i want 2 start a grow useing cfl lights

riddleme

Well-Known Member
totally depends on how you plan to grow, as in what style, how many plants, how big is your grow space

you can check my Goin Loco link for some good info if you only want to grow one plant with a cfl
 

pj puffen

Member
ya i just wanted 2 start like 4 plants under cfl like would the outcome be the same like as if i was growing 4 plants under 1000 watt hps how the engery is , will i get about the same amount of weed out of it, do u think they would grow at the same speed if i feed them the same stuff
 

That 5hit

Well-Known Member
HOPES SOMETHING IN THIS HELPS
SOIL GROWING BASIC
cherry popping grow technic for indoor soil growing
(get a few grows under your belt before jumping into advanced cultivation, learn the basic)
a good location, soil, nutes, lights, and co2 can only take you so far
big buds and good yeilds are based on genes and growing skills

plant life is tipicaly
2wks-1month veg 24/0 or 18/6
2-3 month flower 12/12
4 months (maybe 3) all together from seed to cured smoke

everything can be found at any bigbox store
place seed in a cup of water
check every day untill you see seed crack and or tap root
then place in a 1in deep hole covered with soil, in a 1 gal pot full of soil
water plants ever 2-3 days or when soil is dry
now get a digital thermometer, one with a temperature and a humidity gauge
optional items : heater, a/c, dehumidifier
maintain lights on temps of 70-80 (with co2 you can let it go as high as 95)
at lights off stay above 60. keep humidity around 40%-60% light on/off
when you see a sprout
re. young plants can live on the nutes that are already in every soil no need to add any nutes at this time just water
water plants ever 2-3 days or when soil is dry, try not to over water and add no fertilizer
place light (26 or 42 watt CFL 2700k warm with hood and clamp) over it keeping light as close as 2-4 in.
one bulb type can be used from start to finish, but better results can be had by switching bulb color at dirferant growth stages
...........cfl 6500 Kelvin (cool blueish/ white color spectrum) =to mh used for vegging bushing stem leaf
...........cfl 2700 Kelvin (warm redish/orange color spectrum) =to hps used for blooming fruiting budding
as the plant gets bigger add more light (if you use mh or hps follow light distance
guidelines, you'll find out more about them as you advance in you grow skill)
now time for veg growth
get a light with hood (and put it on an on/off timer set timer for 18/6)
water plants ever 2-3 days or when soil is dry
after 2 weeks of just plain water introduce nutes at 1/4 strength, every other water
when picking nutes (fertilizer)NPK try to keep it simple
for veg pick a nute high in N and low in PK
for flowering pick a nute high in P and low in NK
N: nitrogen is used to stimulate new vegetative growth and overall health.
P2O5: phosphorus oxide is used to stimulate flower development and rooting.
K2O: potassium oxide is used to stimulate stem growth and overall health
a great fert for beginners are any tomato plant ferterlizer
inrich air with co2 if you gat it (not needed if less then 6 plants, just open a window or pump in fresh air)
after 2wks too a months of vegging its time to sex and flower
tranpants to a 3-5gal pot
if still useing CFL's double or triple the amount of lights (the more light the more dence and bigger the buds will be)
set timer for 12/12 (depending on strain plants can double even triple in size (height) in this stage)
this will show sex and flower your plants, giving you smokable buds
keep the female's they grow white hairs
discard the males they grow grape like ball clusters (pollen sacs)
discard the hermi they grow both sex (re. if it has balls on it discard it)
give it 2 wks of 12/12 then increase nutes
lights will stay on 12/12 untill finish which could be 8-14 wks depending on strain dominates :
short plant with fat wide leaf = indica dom = 8-10 wks,
tall plant with long skiny leaf = sativa dom = 10-14 wks
by far the best way to tell when the plant is ready to harvest is by looking at the trichome
you want to harvest at about a 40%-50% red to white ratio. you will need a minimum 30x zoom microscope (radio shack)
flush plant by feeding plain water no nutes for last 2 wks (improves taste)
cut, hang, dry 5-7 days @ 40%-50% humidity
smoke
or
cure:
place in mason jars sealed tight for 12hr in a dark place
open jar and take buds out and let dry for 30m to 1hr or untill dry to touch
replace in jars resealed in a dark place
repeat this for 2wks to a month or untill buds nolonger become wet in jar after 12hr
now smoke
or seal away for long term store

