building a grow

[MediGrower]

Hi im slowly getting the bits together for my first grow

already aquired below...

tent 80x80x180 green cube
light telos 0008
carbon filter and fan ducting etc
nft system (just need the rockwool cubes + peat plugs)
ph and ec pens

any suggestions or reccomendations on other basics or must have bits of kit would be great

also have a second query Re. plant spacing

the tent I have has a 80x80 floor space the NFT system is 40 x70 so could in theory fit two sytems with 1-3 plants in each tray and very ;little remaining floor space for fans etc?
however would 6 be too many plants in that space? if so could the 80 x 80 be shared between 4 plants 2 in each tray or would it be better 2 trays 1 plant in each so 2 plants sharing the 80x80 space.

i ask in part as id like to run 2 trays to be able to grow 2 strains for day and night time medications without fear of one strain taking more or less nutrients from the resevoir as could happen with dif strains in same tray, giving me nightmares when it comes to keeping nutrients balanced or leading to errors being my first grow.
but if floor space determines the number of plants then i will use that to decide one or two trays/strains

any advice/info greatly appreciated

[MediGrower]

Hey MediGrower,

Sounds like you've been out and got yourself a decent setup! Exciting times indeed!

As far as using the space goes, there's no correct formula. You can grow less plants and train them out or get another tent and do a SOG. Both has it's merits and shortcomings.

Personally, I would lean towards more plants when using an NFT system. They're designed for short plants and fast turnover. Two systems would be tight but would fit your requirements and indeed allow you to run different strains. Proceed with caution though. Pick your strains wisely or you could end up with a fight in your hands. Sativa will grow tall and outshadow shorter varieties and you can end up with less bud because the plants put all their energy in competing for light realestate. Choose plants with similar heights and flowering times.

One more thing to consider is choice of rockwool. Get the correct blocks, make sure the rockwool gullies are positioned to allow the water to flow. Another mistake I see a lot with new NFT growers is putting your plants in early. It's important that you have a very good rootball before switching the pumps on or the cube can get waterlogged and the plants can get lazy as well as anerobic bacteria sets in and things go south.

Hope this helps buddy! Anymore questions just holla at ya boi :)

[MediGrower]

Hi grumpygrower

yes slowly getting there :)
due to reduced mobility and all being online delivery ive had to do a bit at a time and been waiting on green cube stock, but finally getting to the checklist stage now for any last minute bits or essentials... i want to have all the gear as being my first time i have no idea...

yes i felt would be a little tight for the kit but provided i dont need floor space for fans or anything it should be just right.
this is if going for 2 strains.
i already have one NFT tray just debating on buying a secong to have 2 strains come harvest. i appreciate the tent size limits Grams per M2 and 2 plants divides that by 2 and so on with a seed avg of 550 per m2 for the varieties ive chosen which are both in the indica leaning category suited to SOG or similar with a short stocky appearance.

so with 2 plants this in theory means could see 10z per plant in a 1m x 1m with 80% of that in a 80x80 although thats unlikey for my first run id be happy with anywhere near that i think as its percy for med use only.

ah ive not purchsed rockwool as yet am weighing up 3" or 4" blocks? so any thought on that would be great before i go grab them.

thanks again for advice

[seymore_budz]

Hi grumpygrower

yes slowly getting there :)
due to reduced mobility and all being online delivery ive had to do a bit at a time and been waiting on green cube stock, but finally getting to the checklist stage now for any last minute bits or essentials... i want to have all the gear as being my first time i have no idea...

yes i felt would be a little tight for the kit but provided i dont need floor space for fans or anything it should be just right.
this is if going for 2 strains.
i already have one NFT tray just debating on buying a secong to have 2 strains come harvest. i appreciate the tent size limits Grams per M2 and 2 plants divides that by 2 and so on with a seed avg of 550 per m2 for the varieties ive chosen which are both in the indica leaning category suited to SOG or similar with a short stocky appearance.

so with 2 plants this in theory means could see 10z per plant in a 1m x 1m with 80% of that in a 80x80 although thats unlikey for my first run id be happy with anywhere near that i think as its percy for med use only.

ah ive not purchsed rockwool as yet am weighing up 3" or 4" blocks? so any thought on that would be great before i go grab them.

thanks again for advice

I think the grams per m2 is a very inaccurate measurement as lots of factors come into play. I much prefer gram per watt but since the rise of LED, that too has become more inaccurate and now we must use umol/J etc. All interesting stuff and I'm sure you'll know more once you progress.

