My new journey begins soon

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Well, it begins here fairly soon. I am deciding upon which two strains I want to grow and I have it narrowed down to LSD and Amnesia Haze. I am scouring around for ANY down-to-earth reviews regarding if the addition of the Ruderalis genetics has a significant impact on the potency/effectiveness of the cerebral effects or not and barring that, if I should jump into the water with both feet and try a feminized batch rather than an autoflower.

That aside, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of what I am going to be working with.

Basic Setup Logic
After dredging around, I got turned on to the AC Infinity line of products and for the most part, that is what I am going to be running with for the majority of the guts and bolts of my setup.

Tent
AC Infinity 2x4. I chose this size simply due to the size constraints of my living space. A townhouse shared by two roommates leaves me with essentially my own room to cultivate in and little else. What influenced my decision on the tent was the fact that it seemed to be made of quality materials and durable enough to give me peace of mind.

Intake/Exhaust
1x AC Infinity S6 as intake.
1x AC Infinity T6 as exhaust
1x AC Infinity 6" Carbon filter so my room doesn’t smell like Bob Marley, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Cheech & Chong has taken up residence with me.

This combination was chosen simply because I like the idea of being able to utilize the controller packaged with the T6 and have both fans working on the same hub to help control tent temperatures.

Lighting
1x Yintatech 600w grow light with UV/IR spectrums.

This part is what had me all boogered up. Budget semi-factored in, but the fact it touts to do a complete spectrum and was reasonably priced definitely influenced the decision. To the best I am able to understand, the 600w light seems that it will be plenty beefy enough to handle the smaller tent size I am working with. I am absolutely open to suggestions and advice as to what I should upgrade into if the general consensus among you veterans concludes I could do better.

Soil
1.5 cubic ft. bag of Foxfarm Ocean Forest

To the best of my research, this seems to be an all-around solid soil and from what I’ve read, it carries enough nutrients to cater to the needs of the plants for the first 30 days or so.

Plant Container
Five pack of 3 gallon Vivosun grow bags

Again, research lead me to feel confident that 3 gallon smart pots would be sufficient for what I am looking to do. While I was tempted to go with the 5 gallon option, it seemed to me that the 3 gallon size would keep things a bit more manageable for me with my first time grow.

Nutrients
1x 32oz Liquid nutrient trio from Foxfarm: Grow Big, Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom
1x 1qt of Cal-Mag Plus

This seems like a solid baseline to work from in terms of keeping my plants nourished. I am completely open to advice regarding a feeding schedule and how this particular aspect of growing works. I was also looking at the option of going with the trio pack from Foxfarm consisting of Open Sesame, Cha-Ching and Beastie Blooms. I have no idea if they can be used interchangeably or if one would perform better than the other. Advice in this matter would be warmly regarded!

Optional Bits-n-Bobs (not yet acquired)
Humidifier
Dehumidifier
Inkbird Humidity Controller
c02 generator - Though elsewhere on this forum I got turned on to the idea of mixing baker’s yeast and brown sugar in a 1/2 gallon milk jug to produce c02 for the ladies to gorge on.

Because I am now fortunate enough to work from home, I would have the time to dedicate to keeping attention to the plants far more closely. Right now the biggest questions I possess are

  1. Is the light I’ve chosen sufficient enough to get the job done properly?
  2. Of the two nutrient trio packs I mentioned, which is the better one to hedge my bets on or are both recommended?
  3. Are the optional pieces necessary?
  4. In my 2x4 grow space, should I begin with two plants or three?
  5. How best to start my seeds? I know soak them in a cup of water in a dark location, but after they pop, what kind of seedling medium do I transfer them into before homing them in the three gallon pots?

I know I am going to make mistakes. That’s okay, it’s part of the learning process. I just want to make sure that I’ve got all my ducks in a row and am going into this properly prepared before I pull the trigger on purchasing seeds. I am not looking to produce huge quantities. I just want what is produced to be at least decent quality.

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Congratulations on your new beginnings and welcome to the best forum and Community!

I use many of the same products you have mentioned (though I have never used the Infinity items) and think you have a very reasonable set up in the works.

