8" or 6 nodes

Hey everyone. I made a new thread already, but when I search my thread's, I guess they all got deleted by someone, somehow. Anyway's, what im wondering, is if it's okay to go ahead and start flowering after the plant's only 8" or 6 nodes, whichever comes first. I am growing under CFL's and I dont want to veg for a long time, just to find out I have all males. That would be devistating. So im thinking about starting the flowering early, and if I have fem's, then im going to clone and veg properly the 2nd go around. Any advice or responses to this inquiry, will be greatly appreciated. Thank's, you guy's rock!

sounds like a fine time to flower, partly depends on your strain
i flowered a nl#5 at 6 inches, about 6 nodes - shot up to 29 inches and yielded 35g dry bud
but with cfl's, a little smaller is probably better

just take a cutting off the plants and flower the cuttings - then you can see which plants are female and cull the appropriate original plants

or if you dont have a clone/veg area, cover up a lower sucker branch on the plants every day thus giving it the 12/12 light dark regime, forcing it to flower and thus show sex.

btw for both these methods i have read that using a 10/14 light dark regime can knock a few days off the time it takes to show sex of the clones/branch

When you take a cutting, do you have to cut the main stem, or can you cut off one of the branches and do that..But yeah, either way I don't have a seperate clone/veg room, so covering up a "sucker branch" as you called it, sound's like an easy way to go. Is this branch the very virst node of the plant? And what would you recommend me covering it with? Thank's a million X 2!

I'd hate to bump such an old post, but this is the EXACT situation I'm in, so I could use an awnser to BradyBoes last question. Thanks

i always cut low down side branches for my clones