Thoughts on light for seedlings

[JDU]

I just realized that they are old enough now that they could be moved to full lighting regardless of your stance so switching them places isn't going to prove or disprove the point in question.
So to be honest - while I know what I saw- the results of my experiment are inconclusive. The control group was WAYYYYYY too small & specimens from multiple strains should be represented.

[BR2K]

I just realized that they are old enough now that they could be moved to full lighting regardless of your stance so switching them places isn't going to prove or disprove the point in question.
So to be honest - while I know what I saw- the results of my experiment are inconclusive. The control group was WAYYYYYY too small & specimens from multiple strains should be represented.

Regardless, your point is well received. I had no idea how in-depth, intellectually stimulating and self questioning this forum would be.

I've been vacillating on what/when to grow my first attempt. My new home progress is maddenly slow.

This is my plan, so far: six auto plants - two Northern Lights (Royal Queen), two Green Poison XL (Heavyweigt) and two Jackpot Auto (Sweet). I will use the paper towel method with plates and a heating mat. I will then plant in Solo cups (coco/perlite), I have six prepared with holes drilled in the bottoms and sides. I will start with my 315 LEC. I will probably utilize improvised humidity domes, as my humidity is extemely low.

I recognize I may be doomed to failure but am honestly ambivalent about whether I want to re-engage with cannabis consumption. I consider myself to be a physically fit individual. It was necessary while I was active duty and I do my best to maintain a fitness regimen. I received two vaccinations, starting in late July, of Shingrix, for shingles. It just so happened to coincide with me resuming cannabis consumption. The shots threw me for a loop, I lost a lot of gumption for working out/running, although I can't rule out the weed. I have recovered (mostly) from the shots and haven't consumed cannabis since October.

I abhor having to drive a long distance to purchase weed from smarmy "budtenders". I promised myself that I would try to grow my own and started to research the process...stumbling on GWE and this forum.

Arthritis, back pain, a bit of anxiety and the challenge of learning the ropes of this hobby incite me to launch my first grow. I will try to document to the best of my ability. I do have security concerns so I don't know how much I will share (could be used as evidence). I am very grateful to GWE and you forum contributors, especially the regulars!

[SoOrbudgal]

BR2K You can do this grow. You are not " doomed for failure" quite the opposite. You have set a very good plan in motion by putting " the horse before the cart " most new growers don't think things through enough till it's too late and they run into panic mode.

I too hate going to dispensary everyone here does, crazy prices snot nose babies behind the counter jacking like they are the professors of weed. So here we are free at last except for nosey neighbors LOL. And about consuming you do know that different strains act differently to ones motivation. That NL strain good for relaxation anything with high indica will slow you down some.

I grow for all the reasons you have and then some. I too had to be careful do to working, I have great neighbors who also grow and we are secure. We here at GWE like to help folks like yourself most of us or a lot of regulars are nature lovers, gardeners who love to grow weed for themselves. Just take it easy, don't worry mistakes will happen we've all had broken branches, overwatered, overfed but this is how we learned just remember write down things. Good Luck and happy growing

[RagWeedDWC]

SoOrbudgal "snot nose babies behind the counter jacking like they are the professors of weed" Coffee snort!!!!

[Farmall]

WAIT! You’re supposed to write stuff down?

[JDU]

Sounds like a plan!!! Prep for success! I jumped in with both feet then asked if anyone knew what I was doin lmao. Luckily the folk on here are happy to help out. Welcome to homegrown! If you have any questions just ask. Hell I'll even chime in if it's something I know about. 😉

[Farmall]

BR2K. Sounds like you’ve got some interesting conflicts. The shingles vaccine has had some extreme stories trailing it. A friends wife had some kind of cold when she got the vaccine and lost her hearing in 1 ear from the vaccine, as has been told. My paranoia may equal yours but I may be a lot older and I tend to think I only have this 1 life left to enjoy what I would not other wise have options for. Bear in mind I’m ready to opt in for orgies and threesomes, ain’t done those yet either.....😱.

