ok so i found this website and wow it is helpful. ok so i have about 6 plants growing indoors. i am useing soil with slow release fert. i have mirical grow which i beleive is 15 10 15 and i have organic blend called blood meal for blooming/ flowering. which i beleive is 12 0 0 i have 3 cfl lights that put out 2700 lumens each. i also have a bluish tinted plant bulb from home depot. i dont know if it helps or not. i have reflector sheilds around those lights so it points light down. its in a bathroom that is all white with a white tub. im roughly about 30 days in to my grow and they are about a 1ft tall to 1and a half ft tall. light cycle is 16/8. temp is 82 degrees humidity is 46%. i have a fan blowing right on them. when can i expect them to start flowering. when i switch the cycle to 12/12 or what. any advice would be greatly appreciated. oh and this is my first serious grow.

According to the book, CFLs can't support a plant over 20 inches. So you can start flowering them now or wait till they're closer to 20 inches.

I say according to the book because I'm about to start my first grow. I'm still not sure how that above statement is going to affect the plants when they grow over 20 inches during the flowering stage.

what book are you reading?? lol
you can get a plant bigger than 20" using cfl's.. look at some of Roseman's cfl grows and you can see the true potential of cfl's

to the OP:
the slow release soil will probably kill your plants in a month... transplant them out of that soil ASAP unless you know alot about PH and salt lock
hte miracle grow will definitly kill your plants if you follow the directions on the box.
to be safe you need to use 1/4 of the amount of fertilizer than the box calls for, but do not reduce the quantity of water. you want that shit to be diluted heavily.
the bloodmeal works bettter during veg... the plants wont use nearly as much nitrogen for flowering as they will for vegging. if you use the bloodmeal right you shouldnt have to add any for flower anyways as it will already be in the soil.
bloodmeal is a slow releasing nitrogen fertilizer.. so if you put it in the soil at the beggining and then a week or 2 b4 flowering then thats all you should need.
as far as getting them to flower its just a matter of switching to 12/12.
as far as your lights, the 2700k's should be good for flowering... BUT they should also be no farther than 4-6 inches from the plant, and should be turned horizontal if you can get people care for
i wouldnt use a cfl smaller than 40w for any grow, but thats just me. there are people that will argue till there blue in the face saying 26w are the best cfl's... well ive used them and my current 46w lamps smoke them to hell... i got better yeild and quality off the same strain using 4 46w than i did using about 9 26w. i also found out that having less lamps reduces the heat.
as far as the 'bluish tinted lamp from home depot' if that is an incadescant lamp (like a regular light bulb but with a pretty blue powder coat on the glass) i would chuck it in the trash or use it for a reading light because thats all its good for... another cfl in that lamp socket would do you alot more good IMHO

just my .02. good luck with the grow, the first one is always the funnest when you get to toke up what you created
this thread here goes into GREAT length the pros and cons of CFL's and the diffrence it makes when there used properly:
Considering CFLs ? Pro and Con

and another one by the same guy that shows you what you can do with a cpl cfls and an old closet
Roseman's DIY Bubbleponics Tutorial

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Some folks will trash talk MG soil, but there's no reason to. If you understand how to use it, it's fine. The biggest thing to remember is that there's ferts already in it. Don't use any other fertilizers until you're well into flowering...like 3-4 weeks into flowering. If you use other ferts too soon, you'll chemically burn your plants. Also, chemical ferts and organic ferts don't play together too well...pick one and stick with it (I highly recommend organic, and MG makes an Organic Choice potting soil). Light bulbs with a blueish color are for veg growth, you'll want the yellow-orange ones for flowering...I think they are labeled cool white and warm white respectively. Our favorite herb takes about a month (give or take a couple weeks depending on strain) to mature under veg lighting...when you start to see white hairs (or, Jah forbid, dangling balls), those are the preflowers and means it's ready for 12/12. Of course, you're in control of the lighting and can flower early by switching the lights to 12/12. Left to their own devices, plants will usually double to triple in height during the first weeks of flowering, so plan accordingly...either flower at a height you can contain in your space, or train your plants (LST, ScrOG, topping, whatever). Even if you have all the room in the world and 1000 watt HPS lamps coming out the wazoo, training is still a good idea, because it increases yield. Beware overwatering; if you think it needs water, wait a day longer.

Let's see some pics, eh?

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First grow Discontinued
New Grow Stop in and say hello!

The book is Buds for Less, page 17 "They (CFLs) cannot maintain a healthy plant larger than 20 inches (51cm) in height"

Now that I'm reading it again, he might have meant with the particular set up he had going (3 plants and 8 bulbs (2700). Maybe adding more bulbs would allow you to grow healthy plants over 20 inches, you'll have to ask the author.

I've gotten plants over 20 inches with cfls in just veg, and 4 ft at maturity. It just takes a lot of cfls and a lot of moving them around.

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http://www.rollitup.org/showthread.p...bubbles+ponics

I think good practices are to heavy water with good water every two days, and don't use any ferts for the first couple of weeks. This will help you manage your plants better in the time release soil.

Thanks to all who replied so quick. any input will help. ok first off it isnt MG soil. Its a regular soil with with built in ferts. The MG i have Is MG plant food. i didnt use any for the first 2 weeks and slowly brought it on from there. i use maybe 1 out of 3 waterings. by that i mean i use the solution once and regular water the next two times then the solution again and so on. I am only up to a tsp at this point. its all pre mixed and at room temp so i wont shock them. i only water when needed. there will be no over watering. i usually wait until the surface is dry and poke my finger about an inch in to feel. as for the CFL's i have read plenty of threads on here that are succsefull. as you dont know i cant use MH or HPS do to my location and expenses. This grow wasnt meant to be serious but thes things took off like a weed, lol get it. so i invested a little more money and started researching so now im going at it for real. all plants look perfectly healthy, no chem burn except for when i accidently splashed some on the leaf but it is recovering nicely. the bulbs i have are 42watt = 150 energy smart. they have 2700 lumens each. i have 3 of these about 4 inch from the top of my plants. they seem to be doing the trick because when i go in to my room its like walking in to heavan lol. are theses lights legit. i rotate my pants 180 degrees every 8 hours is i can. the 2700k's are a step under the lights i have. matter of fact they were the brightest i could find with out goin to MH or HPSi have 8100 lumens. is that enough or should i replace the blue bulb for another 42 watt bulb?

they are right about 20 inch now. should i wait till i see white hairs before flowering them or should i force them? i am putting pics up when my camera charges. Thanks ALL!

iam5toned did you grow whats in your avatar