I started 12/12 on the 11th and was wondering how can I tell if my plants r actually in flower just to assure there r no light leaks and that there actually flowering what r some signs that they r idk what strain they r there under a 250w cfl thx
give it a few more days and you will see some strong growth. the plant will 'stretch.' 'The stretch' is the first two weeks of flowering in which the plant has rapid vegetative growth.
It can take a couple weeks of 12/12 before some strains show preflowers. You just have to be patient. As for light leaks, when the light is on, step out of the grow room and turn all the lights off outside the room. If any light leaks out, cover it. Also, when the lights in the room are off, you can do the opposite. Turn lights on outside of the grow room, go into your grow room and see if you have any leaks.
I grew The Cheese and Blue Mystic in my last grow. I went totally dark for 36 hours then 12/12. It took my plants about 8-10 days before you could see evidence of flowering. And when they did, wow, every tip and every node had a bud. I knew then that I was on the home stretch. Good luck!
Sativa plants take a little longer to finish than Indica but they should still be showing preflowers in about 2 weeks.