Crow River Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 I only recently started growing too. Although I've many years of experience growing fruit, veg and houseplants. Has your friend grown anything else? Does he garden or nurture windowsill geraniums? If so, maybe will do okay. Reckon soil might be a bit easier and more forgiving. Maybe if he has a greenhouse, conservatory or sunny velux window he can try a sunshine grow, which in my limited experience is also easier and more forgiving. An indoor grow space with lights, heating, extraction is really complex and will need dialling in and monitoring. It probably can't just be left alone for days on end unless everything is just so. Whereas he could stick a young plant in a greenhouse in late spring, pop a classic Blumat carrot in the soil connected to a big bucket of water, and come back in five days and everything will most likely be fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NezA Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Smokey90 said: Just get him to try doing it he might fail or win if he enjoys it then he won't stop ... ffs people on here are basically saying it's impossible to win when it's a plant Nothing is impossible... But reality checks are essential. I've seen solo first timers do incredible things during my tenure here. But I've also seen first time grows with plenty of experienced help go completely sideways. Leaving a grow to run itself for 5 days every week, straight out the gate is a big ask. Definitely doable but without the hands on experience anticipating and mitigating potential issues in advance is going to take astronomical levels of research and/or a hefty dose of luck. I'd be more inclined to explore GG as an option if tending the plants once a week is the only option. At least that way you have nature on your side to pick up some of the slack. A fully automated hydro setup isn't going to come cheap. It's a hefty investment, perhaps that's not an issue for the individual in question and they're happy to burn the cash. The hesitancy people are highlighting is sound advice for the frugal. Edited February 12, 2022 by NezA 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) Not read the whole thread so sorry if this has been mentioned already but it's worth considering BPBs low maintenance way, I.E clover compost, Blumats and canna nutes. I can't find the thread or tag him for some reason, but I wasn't an organic grower I'd be going that route as I'm often away for a 4-5 days at a time. E2A, read the thread now, I would definitely agree that as a first time grower it would be risky to try and grow remotely, but nothing ventured nothing gained, if he's willing to take the chance he might get lucky and pull it off. As for GGing, thats probably a better option although my advice to any new GGer is expect to take at least 2 seasons before you really get to grips with it,. especially if your not already a gardener, it can take a whole year to even find/prep a good plot thats not already taken. Edited February 12, 2022 by MindSoup 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousGreenHand Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 19 hours ago, Owderb said: Maybe even the same seeds And he's never grown. I think no matter what system he picks he's going to be in a bit of bother Just being real Owd I agree wholeheartedly, although the industry we work in is contract style work and generally not always able to be close enough home to make travelling daily worth while. So I’ll try and give him the best opportunity to make it work, but I’ll tell him that this first time is learning and don’t expect much and expect only to break even in terms or yield cost vs how much he smokes etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticriver Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 10 hours ago, Crow River said: An indoor grow space with lights, heating, extraction is really complex and will need dialling in and monitoring. It probably can't just be left alone for days on end unless everything is just so. ^this Im not saying dont try, but for a 1st time grow... I hope it goes without a hitch, but can anyone see that happening? there's loads of little issue that crop up and most of them you have to ask someone what to adjust etc. and if your away for a week, a little issue left unchecked could at best be a headache when you return at the weekend. Hows your appetite for said headaches? Go for it. mystic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegridy Farms Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Soil and blumats could work in this situation, obviously the blumats take some dialling in and you’d need to adjust the light distance etc every now and then, but could work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NezA Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Don't get me wrong I love my Blumats but I've had a run away dripper on almost every run I've done with them. Not really an issue for me personally. They're great bits of kit but I'm not sure I'd want to leave mine unattended for days at a time regularly. A Res that'll hold 5 days of water is not going to be small either (depending on the size of the grow of course) the thought of a runaway the day after topping up is nightmare fuel, especially because it's not going to be checked for another 5 days! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 @NezA I must have balls of steel because the exact reason I started using them was so I could leave them alone for 5 days Your right though things can go wrong and fast at that. If I was OPs friend that tent would be going in a paddling pool and all electrics would be well off the floor. Maybe an earthbox type arrangement would be a good idea, they have a big res at the bottom that soaks upwards, not normally a great idea with canna but they're proven to work brilliantly. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NezA Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 I've left mine unattended for a few days at a time as a one off here and there but doing week in week out every week is where I can see potential issues. I've also seen experienced growers really struggle with Blumats and getting them dialled in it's hard to make a solid recommendation for this particular situation really. I'd be looking for something really solid with lots of built in redundancy. Those kinds of systems don't come cheap and take quite a bit of planning and forethought. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Yeah it's probably easier/ more cost effective for OPs friend just to buy weed 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QQ710 Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Impossible to say without knowing your friends abilities / budget. If he's a bit of a wizz and wealthy and able to create a fully automated setup with monitors and controllers then sure, no problem. But if he's anything like the rest of us - he's gunna have issues sooner or later with an indoor grow. A big part of growing, for me, are the daily visits, I smile every time I see them. I have a reasonably automated system and have on more than 2 occasions left it unattended for 3 full days with no issues but am always nervous about doing so. 1 hour ago, MindSoup said: Yeah it's probably easier/ more cost effective for OPs friend just to buy weed Or employ a Vietnamese, live in gardener! (nationality optional but they're the best it seems). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 I'm not Vietnamese, but I would 100% be up for the job 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Personally I wouldn't leave my grow for more than overnight although it would probably run for days on end unattended...however... For the OP I would recommend a wick system, easy, cheap to set up, not much to go wrong...safest of hydro options... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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