First CFL Grow Using 30 Watt CFLs

[Pierce89]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

this is the msg on the tracking, not sure what to make of it, i think its saying that its been passed over to the postal service in my country. i think thats what it means anyway, i know the msg i got on saturday was that it was clearing customs so it must of cleared and been passed onto the postal service in my country, so fingers crossed it will be here tomorrow by my normal postal service, here is the message i get on the site, ill double check i entered the right number mate,

Delivery status information is not available for your item via this web site. A return receipt after mailing may be available through your local Post Office.

i think this is telling me its no longer tracked by usps as its been past over to another courier which should be my local post office, plz tell me thats what its saying, i think if it was still with customs or usps then their would be some more info stating what was going on,

That's exactly what it's saying. I get the same deal when I order seeds that come from England to the U.S..

 

[Pierce89]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

im hoping so mate, my nutes are on the way, hoping tomorrow or the day after as its been a bank holiday so no post since sat, i know my plants can do with it, i thought i had a problem with slow growth but think i have solved that problem by topping my plants and raising the temp, and they really have started growing at last, so i can add the nutes and watch them really take off, im sure their in rapid growth now, so nutes will only boost that, im hoping to go to flower when the plants are a ft high as im using cfls'

you know you said use the smallest cfls i can get, do you mean lowest wattage, is this something to do with the watt/lumin ratio, ive got my plants veg under 30watt 6500k cfls, but for flower ive got 2 30watt 2700k cfls to go above the plants but ive got as many cfls as i like of the following, from 8watt upto 20watt 2700k cfls, so can pack as many in as i need to, ill make sure the whole plant is lit up from the top and all round the plants, this way im hoping to rule out low light levels lower down the plant, plus keeping them small and bushy i should be able to get enough light coverage, i also put my lights back earlier after adding another, and when i put the plants back in i didnt notice that one of the fan leaves on the big bud was resting on the bulb, now i didnt notice this for about 4 hours or so and the plant was not harmed and the leaf looked totally fine, i moved it out the way just to make sure, but as far as i can tell the plant wasnt affected by this in anyway.

do any cfl growers, know if its worth me having any 2700k bulbs in the veg room, and is it worth me having say 1 or 2 6500k bulbs in the flower room, am i going to gain anything, or am i just wasting money.

i have how ever read that when using cfls if you have a 6500k bulb in with the flowering bulbs then this causes the plants to flower and also grow, not sure if this means stretch or not.

so i just wanted to ask am i best sticking with strictly 6500k for veg and 2700k for flower.

my flower room is set up and ive got 2 x 30watt 2700k cfls in their all ready and ive also put a 4000k 26watt cfl in their as well, will my plants get anything from this 4000k bulb, or am i just wasting electric

He was saying: for a small CFL grow use the smallest filter on the website that he linked(because you mentioned odor in yout flat being risky etc.). As far as your cfl's you want the most and biggest until your temps get out of control. I have over 300w actual wattage on only 4 square feet, and I'd add more but I'm already marginal on high temps

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thanks mate, puts my mind at rest,

 

[Pierce89]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

You're doing good Don!, no need to stress

 

[Albatross]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Hey buddy, From what read most people recommend a ratio of 3:1 6500k:3700k for veg and opposite for flowering. They different light spectrum's help the plant in different ways so its important to have a little of each i n each stage. I have 1 of my current bulbs at 2700k and 3 at 6500k. The results thus far im happy with, if you have some laying around i would definitely give it a whirl.

 

[teSmp]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Yeah agreed with above ^ you can do a mix to get a mixed spectrum, kind of up to you. If you think about most MH or HPS bulbs they are just one spectrum. So it's really just up to you. What I was saying previously about the size of the bulbs. Well first off don't get the smallest bulb you can get. To help me explain think about a 13w CFL's and and they will give you a certain lumen/watt ratio, but it's not to high. As you continue going up higher in watts you get to a point and peak where the lumen per watt ratio starts declining. If I'm not mistaken the 23w or 26w CFL's (can't remember) are the most efficient. Meaning highest lumen per watt ratio. Of course you can buy a bigger CFL with more lumens but that doesn't mean that per watt it has more lumens, because it doesn't. So all in all it's up to you. You can spend more and have fewer bulbs, or stick with what you have and just have more bulbs. You still haven't made any type of reflectors yet have you?