Good luck but I think your stealthy presence will keep you anonymous beyond what you believe

[BR2K]

BR2K. Sounds like you’ve got some interesting conflicts. The shingles vaccine has had some extreme stories trailing it. A friends wife had some kind of cold when she got the vaccine and lost her hearing in 1 ear from the vaccine, as has been told. My paranoia may equal yours but I may be a lot older and I tend to think I only have this 1 life left to enjoy what I would not other wise have options for. Bear in mind I’m ready to opt in for orgies and threesomes, ain’t done those yet either.....😱.

Good luck but I think your stealthy presence will keep you anonymous beyond what you believe

The Shingrix vaccine kicked my butt for sure. My workout today was pretty good and I think I may just fully recover. Would I do it again? Yes. Seeing my grandfather with the left side of his head covered in shingles was a powerful motivator.

Hearing "stealthy presence will keep you anonymous beyond what you believe" is heartening. Especially from an "outlaw" such as yourself. The jury is still out on how much I will paricipate. The kindness of the members here makes me want to contibute to the best of my limited capacity...which is and always has been mainly curiosity.

Orgies weren't what I hoped for but that was many decades ago.

[SoOrbudgal]

Outlaw ? LOL

[BR2K]

SoOrbudgal IIRC, he said he was an "outlaw" (in a thread about a month ago) because he was in a repressive state - as am I.

[RagWeedDWC]

Come from a long line of outlaws :-)

[Farmall]

You know “ if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns “. Just like algebra A=B B=C Therefore A=C. So... weed is outlawed so only outlaws grow weed... friggin genius’. Don’t know where we’d be without outlaws

[RagWeedDWC]

Farmall sums it up!

[Dude]

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.

Edmund Burke.



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[Dude]

Morning Farmall.......


Ragweed, not everyone is understanding, I've met some really nice people here that are willing to help a person as long as that person is willing to help him or herself. Sometimes we cross paths with those that only see your head as a stepping stone. Never look down on someone unless you're looking at their shoes. Please explain the coffee snort, that made me smile and chuckle. Laughter is the best medicine brother. I hope everyone is doing well and things are going well. The only thing I've read about lighting for seedlings was someone had good luck with CFL in 65k spectrum range. I'm going to try low power CFL for the seedlings myself to see how it grows. My only concern is distance, I don't want to stretch the seedling causing problems from the beginning. Hello Farmall, hope all is well with you and yours.

[Farmall]

Hey Dude when I first started. . .set my new blurple led 30”over the new sprouts and within 2 days they were long and lanky and quite spindly. They looked like another 1” and they’d fall over. In fact one did and I had to lean it against a pencil to support the lanky growth. Then learned about the CFL’s ....the sprouts stayed low, got strong and bushy and upon the 2nd week, looked like any garden vegetable plant from a nursery, ready to transplant.... I let them stay another week in the solo cups to build root mass and they got stronger and developed enough root that the soil slid out of the solo cups in one piece, stayed together and the transplant was a piece o’ cake.

with such a notable change in seedling quality, I saw no reason not to start things in that manner. I’ve used those 5-6 23w 6500k bulbs stacked in a 7 way splitter every time. Daunting to see the leaves within 3” of the bulb but it works fine....really fine , so my suggestion is to check them daily to make sure their not growing into the bulb

[ChefSheri]

Hey gang, quick question -- I'd like to start 3-4 autos next week (seeds be here Mon.) and I kinda wanted to sprout them outside the tent this time. Problem is, I have a whole CASE of 23W 2700K CFL's (hubby evidently bought them on sale; they were in his workshop). Would these work for the short term? I've already spent a small fortune getting ready for spring grow, and was hoping I might save a few bucks! But if I just have to spend more money . . . heavy sigh . . . the things we do for love

[Farmall]

ChefSheri Based on the science of light and not my experience, the color temperature of a 2700k contains more red than the 6500k which is more of the blue end of the spectrum. You remember any of the ROYGBIV acronym we learned for the colors of the rainbow? Since the better side of the light spectrum is the blue side for young plants, TECHNICALLY, the plant can maximize its foundation for growing into a big girl plant better by being exposed to the 6500k...or genuine sunshine. FYI Home Depot recently had a 4 pack of 23w 6500k (equivalent to 100w incandescent) for $9.90. I would try it and see how it works out. Of course, you’ve also got to try the other bulbs as well eventually to see how much of an advantage you get

[ChefSheri]

Thank you! It finally occurred to me why he bought those 2700K's -- several years ago I was having a hard time with my T5 rack during flower, and he bought them as supplemental lighting. As I recall, they worked pretty well, which would explain a lot. That rack is only for veg now, but I didn't want to fire the monster up for a couple autos (10 4ft tubes, wooden rack, HEAVY, and downstairs in the grow room where it's COLD). It's off to Home Depot I go! Happy Saturday!

