First Indoor Grow

Zeedox

Resident Canadian
Dec 1, 2020
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Canada's Ocean Playground
Was started a bit ago because I hadn't done cannabis in hydroponics at all, let alone a tent. So it's been some long weeks (months....omg) of finally getting some seedlings out of sprouting material and into hydrostone deep water culture.

My seed starter was a 50/50 perlite/vermiculite mixture which seemed fine for starting material. I'd use it again. My only problem was I used those large solo cups (plastic 16oz red drinking cups - beer pong). It took a long time for the roots to establish enough to let the plant build. In the future when I start a second crop I'll either use a smaller solo cup (shot glass size) or try to find some other non-organic starting medium.

Of course, being bag-seed there were also several starts which resulted in a male. We now have two females (I'm pretty sure!).

They're about 12" tall and both have been topped at one point. In fact I was just commenting it may be time to flip them to a 12/12.

The biggest concern is lack of humidity. It's dead mid-winter and the heat pumps are just drying everything out. So I've had to acquire a small ultrasonic cool humidifier. This has worked wonders.

Next up on the hit list is the blower, which I've come to find out shouldn't be used in conjunction with the variable speed dial I purchased. Not only is the blower loud but it actually moves more air then I need without the speed dial. That also exacerbates the humidity problem. The good news is I vent directly to the outside so a charcoal filter isn't really needed (it's Canada smell be dammed). That means I should be able to get away with an smaller, quieter, inline fan meant for household ducting assistance.
 
My brother is into hydro really big. Not that he's got a big operation but he's convinced it's the future. I don't know. He might be right.
 
We got started in hydroponics through an Avon-type company that sold hydroponic pots, inserts and clay pellets in the early 80's. That company ran parties showing how to transplant an ordinary houseplant to the clay pellet system. One of the selling points was if kids spilt a plant it was simply plant, clay pellets and water - no soil. SOLD.

It was a simple system of add water and nutrients. Let the water level drop to nothing, leave for a day or two and then re-water. I have seen a name for this type of system but cant remember atm.

Then I got an Aerogarden as a gift which is a very small deep water culture (DWC) for home herbs, tomatoes, peppers, etc. The company supplies the inserts, medium, seeds and fertilizer. The unit also has a light source and timer for growth and flowering cycles. It also has water level marks indicating when to refill. They are still sold only now have LED's.

It was a great learning system as it drove me to try my own tank builds from rubbermaid-style containers with simple air pumps from fish tanks, which also had the added bonus of making me learn feeding skills.

So with all the experience it was decided to run a DWC type grow for our indoor grow. In fact the two buckets look like this:

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edit: open wall of text, date
 
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it drove me to try my own tank builds from rubbermaid-style containers with simple air pumps from fish tanks
Somewhere upstairs in the bookshelves I've got a Popular Mechanics magazine that had the full plans for an ebb and flow type hydroponics system based on the Rubber Maid tubs like you mentioned. I think all in the plan cost about 150 dollars sans lighting. I always wanted to try it, but never got around to it.
 
Yes. Some of them run a small pump on a timer to create the flow. With the newer digital timers you could even get 5 min flow and long ebb times.
The other one I've seen plans for is the root sprayer/mister type.
 
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I always wanted to have a hydroponic spice rack. I've seen the little kits you can buy but I wanted something bigger like the size of a decent size fish tank. I mean without all the dirt you don't have half the flies bugs and shit like that.
 
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That's exactly what my old large Aerogarden is doing. I've rebuilt its pump and removed the lights. It sits in a west facing window with basil and thyme. Even in the dead of winter there is enough window light for the herbs.
Every pizza get fresh basil, while a lot of beef and chicken get the thyme. The thyme bush has a 3/8" wooden stem and must be around five plus years old.

I'm still trying to find the right oregano.