Lighting Question from 1st Time Grower

[lang1010]

Hi everyone, i have five plants growing right now under two GE plant florcescents. They are 48'' bulbs producing 1900 lumens a piece and i was just wondering if they would be enough to get some decent bud. Any info would be great. Thanks!!

[bigtopsfinn]

No they are not enough.

http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-lighting/140735-answers-about-cfl-hps-how-much-light.html


2000 lumens sq. ft./21500 lumens sq. m. = Absolute minimum for growth. You won't get much from this, especially after the plant has grown a bit. Not really enough to flower well.

3000 lumens sq. ft./32250 lumens sq. m. = Pretty Good growth. Enough light for the entire light cycle, although your yields may be lower.
4000 lumens sq. ft./43000 lumens sq. m. = Very good growth. Once you pass around 3500, growth rate and ability goes up fast.

Over 5000 lumens sq. ft./53750 lumens sq. m. = Optimal growth. Dense growth in all stages.

[lang1010]

do u think i will get any bud at all because i dont have enough money to buy more lights hahaha

[SheCutEmDown]

Yeah you will get something, a leafy/light as hell something.
Invest 30 bucks on CFLs, and it will really help that something.

[Weedhound]

You can do everything including cartwheels but nothing will compare to good lighting. 2 cfls' "aint it." Save up and either buy (alot) more of them or a smaller watt hps bulb. Lighting will make a BIG difference in your end yield.

good luck.

[lang1010]

what kind of CFLs would you guys recommend?

[Roughrider]

See http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-lighting/168579-first-time-grower-using-only-cfls-all-stages.html for some answers. Read other threads, especially the stickied threads.

Bottom line is this. If you've got access to a Wal-Mart, you can get clamp lights, Y-adaptors, and both Warm White (flower) and Daylight (veg) CFLs to take two plants all the way through for around $60-70. You can't really do it cheaper than that and you probably shouldn't try.

Really, to do a decent grow, you need some halfway decent soil ($10 or so), a pH tester ($5 at an aquarium store), a timer for your lights ($10), power strip...all sorts of things. It adds up. And, trust me, you can't scrimp and blow necessary stuff off. IMO, $100 is a bare minimum for a grow for two plants. Weed is...well, it's a weed. But there are a ton of ways to go wrong if you don't do your research and get what's necessary. Spending $40 when you should spend $100 is useless. You'll be throwing the $40 away.