I’ve just started growing my own in a basement storeroom, which is roughly 14 feet long by 3 feet wide. Right now I have plants in 10 of the 14 feet, and the rest of the space is given over to a seedling starter that somebody just gave me. The actual grow space is only twoish feet wide because I have to leave a foot for a pathway.
I had started my first girls on a windowsill but they got very leggy very quickly so I bought three cheapie 1000-watt LED lights, hung them every 36 inches, and moved them in.
The girls seem to be happy but it’s pretty hot in there - average 83F with 60ish% humidity. I have a fan running at full blast whenever the lights are on but that’s not helping a lot with the temp.
My questions are, does that seem like adequate light for the space?
It’s a little warm, but not terrible. What’s your outside temps like?
Rule of thumb is 50w/sq ft for lighting. What lights are you using? Most leds don’t actually pull the advertised watts.
What soil? Are you feeding them? I see a bit of nute burn on the tips.
Not feeding them anything. I planted them in a 50-50 mixture of Fox Farm Ocean Forest and four-year-old goat poop compost from my farm, which is very very rich stuff. My garden plants love it. My tomatoes are taller than I can reach and so heavy I’ve had to build them new cages out of 2x4s.
Those lights are good for about 11sq ft. They pull 180 watts each. It’s a bit small for flowering in a 10’x2’, but they should veg ok. There’s a product called panda film that you can hang from the ceiling to help reflect more light. It’s not ridiculously expensive.
You’ll be fine with the heat, after tomorrow temps will drop and in a month you’ll be trying to figure out how to keep it warm down there. Make sure there’s plenty of air flow. Oscillating fans are great for that. You want a gentle back and forth light breeze on the plants. Not stem bending wave.
Cannabis is not tomatoes. It’s a bit more sensitive. FFOF is a relatively nutrient rich soil to start. I think mixing it at that ratio with goat manure might be a bit much for them.
If you’re convinced you want to use it, I’d mix it at 10% manure, 20% perlite, and 70% ffof and layer it on the bottom 1/2. The upper layer I’d just go with the ffof. The roots will grow down when they’re hungry. Still, I’d be cautious.
Vermonters, represent! It’s been a lot of fun to see how many people are coming out of the closet as cannabis consumers. In my circle of friends I’d have a harder time finding someone who doesn’t consume on occasion than does, even some who surprised me. The law the lege passed is weird and half assed but at least it’s something. We won’t get anything better until we either rid ourselves of our Republican governor or get a veto-proof majority in the lege.
I’ll be worrying about that room being cold for a little while but not long - the storeroom is close enough to my woodstove that it should be toasty. But if they don’t mind temps in the 80s it should be OK. I have one of those oscillating fans on them already.
I think you might be right, the compost might be just a bit too hot. The new growth all looks good, though,so it’s maybe not so bad. The older ladies are already in it - can’t change course at this point - but I’ll put my next round of seedlings in the mixture you suggest.
So the consensus is I need more lights - does anyone have suggestions for long, narrow lights that will work with the weird space? Countryboyjvd1971 suggested a light mover but I don’t even know what that is I’ll google it here in a sec.
Anything you buy from horticulture lighting group will be fantastic.
If you like diy there are some threads around for building some great lights with eb light strips.
Don’t kick yourself about the light thing, many many people (including myself) have gone down the blurple amazon hole.
I actually think the law is fairly well thought out and reasonable. 2 flowering and 4 immature. One can continually grow 2 in flower, 2 in veg, and 2 as seedlings. An ounce on your person and as much stored at your home as you can harvest.
The law is good as far as it goes. The problem is, it’s still illegal to buy or sell. To to be legal, you either have to be lucky enough to have the space to grow (and for renters, a friendly landlord), or very generous buddies. That leaves a lot of folks out. But, like I said, it’s a whole lot better than nothing. We’re doing good compared to a lot of other states
It looks like three of the HLG 100s from Horticultural Lighting would probably be about right. I can always put the blurples between them, or use them as side lighting.
You could add one QB from hlg and probably be ok. It’d also give you an idea of how good they are. But, if money is no object, get rid of the blurples and go full QB.
