Need Advice After my First Harvest

Hello

I just chopped down my lemon kush plant that ive had growing for a while and the outcome was great but it could of been better. Although this is my first grow I feel like i could of done alot better for the gear im using. I grew her in a 5 gallon bucket with FFOF soil and Fox Farm line of nutes. Watered with strictly distilled water and I was using CFLS. In flowering i had 4 26 W CFLs 5 13 W CFLs and 1 LED. My buds came out airy and not dense for some reason and idk why. My top cola was pretty nice but not as dense as id like to see. Im thinking its because i didnt have enough light on some parts of the plant and I also think its because temps in my grow room reached above 83 for a few days straight. Anyone thats had experience with these issues please comment because im trying to improve for the second time around and not repeat my same mistakes

-GB

The temp problem is a small issue, but the fluffy buds is probably due to your lighting and possibly strain genetics. CFLs need to be no farther than 1 inch away from leaves to maximize effectiveness, even then it's a relatively weak light source for flowering. I like them for veg and clones ^.^

UncleReemis said:

The temp problem is a small issue, but the fluffy buds is probably due to your lighting and possibly strain genetics. CFLs need to be no farther than 1 inch away from leaves to maximize effectiveness, even then it's a relatively weak light source for flowering. I like them for veg and clones ^.^

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Appreciate the fast response Reemis.. ANother quick question.. So Instead of using CFls again and going through that spectrum and bulb distance shit, what if I went HPS instead? Do I need different bulbs for veg and flower? Are these bulbs and ballasts expensive? Anyone with experience on HPS lights feel free to put your two cents in

Ganja Boy 420 said:

Appreciate the fast response Reemis.. ANother quick question.. So Instead of using CFls again and going through that spectrum and bulb distance shit, what if I went HPS instead? Do I need different bulbs for veg and flower? Are these bulbs and ballasts expensive? Anyone with experience on HPS lights feel free to put your two cents in

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HPS is where it's at if you can't afford quality LED products (shits expensive). A good 600w ballast with two bulbs (MH for veg HPS for flower), reflector and hangers will cost you in the ballpark of $130-150. Totally worth it though! You can use either bulb for veg/flower but HPS is recommended for flower, MH for veg due to spectrum.

if you got smokeable bud first time out, you did great!

Ganja Boy 420 said:

Appreciate the fast response Reemis.. ANother quick question.. So Instead of using CFls again and going through that spectrum and bulb distance shit, what if I went HPS instead? Do I need different bulbs for veg and flower? Are these bulbs and ballasts expensive? Anyone with experience on HPS lights feel free to put your two cents in

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If you had any problems with heat with CFLs it will get a lot hotter with a HPS If not properly ventilated

400w HPS will do you fine

As stated above..if cfls are giving you heat problems..imagine +15°..maybe more..airflow airflow airflow. And with a HID purchase, youll need fans and ducting as well.

Desr said:

As stated above..if cfls are giving you heat problems..imagine +15°..maybe more..airflow airflow airflow. And with a HID purchase, youll need fans and ducting as well.

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I had to put the plant up in the atic for about five days or so because my parents came in and they have no idea i do it so i had to keep it out of site for a few days and the heat was very intense up there. My temp gauge read like 95. Is the yield dramatically better with HPS compared to CFL? I dont wanna buy these lights and not see that much of an improvement

95 is too high. Moving plants during flower is also a major stress.

Is it possible the the plants weren't finished? If they went through five days of the intense stress you are describing it would delay harvest for sure.

This could explain your airy buds...

Cfl vs hps is gonna blow your socks off. Lol for real. Its the bees knees. Cfl is like the slingshot and hps is the tank.

bud density has alot to do with genetics. I have ran two differant strains at the same time and had one be dense as fuck and the other be more fluffy.

Ganja Boy 420 said:

I had to put the plant up in the atic for about five days or so because my parents came in and they have no idea i do it so i had to keep it out of site for a few days and the heat was very intense up there. My temp gauge read like 95. Is the yield dramatically better with HPS compared to CFL? I dont wanna buy these lights and not see that much of an improvement

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It's an amazing difference. I started with CFLs and had airy buds, slow growth. The day after I hooked up my new 400 light I saw immediate gains in growth.

If I ever had to use CFLs for another full grow I would have to be absolutely desperate and I would expect poor yields and sub standard buds.

As far as growing weed indoors is concerned, CFLs will give you something to smoke, HPS lighting will give you something to be proud of.

Ganja Boy 420 said:

I had to put the plant up in the atic for about five days or so because my parents came in and they have no idea i do it so i had to keep it out of site for a few days and the heat was very intense up there. My temp gauge read like 95. Is the yield dramatically better with HPS compared to CFL? I dont wanna buy these lights and not see that much of an improvement

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big difference... cfl buds are airy.. hps buds (depending on wattage and strain) can be rock hard...