New grower, old doubts ;)

[Totoca]

Hi(gh) from Portugal,

im starting this new journey to grow my own weed for personal use and as a newbie I have all the old questions that comes along with it.
that being said, I’m trying to make as much research as I can over everything and anything that I have doubts, have a small background with bonsais and I’m somewhat comfortable around feeding schedules, transplants and nutrient plans but nothing compared to this scale.

I’m making a project with all the essentials to my garden and have everything right to start in the middle of next month.
I’m thinking on buying a dark room 4 by 4 grow tent from secret jardin and get the phlizon 2000 with the 4 Cree cobs, the lights are definitely the most difficult to get on my country, without having to declare it to customs XD but I’m able to get one, as soon as I commit to the space and lights will get all the remain accessories like Carbon filter, in-line fan, clipper fans, Heater and humidifier, and have from start a ph/tds meter.

Does anyone had a previous or current experience with the lights that can give me an insight if they are recommended and if they will cover the 4by4 space?

I’m still struggling to choose between auto and photo, from my research autos are more easy to manage and faster to grow but any mistake and you will pay latter in flowering As on the photo side I can control/correct the mistake, that I know I will make, But they will take more time. Should I start with autos and then give a run with photos??

Also regarding nutrients and soil brands, we don’t have straight access to a lot of them but if someone has the time and the will I can post the ones I have access to see what’s more suitable for me and my garden, being Biobizz and GH the ones on the top of my list.

Please hit me with any comments/suggestion/directions
Thanks in advance and grow on

[Canuck147]

Welcome to this forum Totoca - ask away.

I'll start by saying that I only grow autoflowers - started with photos - but I won't go back to photoperiod plants. Reason being I can't get my tent totally blacked out without covering all the vents.

I have an Optic 4 light that has 4 Cree COB lights in it - works great.

Be careful if you are going to use a hot soil.

Spend extra money to get quality seeds - genetics is everything.

[SoOrbudgal]

2nd that opinion from Canuck147

[Totoca]

Canuck147 SoOrbudgal Ty for the welcoming and the time taken.
Canuck147 after your soil comment I went to research it and found out that back in the days they really cooked the medium .
so after a brain storm I’m gonna start with autos, I think that personally the photos will give me more satisfaction just cause of the bonsai background but definitely more work, will run autos in the 1st run and then will try photos to have a comparison.
so let’s open the door to the questions XD and thanks or sorry in advance once again,

Are 6 plants too much to start with? And will my 4by4 be enough with my light set up?

regarding soils, I think I will go with like 20/80 or 30/70 with coco and soil, been searching for Fox farm soil but it’s impossible to get in Portugal or Spain directly, I could try to get it from amazon/eBay but if the price ascends over a certain amount it will be stuck in customs plus the cost of the shipping adding the weight isn’t worth it.
so I’m gonna add some brands and lines that I’ve got direct access and if you have any insight or work with this brands let me know,

Biobizz- light, all-mix, pre-mix and humus
Atami- light grow, bi grow
Plagron- royal mix, bat mix
CANNA- professional, plus, bio plus, seed mix

this are the ones that seems more reliable and I’ve read some positive reviews/grow vids with Biobizz and Atami lines.
for nuts I’ve got a wider range of options

top crop
advanced hydroponics of Holland
advanced natural power
atami b’cuzz
biobizz
hesi
guanokalong
plagron
cannabiogen
trabe
growth technology
general hydroponics europe
advanced nutrients
atami ATA
thc
can you single out 3/4 that I can really rely on?

regarding genetics, for now I still didn’t made that many research on it but now that I’ve decided to go with autos will be the next thing to really dig in, I’ve been on the Royal queen seeds website and they seem reasonable but will search for other options. What are the ones you guys normally use?

[SoOrbudgal]

Well for me the keep it simple stupid works LOL i find autos don't like hot soil meaning ferts already in it. Light fluffy well drained potting mix. I've used Seedsman and others there are so many now days.

[RagWeedDWC]

I agree with @Canuck147 I will never go back to photo's, but in my very limited experience growing auto's I do not see the small and quick part, seems they are very bushy and takes a while to mature. I'm positive most of that is from the fact I buy Sativa dominant seeds. Looks like you have a great plan and as SoOrbudgal stated, keep it simple.

[Canuck147]

Six plants in a 4×4 will work - check manufacturers specifications for light coverage - as in - will it cover the whole area.

Use fabric pots - 3 gallon is sufficient.

Run your lights 18/6 - 20/4 - or even 24/0.

I don't know much about those nutrients you have listed guess you'll have to research yourself. Only ever used General Hydroponics which I found difficult to understand their ratios plus I found it easy to overnute with GH.

