justanormlmom

How many watts are those bulbs? I have heard that sometimes that more wattage can increase yields. HID lamps seem to be the most popular for growing cannabis, i.e. metal halide and high pressure sodium.

Invest in your well being and get some HPS lighting in there.
I'm in the same boat re. depression, and having (at last!) endless amounts of herb to "round the corners off, and warm my cold heart!" has been of more help than anyone or anything.
You could always butane extract your "disgusting" herbage. Easy enough to do, and it's nice to add a little on top of a pipe for those particularly down times...
PM me if you need any help
This has cheered me this morning; being reminded what a miracle medication this has been to my life over the last year...Cheers! +rep! & peace!!

First off, don't judge maturity by time. Check the trichs instead, they should be mostly cloudy with some amber.

To get rid of the "crackle", flush at the end of flowering....1 week for hyrdo, 2 weeks for soil.

Better luck next time.

Bubblicious, is that a Nirvana strain? My first grow was Nirvana Aurora Indica, my friend grew two other Nirvana strains. I have zero tolerance only have used Marijuana since September 2011 to assist with the neuropathic pain component I've been experiencing.

What I found is that genetics are very important. While Nirvana has good strains to learn with they aren't very strong. But they did get my training wheels off and I was willing to invest in more expensive genetics for my second round. So consider investing in some better seeds.

Next light, simply HID's are currently where it's at for the newbie grower both price and performance wise. There is a lot of excellent research being done with LED's currently etc.. but for the newer growers with limited financial resources use an HPS. Currently there are great ballasts out there where you can correctly fire several different wattages of bulbs so you also get flexibility.

Also ballast technology and radiant heat control has gotten very good. I have an old 250 watt metal halide from 1996 when CA first passed it's medical marijuana initiative and I was ramping up for my first grow. I chickened out. But when I started this grow I used the 250 metal halide in the combined ballast/hood for veg and I purchased a new ballast, Magnum XXXL hood charcoal filter and Max Can Fan.

My 250 watt metal halide puts out more heat and uses more energy than my 600 Watt HPS. The plants can touch the glass on the 600 watt and not burn but if they get within a foot of the 250 the leaves scorch right off. So for now get yourself a nice modern ballast, hood and HPS light and make sure you get a sealed hood that can take a fan at the end that way you not only efficiently cool but by adding on a charcoal canister before the light you also clean the smell out of your air. I also used insulated ducting and so no heat escapes to add to the grow room temp. I simply vented into my attic.

Well best of luck in your next grow.

Originally Posted by curious2garden

Bubblicious, is that a Nirvana strain? My first grow was Nirvana Aurora Indica, my friend grew two other Nirvana strains. I have zero tolerance only have used Marijuana since September 2011 to assist with the neuropathic pain component I've been experiencing.

What I found is that genetics are very important. While Nirvana has good strains to learn with they aren't very strong. But they did get my training wheels off and I was willing to invest in more expensive genetics for my second round. So consider investing in some better seeds.

Next light, simply HID's are currently where it's at for the newbie grower both price and performance wise. There is a lot of excellent research being done with LED's currently etc.. but for the newer growers with limited financial resources use an HPS. Currently there are great ballasts out there where you can correctly fire several different wattages of bulbs so you also get flexibility.

Also ballast technology and radiant heat control has gotten very good. I have an old 250 watt metal halide from 1996 when CA first passed it's medical marijuana initiative and I was ramping up for my first grow. I chickened out. But when I started this grow I used the 250 metal halide in the combined ballast/hood for veg and I purchased a new ballast, Magnum XXXL hood charcoal filter and Max Can Fan.

My 250 watt metal halide puts out more heat and uses more energy than my 600 Watt HPS. The plants can touch the glass on the 600 watt and not burn but if they get within a foot of the 250 the leaves scorch right off. So for now get yourself a nice modern ballast, hood and HPS light and make sure you get a sealed hood that can take a fan at the end that way you not only efficiently cool but by adding on a charcoal canister before the light you also clean the smell out of your air. I also used insulated ducting and so no heat escapes to add to the grow room temp. I simply vented into my attic.

Well best of luck in your next grow.

