I am planning to have an indoor grow next month but i am just a little bit confused if this will take me more cost than buying it the store? Because it makes me think to plant inside my house. But the question here will it cost too much than buying outside?
I guess it all depends on how you look at it. You could easily set up a little tent with everything you need for $1000 USD. With a little knowledge, some time, and good genetics, you could get 7 or 8 ounces on your first run. Depending on your prices you could recover your ROI in about four months.
Running a single 600-watt HPS doesnt cost a whole lot of electricity
And some LED’s are competitive with HPS and run for less $ each month.
For me, there was no question about the cost / benefit. OVERGROW if you can.
Set and manage your expectations.
Figure out what you’re willing to spend and how much you want/need to grow then research and discuss your options here with us.
With that being said you can get started growing indoors for $200 or less if you’re handy. As with our plants though, the more you invest the more return you will get.
I urge you to check out some of the DIYers here on OG as all have managed to build systems with a reasonable budget and get results.
But manage your expectations for sure.
Definitely agree with @TrevorLahey on setting expectations. And make them attainable, keep it simple, work to a budget and have goals.
Or, If you are not a budget or goal kinda guy, the other way is experiment and build and test and fail and succeed. I had an absolute blast building mine, and now tinkering with the running of it is giving no end of joy. So it’s up to you and what you want out of it. A budget or a hobby?
Ask myself the same question at least once every season.
$20 should cover a bag of something cheap and decent like Roots Organic. A bale of Promix HP on that “Brazilian River” is only $50 shipped to your door.
$100 is probably minimum to get a light worth having. It’ll get you a 400w HID, 200w of T5, or 100w of LEDs, all arguably putting out about the same amount of useable light.
Nutrients are kinda all over the place and people start getting all up in their feelings about the best one. You can get a kilo of mega crop for like $10 right now with their two promos.
The General Organics box is like $30 for a decent beginner line.
Even some of the absolute top of the line nutrient companies have a “no-frills” option of the necessities for $50-60. That’s a can of worms you’ll have to open yourself though.
Puts you between 150-200 dollars assuming you already have a perfect spot to grow them. Timers, yo-yos, and power strips add up real quick.
Damn, I didn’t even count operating costs…
Assuming 12/12 from seed for a minimum of ten weeks — 12h*70d = 840 hours of light @.10-.20 per KwH
*400w HID = 336KwH, $33.60-$73.20
*200w T5 = 168KwH, $16.80-$33.60
*100w LED = 84KwH, $8.40-$16.80
I’m at about $4.50/dried oz. For consumables(water and nutrients and electricity)
When I started growing 7 years ago oz were fetching $100-400 per.
I’d say the money I saved more than paid for the equipment.
I give away a lot of product to poor friends and family.
I have about $6-8k invested over the years.
Does OG have a thread where they give away old equipment to help budding gardeners get into the hobby? I think it would be a good idea. I have a lot of shit just taking up space that I don’t use.
Just gave away my last HPS fixture.
Also, do you love gardening? For me, its a better hobby/avocation than collecting things.
Why lookie there. A thread on OG devoted to old equipment.
budget grows can be done for as little as some cheap bulbs/fittings if you have stuff around the house
not recommending that, just saying… it can be done. i did cfl bulb grow for a year with extension cords and bulb outlets from home depot… i had pretty good results but i would have gone LED screw in at the very least if i had known better…
i think i kept it around $150 - $200 including electric
Mine is very low budget led, due to circumstances… Hopefully will last through flowering that it’s in now, but definitely went past my initial expectations.
Also a study showed 70% tested in Cal isn’t really as potent as advertised. At this point I could buy cheaper but, not sure what I am getting and even with my issues I was happy with the product I was able to harvest.
@G-paS That’s really the biggest factor of all. I legitimately cannot purchase cannabis of the quality that I see being displayed on this site.
It’s like a homegrown tomato! The best is always going to come from your own garden … most dispensaries are about quantity and not quality!