First Time Grow with Home Made CFL Lights

Hello. I'm new to growing and hope to become cool with you all to get some helpful feedback and gain knowledge. My Story begins with some green a "friend," gave me. HE said it was top notch, but upon breaking it up, there were many seeds. I haven't seen seeds in my bud for years now so at first I was annoyed to say the least. Then a light came on...why not just turn lemons into lemonade? I took my mystery seeds and germinated them, half with the paper towel in a baggie method and half with the water in a glass method. To my surprise, ALL but 3 of the seeds popped. I went and got some starter pots and organic soil and put them in the window. After about 2 weeks, I had seedlings! I know they now need more light somehow and a dedicated space. I watched a bunch of videos and talked to some people at hydroponic and garden stores and have so far come up with this space in my shed and these lights. I'm writing this hoping that I am able to post my pics as well so you all can see what I'm talking about. So I will post some pics from today when I go check on them. Any questions, comments, help?? Lol!!!
 

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gjs4786

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum...
I'll get right to it. The window sill probably wasn't the best place to start them. Light is limited, depending on the time of day, etc. In most cases, you'll want to start them under your lighting. Their stems are so long they are at risk of falling over. They obviously "stretched" on the sill. You might want to replant them and bury the stem all for except an inch or so. It may sound scary, but as long as you are gentle, at that stage, their root systems are so undeveloped, it doesn't stress them that much.
What kind of soil do you have them in (other than organic, like brand, etc)? What kind of water are you watering with? Distilled, tap, reverse osmosis? How often? What is the wattage (actual wattage, not equivalent wattage) of your CFLs? What color spectrum are they?

Until you share some extra info that's about all I can say now :) Definitely get them replanted. You can use the same cups if you'd like, just get that stem supported by soil. How far are you keeping your lights from them? 3-4 inches should be fine.
 
Welcome to the forum...
I'll get right to it. The window sill probably wasn't the best place to start them. Light is limited, depending on the time of day, etc. In most cases, you'll want to start them under your lighting. Their stems are so long they are at risk of falling over. They obviously "stretched" on the sill. You might want to replant them and bury the stem all for except an inch or so. It may sound scary, but as long as you are gentle, at that stage, their root systems are so undeveloped, it doesn't stress them that much.
What kind of soil do you have them in (other than organic, like brand, etc)? What kind of water are you watering with? Distilled, tap, reverse osmosis? How often? What is the wattage (actual wattage, not equivalent wattage) of your CFLs? What color spectrum are they?

Until you share some extra info that's about all I can say now :) Definitely get them replanted. You can use the same cups if you'd like, just get that stem supported by soil. How far are you keeping your lights from them? 3-4 inches should be fine.
Thank you so much for the help. The soil I'm using is Just Natural Organic container and potting mix. I'm watering with tap water. I have the 100w/23w Phillips light bulbs. For every 4 bulbs, I have 2 daylight 6500 and 2 soft 2700. I have moved the lights and they are about 3 inches away now.
 

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gjs4786

Well-Known Member
Thank you so much for the help. The soil I'm using is Just Natural Organic container and potting mix. I'm watering with tap water. I have the 100w/23w Phillips light bulbs. For every 4 bulbs, I have 2 daylight 6500 and 2 soft 2700. I have moved the lights and they are about 3 inches away now.
I have a bag of that soil. It's decent starter soil. Once you get your plants repotted, to take care of the stem issue, you should keep in mind that you're going to need to thin out some of those plants, so in other words, only pick the strongest, best looking plants after they've had time to grow. You're going to be limited by space with CFLs. Speaking of, you're also going to want to figure out a place you can put them so that you can line the walls with mylar or some other reflective material. I've seen people use card board boxes, so get creative. Just make sure you can set it up to have good airflow. An open space like you have them, isn't going to be the best option. You want to keep all the light that you can, instead of it just reflecting out and away.

