whats the cheapest way to grow?

natures.medicine

Well-Known Member
hello smokers

i just harvested 2 plats that i had on my windowsill in england.
bad results waste of time.
i have decided only outside or with lights will work so i have no garden so i must use lights.
but i want to know if i can use say a 60w househole bulb in a cuboard with fan ect, and how much would it cost. includeing electric price! thats obiously abit hard to work out lol.

anyone who knows aanything let me know :)
 

ontariogrower

Well-Known Member
household bulbs wont work there a waste of time get some 150watt or better cfls you need 5 or so to get some thing good but for flowering you'll needs better than cfls they produce fluffy buds
 

leftreartire

Active Member
those new cf bulbs tell you the monthly cost to run it...so figure out how many bulbs you can aford to use and add it up. the more bulbs the better. you can do it for a less than 100 bucks buying the equipment. see more budds has a book called growing 1oz on a 100 bucks....lol.....very nice book with day to day pictures and what to expect
 

Butthead08

Well-Known Member
CFLs don't work very well... we know from experience. Two CFL grows and never harvested anything worthwhile. Then a 400w HPS grow with waaaay better results. I would suggest at least trying to get a 250w hps. It shouldn't be that hard to keep cool or anything, and you'd need a TON of CFL's to get any weight.
 

natures.medicine

Well-Known Member
household bulbs wont work there a waste of time get some 150watt or better cfls you need 5 or so to get some thing good but for flowering you'll needs better than cfls they produce fluffy buds
im not looking to get a big grow going just 1 maybe 2 plants just a smoke , wont any cheap bulb work? i dont have the money tospend over £30 on a 150wt lamp
 

del66666

Well-Known Member
no you cant use the old type bulbs ,you would need to use low energy bulbs, screw fix do 25 watt bulbs i think. they also do a 70 watt hps for 25 quid to use to flower. i use enviros and 3 x 70 watt hps.lec wont be much
 

InThEwOoDs

Well-Known Member
Dont listen to these guys on here claiming that CFL's (cheapest way to grow) will give you fluffy/light buds. Im almost done with my first indoor, all CFL's, I have PLENTY of weight on my ladies and they are far from fluffy.

I recommend investing in at least 4 42watt(actuall) 2700k CFL's PER PLANT.

You can use smaller 6500k bulbs for vegging if you have the extra money, but 2700k are mandatory for flowering.

Check my girls out! vegged for 45 days, now im on day 49 of flower.

Good luck man :joint:
 

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punker

Well-Known Member
CFLs don't work very well... we know from experience. Two CFL grows and never harvested anything worthwhile. Then a 400w HPS grow with waaaay better results. I would suggest at least trying to get a 250w hps. It shouldn't be that hard to keep cool or anything, and you'd need a TON of CFL's to get any weight.
yeah hes right...the only thing cfl's are good for is vegging....
 

StreetRider

Active Member
Like stated above. HID lighting.. HPS/MH is the best way.

That being said. IF you can only afford CFL and you want to grow then that's what you do.

Keep the bulbs very close, and add them as you can afford the, That is one of the nice things about them is that they are so cheap you can just keep adding a couple every time you get paid. It is hard to do that with HID lighting.

You will get alot of people putting down cheap grows, but some times you have to work with what you got.

You can learn alot on these early grows. Will you set records or end up in High Times, no. But, you can grow some smoke for yourself and learn alot in the process.
 

spliffbazz

Well-Known Member
whats up welcome to riu..
and the lighting 1 of my mates yeilded an oz dry from one trained plant using 6 23 watt cfls for the whole grow so thats what id recomend anyway anything less wont really be worth your while....peace

spliffbazz
 

InThEwOoDs

Well-Known Member
yeah hes right...the only thing cfl's are good for is vegging....
You must have missed the pics I posted.

They call that "indisputable evidence".

If you have had poor results with CFL's in the past it was due to your lack of ability and skill.

Dont blame your shitty growing on your lights!
 
i want to know if i can use say a 60w househole bulb in a cuboard with fan ect, and how much would it cost. includeing electric price! thats obiously abit hard to work out lol.

anyone who knows aanything let me know :)
I'd say the cheapest way (while still supplying enough light) is as follows (I'm assuming a standard sized closet with a bar going through it for hanging shirts etc):


4ft Flourescent with two tube lights. You can get them with a cord, and simply hang it from the bar
Ficture:
http://www.alternativehydro.com/images/FloresentFixture-Lrg.gif


3 aluminum light reflectors with socket splitters
Reflector:
http://www.goodmart.com/images/prodimages/bayco/SL-302.jpg

Splitter:
http://www.electronicplus.com/images/products/700V-BOX.jpg


The flourescent fixture will run about $10 on sale, $15-20 not on sale. The bulbs are maybe $5-10 as well, shop around your local hardware stores, etc.

The aluminum reflectors are typically about $10 each. Stick a splitter in each one (another $3 each) and add the cost of 6 CFL "curly bulbs" which will run you about $10-$20 depending on where you shop, and you're in business.

Grand total for lighting: Less than $100, maybe as low as $60 if you look around and wait for sales at your local hardware store. (Check those sales papers that come in the mail!)

Considering the fact that you'd spend WAAAAY more than that if you were buying from someone, it's actually a hell of a bargain.

Don't forget about needing two types of food (look for those N-P-K type numbers on the container - see any of the how to's on this site for more info), as you'll need one for growing healthy leaves (need lots of green for the whoe photosynthesis thing) and another for the flowering stage. They'll typically run you about $10 each or so, and should be available from basically any home improvement store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.)

As for the electricity usage, CFL's are by far the most affordable solution (aside from outdoors).
 

trichromalicious

Active Member
Dude hempy buckets are the cheapest/fastest way to grow. There is no way around a good light and don't waste your time with cheap cfls. Just drop the cash on a 250-400W HPS and call it a day, or make a veg room with 3 2ft fluorescent grow tubes.
 

natures.medicine

Well-Known Member
Dont listen to these guys on here claiming that CFL's (cheapest way to grow) will give you fluffy/light buds. Im almost done with my first indoor, all CFL's, I have PLENTY of weight on my ladies and they are far from fluffy.

I recommend investing in at least 4 42watt(actuall) 2700k CFL's PER PLANT.

You can use smaller 6500k bulbs for vegging if you have the extra money, but 2700k are mandatory for flowering.

Check my girls out! vegged for 45 days, now im on day 49 of flower.

Good luck man :joint:
yeah i like the babys man they look nice. if thier done with CFL i know what to do lol.
cheers mate i will make a setup and then post some pics tell me if im doing it right !!
 

natures.medicine

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all help it is needed lol.

i am only going to be growing 3 (max) plants in a closet or grow box. will use cfls . would 4 100watt bulbs do the trick better? i have just found 4 ! also would i be better off buying autoflowers?
 

StreetRider

Active Member
NO!

Halogen is all bad. Go to your local hardware store or walmart/kmart/drugstore and get some cfl's.

Any CFL will be better then the lights you are looking at. It is not just about watts per dollar it is about the type of light (spectrum) that they put out. Household lights other then CFL's or tubes are going to be totally in the wrong spectrum.
 
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