New to CFL growing

[HateHeaven]

Yeah, I'm using a cellphone camera at the moment, so mine isn't much better. But it doesn't look like your plants are much farther ahead of mine. Do you have a grow journal so I can stay updated

Yeah, ill be getting a few more CFL's very very soon. I'll update on here when possible.

[Balkey]

No, I haven't created a log yet. I wanted to get about a month in and be certain I will succeed in growing first before I showed the women off. Some of mine were planted at different times like the ones in the cup, they are only about 4 days old or so. The one in the middle is 7 days, and one on the right is 7 days (had a problem getting a thin layer of seed coat off its cotyledons. So, except for the middle one, the majority of mine had trouble with its seeds.....stunting its growth a tad bit.

I've made sure to keep the lights as close as possible to avoid stretching.

[HateHeaven]

Well I wish the best of luck to you and to see yours flower into beautiful buds :thumbsup:

[Balkey]

I'll keep ya updated if something happens, so you can possibly avoid the same problem if I have any. By the way, I'm using Fox Farms Ocean forest 60-70% and 30-40% perlite. Just a FYI, watering with 6.3-7.0ph water, and NO nuts. I want to learn how to grow without nuts first. Soil contains some bat guano and shit like that so I should be all right. Adios amigos.

[HateHeaven]

I'm using the same soil, I got it from a friend.
well I'm off to sleep. Take care, and I will see you around :rasta:

[Roughrider]

Four of the 40 watt CFLs is probably going to be decent for two plants. It depends on how big your plants are when you go into flower. If you flower at 3-4 weeks with an 8" plant, you plant won't take up much space...probably less than 1 sq. ft. and plant that's 2 feet tall If you flower at 5 weeks with a 11-13" plant, you'll probably end up with a plant that takes up about 1.25 sq. ft. If you flower for six weeks or more, you could end up with a huge plant.

It's a big deal because what light is about is how much is striking the area you are growing in. More room = More lights. When you're in seedling and early veg., the plants are small and don't take up much space. I veg two plants under a 10" reflector with 2 26w 6500k bulbs. That's good for the first couple of weeks. (Yes, the 6500k is bettyer if veg; "warm white"--around 2700-3000k--is better for flowering.)

But you really should have 4500-5000 lumens per sq. ft. to get a decent result. So if you've got 2 plants that will take up about 2.3 to 2.5 sq ft. (which is flowering when they get to around 12" which is what I do), you'll need 10,000 to 12,000 lumens. A 40 watt CFL puts out about 2600 lumens, so you're in the ballpark with four of them for two plants. Do everything you can to maximize your light, too--mylar or flat white walls.

[melodious fellow]

flowering when they get to around 12" which is what I do), you'll need 10,000 to 12,000 lumens. A 40 watt CFL puts out about 2600 lumens, so you're in the ballpark with four of them for two plants. Do everything you can to maximize your light, too--mylar or flat white walls.

Hey guys! Great reading your grow so far, I am embarking on my first real indoor grow right now.

Is 10,000 lumens of CLF's really enough to flower 2 plants? That is great news for me, as I am attempting to revive and flower only 1 plant, but have 9,000 lumens of CLF. I am using a large bucket with a 10 in diameter pot inside the bucket, with a car's dashboard reflector surrounding it for reflective purposes. I don't really have a top to the bucket, but multiple light fixtures with reflectors cover the top fairly well as they are also supplying light downward.

Definitely plan on following this as it looks like your methods are similar to mine, and you guys arn't talking way over my head, like some of the more advanced grows here.

My grow is http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...ml#post1758574

If the link does not work, it is under indoor growing, entitled "closet set-up possible without box?" But I do have a box/bucket now [/I][/I]

thnx, looking forward to reading more, and peace

[kdspecial]

Either way, your plants will grow, just not to the potential especially using CFLs.

Not that I wanna slam on you, but I don't agree with you.

Have you ever seen my yeilds with CFLs? There pretty dang decent. And I believe I'm pretty close to the max potiential ot the particular strain.

I still believe Light is a big part of reaching MAX Potientia, l but Ventilation, Nutrients and proper care are what really makes a plant meet its potiential.

I hate to see a CFL basher.. Or a CFL hater.... (not tyhat you are) It just gets people discourged. I used to be discourged when I would look at HID's vs. CFL but now after I have really mastered my Tecniques, (feeding, ventaliation, Love, Bugs, Scheduals etc) I have pulled better yeilds than my firneds growing the same strains with HIDS.

just had to make sure the CFLer's don't get discouraged.

kd

[Roughrider]

There are two problems with CFLs, one of which can be dealt with and the other which is kind of built in (but has a good side as well). One problem is that CFLs don't give you as much canopy penetration. When you've got a lot of light emanating from one small source (like a HID light), you get better penetration. You can get around this by having a couple of lights below the canopy. One idea I'm going to try in a few months is to have a pair of 2 foot, 2 bulb T5 ballasts running down from the top of my cabinet. You can get them for $20 as Home Depot, and two bulbs on each side will put out 4,000 lumens per side. Enough of that will go underneath to make up for what you lose in penetration with CFLs.

The other problem is that CFLs aren't as efficient as HID (HPS or MH) lights. A 250 watt HPS puts our around 25,000 lumens...100 lumens per watt. CFLs, at their best, are more like 65 to 70 lumens per watt. So if you have 10 of the 26 watt, 1750 lumen CFLs, you're pulling 260 watts...but only producing 17,500 lumens. To get as much light as an HPS or MH, you need more bulbs. There's no getting around that.

But, because CFLs generate light over a larger area--which is why they don't penetrate as well--they also are easier to cool (they have more bulb area for heat dissipation). So cooling is less of a hassle with CFLs...although if you've got a bunch of them, they still generate some heat.

I think other adivce here is right; the smart thing to do is maximize your light and grow variables. Use reflectors on your light...don't let anything get lost. Make sure you've got good reflective surfaces in your grow area. Good ventilation. Flush every few weeks. Don't over or underwater. It sounds simple, it is simple...but you want to make it easy on yourself as possible. And, yes, you can take two (small) plants through flower with 10,000 lumens. For a reasonable sized plant, I'd go 2,000-3,000 more, though. 13,000 lumens is going to be more or less 200 watts of CFLs. That's enough to do quite well. Check out some of the Rubbermaid grows and see how they did.

Melodious Fellow...you may be dealing with heat, although I have to say that I keep my CFLs 3" or less from my plans and don't get much if any heat issues. Your plants may just have been too stretched...if you were in an area where there was a short day period, the plant will have stretched for every bit of light it could get. It's hard going with a plant like you describe, since the stems are often too thin to support buds, and they are really spread out so you don't get much yield. There may be others that know something different, and it's hard to tell without photos, but that's my guess.

[kdspecial]

Good points in the post above...

Low heat is a great assest when your dealing with a BOX/Cabinet type space.

This grow that I have going currently One of my plants is right touching the lights. I don't wanna tie it or cut it so I just said fuk it lets see what happens. So far beside the odd Burnt tip The Bud production is much like the rest of the crop. Im really surprised so far.

However this is with a T5 bulb which isn't exactly a CFL but sitll similar I believe.

3 inches away from the light is a good rule to follow. And I find I actully do get better results when My plants are a alittle further away from the bulbs (even though supposedly the closer to the CFL the better or more lummes) but in my tight space somtimes I can't do that like this grow. So as of right now my plants sit about 1/2 Inch away from the bulbs and one touches.

kd