Hi @fullvermonty (& @Drinkslinger). I’m also in the Green Mountains. Like you, @fullvermonty, I am growing in a basement. You’ll probably want to get a dehumidifier for your basement. It’s not so much of an issue now, while you’re vegging. But when the plants go into flower, you’ll want lower humidity levels. It will warm the area up though, unless it will be fall by then, and perhaps then heat won’t be an issue. Good luck! (I got a couple of qb lights from GrowersLights, but the way, and just love them.)
@Pat2 is also a Vermonter. I believe there’s another new ilgm member from 802 but their name escapes me.
You’re correct about the dehumidifier. This summer was ridiculously humid and my basement grow had some bud rot. Having to cut off and throw away 2+ ounces of big fat dense buds really sucks. I’m still a cheap bastard and next summer I’ll try to time the grow so I’m in veg for July and August.
Doesn’t look like one would be near enough to cover a 10’ wide strip. Money is tight but not so tight that I can’t swing three lights. I’d rather suck it up and do it right, ya know? No sense in putting in all the time and effort only to wind up with shitty weed
Would it be advantageous to mix the blurples and the HGLs? The blurples are hung on the joists which are 18" OC so it would be joist 1, blurple; joist 2, HL; joist 3 blurple etc. How does that sound? Would that be too much?
Hi Wonkaman! Always good to see another Vermonter.
There’s already a dehumidifier down there. In summer it’s pretty swampy if I don’t keep it running. Right now it’s between 55 and 65%, which is OK given that outside today is like swimming in hot pea soup. Temp in there today is 85F, so that’s not ideal. The blurple lights throw out more heat than I had anticipated.
You’re right, fall ought to bring the humidity down. The woodstove is down there, so in the winter I should have no problems. Usually it’s a desert. I have to keep a pot of water on top of the woodstove just to keep the static electricity down.
You could certainly mix up the quantum boards and the blurples if you’re so inclined. It seems a waste to not use them, since you have them.
I bought one, and was planning on buying a second on Amazon, before I saw the light [] and was kindly guided toward the quantum boards by a forum member. I am SO glad I was. I bought two quantum boards and stuck them in my main tent, and set up a second veg tent where I placed the blurple… and saved it for a bit later, since I hated dealing with that purple light, once I realized how nice it was to work with white LEDs. Maybe interspersing them, as you described, will lessen the disorienting effect of the purple light, but the plants under the qb’s will probably thrive a bit more than the plants under the blurple… especially when it’s time to flower. The qb buds will likely be more compact, and may complete sooner as well. Good luck!
You’re going to need more light. 30 sq ft @50w/sq ft = 1500 w. You’re at 540… with cobs/QB/light strips you can get away with less, say 35-40w/sq ft… I think I even saw some good results here @25w/sq ft.
I’d first line all the walls with panda film or Mylar backed insulation board. To try and maximize all the escaping photons.
Then I’d seriously plan out lighting choices. Hlg has some boards on sale if you can do simple diy. @dbrn32 can be a vital resource when it comes to lighting.
It’s definitely an unusual shape. Doing 260 kits on the xl heatsink would leave edges a little weak, but I think two of them along with the blurples would do ok. A better option would probably be 3 of the xw 260 kits.
Going away from hlg, two of the new plc lights would be pretty good. Fluence razr probably a good option too.
If you didn’t mind going away from leds, the dual bulb 630 cmh fixtures may be a good option too.
It’s been a lot of fun to see how many people are coming out of the closet as cannabis consumers. In my circle of friends I’d have a harder time finding someone who doesn’t consume on occasion than does, even some who surprised me. The law the lege passed is weird and half assed but at least it’s something. We won’t get anything better until we either rid ourselves of our Republican governor or get a veto-proof majority in the lege.
I’ll google it here in a sec.
] and was kindly guided toward the quantum boards by a forum member. I am SO glad I was. I bought two quantum boards and stuck them in my main tent, and set up a second veg tent where I placed the blurple… and saved it for a bit later, since I hated dealing with that purple light, once I realized how nice it was to work with white LEDs. Maybe interspersing them, as you described, will lessen the disorienting effect of the purple light, but the plants under the qb’s will probably thrive a bit more than the plants under the blurple… especially when it’s time to flower. The qb buds will likely be more compact, and may complete sooner as well. Good luck!