To flower or not to flower.

whenever everything is even or the size you want them, stop tying down and wait maybe a week after your last tie down then switch to flower. just in case the plant caught any stress during the tying down.

nice, thanks dude, im very wary about stressing them anymore though, ive already topped them, and being fem seeds im extremely worried they'll hermie.

TheLemon said:

nice, thanks dude, im very wary about stressing them anymore though, ive already topped them, and being fem seeds im extremely worried they'll hermie.

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The thing you really need to worry about as far as hermies goes is light interruptions during flowing and heat stress.

DigitalTorture said:

The thing you really need to worry about as far as hermies goes is light interruptions during flowing and heat stress.

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I've always known about the light leaks, so it was the first thing i made sure wouldn't be a problem, although my cat had a good go on my tent and i've recently had to cover about 10 claw holes lol.

And im going to see how they do temp wise with 2 flower cfls and if its too much ill drop down to 1. im hoping 1 would be enough, but its much less lumens than i expected, its 8800, you think thatll be enough?

TheLemon said:

I've always known about the light leaks, so it was the first thing i made sure wouldn't be a problem, although my cat had a good go on my tent and i've recently had to cover about 10 claw holes lol.

And im going to see how they do temp wise with 2 flower cfls and if its too much ill drop down to 1. im hoping 1 would be enough, but its much less lumens than i expected, its 8800, you think thatll be enough?

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Not even close to enough. Judging by the look of your plants, I'm gonna say that your bud isn't going to look much better. I'm not being rude, just speaking from experience. We all learn from experience, so finish them off how you feel best, and learn something from it.

So exactly how many lumens do i need for 2 plants?

According to google, only 5000 per sq ft is needed, so with 2 8800 cfls, it should be enough.

TheLemon said:

So exactly how many lumens do i need for 2 plants?

According to google, only 5000 per sq ft is needed, so with 2 8800 cfls, it should be enough.

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A good rule of thumb is somewhere between 40 - 80 watts per square foot. Here, I borrowed this from Fuzzy Duck over on 420 magazine:

Not that lumens has any thing to do with plant growth as its a measurement of light visable to the human eye only !

Its more about PAR, light spectrum & qualitie of it.



But anyway in a nutshell…

Lumens per square foot:

Minimum amount of lighting needed is around 2000 lumens per square foot.
(Two – 23 watt CFL’s, per square foot*)

Mid range is around 5000 lumens per square foot.
(Three - 23 watt CFL’s, per square foot*)

Optimal is 7000-7500, or higher, lumens per square foot.
(Five – 23 watt CFL’s, per square foot*)

*I’m only using CFLs as a reference here, with the assumption they’re kept at a distance of 3 – 5 inches from the plant. It is important to understand that the “penetration” (the farthest measure that quality light reaches down into the plant canopy) will at best be only a few inches deep.

Watts per square foot (wattage per sq ft WILL vary by light source):

Minimum wattage per sq ft.: 30w
Mid Range wattage per sq ft.: 50w
Optimal Range wattage per sq ft.: 50-80w

This was similar to what I've just read, maybe the same thing, 1 could get 17600 from my 2 CFLs which are stated to be 300w (as you said though that could be a lot less), they're 10 times bigger than any of the 23 watters ive seen on youtube mind you.

It's my first grow tho, so I think any smokable bud makes it a sucess. Here's hoping for at least an ounce a plant lol

Thanks again btw

Have you considered scrogging? Looks like it would work like a charm there

wattage said:

Have you considered scrogging? Looks like it would work like a charm there

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Strangely enough I bought a scrog net, but decided not to use it, can i use it just as a support, rather than training or something?

Yeah I guess. It would also make use of light better (distribution would be better) and you would have a stretch control when the flowering starts