Popular Post MS?MJ! Posted May 25, 2007 Popular Post Share Posted May 25, 2007 To the beginner thinking of growing cannabis for the first time uk420 can seem quite overwhelming, mainly due to the sheer volume of information and the unfamiliar terminology used. I hope the following pointers will assist those who are considering a first grow to get the best out of the resources available on this site. The first thing to think of is where you will be growing your cannabis. You basically have two options; indoors in a room or wardrobe, or outdoors either in your own back garden or somewhere you think your plants will be safe from being discovered - this is often known as a guerilla grow. While an outdoor grow is cheaper and easier to set up, you will only be able to grow one crop per year, you are at the mercy of the weather and there is a higher risk of people discovering your plants. If you do decide to go for an outdoor grow you will find lots of helpful information in the Guerilla Farming section, and if you intend to grow in your own garden using a greenhouse or similar to protect your plants from the elements (and your neighbours!) you should check out the Growing Under Glass section. The majority of growers however will elect to go for an indoor set up, as it has numerous advantages including security, accessibility and a totally controllable environment. The size of the area that you grow in will of course depend on the room you have available, but I would suggest that the minimum size you should be looking at for a personal grow is a wardrobe or equivalent size cupboard, and you will also need to bear in mind that whatever space you use must be 100% lightproof when you come to flowering your plants. It is possible to grow in even smaller areas, but it is more difficult and is also unlikely to produce enough bud to keep you self-sufficient. You can of course go larger than a wardrobe or cupboard and devote a whole room such as a spare room or the attic to your plants, but bear in mind that the larger the room the more expensive the equipment needed to produce a good growing environment will be, and the more time you will need to spend on maintenance. You can find some ideas for setting up a grow room, including how to adapt wardrobes/cupboards in the Growroom Design and Location forum, and there are also some excellent pictures of completed grow rooms in the Growroom Photos section if you need some more inspiration. Once you have decided on a space to grow in you will need to work out your equipment needs. The two most important requirements for cannabis growing are good lighting and ventilation. Getting the lighting right is vital as this is your plant's main energy source, and for a small personal grow you will probably want to use either an HPS (high pressure sodium) light or an envirolite. HPS lights are usually the cheapest available and are excellent for growing cannabis, but they can also be very hot which can cause problems in smaller spaces. There is also a type of light called Metal Halide, these are very good for the initial vegging stage of growing cannabis but are not really suitable to flower under so you would need to switch to a more appropriate type of light part way through your grow, whereas HPS lights can be used for all stages of cannabis growth. If you are growing in a wardrobe, cupboard or other small space you may wish to use envirolites instead, these are basically giant versions of household energy-saving lights and have the advantage of being the coolest-running type of light, so they can be the best option for confined spaces. The main disadvantages of envirolites is that you will require one of each spectrum (red and blue) used by the plant throughout it's life, they also need to be replaced more often than HPS lights and tend to give a lower final yield. You can visit the Lighting Forum to help you decide on the best type of light for your particular growing circumstances. Ventilation is also extremely important when growing cannabis, as without a plentiful supply of fresh air your plants will be unable to grow and develop properly. Ventilation also removes the heat generated by lights from the grow room and is normally provided via a duct/extractor fan - these fans are able to run 24 hours a day, continuously replenishing the air in your grow room and with the addition of a carbon filter are also able to remove all smells from your grow room while your plants are flowering. Ventilation is discussed in the Environment Forum, and there is also a useful Growroom Calculator avaliable which you can use to calculate the size of fan and other equipment that you will require. Once your grow room is set up you will need to decide what medium to grow your plants in - you can either grow hydroponically in a soiless system, or in pots with compost. Hydroponic growing often leads to faster growth and bigger yields when compared to soil as it caters so precisely to the needs of the plant, but it can also be very unforgiving of any mistakes made by the novice grower. If you decide to grow this way there are a number of techniques and systems avaliable but the most commonly used are Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) where the plants sit in a tray with nutrient laden water being pumped over their roots continuously or Flood and Drain, where the plants are submerged in a nutrient filled water bath which then slowly drains away to allow oxygen to get to the root system. For more detailed information on hydroponic methods, systems and nutrients head on over to the Hydroponic Growing forums. For a beginner however, compost has the advantage of being a simpler and cheaper method which allows for a few mistakes along the way as the compost acts as a buffer. You can grow your cannabis either in a standard multipurpose compost with non-organic fertilisers, in which case you will find the Non-Organic forums useful or you can grow organically, using organic soil and fertilisers. Many medicinal growers in particular prefer to grow organically so as to minimise their exposure to chemicals, and if you decide to take this route you will find lots of helpful information in the Organic Forum. Once you've decided where you wish to grow and how the final stage is choosing your seeds. There is a huge variety of strains to choose from, ranging in price from a tenner to over a hundred pounds. For a first grow very expensive seeds are not recommended - far better to spend a few pounds on something cheap and cheerful while you learn the basics of growing, then once you are confident in your abilities you can splash out on more expensive or exotic strains if you wish. You can also buy feminised seeds but these are more pricey and tend to be more unstable and unforgiving of light leaks than "normal" seeds. For an idea of what is avaliable, plus strain selection pointers from other members you can visit the Strain Base forums. I hope you find the above information useful in getting a better idea of what setting up a first grow entails. The best advice I can give now is to have a read through the forums and the Grow FAQ and then feel free to jump in and ask any questions you may have - the members here are very friendly and will be happy to assist you. If you want to see how a cannabis grow can progress you may like to visit the Grow Diaries section, and for real inspiration I can thoroughly recommend the Members Budshots area. All the growers on uk420 were beginners once too, but are now producing their own high quality cannabis and in a few months you could be doing the same. Good luck and happy growing! 98 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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