one cfl and a dream

I am making this post to simply tell every new grower that cfl is not the best or even really a decent way to grow Mary Jane. Equivalent ratings mean nothing of your using ten 23w cfl lights your using 230w of power. Now that Bill is going to be the same as a 200w hid light. The only difference is hid lighting travels further penetrates better and has better watt to growth rate ability. Cfl sucks you can't grow with one cfl and a dream.

 

I hope so really though every new grower wants to use a cfl and whine they can't get any yeild. If you don't veg a plant from seed, if your using 100-200w you are not going to get bud. I have read the sites saying cfl is better than hid they use cfl 23w equivalent to 100w incandescent as part of the argument. For real what? My hps kicks out 89000 lumens any idea how many cfl lights it takes to get there? Like 70 bulbs by the time you get there how many splitters plug ins outlet strips and bulbs did you buy? What a hassle moving bulbs to stay two inches from the plant, in fact if you have to be two inches from the plant how can the light be good. Watts to lumens hid kills cfl. Please for the love of God stop giving us new growers a bad name stop spreading that cfl lights and auto flowers are the best things to happen to growing Mary Jane. They are geared towards people who don't want to invest money. Mary Jane welfare growers if you will, get a job aka get some real lights.

 

Why would you want a plant to stretch? Not being a douche that's a real question. I want my girls short tight and with more side branches which is exactly what mh or led will do.
Also you don't plan to flower with 100cfl light bulbs anytime soon I see.

 

I wouldn't say this is a light issues though, I veg for 8 weeks myself with a 600w hps light I don't bother using my. Four girls 4x4 grow room and I have to tuck them in to close the door. 48" tall plants even after super cropping and lsting them. I have the opposite problems as you I have limited space with to much plant growth. Taller plants does not necessarily mean increased yeild indoors.
Same strain same soil same temps? Very odd to me that this is your experience. All I can say is that my 600w kicks the shot out of the led I am using to veg now. 175w cob Apollo led which also kicked the shot out of my cfl start before that 8x23w 184w cfl veg starter.
Most people are looking for the opposite of stretch the tighter the nodes the tighter the buds the bigger the flower. I will trade a 6" long by 2" thick bud over a 12" by half inch bud everyday myself. Of course those numbers are just an example.

 

Cfl does create heat I will grant you not as much as a mh or hps bulb but used without venting it will heat up a small room. Cfl is only really any good at all in a 1'x2' wrapped in mylar or white paint grow room. I know people are loving the micro grows but finding see it. I consider my 4x4' grow room a micro grow.
Laup that's my point cfl nut hangers will tell you that hid lighting isn't as efficient as cfl. This is only true if we are using watt to equal watt ratio ignoring par and lumens. In other words if we throw science out the window and make up numbers based on sellers claim cfl is king. After bulb y adapter clamp light you are talking $25-$30 per 92w double that again $50 - $60 but we aren't done yet to make up for the loss poor par rating we need more for light single bulb outlets 4x $10. There you go bam you spent $100 where the duck is the savings?
If one more mother ducker tells me it's in less watts used I will give em shaken baby syndrome. A watt is a watt unless for that watt you make better par or lumen numbers which cfl does not.

 

It is a weed for sure, it's not that hard once you know as you say. A lot of light 600w plus some wind, good soil, fresh co2, good temps, ph controlled water, nutes and lots of light. How you get there is up to you but not giving your plants it's needs will mean you don't get good yields. Led and Lep light emitting plasma are likely the future but until they bring the cost of these markets down hid should be the choice of a grow on a budget, maybe even hif high intensity fluorescent for veg but fuck cfl for anything but your household light.

 

I have not finished a cfl grow I had a failed cfl grow before I understood what I was doing. I will also concede if your box is 1x2' that cfl is the way to grow. I have just read 100x journals of people struggling, using cfl. I do understand that some people have good results with them. I would argue that same grower with a hid setup would do better. There is a reason people are not using them in commercial grows, cfl has gotten better. It is still a fact not a view that hid lighting is more effective at growing Mary Jane.
I would also like to point out that I am sure you have all read the posts of growers thinking they are going to get ounces off a 46w cfl grow. I don't understand why people are recommending cfl to anybody other than an extremely small space.

 

I am a believer that we should not waste resources, I just don't believe God is a way to do that. They do not provide as much growing energy watt per watt as hid lighting. It's a myth they won't save on power. 250w hid vs 250w cfl, hid wins all day all other factors equal.