First timer cfl grow

Hello all! First time grower here with a small scale project. Due to limitations in space as well as finances, I have gone with a small grow box, at least for my first go at it until I have gained experience. I had chosen a container measuring approximately 18" x 18" x 38" high. If I need to increase my space or make adjustments, I can do so when the time comes, as this is far from a permanent solution. The interior is painted with flat white paint, has a cutout for an exhaust fan and one for intake (which I will add a fan to soon). In the back, behind both cutouts, I have guided the airflow to prevent much light from shining out of the box. The inside has two velcro strips on either side and the lights are held on these metal strips which I can move up and down as needed.



Currently I am using 4 23W 5500k CFL bulbs. After the first couple of weeks I will add 4 40W 6500k CFL bulbs. Running the 18/6 cycle.

I mainly planned to grow one White Widow x Big Bud (fem), but then ended up adding a second Kerala x Skunk #1 (Herbies freebie) out of lack of patience. What happened was, I had germed a WWxBB seed in water, but am pretty sure I left it there for too long before placing it in a paper towel, because the taproot stopped coming out. I then germed a WWxBB seed in just a wet paper towel for about 3 days before putting it into the soil. After, I think, two days in soil, I figured I would throw another seed into some soil without pregerminating it, just in case something goes wrong with the WWxBB. Figured it would be nice to have a second one to mess with. The only problem is that once they get bigger, I will need to come up with something to give each plant their own space, as the box isnt big enough.

Soil used is FF Ocean Forest with nothing else added to the mix.
Currently watering every 3-4 days, when the soil feels pretty dry for at least half a day.

Anyways, here are some pics of my babies. Will keep updating daily, hopefully hearing feedback on what you guys think. I figured making a journal here would be good for my plants, as there are much more knowledgeable people here who may catch problems before I do. And thanks for checking out my grow!

Day 1: Dec 6, 2013
ww x bb broke ground


Day 2:
ww x bb


Day 3:
ww x bb


Day 4:
Kerala x Skunk broke ground today!


ww x bb


Day 5:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb


Will try to keep this going daily. Thanks for checking it out!

Day 6:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb


Day 7:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb

good luck. would be interesting to see how this pure CFL grow goes.

MasterOfTheJuice said:

good luck. would be interesting to see how this pure CFL grow goes.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I would love to use some mh/hps lights, but my space and budget do not allow me to do so. Maybe for my second grow Ill be able to do that.

Day 8:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb


At the moment I am a little concerned. The kerala x skunk seems alright to me, although it is a lighter shade of green than the ww x bb. As for the ww x bb, yesterday I noticed a few tiny brown spots on the leaves (not really visible in the photos, but pretty clear when actually looking at it), indicating a calcium deficiency? Additionally, the edges of its leaves have been curling up. It has done so even more today. I have checked the forums and have seen a couple of people mention that FFOF soil can cause nute burn in seedlings and cause the curling. However, it could be something else, such as ph, right? My temps seem ok, ranging between 76-86 degrees, and RH between 30-55%. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my ph meter to arrive, so I cannot tell if the ph is off, causing the lack of calcium and the brown spots, or if I actually need to feed it some calcium...

All seems well so far... Both growing alright. Will soon begin lst with the ww x bb soon. As for the kerala x skunk, I will be removing it from the box soon to let it sit under a cheap setup, just keeping it alive as a house plant. I will be going back to my initial plan of growing a single plant inside the box.

Day 9:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb


Day 10:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb


Day 11:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb

Day 12:
Kerala x Skunk


ww x bb

Bump for interest. How'd everything turn out? So to recap, just dunking the seed in water kills, no difference between paper towel vs just tossing in moist soil. What kind of fan are you using? Did you ever switch to hps lights? Pics of the result? I'm more interested in the conclusion of this story than I am in most movies.