starting first grow, have some q's

Long time reader, first time poster. Good board! :thumbsup:

So I have dozens of these schwag seeds - I put 5 of them in little cups of potting soil and am waiting for them to germinate by a window. I have a double 4 ft floro tube light fixture that has two 40W bulbs in there. Sylvania cool white plus, 4100K in temp according to their website.

The questions - can I use this light for a little while after the seeds sprout? I understand I'd have to keep the lights 1-2 inches from the sprouts. Not a problem adjusting it. I have closet space that is entirely white on all sides except for the carpet. But 4100K? That's not very good? But if I can use it, how long, or until how big (# nodes) can these get until I need to move them to better light?

The reason I ask is because I'm designing and putting together a small grow box. I'm looking at about 2 sq ft on the floor and 4 ft in height. Good for 3 plants or so. I'll have CFL's for veg and flower when I get there, and will use the info from this site for lumens, etc. But once I have that built the floro tubes go back to the garage.

This is my first try at it so we'll see how it goes. Ok, thanks in advance for the info! :rastasmoke:

You're gonna have three tiny plants in 2 sq. ft. I guess/hope you're doing a SOG or something.

What size fluoro tube are you using? The smaller (in diameter) the tube, the better. Thinner tubes are a lot more efficient. The number on the tube should tell you the size--T12s are the biggest, T8s are thinner, T5s are the thinnest (and best). 4100k is fine for veg growth. I'm curious to hear what others think, but IMO and experience, plants don't start needing huge light until about two weeks into growth. It's pretty easy to tell if you don't have enough light. Around week 3, plants really grow fast (depending on your strain, of course). I'd say you'll be okay for the first two weeks with the tubes.

Ok, these bulbs are T-12s. The big ones maybe 1.5" in diameter. I guess this will hold me over until I build the box. The seeds haven't germinated in 5 days because I put too many holes in my dixie cups to drain water out, so I replanted them. Now the soil is staying moist w/o constant watering. All the seeds were splitting, which is a good sign. And if they don't work, I have a bag full of more seeds to try again. Buys me more time. Done this before outdoors - was female but didn't flower, only got 5-6 hrs of light but it yielded an 8th of leaves that actually worked pretty well. :)

So anyway, how many square feet should I have per plant? Was thinking of going LST, and don't want to get too large of a box. I'm reading about lumens per square foot and don't want to go crazy on the space and lights (and heat) if I can help it.