Im so confused!!!!

First time grower... I know F*** all about anything. The only lamps I'm familiar with is stuff like this:
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/946/790413.JPG
I know I know. Help me out here. CFL BULBS?!?! WTF can i plug that stuff into a british wall socket?!?! if there's a way how. help me out.

Need help with lamps... explain nice and slow for me.. im new in this game.

I only plan to have like 5 plants in my bedroom.

read the grow faq.

CFL stands for compact fluorescent lamp. These are available in several different sizes, from the normal household energy-saving bulbs to the much bigger enviro-lights/eco-lights.

The normal household energy saving bulbs will plug into a standard light bulb holder, however an enviro-light/eco-light needs a bigger type of bulb holder, called a E40 or GES (Giant Edison Screw) holder. Obviously, if you are growing with normal sized bulbs, you will need a lot more of them to provide the same amount of light as a much larger enviro-light/eco-light. Which brings us nicely onto HID lights.

HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights are generally much more powerful than fluorescent lights. However they also produce more heat and require better ventilation. They can be divided into MH (Metal Halide) and HPS (High Pressure Sodium) lamps. MH lights produce more blue light and are better for vegetative growth, whereas HPS lights produce more red light and are better for flowering.

Generally, CFL lights are used for smaller grows, where heat could cause a problem, whereas HID lights are better for larger grows, as they are more powerful and can cover a larger area.

Check out https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/937-how-grow-marijuana.html and http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml for more info.

Hope I haven't confused you further

thanks alot youve cleared my understanding a lot (i hope) Im thinking of just getting a few household cfl bulbs and lugging them into my wall socket so they can watch over my plants when ive planted the seeds

what voltage would i need? Ive heard abotu 40 watts is good but then again im a ignorant person on this stuff.


soon... soon i wil know

The wattage you need depends on the size of your growing area. I've read that 50 watts of lighting per square foot of growing space is optimal with HID lighting, although I'm not sure whether this is true with CFL lights.

Personally I'm using two 125 watt eco-lights in a 4.5 square foot growing area. However, as I'm waiting for my sprouts to turn into seedlings, I can only guess that this will provide enough light for my plants. If not, I'll be buying extra lights

This may sound obvious, but if you're using the household CFL bulbs, make sure you use the actual wattage and not the equivalent wattage when working out how many bulbs you need. For example, a CFL bulb may have 15 watts of actual wattage, but the packet might claim it is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent bulb.

BTW, I just found the GrowFAQ on this site. It may help answer any other questions you have - https://www.rollitup.org/view.php?pg=faq