I use Green Planet trio with their ProCal - been using last 2 years. - easy to use and never burned my plants ny giving them too much. I give my plants - and my seedlings - full strength nutes according to the manufacturer - and my plants are thriving.

Autoflowers are fun to grow - i always always have plants in flowering - by staggered starts.. The way I have it growing - I'll have a harvest about every month.

Good luck growing.

[SoOrbudgal]

Yes 3gal fabric perfect for autos. Like the above folks have stated nothing as quick as autos 90days or less seed to harvest with indica hybrids longer with sativa. I have 2 lemon skunk that are approaching 75days from seed and still throwing out white hairs but fat hard golf ball nugs.

[qpwoeiruty]

I agree but I'm coming at a slightly different angle... I think you should do autos because it means you can run a sort of "perpetual harvest" without having 2 tents (one for veg one for flowering). Having a harvest every month is good because it can be an overwhelming amount of plant to process (dry, cure, make extracts etc) if you are harvesting 9 plants at a time but harvesting 3 every month is not so bad. It also means you can get away with less drying and curing space.

Everyone does it differently but rather than use low nutrition soil for autos and nute throughout, I do use hot soil. I use a handful (about 100g of FBB and about 60g epsom salts in about 25/30 litres of compost with a further 5 litres of vermiculite. It just means the nutes are right there when they need them and plant care is reduced to watering, LST and some defoliation.

4x4 tent is great, lots of room but hard to access the plants at the back of you scrog, or if you are cramming the plants in. A lot of people try to get 1 (auto) plant per sq ft but I am of the opinion that what you gain in extra plants you wipe out in light per plant as the my plants tend to spead to at least 1'4" (40cm), I think 9 plants max for the space. Ideally 3 in 3 out every month. I do 2 in 2 out with a smaller tent that is more rectangular for easier access to plants at the back in order to cover 2 people who smoke all day. The downside of autos is occasionally you get a really low yielding crappy plant, but if you are harvesting an ounce per plant then you would be getting something like 3 ounces per month, so if one plant is bad and you get a bad harvest from it once in a while you will probably still have enough weed for you and another person anyway, especially if you have built up a bit of an stockpile (it is hard to go through more than a quarter per person per day isn't it?)

I'm not going to comment on the lights because I have only recently started using LED and feel there are people MUCH more qualified to answer that bit on here, but for reference I use a single sp3000 in a 4ftx2ft tent.

[Totoca]

SoOrbudgal Canuck147 qpwoeiruty RagWeedDWC ty for the green knowledge💪🏼👌🏻.

Always with the KISS and having fun while doing it on my mind, I’m almost on the end of the project with the major decisions taken to go to the buying phase.

regarding the lights I’ve saw the PAR chart but also saw some reviews that they are a little unreliable for that Chinese brand, but with the reviews of the cobs added I will take the risk and go for it.

will use the Biobizz line and start with a 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended doses and pump up the qt along the way.

for the soil, saw some reviews of their brand all mix soil being to hot for autos and Just some having some good results so will start with the light Mix and will add a small amount of coco and perlite (rinse them with water first to remove dust and salts). When flowering I will buy some guano to add, wormcastings is also something that I can add to the medium from start or just when flowering and I’m already suffering from that newbie feeling of given them more that they really need😎??

I’ve saw some videos and ways for the perpetual growth and it’s something I will definitely go for, will have this 1st run with autos and then with photos to decide with will suit me the best. If in the end I have to buy another small tent for the seed/veg state so be it.

For the pots will go with the fabric ones, was considering the 5gl for 4plants and 3gl for 6 but I will have difficult access to the side so for the back it will be hell, the reason for 6 it’s for the variety that allows me 3 different strains vs 2, and that’s my biggest doubt for the moment.

Will go with a 6inch fan and carbon filter and wanted to ask if this will indeed remove all the smells or just part of it? Cause I will be growing on my marquise, and will drill a hole for the exhaust on the wall to the outside so the outtake will not stay inside.
It’s open on one of the sides to the exterior and some protection on the edges so the side of the tent will not have direct sunlight ever, what kind of issues do you guys think I will face due to this conditions? In the future I will have the option to move then to an indoor space but for now this is the spot and for being so particular I dont have any feedback from my research.


went on a genetics research and it’s a world on its own, read awesome reviews of Mephisto and went to try and get them but the autos are all out of stock on the relatively close bank seeds, will start with Humboldt blue dream, 420fastbuds gorila glue and zkittles, or just 2 of them if decide to go with 5gl pots, what do you think and have you work with them in the past?

regarding co2, should I get an exhale bag from scratch or at all?

sorry once again for the barrage of questions but I’m getting this dialed in and think I’m gonna create a post/jornal when this start so I can get the maximum input from the community that has been awesome so far, so thanks for that green knowledge and keep it coming 😜👌🏻.


Obrigado and grow on 🤘🏻