You're going to also want to read up on training methods, such as topping and LST (low stress training) so your plants grow out wide instead of tall.

Matter of fact, here is a great guide that you can study, and ask any questions you have regarding what's covered there here: https://www.growweedeasy.com/cfl-coco-coir/
 

blowincherrypie

Well-Known Member
youve got everything you need to get u thru the first few weeks.. but if you wanna get serious about this you're going to have to look at getting some real light on them by the middle part of June at the latest imo. If you wanna go the screw bulb route I'd recommend looking into sum of the LED bulbs they've got out now. If you're just wanting to test your hand at this I'd definitely do what gjs recommends and once you have things sexed just pick the best one or two.

Whats your budget looking like?
 

Frank Nitty

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum...
I'll get right to it. The window sill probably wasn't the best place to start them. Light is limited, depending on the time of day, etc. In most cases, you'll want to start them under your lighting. Their stems are so long they are at risk of falling over. They obviously "stretched" on the sill. You might want to replant them and bury the stem all for except an inch or so. It may sound scary, but as long as you are gentle, at that stage, their root systems are so undeveloped, it doesn't stress them that much.
What kind of soil do you have them in (other than organic, like brand, etc)? What kind of water are you watering with? Distilled, tap, reverse osmosis? How often? What is the wattage (actual wattage, not equivalent wattage) of your CFLs? What color spectrum are they?

Until you share some extra info that's about all I can say now :) Definitely get them replanted. You can use the same cups if you'd like, just get that stem supported by soil. How far are you keeping your lights from them? 3-4 inches should be fine.
Give him the game bro!!!
 

Frank Nitty

Well-Known Member
Thank you so much for the help. The soil I'm using is Just Natural Organic container and potting mix. I'm watering with tap water. I have the 100w/23w Phillips light bulbs. For every 4 bulbs, I have 2 daylight 6500 and 2 soft 2700. I have moved the lights and they are about 3 inches away now.
Same stuff that im using except I have a couple of 42w and a 32w to go with my 23w and a 300w led... but I'm going through the new growers blues right now... Anyway, good luck with the grow and ill be watching,as I'm sure we all will be!!! Welcome to the club!!!
 
I have a bag of that soil. It's decent starter soil. Once you get your plants repotted, to take care of the stem issue, you should keep in mind that you're going to need to thin out some of those plants, so in other words, only pick the strongest, best looking plants after they've had time to grow. You're going to be limited by space with CFLs. Speaking of, you're also going to want to figure out a place you can put them so that you can line the walls with mylar or some other reflective material. I've seen people use card board boxes, so get creative. Just make sure you can set it up to have good airflow. An open space like you have them, isn't going to be the best option. You want to keep all the light that you can, instead of it just reflecting out and away.

You're going to also want to read up on training methods, such as topping and LST (low stress training) so your plants grow out wide instead of

Thank you. I will be reading and doing my studying, and asking lots of questions.
 
youve got everything you need to get u thru the first few weeks.. but if you wanna get serious about this you're going to have to look at getting some real light on them by the middle part of June at the latest imo. If you wanna go the screw bulb route I'd recommend looking into sum of the LED bulbs they've got out now. If you're just wanting to test your hand at this I'd definitely do what gjs recommends and once you have things sexed just pick the best one or two.

Whats your budget looking like?
Thank you. I'm getting what I need slowly but surely. I'm just using the money I normally would for green to get supplies! What do you have in mind?
 
Same stuff that im using except I have a couple of 42w and a 32w to go with my 23w and a 300w led... but I'm going through the new growers blues right now... Anyway, good luck with the grow and ill be watching,as I'm sure we all will be!!! Welcome to the club!!!
Thank you. Believe me, I'm so happy to be here!
 

