Complete newb

[DaJudge]

Hi everyone! (High everyone?)

First off I would like to say a huge thanks to nebula and Sirius for this awesome resource. I have spent many days now just reading and trying to learn!

So, I'm a complete weed growing newbie and I am considering a small, covert, indoor grow for personal use. I am UK based so the need for a covert grow is pretty strong.

Having done a fair bit of research now I think the seeds I am looking at are an auto-flowering Northern Hemisphere from seedsman, the breeder is Phoenix Seeds. Does anyone have any experience with these particular seeds? These seem to be a pretty quick growing, decent yield and hardy enough for a beginner.

I don't have any of the gear at all just now but I am looking at a complete setup using a fairly small tent and a full spectrum led light.

https://growgenius.co.uk/product/led-grow-tent-kit/

This is the kit I'm looking at, does anyone have any experience with this setup or supplier? Any recommended changes? I know they have it listed as being suitable for 2 - 3 medium sized plants but I am planning to only do one at a time until I have a bit more experience and have gauged how much room each plant takes up in the small tent.

I think that is probably enough to get started with just now but I'm sure there will be more questions!

Thanks all!

[9fingerleafs]

Hey judge welcome. My advise is grow at least two plants to begin with. In case something goes wrong with one. Keep reading GWE tutorials and don’t doubt about asking. People is very nice and helpful. Take pictures and keep us updated. Good luck

[DoctorJohnson]

Hi Judge -- Sounds good. Autoflowers are great and a good choice for a first grow.. My one thought for them is to remember that there are not do-overs with autos--the minute the seed hits water, the countdown to flowering begins and you only have about three weeks of vegetative growth, so get it in a big pot where it can be happy and give it lots of love and light. I agree with you about what a great site GWE is. You can pretty much just do what they tell you and if you don't drop a light on your plant (Don't drop a light on your plant! ), you should be good. Have fun.

[Canuck147]

Advertised tent looks real good. Get it and get growing. One plant at a time is a good start.
Don't over water.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Hello DJ, yeah, get what you want, and let's get growing, great hobby, plenty of nice people on GWE, to help you if needed, and Welcome to GWE.

[al70]

Hi judge, i tried, the autos for a couple of runs, they can be very unpredictable, i lst'd my crop big time and the plants still grew over 5ft tall, my tent is only 6ft high, so don't be afraid to lst em, the second run was called bigbud auto, after 6 months they still had clear triches, don't go packing a space until you get the hang of three or four, to be honest the smoke was very mild, nice but mild, so i would'nt be expecting a knockout, i've no doubt there are some good ones out there, it's just finding them, goodluck.

[DaJudge]

Thanks for the replies and welcome everyone, I did see a couple of mentions about dropping lights on plants... I will try very hard to not do that!

I would absolutely be training the plants to try to keep the height under control and maximise their exposure to the light. I only plan on doing a couple of runs with the auto's before switching to photo periods once I have the stockpile to see me through the longer grow period. Then I can start practicing with fim'ing and topping, maybe even scrog'ing and finding a strain of preference.

I'm planning on using coco coir and perlite medium but still need to research available nutrients. Any suggestions for proven ones to keep an eye out for?

[Waltermelon]

Calimagic is pretty standard for a cal mag supplement. I personally like cutting edge solutions 3 part nutes and during flowering I use the CES sugaree.

[DoctorJohnson]

> I'm planning on using coco coir and perlite medium but still need to research available nutrients. Any suggestions for proven ones to keep an eye out for?
Do this. http://www.growweedeasy.com/coco-coir
It's pretty much all there. If your water doesn't have a lot Ca & Mg (that is, you have soft water or are using reverse osmsis), plan on Ca/Mg for sure in coco.

You don't need to spend a fortune or have a dozen jugs of magic whatever, just Nebula's recommendation of GH Floraseries (3 bottles) with CaliMagic gives awesome results with lot of light and TLC. That and maybe a bottle of pH Down. Seriously, before adding $100 worth of additives, try just the basics and you'll see you don't need more.

> I did see a couple of mentions about dropping lights on plants... I will try very hard to not do that!
And fans, too.

[Locrian99]

I had a duct reducer take out a branch my first grow.

[DaJudge]

Thanks Doc,

Made some orders today. I have Canna Coco A+B

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003VN7272/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cal Mag

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013QLCWC8/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?psc=1

Coco coir bricks and perlite, Digital PH tester and PH up and down as well.

Trying to get my head around nutrient schedules now. I think by the time I have everything ready to go in the next week or so I should have a handle of it... I'll be here asking questions if I'm struggling!

