Benjamin Squier
Everybody knows it was Herbie Hancock
Hey all, I've been poking around with the autoflower idea since nearly its inception (I think I first stumbled upon it in 2010), however, didn't really think I could get away with it in a 900ft, 1 br apartment, with my wife. Now, we've been in a house for going on 3 years, things have settled down, and I've got my own room/workshop in the basement. I've purchased nearly everything I need; I'm ready to be self-sufficient. Therefore, I'm faced with some options/questions: grow cabinet size, is my soil properly supplemented (dual layer), how do I properly wire my lighting configuration, SKROG? Buckle up, it's gonna be a bit of a marathon.
Soil/pots: washed 4L (*edit: 4 GALLON) buckets with mild dish detergent, double rinsed with hot tap water. Numerous holes drilled in the bottom of the bucket (15 holes) and another 12 holes (1/4" holes) 1" above the bottom on the perimeter. 1/2" - 1/4" washed stone screenings were added to a depth of 2" and lightly sterilized with 95%EtOH. After setting for 30 seconds the alcohol was washed vigorously with water from an outdoor spigot for a minute and allowed to drain.
Soil: BATCO light soil mix .85 N, .15K, .10P. 8 cups of medium vermiculite was added to this for aeration/volume. Added to the stone screen layer, the total occupied volume of the bucket is 70%. Nutrients that I've added to this layer (ALL in 1/4 cup quantities): guano (10-3-1); EWC (additional layer placed atop strata); bone meal (4-12-0); rock phosphate (0-3-0); urea (45-0-0); blood meal (12-0-0).
Here arises my first question - is there enough potassium available??
The remaining volume, above EWC layer, 30% of the pot is to be filled with unfortified soil.
Lighting/grow closet: what size would be best to utilize my lights, do I need more lights? Wiring at the end of this section. 3 CFL e26 socket compatible circular 6" long @65 watts, 3900 lumens, color temp 4100k (to be used throughout the grow) hung from mobile ceiling; 4 triple tube flat CFL 8" long 6" wide (4 pin socket) @65 watts, 3400 lumens, 6500k (placed on walls? To be slowly turned off as flowing progresses); 4 CFL incandescent style (bumped to 8 as the triple tubes get turned off) @19 watts, 950 lumens, color temp 2490k. Overall, this makes output produce 531 watts/29100 lumens; flowering 347 watts/19100 lumens.
Cabinet sizes that seem best to me: 3' long x 1.5' deep x 6' tall or 4' x 2' x 6'. Interior to be painted brilliant flat white. For my mobile ceiling, should I paint it or should I get a reflectors?
Wiring - I'm comfortable doing general stuffs, as long as I can just plug all my lights in, rather than a hard wire, though I do have spare breakers in the box if I need to tap into that.
I guess other questions can be addressed as time passes & $$ replenishes itself. That's my stuffs right now, any and all input is welcomed. Thanks for reading. This is my new year's resolution, so I hope to have my closet constructed and be germinating right at the start of 2017. Maybe I'll drop seeds with The Ball...
Soil/pots: washed 4L (*edit: 4 GALLON) buckets with mild dish detergent, double rinsed with hot tap water. Numerous holes drilled in the bottom of the bucket (15 holes) and another 12 holes (1/4" holes) 1" above the bottom on the perimeter. 1/2" - 1/4" washed stone screenings were added to a depth of 2" and lightly sterilized with 95%EtOH. After setting for 30 seconds the alcohol was washed vigorously with water from an outdoor spigot for a minute and allowed to drain.
Soil: BATCO light soil mix .85 N, .15K, .10P. 8 cups of medium vermiculite was added to this for aeration/volume. Added to the stone screen layer, the total occupied volume of the bucket is 70%. Nutrients that I've added to this layer (ALL in 1/4 cup quantities): guano (10-3-1); EWC (additional layer placed atop strata); bone meal (4-12-0); rock phosphate (0-3-0); urea (45-0-0); blood meal (12-0-0).
Here arises my first question - is there enough potassium available??
The remaining volume, above EWC layer, 30% of the pot is to be filled with unfortified soil.
Lighting/grow closet: what size would be best to utilize my lights, do I need more lights? Wiring at the end of this section. 3 CFL e26 socket compatible circular 6" long @65 watts, 3900 lumens, color temp 4100k (to be used throughout the grow) hung from mobile ceiling; 4 triple tube flat CFL 8" long 6" wide (4 pin socket) @65 watts, 3400 lumens, 6500k (placed on walls? To be slowly turned off as flowing progresses); 4 CFL incandescent style (bumped to 8 as the triple tubes get turned off) @19 watts, 950 lumens, color temp 2490k. Overall, this makes output produce 531 watts/29100 lumens; flowering 347 watts/19100 lumens.
Cabinet sizes that seem best to me: 3' long x 1.5' deep x 6' tall or 4' x 2' x 6'. Interior to be painted brilliant flat white. For my mobile ceiling, should I paint it or should I get a reflectors?
Wiring - I'm comfortable doing general stuffs, as long as I can just plug all my lights in, rather than a hard wire, though I do have spare breakers in the box if I need to tap into that.
I guess other questions can be addressed as time passes & $$ replenishes itself. That's my stuffs right now, any and all input is welcomed. Thanks for reading. This is my new year's resolution, so I hope to have my closet constructed and be germinating right at the start of 2017. Maybe I'll drop seeds with The Ball...
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