CFL Grow from Seed White Rhino and Bagseed

hey man, i am sorry for your loss. the white rhino will treat you better. ive been mia for a couple of days. broken puter. got a mates now so im back.

eightenough said:

hey man, i am sorry for your loss. the white rhino will treat you better. ive been mia for a couple of days. broken puter. got a mates now so im back.

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Sorry 8. Good to hear from you. Hope its all sorted with your comp. My laptop is my saviour. It goes where i go. Yes it was a very sad day but i think it will be for my long term benefit as i just want a decent smoke and the way it was looking it could be 2049 before i get it right. Anyway its nice to watch others revel while i learn.

Hey Rocky howzitgoing..... I'm checked out yr journal.... its always a journey of discovery....growing

I think you need to read up on more successful cfl grows in here and ask the growers for tips if you can see they are doing well...

I use a set up like yours for growing my clones and seedlings up....then I put them into a bigger space with a 400 hps and veg them some more then I put them in my huge room with 600 w hps's....also I have only 1 mother left that is growing in soil and the rest are in coco....with autopots......so I'm not so hot on the closet growing but will try to impart some of the little knowledge I have gleaned over time... I also have put in all the inlets and outlets and installed a fuk off huge air con for heat relief and have heaps of constant fanage...
I love large plants...prob because I started outside...but when I started growing inside I was growing 4 plants under a table ((with 2 of those long fluro tubes underneath it & a white sheet draped over the whole thing)) and as they grew I propped up the legs under bricks....HaHaHaHa it used to almost sway in the breeze.... my mother in soil that I'm flowering now was 1 of those plants.....

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you will pick it all up as you grow and with experience,you will get more confidence...
what I have learned is plants in soil don't need fussing over... I don't water them much when they are small...unless the pots are small too...your lighting will determine how much....cfls are not hot lights so they do not dry out the soil like a hps can do...so even every 4 or 5 days is plenty....

MJ is a weed....very hardy but you can over care for her esp when you only have a couple of plants.....get yourself some monster cfls esp for growing.... I'm sure there is a photo in my journal of mine but I'll post one up if you cant find it.... you need to invest some money in your equipment if you want results,,,sorry to say it but unless you grow outside using the sun and soil,you will need to replicate that environment indoors and that takes good lights.....fans and good medium..........
You are doing so well with those lights you have now,,,that when you switch to bigger ones I feel you will get the results you are dreaming about,,,anyhows I'm along for the ride....smoking the Rino will be amazing I'm sure

Thanks jats for taking the time to write some feedback. I am not fortunate to have masses of space to set up a better grow area so i am just going to have to make the cupboard the best i can. The cupbaord i am using is only going to be for growing so i can cut it up as i please. I was going to invest in a few of the $15 computer fans but just wasnt sure that they would be that effective.
Anyway keep the advice coming if you can. Here is my last plant. As i said previously my GF's mum is here to stay for a few weeks at the end of Feb. Cant wait til she leaves already so i can germinate the seeds. I have WR and also seeds called original haze x skunk number 1. Not sure if they are any good and would be worth planting at the same time? I was thinking of germing 3 and then keeping my best 2 and the other can go outside to fend for herself.

The best fan I've found for small spaces is a small (max 15cm in any direction) fan, 1 set speed, non-oscilating, but powerful and tilt adjustable. They were around $10-$15, in the same section as the pedestal fans etc in Bunnings. They way they are made they can also be used for ventilation, just cut an appropriately sized whole and stick the fan in facing in or out, voilà.

I'd also stuff off the CFLs and get a 250W or better still a 400W hid light. It frustrates me to think of all the money I spent on CFLs, when spending the same could have gotten me a cooltube HPS which is pretty much as safe, and can be kept cool enough even in a cabinet.

Hi Rock, time for me to weigh in here...

Well you are going to have to do the best with what you have, I didn't realise you were growing under CFL's. Is your girlfriend ok with you growing? If so, then you are going to have to grow small first then take it to the next level... You said a small space is all you had? How small? Is that the total area I see in the photo's... GET RID OF YOUR CFLS' use a HPS or Metal Halide if you are worried about the heat.... You need to contain your grow area, even if you do it with plastic... make a little frame out of cheap alluminium or PVC pipes and put builders plastic all over it, just create a little space where you can control the small environment contained within... Honestly once you've done that, I can help you with all the other teething problems you will experience.... Laceygirl.... I am here to help you...

Hi all. I wanted to thank those that have commented and also a little update on the lone ranger. I have managed to go a few days without killing anything so i am happy. With regard to the various people that mentioned getting a HID light i really dont think its possible at the present time even though the results speak for themselves. I havent invested my life savings into CFLs but i would like to try with them for a little so i apologise as its not that i am not taking your advice its just on hold for the time being.

