burn4me said:

If its only week 4 you got at least 4 more weeks id say. Maybe more depending on strain. Couple things to check for. New pistol growth. They still packing on weight. Trichomes coloring. Do a little more digging and reading for some more knowledge and info. Patients is a virtue and pulling now means all work down the drain. Good luck and definitely post some pics and strain info.

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Ambre said:

You definitely have at least 4 more weeks before your plants will be ready to harvest. Check the harvesting sub-forum under this forum - browse the forum for info on what to look for to determine when your plants will be ready. Burn4me mentioned the basics - without knowing the strain, you will need to keep an eye on pistil formation and the color of the trichomes.

You will probably need to add additional lights as the plant grows. What spectrum (color) are your lights? Are they the soft/warm white (yellow color) or cool/daylight spectrum (blue color)? For flowering you want the warm color lights - flowering plants need the yellow/red spectrum.

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Ambre said:

I start off flowering under a mix of warm & cool lights. This helps reduce stretch during the start of flowering (especially useful if you are growing sativas or mixes). I change one bulb over to warm at a time until I have all warm bulbs in by the 3rd week of flowering (for plants that take around 8 weeks to flower) or the 4th to 5th week (for plants with longer flowering time).

What kind of socket do you have your lights in? Can you post a photo of the lights? Wiring lights is pretty easy to do, but you need to have some basic knowledge about electricity so you can be safe (not overload your circuits, for example). If you are interested, I can post photos & directions for wiring waterproof light sockets together.

The trichs may not be easily visible individually, but on most plants, you can tell the difference from the "shine" they give off when they start turning amber. I have a small microscope with a built-in battery flashlight that I use to check trichs. It's from Radio Shack and was only $10.99. Remove the spaces from the URL below to link to it.
radioshack. com /product/index.jsp? productId=2179604

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Ambre said:

View attachment 434974 I use these sockets (from Casa DePot) for the bulbs. The socket is inside of a solid rubber outer case and is waterproof. The wires are pre-stripped. You will also need a power cord, some wire nuts, a wire stripper, and electric tape.

For the power cord, I use a cheap extension cord and cut off the end with the sockets. Separate the two wires that make the cord and strip off about 3/4" of the insulation on both parts of the cord. On most cords, one side will be smooth and the other will have ridges. It doesn't matter which side of the cord you attach to the white or black wire on the socket, but if you are daisy-chaining lights, you want to be consistent. I always put the side with the ridges on the black wire.

Put the stripped end of the ribbed side of the wire together with the end of the black wire on the socket. Twist the two wires together, then screw on a wire nut. To waterproof the connection, wrap the nut & at least 1/2" of the wire tightly in electric tape, making sure to overlap the turns of the tape and completely cover the opening in the wire nut. Repeat with the other wire. That is all there is to making a one-light setup, you are ready to plug it in.

If you want to daisy-chain lights, you will need one power cord and a piece of the same type of cord without a plug. If your extension cord is long enough, you can cut off a piece of the cord to use to hook lights together. Separate & strip the wires on both ends of the cord that doesn't have a plug on it.

This time, twist the ribbed side of the power cord & the ribbed side of one end of the extra cord together with the black wire on the socket. Put on the wire nut & electric tape as before. Repeat for the white cord. This gives you 3 cords hooked together.

Then take the extra cord (that doesn't have the plug on it) and attach the ribbed side of the wire to the black wire of the next socket, then repeat for the white cord.

I dangle the lights down in any area that looks like it needs more light. It's not good to hang the bulb by the power cord, so I tie a piece of string (or twist one end of a long twist-tie) on to the bulb and use that to hang the bulb. This way, you aren't putting stress on the electric connections.

If you need more light in a spot and don't want to add more sockets, you can use a "Y" socket adapter to put 2 bulbs into one socket. This weighs a lot more than using just 1 bulb, so be sure to hang it securely and safely.

While the socket itself is waterproof, you still need to be very careful if you spray your plants with anything. Pull the sockets up out of the garden - any water that can get inside the socket (between the bulb & the socket) can still cause a short or worse.

I will get some photos illustrating the wiring this afternoon while I'm working on my garden. I may post it as a separate topic in the "Growroom Design & Setup" forum where it will be easier for others to find.

To remove the reflector from the light you are currently using, unplug it (for safety) and take the bulb out of the socket. Hold the socket and unscrew the reflector (turn it counter-clockwise just like unscrewing anything else). Once the reflector comes loose, put your bulb back in the socket, plug it back in, and you are in business.

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Ambre said:

I just posted the thread in the Growroom Design & Setup forum:
https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/using-cfls-as-supplemental-lighting.65493/

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