Home Grow Setups for Amendment 64 – 2′x2′ HID Grow Tent

Small – 400 Watt Personal Stash HID Grow Tent – Great for moderate smokers.

• Required Space – 2′ x 2′ x 55″ grow tent
• Equipment Costs – $344 to $366 – 400w HID ($138), grow tent ($100), vent fan ($24), containers (3x $10), soil ($20 – $30), organic fertilizer ($24 to $36), hygrometer ($9)
• Electrical Costs – $14 to $32 per month, or from $42 to $96 per harvest – $14/month at $0.08/kWh, $22/month at $0.12/kWh, or $32/month at $0.18/kWh
• Vegetative growth time – 2 weeks
• Estimated Yields –  2.25 to 4.5 oz. per harvest (0.75 to 1.5 oz. per plant) – Please note, yields are estimated for new growers using this recommended system of soil and fertilizers. Yields will vary significantly depending on grower experience and care. With experience and heavy-yielding strains, your grow tent may produce harvests significantly more massive than these.

This small grow tent option should provide plenty of bud to satisfy most smokers, especially once the gardener gains some experience.

• After 1 year of use, this grow tent costs $604 to $882 and yields  11.25 to 22.5 ounces. ($27 to $78 per ounce)
• After 2 years of use, this grow tent costs $884 to $1,440 and yields  22.5 to 45 ounces. ($20 to $64 per ounce)
• After 3 years of use, this grow tent costs $1,164 to $1,986 and yields  33.75 to 67.5 ounces. ($17 to $59 per ounce)

Grow Tent Setup

To set up this garden, assemble your 2′ x 2′ grow tent in a low-traffic area. It is best if the grow tent receives no direct sunlight, and remember never to open it while the light is off. Flowering marijuana plants can receive no light during their 12 hours of darkness each day, or they can produce seedy buds.

The grow tent will need air moving through it, and this is best accomplished with a vent fan mounted in one of the 6″ exhaust holes. Check out my pest prevention series to keep pests from destroying your crops, and for air flow tips.

An inexpensive hygrometer (thermometer + barometer) is a great way to make sure your temperature and humidity are not too high or low. Temperatures should stay around 75 to 78 degrees, and humidity should stay between 40% and 60%. If your humidity is a little low, as is often the case here in Denver, you can use a humidifier somewhere nearby (but not inside the grow tent) if you choose. This is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

The lighting I recommend for this grow tent is a 400 watt high-intensity discharge (HID) complete kit. It comes with the HID ballast, basic wing reflector, light hangers, a timer and both types of HID bulbs; metal halide (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS). If this kit becomes unavailable, there are several similar kits available online or at your local grow shop.

It is not absolutely necessary to purchase a kit with both types of bulbs. Most indoor growers prefer to use the MH for vegetative growth and the HPS for flowering. Plants can be grown to maturity under either type of HID grow light, but they will grow slightly differently.

3 clones should be grown under the metal halide bulb for 2 weeks with 18 hours of light per day. The timer should then be changed to 12 hours per day to induce flowering, and the bulbs should be exchanged. Store your bulbs in a safe place, each is good for 6 to 18 months of use.

Planting and Feeding

I recommend using 2-gallon Air Pots for your containers, which are reusable and can be ordered online or found at many Colorado garden supply or hydroponics stores. Use a high-quality soil or soil-less mix like Sunshine, Fox Farm or Royal Gold. Do not order your soil online, the shipping costs are a nightmare and many high-quality soils are available at your local garden centers and grow shops. If you aren’t sure which soil you should use, the employees should be able to recommend one or more for you.

To feed your plants, I always recommend Age Old Organics because of their relatively low price, easy use and great results. Age Old Grow is used for the first 2 weeks, during vegetative growth, and Age Old Bloom is used until 10-14 days before harvest, after which only plain water should be used.

I also recommend Age Old Kelp, (full of micro-nutrients) used at half-dilution along with the regular nutrients, the first feeding and every third feeding afterward. This is not necessary, but I believe it improves results. These 2 or 3 (1 quart) bottles of nutrients should last you several growth cycles (especially the Grow and Kelp) and cost around $12 per bottle.

Use the directions for indoor plants on the labels, and please remember, it is better to underfeed than to overfeed your plants. Start with the lower recommended dilution rates and experiment with heavier dilution rates on 1 of the plants if you are concerned that they are growing slowly. Different strains have different needs too.

The plants should be about 30″ to 3′ tall (not counting the containers of course) at harvest, depending mostly on the traits of the chosen strain(s).

Environmental conditions like temperature, humidity and fertilizing issues can also effect plant size and harvest weights.

If you set up one of these grow tents, please let us know how it goes. If you have a similar home grow, please tell us about it. Happy Growing!