will this work?

okay im new here i was just wondering if a 70w metal halide bulb will grow 1 plant. iv grown before but outside, decided to try indoors, any advice would be appreciated. thanks LG

It will grow but now as well as a400 watt MH but i think it will grow. I was going to use one of those bulbs for clones, very small plants for a week or two thats it, and then move to the 400 or 600

it'll be slow but it will grow, maybe throw in a few cfls to help it along, but imo it will only veg, i dont think uv much chance of flowering with it , wrong spectrum and nowhere near enuff lumens buddy.

MH can and does flower good plants. I used to go from veg to flower with mine all the time. I would def add some cfls tho.

okay so i can start it off with a 70? and with a 400w what kinda socket do i have to have cuz the base on the lightbulb is much bigger than a normal base

you will have to buy a 400w ballast im preety sure you cant just screw them in and its all peachy. I use cfls so these type of bulbs are not for me.

You will be fine with the 70w MH in fact I would stick with it and get you a bunch of cheap CFL's for your first grow. With only one plant it could come out to be male and your first grow you could screw up and kill it.

So no need to go out and spend good money yet on something like a 400w HPS because you cant just "screw it in" to a socket, you need a correct ballast and such. Stick with the cheap and simple things and READ READ and LEARN all you can for this first grow.

Second time out then if your confident try to step up your game and spend some money

SikSol said:

You will be fine with the 70w MH in fact I would stick with it and get you a bunch of cheap CFL's for your first grow. With only one plant it could come out to be male and your first grow you could screw up and kill it.

So no need to go out and spend good money yet on something like a 400w HPS because you cant just "screw it in" to a socket, you need a correct ballast and such. Stick with the cheap and simple things and READ READ and LEARN all you can for this first grow.

Second time out then if your confident try to step up your game and spend some money

Click to expand...

well put! the best advice for R.I.U members is too read! I spent countless hours and about 150 posts before i even attempted!

thanks guys, i read alot of threads tryin to get as much knowledge about growing as i can. how many watt cfl do i need?

you can squeeze a lot out the 'lower lumen' setup if you are generous with reflectors
i took a northern lights right through flower with 78w of cfl

Yes, it will grow one plant fine...

The secret is to top-off the plant ASAP after four branches form, and use the four branches to flow around the light. You need to LST, low-stress-train, the branches to follow the floor until they are 12-inches away from the light that hangs down. Then you allow the four branches to rise, staying away from the center of the bulb. This is essentially a mini-vertical grow.

No reflectors will help you get more from that tiny bulb. You have to use as much direct lighting as possible.

The addition of four 150w (32w real) CFL bulbs will help a lot.

You will also need the help of a screen or stakes, to support the octopus growth. Your four branches should form a giant "X" if you look down on it, leading each branch to each of the four corners of your grow area. All the leaves and new branches will turn to face the light as they grow up.

thanks a bunch guys, how do i start lst?