 

[Rupertthedank]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

Yea temp I agree my 23 watt 2700k put out 1600 lumens while my 68 watt puts out 4200 lumens. Which is 600 lumen difference for equal watts

Don the plants are looking nice. If your still having odor problems take a look at
ONO blocks there about 10 bucks and apparently last 3 weeks, I just got one about a week ago and it instantly covered the smell, almost to well itwas nice to have the skunky smell constantly around but gotta stay stealth.

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thanks for the advice, im using 6 x 30watt 6500k cfls in my veg room, ill put a couple of the 2700k bulbs in for the extra spectrum, ive got them lying around so i may as well use them, ive got a few 20watt 2700k cfls so ill use a couple of them, in the flower room ivee got 2x 30watt 2700 k cfls, these are really big cfls for some reason, twice the size of the 6500k of the same wattage, in the flower room ive also got a 4000k bulb 26watt, but i can pack 2700k bulbs in as and when needed. ill stay with the lower watts as it will mean i can keep them closer to the plants and can put more in.

Now for my light reflector i made one out of cardboard and mylar blanket, and it hangs over my lighting rig, its not the best but does the job and directs the light down the sides of the plant, its a lot better than not having one, been using it for a few weeks now, i want to try and make a square lighting rig that fits corner to corner in my veg room, and making it easier to raise would be better, at the moment my lighting rig covers 3/4 of my grow area so if i could fit one in the right size and mount a load of v fitting bulb holders i think this would help things move along quicker, something ill do after this lot of veg has finished as i can use another cupboard to veg while i make the adjustments.

now for my grow, i have noticed loads of new growth over the last few days, the plants have filled out nicely now and have loads of new branches, i cant wait to see the results after my bpn products arrive, should be here any day now.

the seeds i have had soaking, the first 4 did not break through the shell but their still soaking, i placed another 3 seeds in with them and one had sprouted over night so thats in a pot now and when its broke soil ill let it veg for 7 and then go strait to flower, im undecided if i want to leave some to veg for 2 weeks and others to go strait 12-12, i want to see what results i get at 12-12, so i will be doing at least 2 of these seeds strait in the flower room under 12-12 as soon as they go in their pots, the others ill veg for 1 week or possibly 2 so i can compare the yield.

how ever my question is this, if a seed goes under 12-12 or a young plant goes under 12-12, then it wont turn to flower until its mature enough, so does this mean that even if i veg for 2 weeks i wont be gaining anything, because the seed under 12-12 will be vegging till its ready to flower and possibly grow quicker due to the plant thinking its the end of the season, so will the plant i veg for 2 weeks under the 6500klights produce more yield or the same, im only asking as the plants need to mature before switching to flower, so am i gaining anything by putting it to veg for 2 weeks or am i better going strait to 12-12 and benefit from the stretch it goes through under 12-12

 

[Xlr8]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

how ever my question is this, if a seed goes under 12-12 or a young plant goes under 12-12, then it wont turn to flower until its mature enough, so does this mean that even if i veg for 2 weeks i wont be gaining anything, because the seed under 12-12 will be vegging till its ready to flower and possibly grow quicker due to the plant thinking its the end of the season, so will the plant i veg for 2 weeks under the 6500klights produce more yield or the same, im only asking as the plants need to mature before switching to flower, so am i gaining anything by putting it to veg for 2 weeks or am i better going strait to 12-12 and benefit from the stretch it goes through under 12-12

Well, this is a good question. I think to do a test would be a good idea to compare the two, and then share with us the results. I don't think there's much benefit to stretch in an indoor growing environment typically, for what that's worth. Though there are some phenos situations/lighting combos I'd say would benefit from some stretch. If you're trying to cover things with CFL's though, try to limit your stretch if you can.

