So i've read up on almost all of the lighting articles on here but still can't find the exact answer's im looking for, im fairly new to growing merj, My first attempt was out of curiousity about 3 years ago, i tried growing in a tackle box.. obviously not possible. But recently ive become addicted to the aspect's of growing, smoking your own hard work, i dream of the day. Ive come really close 3 times now to seeing bud. I purchased bubbleicious seeds and widow skunk, the bubble grew to about a foot, 30 days old... but it seemed like it wasnt going to last so i just cut it down and threw it away. Im growing with a 13W flourecent bulb, ive tried to find out if this is enough to get me the result's im looking for, but never got exact answer's. It says in small print on the bulb, 10k, i'm assuming thats lumens but that seems kind of high considering its only 13W, this is running thru a basic walmart desk lamp. Im currently starting over after giving up on the other plant's. They seemed to grow extremely slow, and i was failing to keep up with the light schedule. So now im germinating 2 bag seeds in a petridish like container, im experienced enough to successfully germinate everytime, i always have a surviving plant but i want to know how to properly use lights. So my questions being, Is the 13w bulb enough to get me through veg stage?, will I need to change to something stronger once i am ready to flower?.. I'm very basic with my growing, but i don't want to be, I simply use a cut in half powerade bottle to start of a good root system, then slowly step up the size to prevent the plant from stressing out, I dont have timed lighting but im going to get myself a basic light timer this time. I don't use nutrients because i feel that theyre harmful to the final product, but im starting to think of trying it. I use miracle gro with intergrated plant food, it feeds plants for 6 months aparently.. And lastly i dont use fans either, I want to use all of these things but im clueless as to what i should get, how to hell im going to fit this into the room i have. So all this being said, id like to know if what im doing will get me buds, Thanks In Advanced, Derek
Hi.. To answer your question about light... No.. 13w will not be enough to grow with. In http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/122824-kamels-cfl-guide.html , you will see that the rule of thumb is 100w (actual watts) for the 1st plant and 30-50w for each additional. You have 13w. The color is also wrong. For vegging, you'll want a 6500K bulb. For flowering, a 2700K bulb. As far as nutrients go, you need to use them... While lots of people use Miracle Grow, you do not want the slow release type. Read the stickies in this (Absolue Beginners) and other MJ growing forums. They contain all of the information you need. Good Luck!
13 watts is purely not enough. You'll need to be in the 60s at least in my opinion. Nutrients aren't harmful to the finished product.... they ARE the finished product. That's like saying food is harmful to eat. Up the wattage, get better soil, and buy nutrients.
The 10k is the kelvin rating of the bulb (10,000 kelvin). It helps you identify the spectrum. Your plants are growing extremely slow because you cannot grow great flowers with CFL's. I just read a post from some guy who said he has 8" plants after 5 weeks... That is ridiculous! Yes, you CAN, grow with CFL's but you get horrible yields and the plants take forever to grow. Its not worth your time. You should invest in, at the very minimum a small, 2ft T5 like so:Hydrofarm FLP22 T5 2Ft/2-Tube Designer System w/ Bulbs Again, you can grow with CFL's but they dont produce nearly enough light to make it worth your time. When your plants end up yielding only 10-15 grams each and youre scratching your head, the horrible lighting choice would be why. Spending the $20 on a timer wouldnt be a bad idea either... and grow pots are pretty cheap as well.
This is correct but may be misinterpreted. You should always flush your plant with regular water for 7-14 days before harvest to leach out excess salts. These can make your smoke harsh and snap crackle pop when you light it.
Those kelvin ratings are ballparks. You dont need a buld thats exactly 2700k. You can also use a 2400k or 3200k for flowering, and a 6700k or 7000k for veg. You could even use one or the other for your entire cycle... there are just better ways to do things. Just remember to have fun!
Having got most of your questions answered by the above users, we are left with the question of use of fans. Circulation of air inside the grow box/room 1. helps create a uniform temperature around the plants. 2. makes the stems stronger as they are constantly moving and hence healthier. 3. after every 10 mins or so, a thin layer of used air(CO2/O2) forms around the leaves. Circulation helps expel this and introduce fresh air to the leaves. 4. blowing air on plants makes it difficult for pests to chew on leaves or lay eggs, etc.
Thank's guys... i really appriciate the quick response. I've accually read the kamels CFL guide, it was very informative but i just didnt know if what i had was good. It's strange though because even though i had a feeling that my lights were too weak they managed to produce a decent looking plant, they just lacked quick branching. Ok so i was pretty interested in the T5's but i want to get the lights with the bulbs all in one, like buy them and have them all set to go, but i dont have much money to spend, i got 60 bucks to my name right now, I'm takig this serious though, ill be doing this stuff for the rest of my life. But i would really like some advice for nutrient's. Like i said i don't have to much spending money... so what would you suggest for some basic nutrients? and also will the T5 lights get me through flowering as well, i want to find lights that wont need to be replaced when switching to flowering
If i were to get a bulb instead of the T5's what would you suggest? If i just grab a 32w CFL, would that be enough?... im also just growing a single plant for now. Once i successfully harvest a plant ill take in more plants. Im looking to harvest an least an ounce.
You can get T5's that already have bulbs and will be ready to plug in right out of the box. The one I linked you too was such a product. The T5 can get you all the way through flowering. They make bulbs that are best for blooming (around 2400k spectrum) and bulbs that are best for vegging (around 6400k spectrum). You can buy a T5 setup that has a mixture, or you can buy a T5 system with just bloom type bulbs. A note; you can grow and flower your plant with a T5 that has veg bulbs... The plant will grow! There are just simple things you can do, like picking the right bulb spectrum that will enhance your end product. I wouldnt flower with anything less than a 4 bulb T5 system if you have the room. Since you are new you will want user friendly nutrients with a high margin for error. CNS17 from Botanicare is super easy to work with. Same with General Hydroponics 'Grow, Bloom, Micro' trio. They are also relatively cheap.
lol my bad i didnt mean 32w, so 100w's will do the trick, can they run in lamps? and what will one run me cost wise
I understand that the T5 is good but i cant afford that, so what can i use for just a single bulb?.. T5's out of the question for now
Sorry I guess I misunderstood you. Well I am against CFL's completely. They do make 1 bulb T5's. Just saying
You need a lot more light. I suggest reading up some more. There are tons of posts you can search through. Good luck!
No worries man, I was checking this one out on lowes, says it's a T8, but its not giving me any info about lumens or wattage Shop Utilitech 1-Light White Undercabinet/Rope Light at Lowes.com
T8's arent going to work well. You should really just save up and buy the money and do it right the first time... youre going to end up doing it anyways.
yea i guess, so theyre isnt any cheaper options, cause the 1 bulb t5 would be perfect if its not too much