I have 4 autoflowers ( Green House Super Critical, Barney's Farm Pineapple Express, Dutch Passion Blueberry, WOS Afghan Kush). They have been in 3 gal pots for 10 days, in a 3'x3' closet. Right now they are vegging under a 2'x2' 8 bulb T5s ( 24 watts each) 6500k flourescent light system. My experiment is to use the same set-up and change the bulbs to 3000k spectrum when they flower in 2 weeks. do you guys think this is a wise decision? I am using fox farm ocean forest and their 3 nute system. I have grown before but usually use my HPS for flowering, however this summer due to heat issues I want to see how the T5s due in flower? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Here's the deal, no one answered, you need to write all the information down that pertains to your experiment. Than post it. That way we can benefit from what you have learned. I know it's a pain but not everyone on here has had the same problem. It would be nice to hear what happens with someones grow.
I've got 6 going on all cfl right now and 3 autos. My yeild is succeeding I'm sure but all of them are looking very healthy and I'm a few weeks from harvest on my biggest but its a long flowering photo strain so healthy is all I can say. I'm betting you could do 4 small autos, might wanna LST, and if you can make a small frame and add some cfl and the the floros on top the maximize with a small investiment on bulbs and some cheap 2x1 wood But it would be worth it to add some supplement lighting
a t5 is less lumens per watt than cfl's and cfls are half as many lumens per watt than a hps.. use the hps you will have a much larger yield.. cool tube a/c fans and a good exhaust should all help with keeping it cool. if your room gets over 85F your plant will stop growing and more than likely get heat damage and lower yield also..
this is the Super Critical after 16 days of flower under 8 bulb T-5 set up. 6 3000k and 2 6500k. 24/7 lighting. So far so good. I'll post more pics.
for just over 2 weeks of flower that cola is impressive. Im only on my second grow so i dont have much experience but ive never seen a 2 week flowering plant with buds connecting like that. do you have a journal? and is that an auto?
Yes it is a Green House seed co auto super critical. I also have pineapple express, blueberry, and afghan kush all autos. I'll try to get more pics posted. Yours looks good.
I commend you for doing this experiment as I was recently talked out of doing it. By what I see in the pic of the cola I don't care what anyone says, next time I'm doing the entire grow with my 8 bulb T5's. Please keep us informed. However, I am not growing auto flower and the difference may be that your plants are getting 24/7 light during flowering but I can't say for sure. Also, regardless of how nicely the the cola is doing under the T5's, we can't know how much better, if any, they might have been under HPS by now. Having said that, I am now seriously considering this experiment on my next grow by doing a side by side T5 flower vs an HPS flower of the same seed, all conditions identical sans the lighting differences. But again, please keep us informed on the progress of this experiment. I am subscribing.
I'll post new pics tomorrow. I have grown Diesel Ryders and auto White Russian under 400 watt ups with excellent results. It's summer in the SFV in Socal. Hps is way hot.
T5's are fine for flowering - especially auto's as they don't get very tall. T5's are GREAT for canopy lighting - even better than HID due to the fact that they provide a much larger point of light. What they're NOT great as is penetration - so don't grow in a manner that requires penetration. I've no personal experience or any real knowledge of autos, but I imagine it'll finish up at 18-24" roughly. Thus requiring no real penetration. ScOG or SOG under T5's will give you yields to rival HID lighting.
Updated pics of the auto Barneys Farm Pineapple Express, Green House seeds Super critical. 6 t-5 3000k ,2 t-5 6500k, 2 t-5 3000k below for under lighting.
Gadgets, yes. Essential, absolutely! The Super Critical has been flowering for 18 days, 24/7 lights all the way. Insane.