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thanks x, im not trying to make the plants stretch to much, but they seemed to stop growing at a certain height even though lower nodes and branches still grew as high as the top of the plant so i lst all the side branches, the big bud#2 has packed on loads of leaves, its hard to see any of the stem or branches and everyday im using pipe cleaners to keep pulling the leaves back to allow light in and its working well so far, im getting plenty of growth at the nodes.

the plant has also grew loads more since i topped it, it seems they didnt like the fim attempt but after topping the plant their has been loads of growth and the 2 main stems now have grow loads, this plant seems like it really wants to take off now, their new growth everyday and im trying to keep on top of it with pipe cleaners,

the northern lights x big bud fem is also packing on new growth but not as much as the big bud, i attempted to lst this plant and managed to get it back so far and then all the nodes and branches started growing towards the lights from only one side of the stem which is good as i dont need to keep turning the plant round as much, all the growth is pulling towards the one side of the pot so all nodes and branches are growing to the same side of the plant making it easier to train and keep well lit, ive been lst the branches and pulling them out wider than the plant to allow all new branches to get good light.

i have not planted 3 of the seeds im going to try the test with, ill keep some in grow room for 2 weeks and others will go under 12-12 from day one, ive got more seeds to pot tomorrow morning so ill keep 2 in veg room and 2 in flower room.

i have also purchased some more timers today and adjusted the light so i can try the glr method, im hoping the grow will really take off and keep the plant in veg, till im ready to flower,

im not sure if my auto is growing properly or even going to live, it was a runt from day 1, if it dont make it ill try and buy some more auto and hopefully i can then see the returns off an auto plant,

my plants are really starting to smell now, you cant smell them outside the veg cupboard but when you open the door you can really smell it then, im just hoping the floor and ceiling are sealed properly as the people above and below me have the cupboards in the same place so hoping the smell wont go through into their flats.

ill try and make carbon filter in the next day or 2, anything has got to be better than nothing, i have also purchased another 6500k 30watt cfl, so that will be going in the veg room tomorrow,

 

[Pierce89]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

thanks x, im not trying to make the plants stretch to much, but they seemed to stop growing at a certain height even though lower nodes and branches still grew as high as the top of the plant so i lst all the side branches, the big bud#2 has packed on loads of leaves, its hard to see any of the stem or branches and everyday im using pipe cleaners to keep pulling the leaves back to allow light in and its working well so far, im getting plenty of growth at the nodes.

the plant has also grew loads more since i topped it, it seems they didnt like the fim attempt but after topping the plant their has been loads of growth and the 2 main stems now have grow loads, this plant seems like it really wants to take off now, their new growth everyday and im trying to keep on top of it with pipe cleaners,

the northern lights x big bud fem is also packing on new growth but not as much as the big bud, i attempted to lst this plant and managed to get it back so far and then all the nodes and branches started growing towards the lights from only one side of the stem which is good as i dont need to keep turning the plant round as much, all the growth is pulling towards the one side of the pot so all nodes and branches are growing to the same side of the plant making it easier to train and keep well lit, ive been lst the branches and pulling them out wider than the plant to allow all new branches to get good light.

i have not planted 3 of the seeds im going to try the test with, ill keep some in grow room for 2 weeks and others will go under 12-12 from day one, ive got more seeds to pot tomorrow morning so ill keep 2 in veg room and 2 in flower room.

i have also purchased some more timers today and adjusted the light so i can try the glr method, im hoping the grow will really take off and keep the plant in veg, till im ready to flower,

im not sure if my auto is growing properly or even going to live, it was a runt from day 1, if it dont make it ill try and buy some more auto and hopefully i can then see the returns off an auto plant,

my plants are really starting to smell now, you cant smell them outside the veg cupboard but when you open the door you can really smell it then, im just hoping the floor and ceiling are sealed properly as the people above and below me have the cupboards in the same place so hoping the smell wont go through into their flats.

ill try and make carbon filter in the next day or 2, anything has got to be better than nothing, i have also purchased another 6500k 30watt cfl, so that will be going in the veg room tomorrow,

I noticed you mentioned Big Bud#2. Was this a freebie from Herbie"s? That's the only place I've ever seen a #2 stuck on the end of big bud and I was wondering about it's similarity(or lack thereof) to the regular(not #2) Big bud.