As far as blocks are concerned, I prefer 3". NFT is about getting a perfect air/nutrients ratio and more rockwool makes that harder. I much prefer Atami B’Cuzz Mixed Fibre - 3” large hole rockwool over Grodan blocks as it has a much more rigid structure. DO NOT SQEEZE the cubes whatever you do :)

[Josh]

If I could make one suggestion, I would sprout one seed and grow a mother real quick. If you put it in coco you could literally take clones 3 weeks from sprout, she'll grow quick

Reason for the clones is consistency. Like Grumpy mentioned, you want them to be the same height.
Clones from the same mom will finish at the same time, and you also won't have to worry about one strain not liking the nutes.

Usually new growers ignore this advice because they want plants NOW! But if I could do it all over I'd never run different strains at the same time, especially in a hydro setup

Just my 2 cents good luck buddy

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[MediGrower]

thanks for input guys

on th grams per m2 it was just for the purpose of estimaton when contemplating dividing the space with the space delivering x then knowing id be dividing that by the number of plants i would never expect the figures they quote as so many variables..
thanks im just getting the RW blocks now so thats great info and i will check out the mix fibre blocks you reccomend. sound advice as i can imagine me squeezing the block instinctively thankyou seymore

yes i agree on the mother side of things as cuttings appeal for a few reasons and was my intention to take some cuttings from the first seeds to start the next crop quicker. but your idea sounds good to grow a mother or two maybe in pots to begin with then take cuts and go from there as that leads to the other point re differing nute requirements within the nft system.
having the cuts could make my life a lot easier with keeping nutes balanced and bonus quicker turn over, and shorter stockier plants.

i have some fem seeds coming pinapple chunk & wedding cake plus white widow and bruce banger freebies TY seedsman.
and intended to keep it to 1-2 of the same strain in each system to limit the fluctuation issues with the nute solution but can be differences between seeds even so if i could get cuts ideally I would start there.. so maybe worth considering your idea and grow the fem seeds take some cuts of the best looking. like you say bit more effort and patience but maybe worth it in long run.

is there a way to cold store cuttings? i only have the one tent/grow space to work with..

thanks again

[Josh]

thanks for input guys

on th grams per m2 it was just for the purpose of estimaton when contemplating dividing the space with the space delivering x then knowing id be dividing that by the number of plants i would never expect the figures they quote as so many variables..
thanks im just getting the RW blocks now so thats great info and i will check out the mix fibre blocks you reccomend. sound advice as i can imagine me squeezing the block instinctively thankyou seymore

yes i agree on the mother side of things as cuttings appeal for a few reasons and was my intention to take some cuttings from the first seeds to start the next crop quicker. but your idea sounds good to grow a mother or two maybe in pots to begin with then take cuts and go from there as that leads to the other point re differing nute requirements within the nft system.
having the cuts could make my life a lot easier with keeping nutes balanced and bonus quicker turn over, and shorter stockier plants.

i have some fem seeds coming pinapple chunk & wedding cake plus white widow and bruce banger freebies TY seedsman.
and intended to keep it to 1-2 of the same strain in each system to limit the fluctuation issues with the nute solution but can be differences between seeds even so if i could get cuts ideally I would start there.. so maybe worth considering your idea and grow the fem seeds take some cuts of the best looking. like you say bit more effort and patience but maybe worth it in long run.

is there a way to cold store cuttings? i only have the one tent/grow space to work with..

thanks again

Cold store cuttings?
If you only have the one tent you can use a large cardboard box for a mother room, that's what I did for a while. Not ideal but it works


Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[MediGrower]

i was wondering if anyone had any success with cold stored cutings. can be done with other fruiting crops.

basically you put the clones into a dormant state, then wake them up and use them when needed.

that i guess is the other option to run a small box with strip light

[seymore_budz]

i was wondering if anyone had any success with cold stored cutings. can be done with other fruiting crops.

basically you put the clones into a dormant state, then wake them up and use them when needed.

that i guess is the other option to run a small box with strip light

So I didn't know this was a thing until I just researched it. Here's what I found.

1) most if not all information points to this only works with hardwood cuttings.
2) you would need a very controlled environment to pull this off
3) What I read was only 50% of the stored cuttings survived after a 4 month period in tests.

I'm going to say no I don't think this is possible with Cannabis. But try it and prove me wrong because if this did work, it would be fooking awesome

[B.G.]

A month or two at most for cutting kept in the fridge.
Gotta be a big cutting with at least four nodes on it because you'll end up removing a couple to get a fresh cut with no air block .
They will take longer to root and will need a little more tender loving care but it does work .


from a green and pleasant land