going to buy lights tomorrow - beginner help

lucy

Active Member
Finally managed to germinate some seeds, have now potted them and put them in the window. But from what I've read I need to go buy some lights tomorrow!!!! But I'm really not sure what lights I should be getting!!
1. Should I buy flourescent lights for this stage of the growing??
2. What wattage should they be?
3. What length tube do I need?
4. How many do I need per seedling????

Thanks!!!
 
This will require more information. How many plants? Growing area dimensions? Height restrictions? Budget? Venting issues? Heat issues in summer?
 
hiya lucy..welcome to the forum

well floresent lights are good for begining, but get compact floresents (CFLs or energy saving lightbulbs)...
make sure you get the blue 1s for the begining stages (veg). the blue 1s are called ... cool white, daylight. the kelvin rating or colour temperature has to be 6400k. for flowering get the 2700k 1s. and highest watt you can get.
a plant minimum is about 3000 lumens per square foot. 1 20watt cfl puts out about 1200 lumens.

say you buy 4 20watt cfls... adds up to 4800 lumens. put them as close as you can to ure plants (about an inch). and get sum polywrap (shiny wraping paper) or some other reflective matirial.
 
You may want to get a bunch of CFL's for now... that will tide your seedlings over so you will have more time to research your primary light options.
 
c.f.l.'s the brighter the better. I love my 300w c.f.l. grow box. It's a hell of alot better than my 1000w hps or my 400w hps lights
 
Ok,
Sounds like I can get the Compact Fluorescent Bulbs and presumably put them in a lamps that I currently have? This should do me for the moment????
They're also sitting in the window of a south facing room that gets nice and warm during the day.... presume this is good?

Should I leave the lights on for 24hrs for the moment??

I'm just spraying them with water every morning and evening so they're damp - is this correct?

Thanks for the comments so far you're all very helpful!

Could I use the fluorescent ones for the the full growing cycle?

I don't want to invest in HPS ones unless I know the plants are going to make it - and it's very early days yet!
 
yea i understand your HPS predicament.... and yes you can ure cfl throughout although you will need the 6400k and the 2700k 1s
but obviously they would not be as dense as HPS buds
i personally would go 18/6 lighting while in veg
and obviously 12/12 for flowering
 
So I should get a timer and put it for on from 5am-11pm
a plant minimum is about 3000 lumens per square foot. 1 20watt cfl puts out about 1200 lumens.
Ive got two pots currently with tiny seedlings in them so does this mean I'll need 3 cfls at 20watts to give me enough light. Then if I germinate some more and pot them I should get the same number of lights again...?????

Do you ever pinch out the tops out of seedlings??? To make them grow out rather than up??? I have done this with other seeds I have grown (am into gardening normally but stuff I've grown before isn't this difficult to grow!!!!!!!)
 
its funny int it... canabis is a weed (pun not intended) so it shud not be this hard to grow lol
ive neva herd of anyone pinching seedlings but i could b wrong try it :)
and the grow area must be 1 foot by 1 foot if this is your intension ...... and relective material can greatly increase your yeild...read thegrow faqs at the top left of this page :):):):) happy growing lucy :):):)
 
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