need advice from a seasoned grower

so, simply put, i'm a creature of habit. in some ways this is beneficial, in others (substance use) its detrimental. as it is, these days i'm drinking more and more, occasionally with some troubles resulting one way or another.


i'd like to give up the drink for the most part, but i'll never be able to do that without having pot on hand most of the time, and affordably. i used to just smoke and have an occasional beer. not anymore...now its less common to smoke than drink. mostly due to having quit other drugs and not liking to associate myself with some old friends.


personally i'd love to start growing my own. i used to grow mushrooms and know that such a pursuit is thoroughly enjoyable and generates a close connection with what you're cultivating, even to the level of a familiar bond.

i dont want to sell, i dont want to tell. i just want to have my own renewable stash and a new hobby. i dont grow mushrooms anymore because i almost never trip anymore, and i dont want to sell them. i was going to get into homebrewing, and i still might, but like i said i'd like to smoke more and drink far less.........and i'm not TOTALLY ignorant on the growing methods, but i recognize that there is still a lot for me to learn.

here is my situation: i'm poor. this puts me in a bad place in terms of starting to grow. i've looked at prices for grow lights. they're expensive. HID growlights are a big investment, and to top it off i have little idea how much more my energy bills will run if i'm using these lights, though i have heard it can be a substantial increase. since i live in an appartment complex in a city, outdoor growing is right out of the question, particularly considering the time of year.

i'm not too very concerned with having the strongest, most potent pot. i want it to be stronger than middies, sure, but as long as it gets me stoned i'd be more concerned with aroma, taste, and appearance than having the strongest pot in the world.

because of all these reasons, i've considered growing with flourescents. i've heard mixed things about them. all i know for sure is that they are more affordable to purchase, they provide much cooler environments for the plants which is probably a plus, and from what i understand they're much cheaper to operate. now i know that growing with flourescents is a much different thing and will produce different quality plants, but i HAVE seen some pics a long time ago at a growing forum of a closet grow done with just a couple large flouros with GREAT results. i mean, these werent the densest buds in the world or anything, but they still looked killer.

so i suppose what i'm asking is first and foremost if i'm correct in my understanding of the situation so far, in terms of cost (i'm on a VERY tight budget)

if i am incorrect, please correct me. if my idea of setting up a closet with a few flouros and a fan for a couple nice plants is too foolish, i would like advice on creating a VERY affordable setup to continually cultivate some nice cannabis for personal consumption. to me, affordable will HAVE to be <300USD for all initial supplies (lights, fan, any necessary ventilation, soil, light timer, etc.)

ideally id like HID lighting, but the cost of purchasing this type of lighting alone may exceed my budget when all is said and done.

i'm desperately in search of guidance! please help!

i'd like simplicity, affordability, and preferably an all-organic crop....


thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for any help you can offer!

 

dude a 250 watt HID will only increase electricity bill by a couple of dollars. Or you could use one of those high wattage grow fluoros. Wood, hooks, light, timer, and fan for this kind of thing can be done easily with 300 bucks. I recommend www.icmag.com forums for closet grow info.

Only problem is when you live in a complex, they can come in at any time normally, and you can't make ventilation/power modifications to the walls in the closet. You're probably better off building a cab.

 

do you have much information about constructing a cabinet? i've seen sets for sale for vast sums of money (to me, anyway) but i'm sure it could easily be constructed with far less money and a lot more elbow grease. i'm just pretty lost when it comes to this concept.

what do you think the cost of materials would be like? and what kind of yield would i be able to get?

 

Well I've seen people do small scrog setups in cabinets get a few ounces. If you build two maybe after you have had one for a while and gotten the hang of it, you can get some rotation going on to steadily harvest. From what I've heard you say you really don't smoke much and I suspect perpetual harvest on a small scale is all you need.

Building it should come pretty easy to you once you have the materials in front of you. Figure out what measurements you're going to do and go to home depot. Get wood for a frame made of 2 by 4's, think in terms of a cube. Next you'll need wood to cover up the sides. You'll want a division inside to keep your veg plants going. You'll want a pair of hinges for the front and a lock too.

Then you gotta worry about ventilation- Step by step instructions can be found on icmag.

Here's some links:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=34302&highlight=cabinet

That one is pretty dam sick, but it'd be hard to get it that good on your first try.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=29593&highlight=cabinet+construction

A remake of an old OG thread. If you just search for like cabinet design or cabinet construction on icmag you will find tons of information.