First grow - Need help with Flowering light

Hi Ya'll,

Need some help and or advice here. This is my first grow. I'll try and be as descriptive as possible with my setup and what I need help on.

Strain: Malawi Gold (Regular seeds) (100% Sativa Landrace)
Canopy: 32X32X63 inches (2.8' X 2.8' X 6' 3")
Exhaust Fan/Filter: 4" Inline with Carbon Filter
Ducting: 4"
Plan to use Soil.

Lighting is yet undecided! ;(

I plan to raise 4 plants.

I've been doing a lot of reading about MH vs HPS vs CFL.

I've decided to go with the Sunleaves Pioneer VIII Jr. CFL system for the Vegetative cycle. Decided upon this because of first the price, and also the low heat which allows me to get the unit within inches of the plants. The unit is 24" long, 25" wide and 2-1/4" in height. It holds eight, 24", 6500k bulbs.

I've read great reviews about this light fixture for cannabis germination and for veggin. I love the size because it literally will fit almost the entire top of the canopy. Filling up the entirely with light!

My first question is what should I use for the flower cycle? Option #1 is I can switch the 6500k blue bulbs out and put in 8-2100k "Bloom" bulbs. Option #2 is go with a 250 or 400 watt High Pressure Sodium "cool tube" system.

Now first off, I would love to stick with the CFL lights for the entire grow but I've read that CFL's don't give off enough lumens for the flowering stage?

I have nothing against a 250, or 400 watt HPS system but I am afraid it will raise my canopy temperature to the point where it's hard to regulate. Plus I heard you need to keep a minimum distance of 1-2 feet from the top of the plants with an HPS system. I don't really have much room to play around with height issues.

The seller where I received the Malawi Gold seeds said it grows to 4 feet. My main concern is that the HPS system will accelerate the growth to where the plants get too big for my canopy. The last thing I want is to dedicate a bunch of months to this, only to have the plants exceed my canopy height in the end. Eeeek!

Is this something I should worry about?

Last question. How do you know when to start the flowering cycle? I've heard "most" people do this after their plants reach about 16" in height? Is that accurate? I've heard once you start the flowering cycle the plants stretch a good 3 feet or more.

Have any of you grown Malawi Gold? I know there are recommendations which are general for most cannabis plants. However, Malawi Gold is sort of a rare strain with it's 130+ day flowering time and being a landrace, 100% Sativa. I didn't know if the same rules apply to it as well.

Thanks in advance everyone!

still a newbie here so take whati say with a grain of salt. but as far as height goes you can LST them and that will give ya some headrom to play with. are you doing soil or hydro that will come into play also on your height. as far as mini distance on hid coll tube cuts that down, i got a 400 watt about 3 inches from my tops with no burn.

slowandsteady said:

still a newbie here so take whati say with a grain of salt. but as far as height goes you can LST them and that will give ya some headrom to play with. are you doing soil or hydro that will come into play also on your height. as far as mini distance on hid coll tube cuts that down, i got a 400 watt about 3 inches from my tops with no burn.

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wow 3in thats crazy, i bet that u get tighter buds.

slowandsteady said:

still a newbie here so take whati say with a grain of salt. but as far as height goes you can LST them and that will give ya some headrom to play with. are you doing soil or hydro that will come into play also on your height. as far as mini distance on hid coll tube cuts that down, i got a 400 watt about 3 inches from my tops with no burn.

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Thanks for the response. Can you please explain what "LST" is. I forgot to mention in my post, I am planning to use soil. That sounds promising you have a 400 watt close to the tops with no issue.

If you're planning on running a landrace Sativa indoors you will almost certainly have to do some training... a 3ft stretch may very well be the LOW end of the spectrum for these plants... with potentially a 17-18week flowering period these plants are going to get big. I strongly suggest a very short veg time...a week or two tops. I would guess that ONE plant will fill that tent even with pretty intense training...
I'm sure there are people on here that can steer you in the right direction but my experience with these plants is that you may find yourself wishing you had grown it outdoors... Best of luck though~

Jgerlitz said:

Thanks for the response. Can you please explain what "LST" is. I forgot to mention in my post, I am planning to use soil. That sounds promising you have a 400 watt close to the tops with no issue.

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LST= low stress training... tying down branches... holding them down with a screen ... anything that controls your canopy without causing a "wound" to the plant.... very effective....but you are dealing with a plant that is going to go CRAZY when it flowers....trust me, 4 plants is NOT a good idea in that tent.I realize you have regular seeds so you have to start more than one but if you get 4 females you're going to have problems

keep air moveing over canapy and through light, i have a glass on my hood and its sealed i can put my hand right on the glass with no problem. does get a bit warm in the center of the blub area

donniemcm said:

If you're planning on running a landrace Sativa indoors you will almost certainly have to do some training... a 3ft stretch may very well be the LOW end of the spectrum for these plants... with potentially a 17-18week flowering period these plants are going to get big. I strongly suggest a very short veg time...a week or two tops. I would guess that ONE plant will fill that tent even with pretty intense training...
I'm sure there are people on here that can steer you in the right direction but my experience with these plants is that you may find yourself wishing you had grown it outdoors... Best of luck though~

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Thanks for the tips and the warning. Damn. Yeah, I heard this strain is sort of a problem with height. But honestly, it's the only strain I've ever smoked that I truly enjoyed. The high was so unique and happy versus the typical stuff I always get here in Washington.

I guess I could also go to a bigger tent before things start getting way out of hand. Although I don't know where I would put it my place. :-/

Anyways. Thanks again! Greatly appreciated

slowandsteady said:

keep air moveing over canapy and through light, i have a glass on my hood and its sealed i can put my hand right on the glass with no problem. does get a bit warm in the center of the blub area

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Thank you!!!

Jgerlitz said:

Thanks for the tips and the warning. Damn. Yeah, I heard this strain is sort of a problem with height. But honestly, it's the only strain I've ever smoked that I truly enjoyed. The high was so unique and happy versus the typical stuff I always get here in Washington.

I guess I could also go to a bigger tent before things start getting way out of hand. Although I don't know where I would put it my place. :-/

Anyways. Thanks again! Greatly appreciated

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You're very welcome.... not trying to discourage you of course... just want you to be ready... I had NO idea what I was getting involved in when I grew one out... Honestly I'm not sure I'd do it again unless I had a nice spot outdoors... BUT.... if it's what you want to grow, by all means give it a shot... there are SO many good people on here who will help if you run into issues~ Best of luck my friend~