First time grow PLAN

So ive been snooping around the forum for a bout a week trying to formulate a plan for my roommate and i to germinate about 6 plants and hopefully keep 2 or 3 after sexing. We are going to be doing this as cheaply as possible pretty much. Were gonna be growing in a 5 gallon bucket after culling. Ive heard really good things about Fox Farms soils so i was planning on using Light Warrior for germination then Ocean Forrest after that. Is there a good fertilizer FF makes that complements the ocean forrest? Germination and soils arent my main concern at this point tho, lighting is. Im up in the air about trying a low tech cfl system but dont really understand the differences in using a couple four foot florescents. Again i have checked out the forum and maybe im just blind but couldnt really find what i should be using, i always wound up reading about things way more technical than i wanted. Hope to hear from you guys soon, Im anxious to get all the equip and get growing! Thanks!

hey man, im pretty new to this forum also im currently using 4x40 watt floros in two shop lights and two cfls also one little floro the little floro and the two cfls are for surronding light and the two shop lights are mounted atop the plants or plant i had three plants started from bagseed but two days after starting 12/12 (flowering) found that 2 were males.... but after adding the surronding light since as they get bigger the light doesnt get to the bottom leaves,i have to say im happy with my setup for now atleast... as for nutes just be carful you dont over do it go with half or quarter recomended doses of whatever you use and definatly while the plant is small i nute burned my one plant unfourtionatly the only female i later found out shes pretty well recovered tho well anyway good luck hope this was some what helpfull have fun and be safe man

Thanks for the reply! yea your info was helpful, anything i get told will be helpful since i know so little. but i feel a lot better about getting a couple shop lights and going with the floros

Your yields will be significantly reduced by using shop light flouros. They are great for seedlings and clones, and to keep a mother plant alive, but not really suitable for flowering. If you are growing for the heck of it, and don't care about yield, try the shop lights and add a few low wattage CFLs. 6500k for vegging, and 2700k for flowering. For my 4' shop lights, I use GE Cool white Plus T-8's at 6500k. It is primarily used for cuttings, seedlings and mother plants. It also serves as a hold for plants ready to flower that need room in the flowering tent.

My CFLs are in 8" aluminum reflector dishes. This makes them directional and focuses the lumens directly onto the plant, rather than in 360 degrees.

Thanks for the reply! it leads me to more questions of course.

1. Is there a bulb i can throw into the shop fixture during flowering?
2. How drastically reduced will the yield be with the crappy set up?
3. how many CFLs would 2 or 3 plants require? and at what wattage or kelvin? (sorry i dont understand all this electrical crap)

I really appreciate the help so far!

gnslngr said:

Thanks for the reply! it leads me to more questions of course.

1. Is there a bulb i can throw into the shop fixture during flowering?
2. How drastically reduced will the yield be with the crappy set up?
3. how many CFLs would 2 or 3 plants require? and at what wattage or kelvin? (sorry i dont understand all this electrical crap)

I really appreciate the help so far!

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Double check my earlier response for the proper kelvin to use for veg and flower. As for the Flouro's in the shop light and flowering, go with a 2700k bulb and a 6500k bulb combined. This will aid branching and growth during flowering.

As far as how much the yield will be reduced, that is largely dependant on a few variables, however, on average, you'll probably produce about 70-80% less than if you used hid lighting. That means for every ounce you grow with Flouros, you could have produced 4-5 ounces. This will vary widely, depending on whom responds. Some people have had great results with CFLs, but it doesn't happen overnight.

A good idea might be to kick back and browse the CFL grow area of the forums.

Good luck!!

Serapis said:

As far as how much the yield will be reduced, that is largely dependant on a few variables, however, on average, you'll probably produce about 70-80% less than if you used hid lighting.

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Damn thats a lot. That is not worth the extra cash for the lights imo. Well looks like im back to the drawing board for a while. I'll check out/post more in the CFL sections.
Thanks again for the replies, If anyone else has anything please help a brother out.

If you want the best possible yield, use sunlight, the second best right now is hid lamps.

Good luck in your research and welcome to RIU!!