 

[Deege420]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

wheres some new pics don?

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

yep, the exact same big bud#2, from herbies, not sure what the number 2 gota do with it though but thats what im growing, i only bought the special kush seed off herbie and they sent me nothern lights cross big bud femenised and that big bud#2 for free so thats what im growing so far,

ill try put some pics up tomorrow but im using my fone as a internet dongle for my laptop so upload and download is at snail speed, in fact a snail might deliver the picture quicker than my fone would.

my ak47 female cross with uk berry cheese male seeds have sprouted, not sure what way to go yet, 2 have grown a bit and just starting to grow the 1st real shaped leaf so them 2 are in veg room when the others break soil ill possibly go strait to 12-12 with 2 of them or 3 if 3 germinate and see what i can get going strait to 12-12, im trying to find out if giving 2 weeks under veg lights will give more yield than going strait 12-12.

im guess it will make very little difference due to the plants having to be mature before showing sex so im not expecting a big difference, but if veggin for only 2 weeks gives a better yield than direct 12-12 then ill i wont go strait to 12-12 again, but i got 10 seeds for free so decided to give this experiment a try, i was also going to try an outdoor grow as we are coming into summer here, but on reading the paper it looks like we got weather from north pole coming and its going to be -5 possibly colder with wind chill factor.

for the plants im all ready growing im still trying to get some stretch, their well over a month old and only 8inches tall, so ive added several 2700k bulbs in the veg room as these are meant to make the plants stretch more, only time will tell.

i have also changed to glr method but have not noticed massive growth yet but its only been a couple of days so not sure how long it takes, im going 12hours light on, 5.5 off, 1 on, 5.5off, i want to get the best growth and quickest turn around i can and have heard the glr method gives these results, up till now im unsure but its to early to say.

ill try post some pics tomorrow sometime, just waiting for phone line to get sorted out, the whole block got messed up so got no house fone till its sorted, so got my phone plugged into laptop and using my internet allowance that way, it works but its very slow.

 

[Casa Verde]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

If you want i can tell you straight away longer the veg the bigger the yield ,the more on a square the shorter the veg.
12/12 Is a great thing to do if you have more than usual under a light or on a square meter .
In your case with just a few I would suggest to give it at least a few days of veg. maybe do a scrog ?
And it’s not unusual to have a hermi or two in a big bud cross ..

Good luck DP count me in whatever you decide to do enjoy the ride ….

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

i hear ya, the only reason im trying this 12-12 thing is because of 2 things, one of seen as little as an 1/8 out of a plant from seed and as much as a 2oz out of seeds. so want to give it a try and see what happens.
reason 2, all plants must reach a certain age before been mature enough to switch to flower, so even a plant under 12-12 will veg till its old enough and mature enough, so does a plant produce more if given just say 2 weeks of veg or does it produce the same or less than 12-12. a plant veg for 4 weeks will clearly produce more, but would 2 weeks under veg, due to plants needing to mature before switching to flower, do they grow more under 12-12 before switching to flower due to them stretching to achieve the best they can to pollenate under 12-12, or does just 2 weeks of veg produce more, as their from the same strain they should be similar in growth terms, i just want to see what gets more, 12-12 from seed or veg for 2 weeks, in theory it should be the one thats had some veg time, but im thinking that both plants need to reach a certain age before it starts to flower so does the 2weeks veg change anything at all, i had the seeds for free so decided to give it a try.

