i recently harvested my 2 white widow plants, the setup was very simple. these are the things that i know i did wrong and have learned from.
1) i used only 4 cfls, needless to say i didn't get much yield. next time i will use an hid light or at least double the number of cfls.
2)i started the seeds in very clay-ey soil from outside my apartment then transplanted them into potting soil. next time i will make a proper perlite/vermiculite/soil mixture.
3)for a while, i didnt have adequate ventilation and this will be a big focus for my next grow.
4)my grow area was very confined and not well insulated with reflective material, i will choose/make a better place next time.
5)during vegitation and early in flowering i wasnt aware of how important using clean water is which sounds stupid but i know now that it is very important as far as pH etc.
i think all of these things together really stunted my plants and i am actually surprised i got anything off of them. there are plenty of other things that i did wrong and i still have questions on nutrients especially, was everyone's first grow such a great learning experience?

Yes mine was. Seems I learned more by doing stuff wrong then by doing stuff right. Guess when you do it right you take it for granted but when you screw up it sticks in your head. Learning process it never stops.

So was mine, but with the info I found here the last one was much better. If you go with CFLs again the more the better. What I found helpful this last time with my CFL grow was adding lights around the plants really helped with yield.

As I damaged one of my plants with nutrient abuse, I will leave that subject for those more experienced than I am. However, one thing I have learned here is too much too often is not good for the plants.

Good luck with your next grow.

It is better to screw up your first grow, which is why I always tell folks to use bagseed. I let mine grow four feet in veg under a grossly underpowered light, didn't use perlite, you name it.