Sunlight VS CFLs - What is it gonna be ?

Illegal Smile said:

I don't understand the logic of giving seedlings or plants in veg 12/12 light. I light them 24/7 until flowering time.

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Have you ever attempted to grow a 100% sativa or something that is very close to being 100% sativa indoors, especially if you have some degree of height limitations?

If not give it a try and maybe then you will understand why some people, not all people, but why some people will go 12/12 right from the seedling stage.

TheLastJuror said:

you will need more then 85w for 1 plant grab another or 2...

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Damn, I thought it would be enough since the plant is not huge in size.
And another grower advised me to not gice a plant less than 30W in CFL, so I figured out it would be enough...

I understand, the more the better, but is a 85W CFL that weak ?
Anybody to back up this issue here ?

BlackBuddha said:

Damn, I thought it would be enough since the plant is not huge in size.
And another grower advised me to not gice a plant less than 30W in CFL, so I figured out it would be enough...

I understand, the more the better, but is a 85W CFL that weak ?
Anybody to back up this issue here ?

Click to expand...

it is possible to get worthwhile results with 85w, BUT much depends on your technique
seen some good lst with under 85w
but you are using 1 bulb? that may complicate things a bit, good top coverage, not so great from the sides
but you can get good results from wattages under 100w, this plant was grown with 78w(3 26w) cfl's, lot's of reflector used though

i agree with smile, 24/7 for veg you will take less time to get the size you want, and you should plan on buying some more cfls, how big is your space? my space is 2ftx2ftx6ft and i used 16 30watt cfls

bikeskill said:

i agree with smile, 24/7 for veg you will take less time to get the size you want, and you should plan on buying some more cfls, how big is your space? my space is 2ftx2ftx6ft and i used 16 30watt cfls

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My grow space is small : 1ftx1.50ftx1.5ft.
That's why I do not want a big size plant, just trying to get a decent result.

I'll post pics tonight.

growone said:

it is possible to get worthwhile results with 85w, BUT much depends on your technique
seen some good lst with under 85w
but you are using 1 bulb? that may complicate things a bit, good top coverage, not so great from the sides
but you can get good results from wattages under 100w, this plant was grown with 78w(3 26w) cfl's, lot's of reflector used though

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Lol Nice plant man, CFL can actually give a good harvest from seeing that pic.

I just got one 85W bulb under a reflector, I already knew about the lower buds that might not get enough light and I don't think I can put more lights into this small room (1.5ft x 1.5ft x 1ft).

I'll try to put something all round for a maximum light reflection.

BlackBuddha said:

My grow space is small : 1ftx1.50ftx1.5ft.
That's why I do not want a big size plant, just trying to get a decent result.

I'll post pics tonight.

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That explains your technique and lighting setup. With that size grow space, you can't do much more. If you had more space, previous advice (veg under 24/0 for 20-30 days before flowing, add more lights on side of plant) would give you bigger yields .

siin82 said:

That explains your technique and lighting setup. With that size grow space, you can't do much more. If you had more space, previous advice (veg under 24/0 for 20-30 days before flowing, add more lights on side of plant) would give you bigger yields .

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Thanks for the advice siin82, I'll keep that in mind.

Basically, now yall understand that I got just little space to grow.
And for the past 4 years I used to live in a 5 bedroom house with a big garden... I had girls coming over all the time BUT I never thought about growing my own weed ! How f***ed up is that ??
IRONY !

yeah, that is a bit funny - on the other hand, you might have tried some 'larger' grows and attracted unwanted attention
your current grow space is pretty close to a pc grow, many have done good grows even in a space this small
lst is often used, you have to be a bit ruthless with the training technique

growone said:

yeah, that is a bit funny - on the other hand, you might have tried some 'larger' grows and attracted unwanted attention
your current grow space is pretty close to a pc grow, many have done good grows even in a space this small
lst is often used, you have to be a bit ruthless with the training technique

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Well I wouldn't have had to worry about larger grows, the basement is as large enough to park 4 cars lol.

Yes you could call it a PC Grow, I started to LST 3 days ago (some leaves got slightly burnt) and I transplanted it about a week ago in a bigger pot.

The plant is 25 days from seed, 12/12 from seed as I explained before. The hairs are growing fast.

Here are the pics.

that is a small space, you are going to have to tie that thing a lot

bikeskill said:

that is a small space, you are going to have to tie that thing a lot

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Yeah that's what I thought, she's gonna make me work a lot until I harvest...

But beyond that, how does she look for a 26 days old ?

a little small, i would say tie it down more now or it will be a lot harder later

I have been lowering the plant as much as possible lately. Not too much 'cause I don't want the stem to snap.

The flowers are growing slowly, everything is still ok. The temp is not going higher than 81°F in there, so CFL was definitely a good choice for this small closet grow.

Since the temp is pretty hot in there, I will need to lower it if I want to turn the girl PURPLE... Anybody got advice for this process ?

i mean if you could run ducting from your a/c vent if you have 1 near the closet and run it to you lil box and put in front of intake that might lower your temps but you will need like a temp of around 60 for some purps

i agree run ducting if you can, my blueberry turned purple at 75F

BlackBuddha said:

High everyone,

This is a simple thread that might answer to a lot of questions.