now say best case ok, say i had 6 x 3gallon pots worth of room in a veg and flower room, what lights would be the best type to use to get the best results, for this grow i am sticking with strictly cfls unless i encounter problems with no flower production etc etc, at the moment im having issues with upwards growth, my plants bush out and get no higher, so ive added more 2700k bulbs in my veg room so now im running at 50-50 mix with 6500k and 2700k cfls to see if this promotes some upwards growth as im getting very little, is it because the lights are to close or is it cuz im only using 6500k cfls, the stems get thicker and thicker and the lower branches grow and keep growing but the plants gain very little height, so do i raise the lights or not, if i raise the lights i lower the lumins and this will slow growth but will this then make the plants gain height, or will it slow down the height growth due to lower light levels,

do the plants stop growing when they are say 1inch away from the light source or will the grow right into the light source, ill see how the mixture of lights work for new few days if nothing changes ill raise the lights, the lights are about an inch or 2 away from the lights, their all 23 and 30watt cfls, i was using only 6500k bulbs but now im using both types, i would raise one side of the lights and leave the other end low to see if that has any difference but my plants are all at different heights so hard to judge whats best, i can lower my plants and i can raise my lights, just need to know whats best to do, they have been in veg now for 5 or 6 weeks and im only at about 7 or 8 inches from soil, the growth seems slow, possibly the nutes im using, as its general nutes for household plants, or it could be the lights

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

im sure i read somewhere that a hermie produces female seeds, it was how the produced femenised seeds if i read it right, i know you can use some silver stuff what ever its called to produce fem seeds, but im sure i read somewhere that a hermie plant produces both fem seeds and hermie seeds, but if the seeds are not stressed when grown you will end up with fem plants, was this wrong info or is it what happens

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

hi everyone, sorry its been a while but been having some problems when i changed fone provider so anyway my landline got cut off and im told their working on the problem, but its been a few days, so the crappy fone ive been taking pictures with is now my crappy internet modem, connected to my laptop via bluetooth then used to access the net so upload and download times are very slow, feel like ive gone back 20years technology wise.

anyway time for an update, ill try adding pics but they might take a week to load onto the page so bare with me,

good news the BPN arrived and gave the plants their first feed today, so glad i finally got it, and its thanks to teSmp so give him loads of reps for that cuz he really did hook me up, took a while as it had to clear customs and stuff but picked it up yesterday so gave them their first feed today, i also got some new seeds for next grow, i got afgan skunk femenised then herbies head shop provided me with some more free seeds, i got reserva privada sour kush, think its also knows as headband femenised, and they gave me 2 more big bud#2, either big bud#2 is a new strain their rolling out so giving loads away or they just got shed loads of the big bud#2, cuz ever since i purchased off them they have always sent the big bud#2 along with another strain, the other strain changes all the time but the big bud#2 seems to be a trademark or something as it comes with every order, i also placed another order today for some auto fem, cant remember which ones but ill post the details when they arrive, they will all be for my next grow, how ever i might use the auto fem or regular fem depending on how many males i end up with for this grow, so thats what i got going on

plant details now
big bud#2, this plant has took off all of a sudden, i topped it and it started growing like crazy, i kept lst all the stems and pulled them all back down to get loads of growth at the nodes and its really taking off now, the plant itself is not very high as i keep pulling the 2 tops down level to get more growth at the nodes, now i have got loads of shoots at these nodes, im going to stop pulling it back down in the next day or 2 and let it grow and fill out more, i have tried to keep as much light on all the growth as possible so the pipe cleaners have come in very handy.

northern lights cross big bud fem, this plant seems a bit weird, its meant to be an indica sativa cross, the leaves look sativa, the plant is really filling out loads and all nodes are very very close, its very hard not to see the actual stem of the plant, all the growth at the nodes is short and close to each other so possibly going to have many main tops due to this, both these plants have taken off over the last few days.

im also using glr method for the lights and since changing to this method the plants have packed on the leaves and seem to be producing masses of growth at the nodes so it looks like its a good growing method.

