Lighting Questions

[mcsweezer]

This seems the only thing to be bothering me, on my first grow
i have two seeds that have sprouted about 2 inches out of the soil
I have a 12in fluorescent and a 100 watt incandescent is this too much? or too little?
the 100 watt is about 2 feet from the plants and the 12in is about a foot away.

another question
should i put the plants on a lighting schedule? and when will i know when to do this?

thanks and first post

the soil i have is miracle grow moisture control though could that be a potential problem?

[ocitown]

These and MANY more questions are all in the stickies in this forum,they really help.Also read the FAQ.

[ocitown]

Make sure your 12" fl. is of the cool white (CW) if not get one,pref. over 5500K.I think this 12" should be ~4".

[SmknVTEC]

Couple things here:

1] MG Moisture control is one of the worst soils for weed plants. Transplant to anything but MG, Scott's and Shultz because most of those soils have pre-added ferts.

2] Incandescent bulbs won't work. In fact they might kill it.

3] CFL bulbs should be about 3 inches from the plants. At 12 inches away, they are getting only a fraction of the potential lumens given by the bulb.

4] Yes, they should be on a light schedule; 18/6 during veg which lasts about a month from the start and when they are about a month old put them on 12/12 to trigger flower. You will need a timer for this; get a "heavy duty" timer.

[OldSkool1010]

That doesn't sound like enough light at all. Incandescent bulbs are terribly inefficient, producing more heat than light (can you say "Easy Bake Oven?"). If you're in the U.S.A. go to home depot or lowes or probably even walamart and buy mini-spiral Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) These have a built-in ballast and screw into an ordinary light socket. Get the most watts you can find, preferably 27+ watts each. These bulbs come in a variety of color temperatures; I have had great success with a combo of Daylight (5500K) and Soft White (2700K) bulbs.

I don't know anything about flouro tubes.