New Grower Can I ask your advice?

[70sdiver]

I'd get an T-5 8 bulb and a fan 4 smart pots 5 gallon some good auto seeds and start growing.4 larger auto's like afghan kush Ryder will do great under it.Starting out doesn't cost much you really don't have to have a tent,your in an attic should be able to vent high so smell shouldn't be a problem.

 

[knocker powell]

Hey hey!

The water is definitely a factor that will need considering, I'm lucky that we have one of those foldable loft ladders that just folds up and down into the landing ceiling, so shifting up and down a few times a day isn't a huge issue to me, at least anyway!

My girl is using approximately 2.5 litres a week, so I keep 2 x 5 litre water bottles up there, one with that weeks feed in it and another with plain tap water so I have plenty at hand for my needs for now, and hopefully that'll work for the rest of the grow. Obviously additional plants means more water required though.

You will also consider drainage, for the most part there won't be any spare water, what you put in the soil will be used by the plant but most feeding schedules recommend a flush half way through between veg and flowering, and that means running 3 or 4 times the volume of your pot through the soil to run off, and that's going to be interesting for me... It may mean having to move the plant down into the bathroom so I can use the showerhead and then back up again with a pot full of wet soil which will be quite a weight too. That or build a make shift sink upstairs and draining out the soffit next to the hot water overflow pipe, but that also means taking maybe 50 litres of water up there...

All fun and games!

Isn't it just! Am learning so much stuff here. Peteey010 made a good point about my potential loft grow and the presence of police helicopters with their pesky thermal imaging cameras - i suppose being across the water that wouldn't necessarily be a major concern for you - i'm, a bit worried about it here though given i'm in london and we do have a lot of them whizzing about - all fun and games though eh!

 

[knocker powell]

Hi Knocker...is it ok if I throw my two pennies worth.
I only started growing indoors last year after having grown nothing but photo's outdoors for years.
If your growing just for you and think 2/3 oz will last you then personally I would go for an 80x80x160 tent which will fit inside a standard wardrobe. I wouldn't grow in your loft for a couple of reasons, one of them especially seeing as though you live in the Smoke. You get a lot of helicopter traffic in London and the met have heat sensitive cameras on both their choppers, not a problem in the summer but in the winter a tent in the loft even with led's or cfl's will be warm enough to melt frost and give a heat source for the camera. Secondly going back to frost, in the winter if your loft is properly insulated then no or little heat will warm it from your house so when it's sub zero and frosty outside the inside of your loft won't be much warmer, plus as mentioned before it's a ball ache hauling water etc up a ladder.
as I said I would go for an 80x80x160 tent with a 300w dual spectrum cfl for your first couple of grows just to get the feel of indoor growing.
I use plant magic soil in 15l pots so that would suit your needs too. Location location location, I would try to put it in a wardrobe either in where the meters are or like me I have it in my bedroom with a padlock on the zipper to keep the kids out.
With the tent being 80x80 there will be enough room inside for extractor fan and filter so the only thing showing externally will be a little length of exhaust ducting, this will make the whole set up look more just like a storage unit, being just a big upright rectangle so to speak and make it a lot more hideable, I hang the bedspread over mine if we have guests round and it looks just like a piece of furniture with a cover on it
Strain wise, most auto's are now yielding 2oz upwards, I just pulled 4g over 3oz from one plant so I'm well happy with that as it lasts between harvests.
I hope this helps a bit, it all sounded so much simpler and shorter in my head....the joys of smoking your own bud, you can probably tell I'm a bit baked.
Anyway man if you want to know anything just give us a shout there's plenty of very knowledgeable friendly people on here who will come to your aid should you need it.
Happy growing and I look forward to your first journal

- Peteey, if that's how you write when you're baked then bake some more, brother! great advice mate. thank you very much for stopping by and taking the time to help. great point about the chopper coppers - we do get a fair bit of them over here. it seems odd that nobody has created a material that can guard against the dread of thermal imaging camera.

re your wardrobe grow - what's the odour like and how do you manage it?

also, just read your most recent journal. wow, you had a job on your hands there but hats off for pulling it round so brilliantly - i hope you're enjoying feasting on the fruits of your labour! I did notice in one of your posts that you mention you'd been to Spannabis. How mad - I had a mate round last night and I was saying that we should get over there for next years one! How was it? would you recommend?

