Well, back around ‘04, I started my adventure in grow my own smokes, and not just throwing a seed into a container of dirt and see what happens. I started with a cutting I got from a friend, he grew it from a random bag seed. That got me started with the practice of cloning and maintaining a (bonsai) mother plant. Then into the routine of a scheduled perpetual harvest with just enough room for 8 plants in 6” square containers. Time went on, learned lots from this community from back then, my small micro grow was working like clockwork. I then teamed up with someone with more space, so I just did all the cloning. Friend got busted, then my collection of mother’s from known genetics were lost due to equipment failure and spider mites, life goes on. Fast forward to now, I’ve started gardening, really got into growing berries for eating and wine making. Started growing some hot peppers just because, then learned that peppers are a perennial that could be kept alive through the winter if brought indoors. So planning to bring my chili’s in before they get chilled, I though what else can I grow inside… so the other day I got a few clones, from the same friend that gave me the fresh cutting about 16 years ago!
I’ll be starting this adventure again, with what he told me is a white widow X sour diesel. I’ll be trying it with just my aquarium plant or reef grade LEDs for veg, maybe both. Or use the reef one for veg since it’s bluer, and the freshwater one for bloom. maybe supplemented with some fluorescent/CFL. It’s what I have on hand, plus still somewhat on a budget. Granted, with the way these LEDs worked for keeping high light corals, I wish I had them for plants 15 years ago.
Welcome back brother
Thanks for introduction, @Seamonkey84! Welcome to Overgrow!
Welcome @Seamonkey84. Sounds like a long winding road you have traveled, to get back where you started. Glad you are here and look forward to seeing your grow.
Welcome. 
When I get my blackberries going strong and thick in a raised bed, I may throw a plant or two into the patch. I keep thinking a thicket of these plants would make good camouflage
Welcome again.
So with plants in hand, I just rigged up a place to set them and light them for now. But I have to get my shopping list going for fertilizers and amendments. I’m going to be growing in soil, with organic based fertilizers. What are some recommendations for a soil blend or liquid fertilizers? I use to use Alaskan fish emulsion and Neptune liquids, and growing in basically just promix with some perlite, vermiculite, and more garden lime added. I’m currently hot composting in a 20gal trash can, and most likely going to start a worm bin in my basement for year round use (and bait for fishing).
Any suggestions and recommendations? Seeing that grow challenge with everything grown in 16oz Cups makes me realize that there are ways to really up the game compared to what I was use to doing.
Well the clones I got from my friend didn’t make it through a heat wave, I had them in a room that didn’t have A/C, and along with the spider mite damage, it seemed they were just too stressed.
So instead of getting more infested plants from that friend… I’m starting a few seeds. I have a bunch of seeds from over 10 years ago, from a friend that has since passed. It was a white widow mix that he was growing and breeding himself. Then I recently got some really good buds from a delivery service, and found some seeds… two from critical mass and one from grease monkey, but since I don’t know the reason the buds were seeded, it could be from a hermi plant in the grow. Which I know can be a good and bad thing, being feminized seeds but could produce more hermis. So I got them soaking last night and put them on paper towels this morning. Fingers crossed on those old seeds, they were just in a plastic baggie that was kept in a drawer.
I am doing a whole grow from bag seeds. If nothing else it is a good practice run to learn from. Then do the quality seeds you have.
I just placed an order for a 2 in 1 tent off amazon, it’s 4x3x6ft. The flower chamber is 3x3, now I have to decide on the light for it. I’m thinking I’m going with either a viparspectra pro p2000/2500 or piecing together some screw in LED lights (I’m not doing any soldering). I’m still reading through the post on IC mag comparing and using store bought LED bulbs, with the original posts getting a 1g per watt used. That was just using multiple bulbs that used 10w each. I’m leaning towards the screw in bulbs for more intense and even coverage, I’m thinking 12-18 of the 10-17W bulbs when it’s said and done, prob on two separate sections so I can raise and lower each side independently. I remember reading that UV light increases trichomes/thc, would a fluorescent reptile bulb running between the LEDs be beneficial?
So none of my older seeds have sprouted, I’ve tied with a few dozen already. The three fresh seeds from the delivery service cracked and sprouted right away 
I thought it was two critical mass and a grease monkey, my friend remembers differently, but does it really matter at this point.
Here they are a day or two after sprouting (7/29)
Got a bit too stretchy so I replanted them deeper (8/3)
Here they are now (8/8)
Yes that is a crib behind the plants, but its an unoccupied room right now.
I’m no expert on lighting, but I believe with the leds being so much stronger it would not help much. Some guys runs them lower to get some light to the lower buds I believe. Cf’s don’t penetrate that well. Welcome.
Huh? Burying them deep to adjust for stretch? or are you referring to the reptile bulbs not helping?
The bulbs.
I figured if I’m keeping the LEDs within 12”, it’ll be within range of the UV output of the reptile bulbs. It’s just to supplement and add more frost. 10-12” is the recommended range on reptile tube and CFL bulbs for the reptiles vitamin D production, so I figure that’s a good place to start. But I’m reading that more frost can also be achieved by adding some 5-6K bulbs into the mix.
You’re probably good then my friend. I’ve just seen some people run them vertically in the corners of grow boxes. There are lots of ways to do it. You will keep tweaking your methods, trust me. That’s half the fun, trying to do better than last time.
So I’ve decided on my lighting and placed the order for the fixtures. Since I am not going to do any soldering, and I want it to look clean with the minimum effort and cost, I ordered up some 5 bulb vanity light fixtures that measure 30”x4.5” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00084WR0O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_btf_t1_kncmFb67N5YJK
I plan to have them mounted on two separate fixtures in the flower chamber, either a 2 and 3 strip setup, or two 3 strips if they fit with enough space for ventilation. That would give me 25-30 bulbs, ranging 10-15w each. Though at the moment, it will be a while till the three little ones will even fill half the tent, or for me to get some good Known genetics. I use to grow strictly with bonsai mothers and clones, so it’ll be looking for 2-3 keepers. If these turn out to be all female, I’m afraid they may have a hermi parent. Or just pray that the grower was doing a STS treatment to reverse one of their stable girls
For a set from bag seeds, these two Towards the right are basically twins.
A bit of leaf curl from the hot days we’ve been having, the one on the left didn’t seem phased at all.
They are definitely reach past the spread of the current light now, gotta set up the new tent that just arrived. It got here more than a week sooner than the estimated date. It’s a 4x3x6ft 2in1, I know I’ll have to do some work to make sure it’s light proof between the two chambers. I also scored at a discount shop today. they had 4pks of 15W LED bulbs for $2, limit of 20 per person. I need to go back and get another set, I’ll be running 25-30 of them in the 3x3 section, and 5-10 bulbs(prob 10w each) on each of the veg shelves. Now I have to look into exhaust fans and carbon filters.