wow bro you really need to do a little reading before you start ... you can veg with cfl but need hps /mh or led to really grow , cfl wont cut it unless you wanna grow a 1/4 oz ......

ok so would i be safer just getting a hps light or led light instead? i am only growing 2 plants and i want to kept the cost down. tbh i thought the cfl light would have got the first grow me. what light would you recommend for a first time grower

I won't discourage you from starting small! Try it. It will still be fun and you will get a little weed. But most important is the SHIT load of knowledge. I'd buy the lights I was eventually planning on using for some vegging, then make up grades as you go. Don't spend money on stuff that will be obsolete to your eventual goal. The more plant time and harvests you have the better no reason to ultra complicate it at the start. Get aquainted with the plant first. I'd get T5 floro ballasts from Home Depot. Mix of spectrum bulbs. Good luck!

this is my first plant about a month old.

dave tate said:

this is my first plant about a month old.

Click to expand...

quote or like a post so i know your looking for more info bro but WWF is on point as I now have a bunch of bullshit lights that i'll never use from upgrading . Personally I would not grow with cfl it might be fun to become acquainted with the plant but you could easily find a 150-200 hps on ebay or craigs list for real cheap if unsure weather this is for you and if it is use that as supplemental lighting in future. My first grow was 4 gdp plants under a 150 hps and the yield thou not outstanding was much more than any cfl would of produced imho.....

thanks very much for your input, i think i am going to change lights and get a hps instead. Also how long roughly do i keep my plant in the veg stage? i am a bit green on this as this is my first plant i really should off read up on this a wee bit more but i thought i'd figure it out as i went along lol.

This pic is a great example of what Walterwhitefire (WWF) was talking about.
Your fellow farmers will manage to argue about every detail. Every detail.
Example: Two sticks and a wire to hold up that twig. What a noob! (End troll mode)
I would have used a single pipe cleaner stuck in the dirt and bent to provide a crutch for the plant.
The wire you used will quickly constrain girth growth and the sticks are already intimately engaged with new roots and should not be removed any time soon.
Lights- I would consider a two by two foot T5 lamp bank. It will always be useful as a utility lamp, and it is presently considered the best bang for the buck in vedg.
WWF's seemingly simple advise to use mixed spectrum T5 bulbs launches you instantly into the realm of advanced techniques.
I am a noob too, but three years in and I have yet to figure out how to buy a T5 light.
Bulbs are hard for me to find, much less spectrum shifted. And what is that HO designation. Is it a bulb and/ or ballast specification?
So I'd use what I have so long as it's working. And I'd say your CFLs are working, and with the addition of a few more you may well get a full vedg from them.
By the time you get to flower you will be looking for a 200 - 400 Watt high pressure sodium lamp. Some will say that should read metal halide, and some would have you spend your money on an LED.
You have time to figure this out.
The one thing none of us will argue about is the fan.
Air movement is essential, and strong enough to buffet the leaves is optimal.

Things you can look forward to.
Over watering.
Temp and humidity control.
And the happy problem of odor control in the weeks before harvest.

And pests. Where to start?

Welcome to a new world view. We were put on earth to serve the plants.

150 watt hps with reflector and bulb, 60 bucks online, sunsystem

Looks pretty good!

I'd buy a 135 watt blue LED UFO light... you can always use it for veg.

baba G said:

150 watt hps with reflector and bulb, 60 bucks online, sunsystem

Click to expand...

bingo - payed 75 for mine and still find some use for it.. and if u find u don't wanna be a grower - only a minor investment loss