LaceyG you mention about my grow and getting some kind of tent. I have got a cupboard that i am using, not sure if you knew?? I will post another pic for you to see. you also ask if my girlfriend minds if i grow and no she doesnt. Prefers not to go out with a useless turd which i become on occasions but thats why i only need 1 or 2 plants. I am going to get a few small fans and mount them into the walls of the cupboard to attempt to bring down temps. I dont know how some of you do it with HID lights and the Australian climate as its been baking lately. My cupboard with the door closed reached 105f in about 20 minutes so needless to say i grow with the door open. I can see why jats installed air con.
Anyway i am continuing to read and read and like some of you say its a continual process. Thanks again and here is my last little baby. I even managed to water it and its still alive. My pot weighed an even 1.89kg for 2 days so thought it was dry...

Heyy man.. wow. the plant you have left is actually looking pretty good! and yeaaa. honestly.. you dont need an HPS light.. CFL's work fine. I've seen PLENTY of grows that came out better than some HPS grows. Unless you have a bunch of plants.. and theyre gonna be 3 and 4 ft. tall.. I dont feel buying an HPS is worth the money.

Also.. do you have any Dollar Stored near you?? like Dollar Tree? or Maybe Family Dollar?? Some stores like that... if you go and look where they have wrapping paper.. look for some shiny silver wrapping paper.. they have it for $1.00 a roll. It's like like 10 ft. long. But it might be good to get some stuff like that.. and line the walls with it.. and even cover the table with it, so that your pots are actually on top of it... Just an idea.

But regardless.. the plants are looking really good man. Keep up the Great Work!! I'll be checkin in on ya man.. Everything looking great! +Rep to you for not giving up on your plants!! =) They will reward you for that!

good thread. a little trouble at first, but I think you've got it now. so they know, you CAN grow under few cfls, I'm mid flower with under 40w.. terrible if you're about high yields but sufficient enough for stout onezzzzzz

Hey all. Thanks for the comments. Yeah i am liking the look of my last plant but it is slow going. I think through my past mistakes i have pretty much doubled the time it would normally take with transplanting too many times, burning the shit out of it....the list goes on. With regard to the wrapping paper the inside of the cupboards are very flat white and i think the paper may have a similar effect as foil but one day is will fill it with mylar.
I think the people that grow under HID just get a little bored at watching the slow going so drop out. Dont people i like your help. I am about to check in on that 40w grow. People growing successfully in computer cases are amazing. I have a big cupboard and cant even keep that the right temps. I will update again when something decent happens.

DarkCursade said:

Ditch the cfls, if power consumption or heat is a problem, get a small HPS 250w, use it for both veggin & flowering, Lucragrow have the best bulbs.

Also Use coco & perlite 50/50 mix as a medium.

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Whilst HPS are very good for grow's from start to finish, they give off an insane amount of heat even the 150w HPS give's off big heat, unless a very effective cooling system is used! in a confined space with no venting, fans or cooling of any kind the plants will fry and more importantly a 250w HPS without cooling would be a serious fire hazzard! - STELTHY

well if you are tired of slow going get some good soil from your hydro shop i personally like roots organic. make a organic guano tea and super thrive but only use a tiny tiny bit per water. 400 watt hps and 3-5 gallon buckets depending on how much room you have. but gl and enjoy the fun parts

rocksteady6 said:

Ok agreed that i am off to Bunnings tomorrow. Getting some perlite and coco. I just checked on em and the roots are starting to stick out the bottom of the pot. Time to change? I cant believe it as they are puny plants and the pots are quite big compared to the plants. BBloomer i live pretty close to the city centre so blocks of land are small. I guess i dont want some junkie jumping my fence and destroying a lot of work too. Otherwise would le to have em in my yard. I have bought some CFLs now so i will try and my first smoke before i buy any HID lights. I am sure it will be better buds but lets see what CFLs can do. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

