flowering with CFL's??

Will i get a good finished product if I flower with cfl's?

No. No. No. Answers have to be more than 10 characters. HO T5? That is another matter.

Depends on your expectations... What do you mean by "good product"? These are mine last week, 4 1/2 weeks into flower. 100% CFL. My upper kolas are great, but not getting as much lower as I'd like. The buds don't feel overly airy but we'll see when I harvest. I am thinking of adding of HO T5 side lighting for next grow.

Yes!yes!yes!......600w-1000w HPS?..now THAT'S a different storypeace

GrowinDad said:

Depends on your expectations... What do you mean by "good product"? These are mine last week, 4 1/2 weeks into flower. 100% CFL. My upper kolas are great, but not getting as much lower as I'd like. The buds don't feel overly airy but we'll see when I harvest. I am thinking of adding of HO T5 side lighting for next grow.

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Been there - done that - got the t-shirt. The yield sucks using CFL even numerous ones. Light is more focused and has shallow penetration. Requires numerous fixtures. You'll see when the bud dries and you weigh it. The quality is not the question, it is the small amounts. 4 months to complete a grow is 4 months. Why do that to disappoint yourself? Experienced growers can pull off a lot that a newbie like the OP will be disappointed in.

I'm new. Those are my my second "test" grow. I went with CFL because of heat and simplicity. All those ballasts scare me. I think though it depends on your goal. I'm growing for personal use only. So long as I can meet that need with CFL, it's all good. I will be very curious what my yields are on these plants as I have no experience, other than having bought countless bags for decades, to judge from.


Like most things, diiferent strokes for different folks. Though Ihave to admit that whether I get teh yield I'm hoping, for out of these three (about a QP combined) I am still looking at ways to improve it. So the hobby will eventually drive me to something more.

Thanks Harley? By that what do u mean??

Thats good to here, just so many other people tell me i will never acheive good flower developement usiing cfls.

GrowinDad said:

I'm new. Those are my my second "test" grow. I went with CFL because of heat and simplicity. All those ballasts scare me. I think though it depends on your goal. I'm growing for personal use only. So long as I can meet that need with CFL, it's all good. I will be very curious what my yields are on these plants as I have no experience, other than having bought countless bags for decades, to judge from.


Like most things, diiferent strokes for different folks. Though Ihave to admit that whether I get teh yield I'm hoping, for out of these three (about a QP combined) I am still looking at ways to improve it. So the hobby will eventually drive me to something more.

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My 400 watt cfl grow produced high quality bud. Yield was fair enough to keep me with personal smoke for months. I can see how cfl's dont penetrate, and how the bud is effected (makes it a little airy). Lol@ scary ballasts. But you can get a nice 150-250 watt HPS hood with the ballast built in the hood for $80 new. A 150-250 HPS doesn't put out much heat but will probabaly give you larger yeilds and denser bud

hps lights is the best from the info and pics ive seen

I have 2 grows going, one w/600W CFL and the other w/1200W(dual 600 HPS).

The problem with my comparing the 2 is I use real sunlight through non-UV block glass in winter to supplement CFL's. But even then, the MH/HPS bulbs still give WAY more(Like June outdoors)veg growth...but bud size is about the same for both set-ups.

Peace

depends on your expectations ,circumstances and needs,for a personal grow where stealth is a must,cfl's are great .You wont get the yeild or bud density of bud grown under an hps ,but dialed in correctly the quality can be just as good,no doubt in my mind.The best Ive seen from cfl's is about .4 grams per watt yeild. thats 10 42 watt cfls producing 168 grams (6 oz) in about 3.5 months from seed.Good enough for personal use in most cases. Adds about 20. per month to your electric bill,at roughly .16 cents per kilo watt.

HPS is the way to go

Thanks lucky, what i needed to know

A good strain grown well under either setup will give you pretty much the same quality.

Keep em short, LST, keep the CFL right on top, give a bit of side lighting if you can. I was pulling more high quality than I could ever consume in a 1.5 x 1.5 space under CFL's.