my auto refuses to grow, its still at soil level, it has 1 seed leaf on it and you can just about see the new growth in the middle, but it has looked like this for a week now so might pull the plug on this one as it refuses to grow, possibly dud seed, all the other seeds ive soaked have sprouted and grown and even seeds i planted a week after have grown and are a lot bigger than the auto.

the new seeds ive planted i have got a couple under 23hours of 6500kelvin cfls to compare the growth to the glr method from seed, at the moment both seem to be growing at the same pace, the seed under 24-0 has shot up and is now well into growing its 1st proper leaf, so is the seed under glr, both are pretty close growth wise so ill keep an eye on it for a while, these are the seeds that ill veg for 2 weeks before going to 12-12, ill start soaking the seeds im going strait to 12-12 with in the next few days so both lots are ready for the flower stage at same time.

the seeds im getting from herbies are all cheap, they sell seeds from their pick and mix range from as little as £1.30, so their worth looking at if you dont want to buy say 10 or 20 seeds, they have auto seeds from about £4.00 ish and thats femenised as well, i ordered some today that was auto and fem, so they should be here day after tomorrow, ill be saving these seeds till next grow unless ive got a load of males growing.

ill try and upload some pics now, these pics are of the big bud#2 and northern lights cross big bud fem, same crappy pictures as im still using my fone, ill upload them in next message in case it kicks me off the net like it has done every day

@ teSmp, thanks mate for really hooking me up with bpn products, gota thank corey as well for his part in making this happen, i feel privaliged to get my hands on bpn where i am, its the last place i thought his products would end up, so thanks mate for giving me the chance to try bpn

 

[Deege420]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

still waiting for some pics don :/ ...

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

pictures 2 to 5 are the big bud#2 and picture 6 is the nl x bb femenised, it dont look good in the pics but it looks really good when its in front of you, the growth is so dense but all branches are short and stocky and its all very tightly packed, im not sure how long to let it veg for due to light penetration problems during flower.

the big bud im doing ok with and managing to keep light on all branches and nodes so growth has been good on that, neither have shown signs of sex yet but im thinking the glr method may now get them showing sex as 24-0 takes longer from what i have read, but im thinking if i let the nl x bb femenised veg for much longer then im going to struggle to get any growth below the canopy, their are loads of small shoots at the nodes on each branch but the leaves are that packed in and the branches that close and its giving me real problems getting the light in to all the plant, is it worth a gentle pruning to get it under control,

i think the problem is, is started lst training and it didnt respond well so i stoppped and let it grow, well then it grew all the branches facing the one side of the plant so now ive got all the branches facing the same way due to the lst so at the moment im trying to lst all the branches in different directions but it seems the plant just wants to keep packing on the really tight growth, not sure what to do or hoe much longer to veg for, it is femenised so should be a fem but their is no guarantee, plus its not showing preflowers yet so its not ready for flower yet, it has stopped growing alternating nodes in same place the nodes are spacing out and growing at different places now think it should show sex soon,

 

[donpaul.p]

Re: first cfl grow using 30watt cfls

as you can see just on those 2 plants i have got loads of tops, the pics done make the plants look good it was just after i watered them, but the big bud has got loads of top branches now, the topped 2 i pulled down and ran out towards the edge of the pot so all the nodes along that had new growth that grew upwards, that was both the top stems then the lower stems i trained out and around the pot making sure i had light on all nodes and growth sites, well this then made them all grow up towards the light giving me an even canopy with loads of level top cola sites, the plant has not gained much height but its got loads of top bud sites now, so i dont think ill get 1 or 2 big buds but ill get loads of smaller buds, over the next few days ill take the ties off the topped 2 branches and let them start growing up so i have got 2 main tops then the ones below will just be the lower bud sites, but it should still see me good i hope

the nl x bb im not sure what to do, growth is very close and its hard to even tie the stems or leaves out the way due to the very tight growth, i want to take cuttings but no branches long enough yet plus id like to take cuttings during flower.

the pictures do the plants no good it makes them look awful but trust me they look better than the pics and the growth is shocking, the plants have really packed on the growth now and with bpn it can only get better