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You will find that if you grow in soil the root mass 9 times out of 10, will end up being bigger than the actual plant, reason being exspecialy if the soil is fairly dry, the roots will grow bigger in search of more water and food, starting in big pots is a good idea, you don't have to change them use perlite, this holds in water, a good idea if you forget to water for a day, or so. As far as lighting goes CFL's do work and if used correctly work very well, avoid purple spec as the intensity is neither here nor there, blue spec for veg (6500k) or there abouts, and red spec for flower/budding, (2600k) or there abouts, if money is not a big issue go for "ENVIROGROW" Lights, you can use 1 blue for veg and 1 red for budding, but for optimal performance for vegging use 2 blue 125w/150w ENVIROGROW lights and 1 red 125w/150w ENVIROGROW light, and then after a 48hr period of darkness (when you want to start flowering) swap the lighting to 2 red 125w/150w ENVIROGROW lights and 1 blue 125w/150w ENVIROGROW light, this will allow your ladies to grow under a superb spectrum, 250w & 300w variations are available but you will most definatley need air in/out-takes, I would advise you do this in your cupboard anyway , because drawing in fresh air and pushing out used air is very good to assist plant growth, as well as cooling the grow room temps! you should keep the room at around 26oC give or take a degree, and at around the same maybe a few degrees less for night (lights off), if you hold a thermometer at the canopy level of your plants and the lower you lighting so the downward temps from you light/s is reaching your plants at no more than 25/26 oC, this will be a good distance to keep your lights throughout your grow , for air vents I would use 2x 120mm cpu (computer fan's) install 1 at grow level pull air in, and 1 at the top either on the side or on the actual top sucking air out! if you grow cupboard is air tight, upon turning on the fans will create a negative pressure and force the heat, & (smell once in late veg) out the top, you can use draft excluder sticky foam strips to help you achieve an air tight seal, excluding you newly installed fans, you can wire the 2 fans together once they are in place and use 1 anolog power transformer plug to alternate voltage (speed) of the fans less voltage for slow movement (if you need the room temps to be warmer) and more voltage (speed) if you need the room to be cooler! I ll continue to read your thread and interject more help soon - STELTHY

Thanks guys for the feedback. Yeah i wasnt sure if the 14000k lightbulb was better as i read a few posts stating it was great but just for vegging. I have a 2700k bulb ready for flowing if i make it that far. I thought i would put up some better pics of my last one as its seems to be dieing a slow and painful death. I checked the pH yesterday and it was about 6.5 - 7 and i have added some nutes high in N lately. Any suggestions are welcomed.

there seems to be good growth at the top, i there anything abnormal about the way the new leaves are growing?

Nah the leaves at the top are very healthy, a dark green. Some of the tips are a burnt dark colour on the ones underneath though. Not as bad as the ones that are very yellow that also have burnt tips. Just concerned it will keep spreading.Like I said I am off to the mountains tonight so will see how they fair later.

DarkCursade said:

Honestly I dont know how anybody is even able to grow using cfls, I only use them for lighting clones.

Also dont transplant too earlier, Its better to be full of roots then transplant rather than transplant too early and the root base fall apart, which does shock your plants for a while, for example u can grow a 1 foot plant in a plastic party cup, I know this from experience, only problem is they drink more often in smaller pots.

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Cfl's are meant for vegging (blue), and side lighting, but that tells you they will bud the sides of your plant! so there is no reason if you re doing a small grow that they wont see you through to a good harvest if used correctly, eith a few good nuitrients , QUOTE:- Also dont transplant too earlier, Its better to be full of roots then transplant rather than transplant too early and the root base fall apart, which does shock your plants for a while, for example u can grow a 1 foot plant in a plastic party cup, I know this from experience, only problem is they drink more often in smaller pots. This is very true, how ever its a good idea to just start in a bigger pot (like the size you want her to stay in till harvest) - STELTHY

DarkCursade said:

Hey rocky try n sack them cfls if you can your growth will explode with a 250w hps, also if u got some spare cash and you are able to cut up your cupboard why dont you put an inlet and exhaust fan in it heat problem semi solved?

If you can keep the fans running as long as you can, and keep them going full time when the lights are on that helps...

Also In my own short experience I have grown fine 35c heat, but I have had temps reach 39c which is too hot.

I can see how they are about to get stretchy for the cfl light, you may wanna start doing some lst otherwise you will end up constantly losing your lower leaves, and you will end up with a tall stalky plant like this pic.

Lst is low stress training, start pulling the branches with string to encourage side growth, instead of vertical growth.

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Yep 250w HPS with in and out take fans are a good way to go keep your lights as close as possible, if you do end up with 250w HPS or a 250w CFL ENVIROGROW light a cool-tube, or air cooled reflector is a brilliant idea, they are easy to make too, they keep the temps low in you grow space and allow the plants to actually touch the glass tube/ reflector for maximum light intake! - STELTHY

Hi people. Its been a while between updating but there wasnt much to report. It was another scorcher today as you can see by the temps. My plant is now happily outside but in the shade as it has been for about the last 5 days or so. Its stretching a bit but i dont care too much as long as its living. I gave it some nutes on Saturday and no sign of heat stress or nute burn which is positive. Anyway here are some pics. I trimmed some dodgey yellow, burnt leaves off near the base but there are still a few burnt tips but this doesnt seem to be getting any worse. Thanks to the people that commented. I always appreciate it.

Ur a pic machine rock,u gonna do any topping or LST'ing?