Am I missing something/ CFL

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Tom O'Bedlam

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Theseplants are 7 weeks 3 days from germination. They are "Lemon Skunk" and are growing in a roughly 50/50 mix of black gold organic potting soil and soilless mix. Roughly 2 feet tall. Watering alternates between water and fox farms grow big with molasses. It's all CFL's. I've grown northern lights in this same space, so I know it can work....but I'm not seeing any signs of sex, pre-flowers or alternating nodes yet. Seems like I should be by now??? One seedling that I put outside does have alternating nodes but no pre-flowers yet.

Advice?

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You might want to consider flipping them to a 12/12 light schedule for a few days....I hve had stubborn plants that only showed sex when flipped. Jmo
 
:yeahthat:

Those look nice, by the way.
 
Hamster Lewis said:
You might want to consider flipping them to a 12/12 light schedule for a few days....I hve had stubborn plants that only showed sex when flipped. Jmo

I've considered it but my grow-book says that doing so doesn't work to one's advantage..hermaphrodites, etc., can result, supposedly. The seed bank guaranteed 80% females, so maybe I'll do it anyway in another week or so. I'm running out of room, dammit. I'd like to ID any males and kill 'em. The northern lights had shown something by 6 weeks, maybe it's just that this is a different strain, more sativa, so maybe I should just expect things to be a bit different...I'd smoke a joint to relax about it but I have no joints.

and thanks Alistair, glad they look nice to others as well.
 
Tom O'Bedlam said:
I've considered it but my grow-book says that doing so doesn't work to one's advantage..hermaphrodites, etc., can result, supposedly. The seed bank guaranteed 80% females, so maybe I'll do it anyway in another week or so. I'm running out of room, dammit. I'd like to ID any males and kill 'em. The northern lights had shown something by 6 weeks, maybe it's just that this is a different strain, more sativa, so maybe I should just expect things to be a bit different...I'd smoke a joint to relax about it but I have no joints.

and thanks Alistair, glad they look nice to others as well.


I wld be more worried about light leaks in the dark period causing hermie issues then flipping them for a few days and then flipping them back. Or you cld take clones and flip the clones? Then bin them if you are worried about hermie issues...but I wld think there wld be none. Jmo
 
This is just opinion and an educated guess without any science to back it up...I am not knocking yer lights as I know that CFL will grow bud, but I think that you have some stretch there that may be the culprit. I counted only 8-9 nodes in 24" of growth. I had sort of the same issue when I popped a new strain and got a bit of stretch. (I could be talking completely out my a**) but I have to wonder if the number of nodes has some determination in the level of maturity of a plant, and that number may change a bit from strain to strain....At any rate, I did exactly as Hammy said and they popped out preflowers everywhere within a few days, and I had no hermie trouble
 
funny...I thought the plants looked too tall as well but chalked it up to new strain being different. I added a 2nd reflector with another big 125W CFL a few days ago and also transplanted 2 of them into bigger containers on the same day thinking they needed more light and/or bigger pots. I'm also adding side lighting as I can given the limited space. Damn it, this same setup worked before with LESS LIGHT!!!! Way less!

Go ahead, tell me to switch to HPS system.
 
I've only had maybe 2-3 plants show sex in veg, very rare for me.

And if you're worried about running out of room now, you know they're gonna at least double in size when you flip.. If goin the CFL route, 'I' would go into flower around node 4-5 regardless. You dont want big plants when CFLs dont penetrate too far. (thats what she said)
 
Give it time....cfls as with other light when flower need that 12/12...trust me they will do it...i know!!!!!!!
 
sounds like I need to go 12/12. Thanks everyone. I'll let you all know how the grow goes.
 
So I did the 12/12 as suggested and it worked. Here they are, 3 weeks into 121/12 under all CFL's. As you may see, I'm having to train the top ends a bit due to height issues (should have been LST'ing earlier) even after cutting the bottom out of the grow-box to gain about a foot of vertical space. It's been a constant remodel- always moving the lights, revamping the space, changing the way the reflectors were hanging, etc., etc.

I looked real hard at a 1000W system on sale at the store, dual voltage, hood, bulb, ballast all included for $250 or so but I'm concerned about ventilation/heat...I'd have to cut holes in 5-inch thick masonry to get ventilation conduit through.

anyway, things are looking ok. THanks again

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Glad it worked out....What size space do you hve to run a 1000W in? If you are in a tight space and want to run HPS you will probably need one with an air cooled hood or a cool tube. They get quite hot.
 
it's maybe 6 feet by 14 or 15 feet in an isolated basement room with the masonry walls I mentioned. Water leaks in during the winter. I didn't buy the lights b/c of the heat/vent issues and my own unfamiliarity with those systems. The salesguy (to his credit) asked me to make sure I could handle the heat before buying. It'll be ok....
 
Why don't you set up a tent and then vent out of the tent right into the room and leave the door open or something.
Your plants look real nice. I think CFLs are the bomb, but I have invested in a 600w HID -- I have to believe the quote about light being weight. those 125w CFL bulbs are pretty expensive -- I have one -- my six little sprouts are liking it in there right now. New lights are in the mail though.
 
Sorry, but CFLs are not the bomb--this is most likely part of Tom's stretching problem.

Tom, you need ventilation regardless of what type of lighting you are using. If you have enough CFLs in there to do the job, they are putting out more heat than a HPS would....What are you doing to make sure your girls are getting enough fresh air?
 
The Hemp Goddess said:
Sorry, but CFLs are not the bomb

regardless what people say on here about CFLs THEY WORK and if thats all some people can afford then so be it ..I use both and cant tell enough difference in the quality of the bud to RAGG them...happy growing
 
No one said CFLs won't work, but they are NOT the bomb. The biggest problem with CFLs is that, lumen for lumen (and that is what counts), they cost about twice as much to operate, penetrate far less, run hotter, and DO produce less bud. There is no reason that you cannot get about the same quality, but if you are getting the same quantity from CFLs as you do HPS, something is wrong.
 
CFL's are for clones and early veg, if your flowering with them your missing out.
 
KaptainKush said:
I use both and cant tell enough difference in the quality of the bud to RAGG them...happy growing


In my opinion if you can't see a difference in bud size and density between nugs grown under cfl and those grown under HPS then something is being done wrong. Under lit or something. Like dman said flowering under cfl's might work but don't be fooled into thinking they finished in the same league as ones grown correctly with an HPS.
 

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