see sig. i started flowering my plans 2 months ago under cfl lights. afew plants are looking good and others only have some "tips" or "hairs" but no buds yet, even though i let them flower all under the same conditions. as i said some plants do look good bud is ok size (i still hope it gets bigger....looks like maybe 1/8th to 1/4 but its still on the plant and undried) so how will i know whne the plants are ready to start flushing? so i can cut them and let them dry out (buds smell real nice) sorry i dont have any pics (and i wouldnt know how to post them anyways)
Pick up a cheap handheld microscope from Radioshack. I looked at them the other day, they're just 10 bucks. You need to look at the trichomes to determine when they're ready for harvest. Look it up in the growFAQ or do a search. BTW do you have any pics of your setup and plants, I'd like to do a CFL grow and I wanna see how well they work, I might just go with the HPS if the yield is gonna suck.
sorry i dont have any pics of the set-up but id say grow with hps if you can. the only reason i still have cfl's is because, i have to figure out a way to run my 400w hps w/out burring my plants (with the light 3ft above the plants i still burnt them a lil....the room temp with the hps was about 98*....thats why im still going with cfl) on my next grow i gotta run the hps (i dont think the cfl yield will be that good)
This all depends on a number of factors, but I'm guessing you didn't have enough light to provide for the type of buds you were looking for. 400W equivalent in CFL is only like what....100 watt CFL/7000 lumens at best? You are only talking 700 lumens/square foot there as opposed to the more generally accepted/desired 2000-5000 (or so). Depending on light distance, temps, fert schedule, strain, etc. a 1/4oz. a plant would probably be about all you would be looking at in my inexperienced mind.
Yup that might be enough light for 1 plant but that's it. Unless you are growing a very sativa-ish plant I would start flushing now. They should be about ready to chop. And like tmarin said, get a "dope scope" from radio shack and you'll be sure of proper harvest time.
you finally finised your first grow mr nice good for you you went with the widow clones or seeds it out also about your heat problem you need more ventilation dude sell a 1 or two 1/4 and purchase a vortex blower for ypur exhaust www.cheaphydroponics.com has the cheapest 165 for 449 cm is a hell of a deal also get some passive intake www.discount-hydro.com/ventilation.asp the little inline duct fans for 40 bucks a pop will lower heat levels exponentially(hope I spelled that right) remember vortex as your exhaust and the inline as your intake heat shold drop from 98 to 80 or lower happy growing