Hi, I recently started out with a tent that is falling apart a little bit with less than weeks worth of use. I’m confined to a closet, the closet is a tight fit depth wise, it varies around 24", you could say that the tent in there now is “snug”. It’s around 5’ in length, there’s a shelf with a middle support that I’m willing to remove if needed. Height wise the ceiling is 8’.
I was looking for a similar replacement this morning and started seeing 24x48x60 tents. I’m a beginner and so far I feel like I"m getting a handle on the env. in the 2x2, do you think a 2x4 would be much more of a challenge?
So far my challenges have been around light height & intensity, temperature and humidity, though with some guidance and experimentation it seems to be stabilizing, I’m assuming I can do the same but I’m wondering if I’d need different things.
Specifically, I’ve recently purchased a HLG 135W R V2, would I need to go bigger? I’m basically strapped at this point and going from the light I had to this one, plus all the little odds and ends make spending anymore right now impossible.
Would the yield be much different? My first grow is a GDP, I plan to keep it as low and bushy as possible and naively thought I could try to train the branches so she grew in a rectangle shape? (I’m asking this but have no idea if it’s really a thing lol).
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Ability to properly light is the biggest limitation, and your light covers 2x2 but not more.
A larger tent makes it easier to fit ancillary equipment in, like a heater. But your tent is going to be inside a closet, presumably in a reasonably comfortable space. And you can place those environmental units in the closet next to the tent.
You can always add a second 2x2 later, if we all survive.
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That’s not difficult. Wanna talk about how?
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Ah yeah, the flower footprint, good call! I can’t afford a bigger light and I’ve got a handle on the equipment in the 2x2 (lol the filter and fan were a fun challenge!) so I’ll keep it there. I’m also happy about not having to move everything around again :).
Over the last few days I’m noticing a lot of small pinholes showing up, the tent was $75, which in the scheme of tents seems cheap, so I don’t expect it to be 100% awesome but I’m nervous that the pinholes would turn into bigger holes, it also just doesn’t feel like a quality product honestly. The drop in bars for the top don’t even fit 100%. The reviews were 50/50, I was hoping I’d get a good one. I’ll keep looking for ones around the same size/price.
@KeystoneCops I can’t wait to talk about training her!
So yes please, staying with the 2x2, from what I’ve seen so far is that I’ll want to top (cut it off so the two branches grow out instead of one big one) at the 5th node (just confirming that’s the spot where it branches at for the fifth time AFTER it’s leaves from the seed) on the main stem when she gets that tall. Sorry for being so verbose, I’m really new and don’t want to keep any false assumptions in my head any longer than I have to.
I’m not sure when to do the other stuff, like bending branches, or if I’d want to setup a net, I guess a lot of that depends on how the grow goes after the early stages? I know these plants can produce big but I really must stay under 200 grams and prefer to stay under 100… that sounds silly saying out loud lol (I don’t even know if it’s possible with this setup). Being it’s the first one it’s all just learning and I’m going to be stoked with whatever the harvest brings, that being said I do want to learn how to add control and how my actions have an impact on that so I can get a reasonable idea of things.
I use black RTV/silicon sealant to seal the pinhole light leaks. I put a dab on my finger and press the RTV into the hole. Works well for me…some folks use duct tape for this.
If you are growing photo plants (not Autos) then those pinhole leaks could be a real problem during flower.
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Also, sit inside the tent with lights out, but with the closet door open, and all room/closet lights on. Wait 20m for your eyes to adjust to the dark. All those holes will be revealed. I cover them with tape so I know where to add RTV.
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@merlin44 You are truly the wizard behind Esther (the plant), thanks for the idea! - I can do that and tie down the poles at the tent and be happy. I got nervous because they seem to be multiplying. As a newb I’m at least moving the window fabric around a few times every few hours, I don’t want it to fall apart as the grow goes on but I’m really into the idea of not changing things if I don’t have to.
@KeystoneCops sounds like a fun thing to do after some medicine. I’ll do it now while it’s still easy to move everything around and because I want to secure those top poles.
I love this forum, thank you both :).
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The method I prefer for pruning (entirely LST is also an option):
Once you have about 6 nodes and you’re seeing healthy seven-leaflet leaves, you cut the apical meristem down between the 3rd and 4th nodes. That should encourage two new dominant stems that you start training sideways by pulling them down with foam tie or soft twine. You let them grow out to six or seven nodes before cutting back to the 5th, and taking away the 4th and 2nd node growth. So now [should] you have a plant with two dominant stems at each of four nodes (eight total.) You continue to tie, prune, tie, until your plant canopy is close to filling out the tent. You flip to flower, and wait 3 weeks. Meanwhile, you make a SCROG to match your tent. At 3 weeks of flowering, with distinct bud sites, you install the SCROG and press it into the canopy. You’ll need to tie the plant to the SCROG, using the nodes to help anchor. Keep in mind that it’s the fan leaves that drive the flower production, so you want to make sure they’re getting plenty of light and defoliate where they overlap.
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For some reason, I didn’t think I could do a SCROG with one plant in a 2x2 but challenge accepted :).
I copied your post into my Learnings doc, along with the VDP chart @merlin44’s shared.
My immediate challenges are getting out of early growth stage and into veg, she’s a week old today (submerged and then moved into soil in a solo cup a week ago) and understanding what happens next.
I’m planning on transplanting to a 3 gallon with 3lbs of KIND on the bottom and roots on top until 1" under the top of the pot (per KIND’s instructions). That soil hasn’t shipped yet, I’m honestly not sure when I’d need it but it’s bringing up an interesting thing for me regarding nutes. By some accounts I should start feeding her today, next week, or in 3 weeks. If I’m not using kind I’m not sure what to do just yet. I’m also thinking of just sticking with Roots organic (or doing HHOF/FF on bottom, with roots and coco coir mixed on top - mimicking KINDS setup in a way but with having to add nutes) because I’m nervous about the transplant stage and want to get it done sooner than later in-case it doesn’t work out well and I need to start over.
There seem to be so many variables regarding soil and nutes, I’m hoping that it ships soon and I can move her over and not have to worry about it for this grow.
Her initial leaves are really looking great today, she’s coming up on 24 hours of being in a way more dialed in environment. I think I really had the light height / intensity messed up for awhile, while having the rH a bit too low (mid 40s), it looks like she likes the changes, and/or lack of changes.
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She’s so cute! Congrats. What is the square thingy in the crib with her?
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