I’m about to embark on my first indoor grow. Here’s what I’ve settled on so far:
Space: 2x4 grow tent
Lighting: Quantum Board 260W (2 panel) v1 kit
Media: DWC (5 gal buckets)/rockwool cubes and clay pebbles
Food: General Hydroponics 3 step plus hydro guard and cal-mag’
Hoping to fit 4 buckets in the tent. (ordered, but not arrived yet)
I have 4 types of seed all from ILGM (all fem):
White Widow
BubbleGum
AK47
Gold Leaf
Looking to try out some different strains for medicinal purposes. So maximum yield is not as important as trying out different ones–but a quality bud is important so we can truly evaluate them. Lastly, intention is to turn 70% of the harvest into extracts for making edibles–I’ll likely vape/smoke the rest (my wife can’t stand the smoke, thus the edibles).
my question is: Should I try growing 1 of each type, or just a couple at once (2 of each?) or 4 the same?
At this point, planning on using the “main-lining” technique (seems easy enough) to ensure a relatively even canopy…but not sure how well that would work with different strains.
Any thoughts or concerns on the best approach to selecting what to start with?
Lots more questions, but staring with which seeds to grow seemed like a good place to start…
If you haven’t purchased the light yet I’d recommend the Rspec. I had a v1 and upgraded the boards last summer to Rspec and the difference is significant.
I’d recommend 2 plants in a tent that size backstage it is going to get crowded. As a comparison I have a 4x4, essentially 2 of yours, with 4 plants and it is going to get really busy before the end comes.
Of the 4 strains I like the AK the best for arthritis. I have yet to try the gold leaf.
I will ecco what @Bubblehead said aside from my recommendation is to grow white widow and AK first.
They are easy to grow strains that are quite potent. Save the other two for the next grow.
The gold leaf is a really nice one so save that for round 2 when you have a better handle on things.
Also soak your seeds for 24hr and pop them in a jiffy starter or a solo cup. Avoid the paper towel thing
If you have the v1 no biggy it’s a good light still, is it in 3k or 4k?
Yeah the guys are right, one plant can fairly easily fill a 4x4 tent so it all comes down to management. Mainlining may be unnecessary for a tight space? Maybe just a topping at the 3rd internode? And supercropping the resulting branches? That would keep veg relatively steady without the added stress.
@bubblehead, @nicky Thanks! Yes, I already bout the v1 lights–couldn’t resist the fantastic pricing on them now. If the added red might make a difference, I have a “300W” (yes, the quotes are intentional) blurple light (probably more like 75W) I could add to the room for flower. The V1 I bought is a 3K.
I’ve done some ebb-flow hydro in the past both indoor and outdoor with regular (yes, regular) vegetables with some success–but that system has just too many failure points…so DWC in buckets seemed like a simpler approach.
@nicky I’ll try your suggestion for starting…I was debating about the towels or going straight to the rockwool…you’ve pushed me over the edge.
Also, thanks for the suggestion on varieties…sounds like a reasonable plan–ak and white widow.
@cannabian The upside I see to mainlining is the nice even canopy, and limited effort required after the initial set of prunings. plus the risk of screwing up seems to be front-loaded…lol. I’ll do some more research and consider your suggestion of super cropping.
Planning on getting the seeds started in the next couple of days…so I’ll keep you all posted and I’m sure there’ll be more questions!
I topped a Johaar sequentially, i started at the 5th node and as the top created 4 more tops, I topped again after the second node of the new tops the 3rd node of the 4th, the 4th of the 3rd and so on. I want to see what this does? It looks perfectly symmetrical so far. Im going to play with pruning for symmetry for gigantic outdoor started indoor.
There is always a desire to grow as many different strains as you can, but I have learned different strains are very hard to keep in a single tent, (for me anyway). I have grown 4 plants in a 2x4 and it was too crowded. You have to stunt these large plants via SCROG or LST to make them fit and that is counter productive. Better to grow 2 in that space and best if they are the same strain.
Better yet, grow a single mother and clone the extra plants needed. Save the rest of the awesome ILGM seeds for down the road.
Did you strip below the 5th node? Sounds not all that different than main-lining…seems to me the theory is to have each cola to ultimately be the same distance from the roots. I’m very curious to see how yours works out.
@Reticence Thanks…I was afraid things might get crazy with 4 types…still leaning towards trying 2 (over eager and no patience probably…LOL) I figured Id try one of each of the 4 types I have from seed, then decide which we like best and grow a mother and try cloning. At that point I should be able to convince the wife I need more space (need a mother tent, right?, plus a bigger grow tent? Maybe a grow-room?..) Steady…first I need to prove to myself I can grow 1 or 2…
No I havent stripped anything. I am in town now or Id give a photo of it. I topped at the 5th node and then it grew a couple more so I pinched those. Meanwhile all the other nodes had branches too. So as they grew I progressively pruned as they began to reach the same height as the top most branches. Like a candelabra if you envision that.
I’d like to watch, also. I currently have a grow in a 2x4x5 tent going on. I have 2 nice sized trained plants, and 2 small young ones filling in. My plan was 3 biggies, but one showed male early. I agree, three plants of any large size would be too much for me to manage as a first time tent grower in this size tent. Some of these people around here would pull it off and end up looking like the cover of a high times magazine, but I’m not that skilled…yet!
Thanks! I dropped 2 seeds in water yesterday, 12 hours later they sank so moved them directly to rockwool. It also seemed like there was a little tiny tail poking through already, but I may have been imagining that.
Once I get things together I’ll likely start a grow journal. I found yours and see there’s lots to read there. I’m going to follow you as well!
Thanks @neo96789, this is a cool place. I’ve learned lots today. I put two lights together, learned about aloe as a cloning gel, and a guy explained an inside joke between him and his his wife to me. Have fun watching the rockwool imagining you see things. Soon you will.