I start my seedlings in Epsoma organic seed starter and when ready for their first transplant I layer my soils with FFOF on the bottom and FFHappy Frog on the top. I also use the FF nutes at half strength.

I personally would start a photo period plant as first attempt to help with the learning process. Autos can be more temperamental and won’t allow you the experience of actually flipping plants to flower through your direct manipulation of the light schedule.

I do not know the quality of your light but there are others who can comment. @dbrn32 @MattyBear

If you want to grab the attention of a particular grower in this forum - simply put the @ symbol in front of their name. @Covertgrower @Myfriendis410 and they will be tagged over to your thread.

I am just back to the forum after quite a break so I’m sure there are other helpful experienced growers I am not as familiar with.

I will be following your progress and wish you all the best on your grow! :+1:t3::deciduous_tree::blush:

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Looks like your planning out pretty well! Can’t wait to see some setup pics!

  1. You’ll need that entire product line you listed

  2. Those optional parts are not necessary and in your space an exchange of air will suffice

  3. Start with two plants

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This the one? This is a 60 watt light and will not suffice for full cycle in your 2x4. Check out something with white light samsung 301b/h and also includes diodes in the red spectrum. HLG is a popular manufacturer. There are others as well. You should spend more on your light than anything else you need to acquire. Most important piece for indoor growing.

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In general ruderalis is considered less potent due to its low thc content. This is not the full one size fits all explanation though either. There are other cannabinoids, and terpene profile can have different effect on the experience for individual users. Either way, I am in agreement that photo period plants offer more flexibility to new growers and are probably a better choice.

This may not work how you are expecting. Your exhaust with filter will move less air at the same speed than the intake is putting into your tent. Running at same speed as intake may cause tent to Ballon a little, which would probably lead to unfiltered air being pushed through seams and holes in tent. When using filter the best scenario is to keep tent under slight negative pressure condition so that all air leaving the tent is through the filter. To attain this you will likely have to run each fan in manual at different speeds, or ditch the intake fan and run only exhaust fan in auto. There is also some thought given to how the T controller operates. A lot of us don’t particularly like our fans to shut off.

Looking through your post, this is the only real hole in your planning. The light you posted is only a 60 watt “blurple”. It’s definitely not up to par with the rest of your equipment, and will not provide the experience you are looking for. This light will get you going if you already purchased it, but you will want something larger once your plants are a couple weeks old. Lights most of us are going to recommend will probably be in the $300-$500 range. Something like hlg-300L r-spec from horticulture lighting group.

This is fine. Sometimes a little hot for starting plants, but usually manageable.

You shouldn’t need more than 3 gallon fabric pot for indoor grow. If planning 2-3 plants in 2x4 these should be perfect.

Definitely not my favorite, but plenty capable of providing what plants need. I would plan on using at reduced strength and make sure to implement flush when schedule suggests. The dry pack is all supplements, if you use them should be in addition to liquid trio.

You definitely don’t need the additional co2 with light you have, so don’t focus a lot of attention on it right now. Depending on environmental conditions in your home, you may not really need a dehumidifier or humidifier either. If you do, you will want large enough models to control environment in the room your tent is in.

I use wet paper towel method for starting seeds. Fold them up in wet paper towel, place them in ziplock with air trapped in, place ziplock on something warm like cable box, then check every 24 hours. Once they have small tap root, poke hole with pencil into soil about .5-1 inch deep, use tweezers or something other than your fingers to place shell down in hole, then lightly cover with soil.

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IDKS, but I am a Big fan of the HLG Lighting products. I scrapped my SF 1000 due to Fluff Buds on Grow 1. My space is smaller but go with what DBRN32 said. Wise to go Gonzo on the Lights!

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That would surely be the one.

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Basically the ruderalis gene has been watered down so much in modern day autos I’d be surprised if most of the highly rated strains have more than 3 % ruderalis genes . But whether you do photo or auto is determined by how much light leak your space gets (autos don’t really care) and how much control you want, photos you can lie back and let them grow until you’re happy with their size where as autos I see as a challenge to see how big I can force them to get before they auto flip.

