Beginner Question

[Talfrn]

I want to grow a small yeild, just for myself. I have been growing outdoors, but with winter coming, and the more research I do, I have become interested in indoor growing. But....I have read and know all about the infared detectors that police use, and also I have heard that your electric bill rises as well. I live in an upper class area with very low police activity.
what types of lighting would you suggest for 3-4 plants? also, should I be concerned about growing ( don't want to loose the house ;) indoors with such a small amount of plants?

Can I buy these lights at home depot? And what exactly am I asking for?

Thanx so much

Talfrn

[GRB.4.Life]

Well, im not much of an indoor grower. But i know a few things from friends and small experiments here and there. For 3-4 plants youll need a grow space roughly 5ft tall, 4ft wide, an 4ft long..If ya have more space then that, cool, but a grow-box is recommended.

Now, the bigger the space is the bigger light yur gonna need because light escape..So you would be better with a smaller space..As for what kind of lights. Well, personally I use Compact Flouroescents. For 3-4 plants you should use at LEAST two CF's per-plant. You can use CF's from seedling to flower and yield quite well. They dont really get hot and you can just use a couple small fans for circulation/ventilation. CF's have a satisfactory growth factor in my opinion..

But you may want to spend more money on something like a few Hallide bulbs..High pressure sodiums work really good too. Halide and HPS lights are a lot more efficient for growing and generally will give you a higher yield, however, they are costly and get hot..So not only will you be pick pocketed with the expensive bulb, the ballast, and the wires, but then you have to buy some ventilation!

Everything for the CF's can be bought at home depot..Including the bulb and fixtures. CF's will all usually say, "energy saving" or something similar. Those are the ones you want. When you shop for grow lights, remember, its LUMENs that count, not so much as the wattage. The wattage only counts for penetration. In any case you still want the highest wattage CF you can find. I myself have about 6 42watt CFs from homedepot...

HPS and Halide lights, well, you can buy the bulbs at HD, but as far as the ballasts and everything goes, i have no idea where to get those. I guess most people just use E-bay...

I wouldnt really be too concerned..Just keep it confidential. Dont be stupid about it. Dont brag and dont show people you're insecure with. The laws arent really trying to catch personal users. As a matter of fact they would much rather you grow your own than contribute to buying it on the streets. They wanna catch the potential distributors. So dont make it look like you are one and youll be straight..

Any other questions just holla..

Goodluck, peace, stay high! Happy Harvest!

[slayah]

do CF's goes into standart socket ? or do they need a ballast ? can I buy a desk lamp and replace standart bulb with CF ?

[del...]

they have a built-in ballast and require a grounded outlet (those 3-prong outlets on your wall) at most. but most come in kit form (easy to put together) and will probably also need a pig tail and wire nuts...so ask before you take it home. plan on a minimum of 40W/sq ft...double that for better results...and no, the lights for a small grow will not produce enough heat to worry about. you can easily figure the costs of electricity by looking at your elec bill and doing a little basic math. cost/KW x total wattage will get you real close...

[slayah]

what is pig tail and wire nuts ?

[del...]

usually flouro's come as a kit in a box without the pig tail (the wire/plug you use to connect to a wall outlet). they usually come without because they're wired into the line in the ceiling/wall and turned on/off by a switch. wire nuts are those conical shaped plastic connectors that splice two wires together...

[slayah]

should I buy some standart desk lamps and put CF's on them or there is some better method ?

[GRB.4.Life]

You can actually re-wire many CFs together and line your growbox walls with them..I dont recommend it though as it is very tedious.

The energy saving CFs you buy from home depot do screw in to normal light sockets. So the answer to your question slayah, is yes..But make sure that the desk lamp or other light fixture can handle the wattage of the CF..

[llamaman666]

the cfs i have are just take outa box and put in, easy, same as using a reglar lightbulb. I got 20 60 watts at costco for onlu 10.50, so if u got a card and there wher ur r, go there.

[GRB.4.Life]

Twenty 60watt CFs? I want some 60 watt CFs!! Where do u find 60watt CFs besides costco?? The highest ive seen so far was 42watts..And i got a few of those. Its all Home Depot had to offer..