weren't worth the added weight. 4 would have been slightly less in quantity, but higher in quality.

I might try 5.... with the CBD in the middle...

 

[low_and_slow]

I might try 5.... with the CBD in the middle...

Five plants for a first-time grower???

 

[Arthur]

Five plants for a first-time grower???

Were I am that setup would cost me 300$ just in power for a 90 day run, so yes, I'd fill the tent, even as a first time grower. You can always trim things back to fit the space.

And, 4 or 5 in a 4x4 isn't a big hassle.
Kinda like kids... first one requires much more work than 2,3 & 4.
Plus... backups... if an issue does pop up and a plant is lost (or herms) there's a bigger chance of continuing the run to completion.
Have had a total loss run, was yrs back, but you remember things that painful.

 

[low_and_slow]

Personally I remember biting off more than I could chew early on and spending my first grow putting out little fires all over the place instead of focusing on one healthy plant. To each their own.