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Thank you kindly for the welcome and the advice on how to start my seedlings as well as which to choose. By the looks of things, it appears that feminized is going to be where I start this adventure!

Now the layering procedure. Is the lower 1/2 of the container composed of FFOF and the upper 1/2 composed of FFHF, or do you break it into thirds where the lower 1/3 is FFOF, the middle layer is comprised of another soil and the top 1/3 is FFHF?

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1/2 & 1/2 with happy frog up top. And please note @dbrn32 comments about your light. You can buy the best seeds, have awesome soil and all the right equipment but if your lights aren’t up to snuff - your plants will not produce the buds you would want.

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@MedicineStickMan newbie here too couple weeks into first grow and just reading through topics, good luck on your grow journey! @GreenSnek Do you have any tips to getting autos as big as ya can before they flip?

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Yes coco coir you can push them extra hard with max water, low strength training to maximize photosynthesis (and really get aggressive and spread it out), and mykos (for extra phosphorous
uptake) and Mr fulvic( for extra root growth and 1.5x fertilizer uptake) , and lastly whenever you see any bit of praying up your light by about 5 % of the knob or an inch or 2 closer

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After snooping around, his suggestion of the HLG-300L R-spec light is carrying significant weight for me. It is absolutely a monstrosity on orders of magnitude beyond what I initially picked up and that is going to be a priority purchase for me once the tax returns come in.

Everything else seems to be a solid green-light and I suspect that I am going to follow your advice regarding starting the seedlings. A solo cup with Epsoma starter sounds like it would make a fantastic beginning platform and once the bottom leaves are slightly larger than the diameter of the rim of the cup seems like it would be a good time to re-home them in the 3 gallon pots to go the rest of the way.

In keeping in line with what @PharmerBob said, I believe I am going to run 2 plants per go until I feel comfortable with what it is I am wanting to accomplish.

Though this does bring me to a brand-spanking new line of inquiry! Seeing as I’m going to go with feminized plants rather than autoflowering, I am going to definitely going to try a blend of low-stress training paired with topping.

Now for topping, does that ONLY apply to the main cola or can it be performed on each one… or would that lead to overly damaging the plant and endangering the whole grow?

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I dont have that growing medium(i am using promix) and probably wont do autos again after these …just kind of curious of any ways to maximize the 5 I have going. I will look into what you suggested thanks.

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Thank you muchly for the wishing of luck!

On a side note, @GreenSnek definitely sounds like they know their way around an autoflower. I find this flow of information to be highly useful, even if the vast majority of it is a touch over my lil’ noggin at the moment.

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That is a very nice light…gonna have to try and get one at some point…have to make do with my 1000w KingLED and the 600w MH bulb during veg and 400hps bulb for flower this go round

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Ha yeah I’m trying my best to process a lot of information and any methods that may help. Gonna do fem seeds next time tho

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@GreenSnek I have Jack’s 321 nutes…so I need to add those other things along with my nutes

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I’d say not so much training and more let it grow. Get a decent base of what they will do in your setup

A few fims and a defoliation or two

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I would say first of all welcome to the forum , looks like most of the set is good starting set up , light a lil weak all though I started with a ts600 Mars hydro at 104 true watts off the wall and still have them , barely upgrading after a whole year , yeah can definitely grow some weed with that , just not the maximum potential of the plant , now I would say the most important thing is figure who you are as a grower and who do you want to be , there is an array of grower here and can be very confusing , what I’m trying to say read a lot run your set up learn your set up improve your set up once you are ready , there are grower with thousands of dollar in their grow rooms and there are grower like me with 500 dll grow room set up and spend half of it in stuff I ready still don’t use -.- , some grower already grow vegetables and some grower haven’t even taken care of a cactus like me when I started ,the grower I want to be minima space, maximum yield , minimal input ,continues harvest in hydroponics , I started in hydroponics very rough start didn’t even had the right equipment now I’m in soil getting some harvest and getting ready for hydro again, long story short , run your set up learn your set up improve your set up , just get your first full start to end run , it gets better …

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