rules to a successful longterm grow
1. tell NOone
2. NEVER ever break rule 1
3. dont grow where you dont own
4. restrict weapons of any kind on property
5. be seen, but keep a low profile in community
6. suppress or eliminate odors emanating from grow room
7. pay your bills
8. descretly acquire & place items
9. descretly despose of waste
10. don't talk to the police. if caught tell them your name and ask for your lawyer. say nothing, sign
nothing. sign nothing that says you said nothing. ask for your lawyer
HOPED SOMETHING IN THIS HELPED
 

corykindbud

Well-Known Member
lol he asked about cfl's and your trying to teach him how to grow weed. he knows how to grow guys, trust me.
 

Rusty Crutch

Well-Known Member
You could get results from using high powered CFL's but you can't beat HID. I only use CFL for vegetating or side lighting. CFL's come in different color temps. You will need to use 6500k for vegetating and 2700k for flowering. For side lighting I spent $167 on 7 x 26w (182w) 2700k spirals, lamp holders and two power boards when I could have spent $180 on another new 400w HPS bulb, ballast, lamp holder and shade. CFLs pale in comparison to HID.
 

sk'mo

Active Member
I figure they'll have a section on lighting and CFLs vs. HIDs. Books are handy like that. Wasn't trying to sound condescending.

You'll have lower yields vs. HPS, save energy and reduce heat. Good for veg, not so hot for flowering. Poor light penetration through the canopy. I suppose it all really depends on how far you want to go with it and what your goals are.
 

riddleme

Well-Known Member
I figure they'll have a section on lighting and CFLs vs. HIDs. Books are handy like that. Wasn't trying to sound condescending.

You'll have lower yields vs. HPS, save energy and reduce heat. Good for veg, not so hot for flowering. Poor light penetration through the canopy. I suppose it all really depends on how far you want to go with it and what your goals are.
Light penetration is BS the plant will adapt to proper spectrum of light in different ways (simple botany) read this it's a direct link to the post
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/316301-calling-all-noob-growers-5.html#post4018843

I spend a lot time on here trying to teach the proper use of lights

This plant (as you can see in the pic) is growing under two 23 watt cfls and two dual 24 inch T5's, top cola is as big as my forearm

it's all about knowing how to dial in your garden
 

Attachments

sk'mo

Active Member
I see what you're saying, but growing a plant in ideal conditions is still preferable to forcing it to adjust to sub-optimal conditions. Or are you contending that producing fan leaves gives better results/more efficient?

Let me correct myself, flo light is more diffuse than HPS. It just doesn't reach as far.

I'm using 4 T5s on a plant myself and it's growing quite well. If I was to grow a larger garden, I would choose HPS, simply because they cover more area. Cost/Benefit. Most people report that the yield from using flos was less than that of when they switched to HPS.

All that said, you can't argue with results, and those are some nice buds.
 

Danthebull

Well-Known Member
Light penetration is BS the plant will adapt to proper spectrum of light in different ways (simple botany) read this it's a direct link to the post
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/316301-calling-all-noob-growers-5.html#post4018843

I spend a lot time on here trying to teach the proper use of lights

This plant (as you can see in the pic) is growing under two 23 watt cfls and two dual 24 inch T5's, top cola is as big as my forearm

it's all about knowing how to dial in your garden
Super grow just using the cfl's riddleme. One of the best for cfl grow's i have seen on here.
 

pj puffen

Member
mmm that is what i wanted 2 see thanks man that looks yummy so when u budded did they take the same time 2 bud out
 
Top