As far as density, I get to where towards the end I actually back off my lights because the buds are too dense and i don't want to screw with chance of rot or mold and so I like them to fluff up a bit right before they 'bulk up' the last few weeks.

Because of the way I grew/grow, I have a lot going on in a small space, I would rather have mixed spectrum CFL's than T'5's because wtih CFL I can get em exactly where i need them.

They aint for everyone, you screw with them near daily sometimes.. but for me that was my favorite part.. zooming in and getting the best spread.


Do feel free to mix a few 65 watts in with your 25 watters.. I ran all sizes.. 28 watt, 45 watt, 55 watt, 65 watt, 2700k and 6500k .. no rhyme or reason for it.. just get a small fan blowing and bombard them with CFL's.. it isn't exactly efficient.. but when you are spending only 15 bucks a month on electricity and having to toss more than you can ever use even in your most creative mindset.. you can live with that kind of inefficiency.

That's just me.. I love the CFL.. I only grew for me though.. if I were in it for anything but personal use, I would be using a much different setup... but for personal.. CFL is like a gift from God.

I never understood why people spend the same money if not more on CFL as it would cost to run HID with a fan.

Malevolence said:

I never understood why people spend the same money if not more on CFL as it would cost to run HID with a fan.

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I'm old.. I don't like to bend over.. with CFL I can grow everything I need in an 8 to 12 inch tall plant in a 2 gallon pot under CFL and never even break a sweat..

The heat get's dispersed over a larger area, the smell is reduced significantly. There is less chance of me being a dumb ass and burning myself, or my silly house down.

They are PERFECT for personal use growers like myself.

If I could choose any light to grow under for 'me' I would stay with CFL (working some LED in to subsidize).. but I would trick out my box a bit better and make it even easier and prettier..


There is no one size fits all..

Many years ago before I 'got it'.. I was growing less per plant, in 3 times the dirt under exponentially more light using much more expensive nutrients.

I found for myself to just find a few good strains that adapt well to whatever your environment is, and let them do their thing. Works for me anyway.. everyone else's own mileage may vary.

That's cool and if that's working great for you, don't mess with a good thing.

Anything you can do with 8+ spiral CFLs you can do with 150w HPS and get bigger yields. Using less intense light causes the plants to stretch, so if growing small is your thing you might actually get shorter plants with more intense HID. In addition, they would veg faster cutting time off your grow. Personally I'd feel safer with a single 150w light than 8 CFLs. I mean, my laundry room light has two 100w incandescent light bulbs in the ceiling fixture and I don't even think twice about it.

The only advantage I can think of is CFLs are readily available at walmart.

Not trying to change your mind or anything, you are getting good results that meet your needs.

Malevolence said:

That's cool and if that's working great for you, don't mess with a good thing.

Anything you can do with 8+ spiral CFLs you can do with 150w HPS and get bigger yields. Using less intense light causes the plants to stretch, so if growing small is your thing you might actually get shorter plants with more intense HID. .

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Not the way I grow.. it is LST all the way.. the plants are only 8 inches tall, but if I untied them they would be close to 5 ft. (If I were using HID I would not have to manipulate so drastically).

1 150 Watt HPS would give me a real nice footprint for one plant no doubt, but all the side stuff I have going on, and clones etc, all in the same tiny space, I can pull lights up and down, get them where I need them.

I am WAY LESS efficient dollar for dollar than HPS (I am doing with 300 watt CFL what I could do with half in HID).. but at only 15 bucks or so a month for electricity, I don't mind that kind of inefficiency and I have more control of my environment which is prone to change on any given day.

I pull about 3 ounces a plant of the very best consistently.. Under HID with the same strain in less time, in larger pots I could get a half lb easy from that same plant.. But the grass is no better (not at all.. not one tiny bit.. I've done both for years and years.. the grass, grown well, get's you exactly the same if it is the same mature fruit) and it would be much more like an operation rather than just growing what I need.

That said.. there are times when it would be much easier (not that it is hard) to go back HID .. I spend/spent a good deal of time screwing with the lights.. I like doing it.. but there are days.. heh,. it is a real commitment.. but in my case it fits perfectly with my schedule, and I was at home anyway.