Hey whats goin on grass city? This is my first post and my first grow. I have a small cabinet and i'm going to be running 4, 42 watt CFL's. It's not a lot, but i'll probably add more later. Anyway, I have 4 cool daylight cfl's(6000K) and 4 soft white cfl's(2700K). I know 6000K has lots of blues and is good for vegging, and 2700K is Higher in reds for flowering. My question is, when i switch to flowering, should i use a combination of cool white and soft white, or just use all soft white? same for vegging: is it better to use both spectrums, or just use the cool white?
I like to but some will argue not to. others will say it doesnt matter. ive seen veg done in 5500K,5600K,2700K,5000K you name it. same goes for flowering. Though traditionally 5600K VEG 2700K BLOOM.
Mostly personal preference, I would just stick with the traditional way since its proven to work well.
ill definitely stick a cool white bulb during flowering. Its supposed to get your buds a bit more resinous and sticky, although i have never noticed a considerable difference, nor hava i ever grown quality seeds or ran "control" plants to tell the difference. It doesnt hurts to have a broader spectrum as long as its in the right "color". For vegging i do go all 6500 K and a 4100 one. Hope this helps.
I'd skip the 4100K, it's too green to be very helpful for either stage. I do agree with using a daylight bulb or two in your flowering mix. During veg, I'd just do all daylight. Some may disagree, but I can't think of any benefit from added red during veg.
If you are talking about the same number of bulbs either way, then I recommend focusing on the spectrum good for that phase. In other words, if you are asking if you have 8 bulbs should they be 8 in 6500k for vegging and 8 in 2700k for flowering or if they should be 4 of each spectrum, then I say all 8 in the targeted spectrum. But, if you are asking about adding bulbs, then yes go ahead and add more. In other words, if you are wondering about 4 in 6500k for vegging and 4 in 2700k for flowering or if using 8 mixed, then definitely 8 mixed. To turn it around, more light is always better, and as much light in the targeted spectrum as possible is better. And I agree that the 4100k isn't very useful, MJ has a bit of a blind spot in the middle of the spectrum.
thanks for the input guys. i have 8 bulbs, 4 daylight, 4 soft white, but i can only use 4 at a time right now because i don't have anymore light sockets. so based on all your thoughts, i think i will try using the 4 daylights for veg. then when i switch to flowering, i'll rock 2 daylights and 2 soft whites.