I was going to suggest a neem spray for the bugs but you might be too far in flower for that. I assume the pests came from your soil?

Is your other grower using a 1kw or a 600w light? Some of his videos are using 2 lights and 2 plants some only have one so I have no idea what his specs are. He shows a killawatt with two 600w ballasts in one vid. His technique seems good but his explanations of some of the science parts are a little off. I sure wouldn't veg with fluorescent lights either...

SisterMaryElephant wrote:I was going to suggest a neem spray for the bugs but you might be too far in flower for that. I assume the pests came from your soil?

Is your other grower using a 1kw or a 600w light? Some of his videos are using 2 lights and 2 plants some only have one so I have no idea what his specs are. He shows a killawatt with two 600w ballasts in one vid. His technique seems good but his explanations of some of the science parts are a little off. I sure wouldn't veg with fluorescent lights either...

Thanx for the neem spray suggestion SME!

I'm totally new to dealing with pests, not sure how or when neem spray is used. But the two older plants will be 5 weeks into flowering on Wed. the 20th with another 3-4 weeks to go, so I'm guessing I may be too far along as you mentioned.

As far as I know HygroHybrid is using one 600w bulb over each plant. Yes I agree, some of what he says needs to be taken with a grain of salt, and is sometimes hard to follow, but you gotta love his results.

Really, don't veg with fluorescent lights? I wasn't aware of any difficulties with veging under fluorescent lights, but then again I'm certainly not qualified to say either way. So, what is the reasoning behind your advising not to do so?

hey CC,

the reason why I wouldn't veg with fluoros is that they are inefficient compared to other light sources. another way to look at it, would you rather have a 1000 watt HID or 1000 watts of fluoros? a 1000 hps can penetrate about 3 feet whereas fluoros can do maybe 6 inches. the power draw would be the same though.

are you familiar with the inverse square law with regards to lighting? simply put, lets say at 1 foot, a 1000 hps puts out 150000 lumens. at 2 feet, it's 1/4 of 150000. at 4 feet, it's 1/16 of 150000. now try to do the same with fluoro and when you get beyond 1 foot, the light is basically worthless.

however, some microgrowers use fluoros for the veg and bloom and it works for them.

many ways to skin a cat so to speak
RKY

Yeah 5 (now 6) weeks in is a bit much for neem on the plants but I suppose you could treat the soil with a little top spray. it won't fix the problem but it might slow them down a bit. There may be other products that are safe this far in but I'm drawing a blank which I've been doing a lot more of lately.

Yes, I wouldn't use fluorescents for anything much more than rooting cuttings. YMMV...

rkymtnman wrote:hey CC,

the reason why I wouldn't veg with fluoros is that they are inefficient compared to other light sources. another way to look at it, would you rather have a 1000 watt HID or 1000 watts of fluoros? a 1000 hps can penetrate about 3 feet whereas fluoros can do maybe 6 inches. the power draw would be the same though.

are you familiar with the inverse square law with regards to lighting? simply put, lets say at 1 foot, a 1000 hps puts out 150000 lumens. at 2 feet, it's 1/4 of 150000. at 4 feet, it's 1/16 of 150000. now try to do the same with fluoro and when you get beyond 1 foot, the light is basically worthless.

however, some microgrowers use fluoros for the veg and bloom and it works for them.

many ways to skin a cat so to speak
RKY

Thanx for the insight and detailed explanation Rocky Mountain Man! Well, I'm glad my plants can't read or do the math, 'cause they're doing quite well in my veg. chamber under 8 four foot fluorescent tubes (four 5,000K and four 6,500K). Plus, this is the same method HygroHybrid uses and his results are pretty impressive as well.

However, I wasn't aware that the power consumption was the same and the light penetrates further with a 1,000w hps. But, I also don't need an entire exhaust system to vent out the heat. My window fan provides both an internal turbulence throughout the grow space and also creates an airflow past the lights, in turn, cooling them as it exits the top of the chamber.

Additionally, I plan on building a drying chamber on top of my veg. chamber which will utilize the exhausted air to dry harvested flowers. This drying chamber will have dampers which will allow control of how much air actually flows through it, as not to dry the flowers too quickly. Looks good on paper, but we'll see how well it actually works in time.

Thanx again for the insight, its greatly appreciated!

Happy Growing!
CC

SisterMaryElephant wrote:Yeah 5 (now 6) weeks in is a bit much for neem on the plants but I suppose you could treat the soil with a little top spray. it won't fix the problem but it might slow them down a bit. There may be other products that are safe this far in but I'm drawing a blank which I've been doing a lot more of lately.

Yes, I wouldn't use fluorescent's for anything much more than rooting cuttings. YMMV...

That's good to know. The only thing is I'm growing DWC in Hydrotin (Mary, Jane) and Grow Stones (Snow White). Do you know if this method will work in such grow mediums?

As long as there's no adverse effects to growing under Fluorescent's, and seeing that my Veg. Chamber is fully built and functional, I'll probably continue using them, as least for now. Also see my detailed reply to Rocky Mountain Man above regarding Fluorescent's.

Wasn't sure if I'd hear back from you, Thanx. When is your last day moderating before your surgery?

Once again, I wish you All The Best.

Take Good Care,
CC

November 12, 2013 - 89 days into grow.

Funny we were just talking about veging under Fluorescent's, this is where I left off...

The plants seem to be doing well, I'm trying to keep things cool and not promote too much growth as I'm hoping to SCROG one of them when Snow White comes out.

November 16, 2013 - 95 days into grow.

By the way, the facelift on this site looks dope!

Anyway, Snow White is just exploding!!! Hoping the stretching will stop really soon!

You can see the new flowers just starting out in the third photo.

The stem I splinted healed in just a few days! Lookin' good!!! The leaf made a full recovery as well.

November 16, 2013 - 95 days into grow.

Here's a few shots of Mary and Jane....

November 17, 2013 - 96 days into grow.

Snowy loses some weight....