Advice needed about lights and lighting

Hi guys,

Im new to this and Im hoping you will all be able to provide me with as much info as poss about lights and lighting.

Ok, basically I planted a load of bagseed on a whim. I thought either it wouldn’t grow, or if it did id end up with a nice house plant. Anyways, ive now got 6 lovely lush plants, they are about 6 weeks old and coming along just great, so ive decided i want to try to get serious now. Surprisingly I appear to have 3 different strains growing coz they all look different (the leaves, the layout etc), ill post some pics if anyone is interested I’ve done loads of research and read lots and im 100% sure I have absolutely everything I need in regards to their environment, soil, food, etc, etc. The only thing missing is proper lights. Now the first thing I need to ask is do I seriously absolutely NEED specific lighting, or will daylight do the job? Has anyone grown a decent crop without using any specialist lights? Can a regular table lamp do any good at all? And more importantly, is it too late for me to introduce lights?

Ok, now for the more specific questions, what is a good all round light to start with? How much would this roughly cost? Is my electric bill going to start soaring? (I don’t have a high budget so the cheapest options would be best for me).

Now because this is my first attempt I know things will be a bit trial and error but id still like to give it my best shot. So any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

need more info...how big is the space, venting, air flow of space.

umbra said:

need more info...how big is the space, venting, air flow of space.

Click to expand...

Well at the moment they are in a cupboard about a foot tall and 3 foot wide, theres plenty of space in there, well ventilated and there is a small adjustable fan in there with them but i havent used it as yet. I do put them on the window sill during the daytime. But i could also move them to a differnet place if you feel their current set up is not good....ive got plenty of space!!

a foot tall is not going to get you anything. HPS light will get a lot of light, but can be very hot and need much more space. At least a foot between plant and light. CFL can work well with space and heat issues, but you need more of them. There are alot of variables. There are a lot of posts here about lights. You might read some of them. I'm not sure that there is only one answer. There are many options. How much money can you spend?

Welcome to ya spicicles,

You ask a great question. First allow me to welcome you here to the site. You will meet lots of cool folks here, and you can find just about anything you want to know as far as growing. Lots of laughs along the way make for a good time here. Do peruse the site rules, they are few and easy to abide with. That all being said, Let's adress your question;
You need to ask yourself why are you growing ?, and what do you expect from it. ?
Right from the git you need to understand that your grow is going to do just that, GROW !!!!
You said six of the sweeties are growing, ok, if you were going to have say a growbox, then these dimentions would be basic minimum for you.

5' wide x 3' deep x 6' Tall

You need to ask yourself are you growing with the idea of getting them to flower and produce for you, or are you just interested in a cool looking houseplant ?
This is just something for you to think on. Your grow will do better if they are not over-crowded. So lets say for the sake of arguement you want your plants to produce bud for you, now we have some thing to go with.

Let's assume that you build or have something similar to what I have described. Now the lighting, Your all around best shot with a light for this would be either a 400Watt High Pressure Sodium light, or if you got money to spend, and you can ventilate real well then go with a 600 Watt, just remember that these both get hot and inside that closet or box the temps are going to end up being too much for your plants unless you can pull it out of there.
The whole idea is to get as much light on them as possible without a bunch of unmanagable heat.
CFL's work fine, and are a lot cooler. Now as long as you can provide enough Lumens that would be the way to go, But it is as Umbra said, we need a tad more info before we can really give some solid advice.
Go into the forums, and look at all the pics under DIY, and also in General indoor growing. There is a lot there to read on and to look at.
Take your time and do the job to your satisfaction. Let us know what you find and think you like. Pics are good, we all love them, just be smart and don't allow anything in the pic that could possibly bust you. The site here is safe, but folks come, and go all the time. You never know.

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna

another suggestion to throw in with the great suggestions from my esteemed growing friends...

you said your on a budget, personally i'm usually a broke arse so i go with the cheapest possible till i accumulate the good stuff...here's a suggestion. a 3x5 box would work great if your using 1 gallon planters...if you want smaller tho, cut a 2 liter bottle of mountain dew or something in half, the 5 points at the bottom put ya a hole in each. whatever you use for soil, dont mess with ANYTHING that says "miracle" on it or "time release"...you'll have probs sooner or later. you can downsize your growbox to about 2x2 with these, and that includes cropping your ladies a few times so you can have numberous tops, then let em go. instead of cfl's, a 150 hps would be enough, remember, you DONT HAVE to have 5,000 lumens/sq ft...minimum is 3,000/optimal is 5,000, and with a 150, you'll be in that slot. a 150 watter goes about 40.00... make sure of your ventilation and remember your better off with nutes on the lighter side as opposed to over-nuting.
with your planters, the bigger the planter, the bigger the plant...if you find you only have 1 or 2 females, keep them vegging and crop the crap out of them...in a 5 gallon bucket...you wont have as many plants, but you'll make up for it in yield...if your limited on space and money, go smaller. all the luck thrown your way.
once you find your favorite lady, you might want to consider cloning or re-juvination, and custom building your plant to your needs...first grows always the hardest...it only gets better.

You need to ask yourself are you growing with the idea of getting them to flower and produce for you, or are you just interested in a cool looking houseplant ?
smoke in peace
KingKahuuna[/quote]


That right there King I want Kool looking House Plants !!
That has a SWEET Smell of GREEN, instead of a incent or spray..
But not to cook.. LOL

But To Smoke..:48:

dude, i got ALOT of respect for that answer. not many actually enjoy just the plant, most enjoy the fruit. maybe someday...i wanna sit down with the king and enjoy a "comfortable" smoke, just chillin and jammin and makin faces at people...just got to get those "political genius's" to do the legal vote. all the luck with your houseplant.