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I have a bag of that soil. It's decent starter soil. Once you get your plants repotted, to take care of the stem issue, you should keep in mind that you're going to need to thin out some of those plants, so in other words, only pick the strongest, best looking plants after they've had time to grow. You're going to be limited by space with CFLs. Speaking of, you're also going to want to figure out a place you can put them so that you can line the walls with mylar or some other reflective material. I've seen people use card board boxes, so get creative. Just make sure you can set it up to have good airflow. An open space like you have them, isn't going to be the best option. You want to keep all the light that you can, instead of it just reflecting out and away.

You're going to also want to read up on training methods, such as topping and LST (low stress training) so your plants grow out wide instead of tall.

Matter of fact, here is a great guide that you can study, and ask any questions you have regarding what's covered there here: https://www.growweedeasy.com/cfl-coco-coir/
Here's the update. So far thinned out my group and here's how they look. I also found some reflective insulation at home depot I will be getting to tonight.
 

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gjs4786

Well-Known Member
Here's the update. So far thinned out my group and here's how they look. I also found some reflective insulation at home depot I will be getting to tonight.
Looking good! I don't know if people still suggest it or not, but back in the day, for stealth boxes, a good cheap reflective material could be bought from Walmart in their camping section, sold as Emergency Heat blankets. It's actually mylar. So, just unfold it and staple it to the wall. Could be cheaper than the insulation, and I wouldn't recommend insulation anyway unless you were building a nearly sealed grow room.

Edit: Keep your lights as close as possible and get a thermometer/hydrometer to put in there with them, as you'll want to keep temp and humidity dialed in too. You'll find yourself buying lots of stuff you never thought you'd need. They're just one-time buys though that you can use for other grows.
 

Frank Nitty

Well-Known Member
Looking good! I don't know if people still suggest it or not, but back in the day, for stealth boxes, a good cheap reflective material could be bought from Walmart in their camping section, sold as Emergency Heat blankets. It's actually mylar. So, just unfold it and staple it to the wall. Could be cheaper than the insulation, and I wouldn't recommend insulation anyway unless you were building a nearly sealed grow room.

Edit: Keep your lights as close as possible and get a thermometer/hydrometer to put in there with them, as you'll want to keep temp and humidity dialed in too. You'll find yourself buying lots of stuff you never thought you'd need. They're just one-time buys though that you can use for other grows.
I bought windshield reflectors for my box
 
Looking good! I don't know if people still suggest it or not, but back in the day, for stealth boxes, a good cheap reflective material could be bought from Walmart in their camping section, sold as Emergency Heat blankets. It's actually mylar. So, just unfold it and staple it to the wall. Could be cheaper than the insulation, and I wouldn't recommend insulation anyway unless you were building a nearly sealed grow room.

Edit: Keep your lights as close as possible and get a thermometer/hydrometer to put in there with them, as you'll want to keep temp and humidity dialed in too. You'll find yourself buying lots of stuff you never thought you'd need. They're just one-time buys though that you can use for other grows.
Great. Thanks. I hadn't thought of that. I will take pics to update tonight. Should I start feeding anything besides water and light right now??
 

Frank Nitty

Well-Known Member
I have a bag of that soil. It's decent starter soil. Once you get your plants repotted, to take care of the stem issue, you should keep in mind that you're going to need to thin out some of those plants, so in other words, only pick the strongest, best looking plants after they've had time to grow. You're going to be limited by space with CFLs. Speaking of, you're also going to want to figure out a place you can put them so that you can line the walls with mylar or some other reflective material. I've seen people use card board boxes, so get creative. Just make sure you can set it up to have good airflow. An open space like you have them, isn't going to be the best option. You want to keep all the light that you can, instead of it just reflecting out and away.

You're going to also want to read up on training methods, such as topping and LST (low stress training) so your plants grow out wide instead of tall.

Matter of fact, here is a great guide that you can study, and ask any questions you have regarding what's covered there here: https://www.growweedeasy.com/cfl-coco-coir/
Growweedeasy will get you all the way together!!!
 
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