Dude, thank you again for your great advice and v nice to make your acquaintance - I love this site, so many good people with boundless enthusiasm and a willingness to share their experience and knowledge. it's how it should be innit!

have a great day peteey. cheers mate, kp.

 

[knocker powell]

I'd get an T-5 8 bulb and a fan 4 smart pots 5 gallon some good auto seeds and start growing.4 larger auto's like afghan kush Ryder will do great under it.Starting out doesn't cost much you really don't have to have a tent,your in an attic should be able to vent high so smell shouldn't be a problem.

great advice sir. thank you! you're absolutely right - it doesn't have to cost that much. i'm getting so much great advice on this site and it's down to guys like you. - much appreciated. cheers! kp

 

[Peteey010]

My first indoor tent was a 80x80 which I borrowed from a friend. It fitted perfectly inside one of the sliding doors on my wardrobe, for odour I use a 4 inch carbon filter and inline fan.
I have a bigger tent now 120x120 and the 4 inch filter is still good for it, I have the filter raised slightly off the floor with the fan sat directly on top of that, with the ducting going straight up and out the special hole for it.
Spannabis....what a hoot yes I would thoroughly recommend it, did you know we had our own version of it here in the UK not so long ago, Product earth expo in Peterborough. It's on again next year, you can find them on facebook or here
www.productearthexpo.com
And thanks for the rep much appreciated

 

[Malevelo]

...potential loft grow and the presence of police helicopters with their pesky thermal imaging cameras - i suppose being across the water that wouldn't necessarily be a major concern for you

Yeah, heat will definitely be something else you will want to think about, police helicopters aren't a huge thing over here no, but in any case I have the chimney breast coming up through the loft and I have the tent up against that if any heat is ever detected it might just be explained by having a lit fire... I have to be honest and say this isn't something I consciously decided, it just appears to have worked out that way.

I've been thinking more about the tent, and if I was starting out again I would possibly consider going a bit larger, as my current plant is reaching out for the sides already and she's only half way through if that... either the 80 x 80 that @Peteey010 suggests, or the middle ground of a 60 x 60... my 40 x 40 is plenty suitable for my needs, but it's just looking a little cramped inside there

 

[knocker powell]

ahh man - am gonna check that for sure. cheers peteey. have a good day, sir!

 

[knocker powell]

Yeah, heat will definitely be something else you will want to think about, police helicopters aren't a huge thing over here no, but in any case I have the chimney breast coming up through the loft and I have the tent up against that if any heat is ever detected it might just be explained by having a lit fire...

- ahh, the fabled chimney breast defence! that's a sound idea, Malevelo. I like the cut of your jib, sir!

cheers for the grow tent advice. it's all so exciting. I'm like a toddler looking forward to christmas!

have a good day, sir.

 

[knocker powell]

- apologies - am finding my way around replying without quoting all of the text! still getting used to it!

 

[elsamurai]

hey KP. seems like the fellas have you lined out. I started with a diy cabinet and a mid range LED and small 23w cfls. its in a garage with no climate control, so heat and cold are an issue for me. during the winter I use 24/0 for lights to keep the heat up and summer 12/12 with lights on at night so as not to get too hot during the hottest part of the day.then added a carbon scrubber due to odor. I recommend getting a top quality scrubber as the smell will be over whelming. I also recommend an inline exhaust fan with a variable speed controller. this will help in controlling temps.
I then added a tent that fit in my cab as I had a few airleaks in the cab and it looks nicer. my space is 92x50x160cm and I usually can grow 3 plants comfortable. and something this small will not draw the attention of LEO a sit will show up as small heat signature like a water heater.now from the outside, it looks like a tool cabinet with no smell.
the best advice I can give is to keep it simple. its easy to mess up by trying to do too much lol. hope this helps and good luck to you. you've already done the best thing by coming to AFN. and do start a journal so we can follow along and offer advice when needed.