Yes, Bubblelicious is a Nirvana strain. The smell is absolutely divine but we'll have to see how potent it is. Can you recommend any companies you've bought good, potent seeds from? I went with Nirvana not only because of their prices and selection, but because I can still use a bank card with them instead of doing the weird run-around with cashier's checks and whatnot.

When it comes to lighting, this is all Greek to me. Once again, can you recommend any good sites to help me find the lighting I'm looking for at a good cost? It sounds as though you're quite knowledgeable on the subject.

Don't wanna rock the boat by mentioning another type of plant, but while you're waiting for your bud to grow you should get yourself some St John's Wort. Have you heard of it? It's an easily available natural herbal remedy for mild to fairly severe depression. It's actually prescribed by doctors in Germany and it has a very good track record considering it's all-natural.

I wouldn't try smoking it though...

Yes, I've tried St. John's Wort, fish oil capsules, B6 and a multitude of prescription antidepressants in addition to counseling. None of it did squat. So happy to have found cannabis, now if I could just learn how to grow it decently, or find someone in this god-forsaken town who DOES know how to grow and prefers to sell, lol! It's just too bad the government is a stubborn bitch that doesn't acknowledge the benefits of cannabis!

Ah. Fair enough. Looks like you're out of options....so
How high is your grow space? If you have more than 5ft then I'd probably buy a 250W HPS, if it's less than 5ft then I'd go for a LED panel with your old CFLs for extra lighting duties. For both of those to work properly though you NEED to find a way of taking air out of your grow space, and replacing it with fresh, cool air. That isn't optional when you've got these types of lights.
You're best of reading through some of the stickies in the LED section to find someone who can point you in the right direction. I've only ever used HPS and my own home-made LED lights, and PLEASE be careful which LED panel you buy. There are lots of different types, some good, and some bad.

Try reading a few other soil grows from start to finish before you go again. That should get you off to a better start. And good luck!

My grow box was built from an old dresser and the flower chamber is aprox. 2x2 and I've got 2 computer fans removing hot air and 2 computer fans pushing fresh, cool air in. Same set-up over in the veg chamber. My grow box is setup much like this, it's where we got the idea: http://www.hailmaryjane.com/build-a-...less-than-150/

I'm going back and forth between a LED and HPS. For the LED I've seen some recommendations on this one: http://htgsupply.com/Product-7-Band-135w-UFO-LED.asp

For the HPS I'm looking at this one: http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/customkit...CSHPS025II&eq=

Trying to get the most output and HOPEFULLY the most harvest in a small space. I've all but given up on CFL growing. It does wonderfully for veg, but for flowering I'm only getting buds a half inch big. Depressing as hell.

Originally Posted by justanormlmom

Yes, Bubblelicious is a Nirvana strain. The smell is absolutely divine but we'll have to see how potent it is. Can you recommend any companies you've bought good, potent seeds from? I went with Nirvana not only because of their prices and selection, but because I can still use a bank card with them instead of doing the weird run-around with cashier's checks and whatnot.

When it comes to lighting, this is all Greek to me. Once again, can you recommend any good sites to help me find the lighting I'm looking for at a good cost? It sounds as though you're quite knowledgeable on the subject.

Thank you for the compliment about sounding knowledgeable. I'm afraid it's all sound. I am in the middle of my second grow.

I'm in the same place you are looking for the right genetics. It's very hard to find them because there isn't a lot of incentive for the real pro growers to part with their money making strains. Especially when you understand that a cut of the really good stuff can run thousands of dollars and are usually never allowed close to pollen so they remain clone only. So unfortunately no I haven't found any genetics I can recommend. As for seedbanks try Attitude: https://www.cannabis-seeds-bank.co.uk/

I purchased from them and from Nirvana. I'm currently growing some Cali Connection Pre 98 Bubba Kush BX2, which means it's back crossed to itself. There have been complaints of some of Cali Connection hermieing and I'm in the middle of the grow so although I'm hopeful and the plant looks good I can't recommend it yet.

I recommend:
http://www.growlightexpress.com/ Good prices and they ship quickly.

Hope this helps and you can find something to assist you with the depression. You know the Nirvana genetics that I have were supposed to be their most Indica expressive plant and it really resembled a sativa. So who knows Bubblicious may work out perfectly for you. I sure hope it does.