Water, lights, and whirligigs.
Mystery,
I like your thoughts on upgrading the lights, something I might need to consider.
What are you doing for ventilation?
How are you hanging your lights?
What are your thoughts on the water usage for L.E.D. Grown plants?
Dchannn,
I combined quotes for simplicity. Hope you don't mind. When taking my advice, remember I'm also on my first cannabis grow.
In terms of lights, I think CFL's work great for learning, cloning, germinating, and supplemental lighting. If you want to maximize space and efficiency (which also means saving money), you'll want to upgrade before too long. That said, some very experienced growers swear by CFLs.
As for ventilation, I jerry-rigged a 7" clip fan to the 8" exhaust port. Smell and CO2 needs are minimal at the moment, so buying a true vent fan and carbon filter can wait a little while.
My light hanging setup came with the Mars Hydro LED light, which I supplement with parachute chord and additional carabiners to adjust the height. If it matters, I used a basket-hitch knot to hang the light because it doubles the strength of the para-chord. If knots aren't your specialty, then ratcheting hangers are an option.
Here is the view above my light.
As for water usage of plants under LED lights, I hear they drink more than under other lights. That said, LED lights burn cooler than any other light reducing the rate of evaporation. The answer is unclear in my opinion. I can say from personal experience that LEDs produce a great deal of light. The 5-watt LEDs in my light where bright enough to burn the tips of the leaves at 20".
On the topic of water, I recently learned a new method of watering called the SWICK method. Detailed at:
SWICK Watering Systems: Letting The Plant Water Itself
I absolutely love it because it takes the guess work out of watering. As Sue says, the plants water themselves.
I filled the drip saucers with Perlite and saturated it with water.
Then I placed the fabric pots on top of the Perlite and filled the saucer with water almost to, but not touching, the bottom of the pots. Within 15 minutes, the water was wicked up. I repeated this process several times until the pots no longer wicked up water and left it alone. I liken this method to leaving a bowl of water out for a dog. The plant will drink when it's thirsty.
Notice the hole in the Perlite on the left side of the saucer? That's to judge the water level.
If you want clarification on anything, let me know. You seem to be getting the hang of things, and your plants are beautiful even with their short stature. I look forward to your next grow with the lemon kush and strawberry blue, they sound tasty.
All the best,
X
P.S. Thanks for the kudos, Niv.
,,,