For my last grow (Purple Widow), which is actually 18 days old and already show pre-flowers with 12/12 from seed, I have given her nothing but sunlight since the weather has been FANTASTIC for a while and her growth has been even better than other plants I have seen on RollItUp (no nutes).
But the end of the summer is coming, which means probable shitty weather to come for me.
So I decided to go buy 2 CFLs 32W to start my AK48 seeds (that I will receive soon) on a 12/12 period. It's gonna be a closet grow with white walls inside and a fan.

- Should I expect a slower growth from these CFLs ?
- Should I already plan for some nutes ?
- A few weeks of veg would be better ?

Let me know people ! Thx !

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-------------------------------------------

To answer your first question...
the answer is Yes. Going from sunlight..
which is the BEST light you can get from
nature. It's the best kind of light you can
use for growing period. Can't do better
than sunlight.

But yea.. expect the growing to slow
a little bit. But trust me.. it will be worth
it to have patience and wait.

Remember.. CFL lighting is kinda like
a 'last resort'. For Example: You could be
like me and not be able to afford the electric
bill when using HPS/MH lights. Plus they put
out a lot of heat as well.

So.. therefore we resort to CFL lights
for growing. They do the job.. but you
need to be a little more patient when using
CFL lights. Your plant growth wont be as
fast as if you were using natural Sunlight
Or MH/HPS lighting.
----------------------------------------


Should you be planning for nutes???
Hell yea you should be

Always make sure your ready for anything
and everything. Make sure you get the
right kind of nutes. Make sure when you
get your nutes for flowering.. that you
pay attention to the NPK chart on the bag
of nutes you look at. You will want a NPK
level of around lets say:

NPK for flowering = 5-15-10
(the above is only a example)
---------------------------------------

As far as vegging for a longer period of
time? I would.

I always veg. my plants for at least 3-5
weeks.

Tho, my last grow.. i tried the 12/12 from
seed method. Went pretty well until i
accidently killed her. She had about another
5 weeks.. and I would have had some nice
smooth smoking buds. But.. something
happened. Long story. She's dead.. im
moving on to a new grow.
But yea.. if you want my opinion i would
say go ahead and make sure you veg your
plants for a good solid 3 to 5 weeks.
------------------------------------------

I hope some of this helped ya out.

peace.

bikeskill said:

i agree run ducting if you can, my blueberry turned purple at 75F

Click to expand...

Alright, the average temp is what I needed, I wont be using ant ducting for that because it is actually around 80-83° with the CFL on.
I'll just leave the door open at night, I think it will work.

ganjaluvr said:

-------------------------------------------

To answer your first question...
the answer is Yes. Going from sunlight..
which is the BEST light you can get from
nature. It's the best kind of light you can
use for growing period. Can't do better
than sunlight.

But yea.. expect the growing to slow
a little bit. But trust me.. it will be worth
it to have patience and wait.

Remember.. CFL lighting is kinda like
a 'last resort'. For Example: You could be
like me and not be able to afford the electric
bill when using HPS/MH lights. Plus they put
out a lot of heat as well.

So.. therefore we resort to CFL lights
for growing. They do the job.. but you
need to be a little more patient when using
CFL lights. Your plant growth wont be as
fast as if you were using natural Sunlight
Or MH/HPS lighting.
----------------------------------------


Should you be planning for nutes???
Hell yea you should be

Always make sure your ready for anything
and everything. Make sure you get the
right kind of nutes. Make sure when you
get your nutes for flowering.. that you
pay attention to the NPK chart on the bag
of nutes you look at. You will want a NPK
level of around lets say:

NPK for flowering = 5-15-10
(the above is only a example)
---------------------------------------

As far as vegging for a longer period of
time? I would.

I always veg. my plants for at least 3-5
weeks.

Tho, my last grow.. i tried the 12/12 from
seed method. Went pretty well until i
accidently killed her. She had about another
5 weeks.. and I would have had some nice
smooth smoking buds. But.. something
happened. Long story. She's dead.. im
moving on to a new grow.
But yea.. if you want my opinion i would
say go ahead and make sure you veg your
plants for a good solid 3 to 5 weeks.
------------------------------------------

I hope some of this helped ya out.

peace.

Click to expand...

THANK YOU for replying to the original post of this thread.

I pretty much figured out most of it, I plan to veg my next seeds a few weeks before the 12/12 period, but I will definitely use my 250W HPS this time !

Sorry about your loss .

Alright people from the community, I got a new question here (that might be stupid, but f**k it I'm still posting it) :

I started to LST the plant too late (I had never done this before) and despite all the strings lowering her size, the plant manage to go back up by any means (which was predictable). I know that with the time she is gonna grow up more and more since she is flowering. But my N°1 issue is SPACE here !

So, instead of having the 85W CFL upside her head, would it be a good idea to put it vertically (standing) on the side of the plant? What would eventually happen ?