[Dude]

Farmall,

Thanks for the information, I'll follow your steps and see if I can get the same results. Going to start two Six Shooter Autos and I'll follow your lead. I was just worried about to much reaching to early making noodles.


Has anyone ever tried a multi spectrum low wattage for seedlings, in the range of 12w? If so I would really like to hear about it. Again thanks for the information Farmall and wish you a great evening.

[quietlybinary]

Hi Dude, the amount of light your seedlings get will not make them flower unless the light cycle is 12/12 to start with. The amount of heat from the light is a bigger risk that would burn them if the lights are too close to the young plants. I think 12 watts sounds good to start with the light 6 inches away from the soil. they will outgrow the light quickly.

[BR2K]

Hey gang, quick question -- I'd like to start 3-4 autos next week (seeds be here Mon.) and I kinda wanted to sprout them outside the tent this time. Problem is, I have a whole CASE of 23W 2700K CFL's (hubby evidently bought them on sale; they were in his workshop). Would these work for the short term? I've already spent a small fortune getting ready for spring grow, and was hoping I might save a few bucks! But if I just have to spend more money . . . heavy sigh . . . the things we do for love

I may just start germinating my 1st crop tomorrow, so I can't speak from experience. If your bulbs are the curly ones, I'd give it a go. Although I am going to try using my 315W LEC, I may have to fall back on a CFL or two I have hanging around. Good luck!

[Dude]

Quietlybinary, thanks for the input and good to hear from you, I wish you well. I have three 12w multi spectrum lights that I was thinking about trying on the seedlings. I know that people have had really good luck with the CFL on seedlings as well. I was aware of the light cycle on photos to get the veg to flower, but thanks again for reminding me, next hurts. I was thinking of starting a post on Viparspectra, I'm sure I spelled that wrong and comparing it to the Mars Hydro. I had my mind set on the Vipar but I've been hearing a lot of positive on there Mars Hydro lately. I did see that Mars came out with a new series, maybe called the T1000, it's clean light not a blurple. If anyone has any input I would really appreciate it. I'll be ready to buy lights in three weeks and my budget is 600.00.



The new Mars I was looking at.

MARS HYDRO TS 1000W Led Grow Light 3x3ft Sunlike Full Spectrum IR Grow Lamps for Indoor Plant Commercial LED Grow Hydroponic Growing Light with Updated 342 LEDs Dimmer Thermometer Hygrometer Timer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PLY1WKK..._SXCuEb44PN1VV



The Vipar I was originally sure I was going with. Was going to buy two for my 5 x 10 tent.


VIPARSPECTRA Dimmable PAR700 700W LED Grow Light, 3 Dimmers 12-Band Full Spectrum for Indoor Plants Veg/Bloom https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MA5TLU7..._KYCuEb4CEH4F6


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[quietlybinary]

sorry about that. I thought you meant flowering when you said 'noodles'.

[Toker1]

YYCannabis shared a fascinating video from Utah State University's Dr. Bruce Bugbee: https://youtu.be/ID9rE5JewVg . In his video, Professor Bugbee said that seedlings can take a tremendous amount of light (@ 26:45 in the video). Is cost the main reason why I see folks using CFL's when starting their seedlngs?

Not exactly. In the video he says seedlings can take a tremendous amount of light if all other inputs (co2, water, nutes, etc...) are optimized. So how to you plan on making a plant intake more of these elements prior to root growth. Sure, once the plant is established you can push it to that next level.
Most people use low light until the plant is rooted and can uptake more of these elements on its own. That is the easiest way to optimize veg growth. Remember adding extra light and over saturation can happen if the plant is not capable of up taking these other elements in a balanced manner.
Simply pushing a plant with high levels of light will not benefit the plant unless it is capable of up taking all the other elements involved.

[Farmall]

Make that two likes !! 👍

[Dude]

Makes sense. ✌️ Toker, good knowledge....