I ordered a 3 pack of seeds from Seedsman as well. Northern Express auto

https://www.seedsman.com/en/northern...eminised-seeds.

I will try to do a comprehensive grow log as I go so I can get help when I screw up 😭

Cheers!

[RosettaStoned]

Woo! Canna
Here you go http://www.cannagardening.com/growguide
Tank size will be the container you mix in, disregard 3 and 5 if you don't have a meter.

[DoctorJohnson]

Looks like good, name-brand nutes. Should work fine.
> disregard 3 and 5 if you don't have a meter.
I've gotta say, I really like having a pH meter and a PPM meter. They can tell you so much. And they don't just tell you about your fertilizer and your grow, they actually help to teach you what's going on and how to grow better. For example, my current coco grow has recirculating nutrients, and it's fascinating and instructive to see not just what I'm mixing but how that mix changes as the plant uses it.

So a pH meter and a bottle of pH 7.0 calibration liquid and a PPM meter--about 50 bucks will do it unless you want to buy a fancier meter.

One more thing since I'm running my mouth: a logbook. I keep my notes in Excel spreadsheets and I am amazed not just how much they help a grow but what a useful reference they are to go back and look at with later grows.

Good luck with your grow!

[DaJudge]

Ok, so... some of the bits I had ordered have started arriving. I made the decision to grow with a small tent, it's bigger than a space bucket and should be plenty of space for a mid sized plant (40cm x 40cm x 120cm). Part of the reason for this size was that it would fit inside a wardrobe without any modification for that stealthy grow.

I also got a cheap 300w led lamp (80w actual draw) which should be enough for a single plant. The plan is to upgrade this lamp after a couple of grows anyway. It only cost £35 so I'm not expecting a great deal.

I have a bucket full of water relaxing ready to pre load with nutrients to hydrate the coco coir brick tonight, oh up and down here.

Light is currently running in the tent with the fan so that I get an idea of the temps and rh I can expect and they look fine, humidity is low (~30%) but I expect that to come up when I add a pot full of damp coir. No intake or extraction running yet but all looking good so far.

I'm looking forward to trying to actually growing something!

Current spend is around £200 (GBP) and I expect to yield about 1oz every 10 -12 weeks. Obviously strain and train dependent. I do still need to add extraction and filter but a bit nearer flowering time so I have 4 or 5 weeks to get that which should take my total cost up to around £250 which will be everything I need for at least 3 grows. Then it's just seeds and nutes.

[Locrian99]

Just when I think I have everything I need I find something. Not sure what you’re training technique is but if you’re planning on doing a lot of lst stuff I really recommend going to the hardware store and buying 10 or 12 gauge coated wire I can buy it by the foot at my local hardware store and it works way better than the plant twist ties etc. although sometimes I combine the two. Good luck.

[DaJudge]

Hey Locrian, my other hobby is building and flying racing drones so high quality 12 gauge silione couned wire is something I have plenty of but I did pick up some soft coated garden wire but I think that it may be a bit stiff for young stems. I've never been hands on with a cannabis plant before so I have no idea how soft young shoots are. All part of the learning process I suppose!

I do plan on some bending and training to make use of the space I have and keep the height down but certainly no topping on the first grow... Maybe later.

Seeds and fabric pot should be here tomorrow... fingers crossed I should started getting a seed wet on Saturday!

[Locrian99]

Nice! Waiting for them to pop up is exciting and stressful lol

[RosettaStoned]

Drone racing looks like an awesome, and expensive hobby!

[DaJudge]

It can be quite expensive but It is a great way to spend a fair sized chunk of change. I've had some expensive crashes and there is always a good excuse to build another one!

[Locrian99]

Here’s an example of how much you can manipulate them.

[DaJudge]

That is some pretty firm treatment right there! I don't think I've seen an example like that so far!

How old would you say that plant was? Would that be possible on an auto? After some practice of course 😂

[Locrian99]

that plant is a little over 5 weeks I think there. I stunted then a little early. She really took off after that. That pic was taken Feb 7th. You can do that with auto’s Green75 does with a lot of success check out his thread on here. I’ve got a thread on the grow that that plant is part of going you can see the pics throughout the process of getting there and after. Added a couple pics of it on Feb 19th so 12 days later

[DurbanBoy]

Holy cow is that mainlined and pegged down?
I think I have started training a bit late the plants 30cm high and I have just bent down the 4 main cola's that came off a FIM.

PS. DaJudge if you need a recommendation on a cheap Carbon Filter Kit that's working like a beaut from amazon let me know.

[Locrian99]

Yea that was topped at the third and the excess removed, pretty much just followed nebulas instructions on the site.