Can I use cfl bulbs on white widow auto flower?

I am about to attempt my first grow, indoor, closet, white widow auto flower complete pkg from ILGM. Im only going to have 2 plants this first time.can I use CFL bulbs on these? If so which ones? I’m on a very tight budget, or can you recommend another alternative? Thanks for your time and help !

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You can use cfl bulbs but your harvest will probably be a little disappointing at best

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@Tracy1 yes 2700K-3000K will be best for those. You’ll want enough red in the spectrum.
It won’t grow the best under the CFL, they lack penetration to the lower half of the plant.
But it will grow.

You can have great results with cfls…
You need to keep canopy short , as mentioned above , they dont have alot of penetration down low…
Use 6500k for vegging and 3500k for flowering…

This is a little area I use for vegging and cloning…
Its 2 foot deep by 4 foot wide and 5 foot tall … :wink:

:v::sunglasses:

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I agree with @peachfuzz cfls will work, I use with good results also. I use 23watt 6500k for veg and 23 watt 2700k for flower. I also keep acouple 6500k for flower also. I keep them close to plants, like 1-2" but be sure not to burn plants.


U can see cfls in pic. Hps was only added in there about 2 weeks ago, other wise my girls were grown with cfl and led bulbs with domes off.

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If your going to move forward follow @peachfuzz advice

I personally don’t use cfls

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Thanks so much for the help.and I really like your pics !

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My first grow was White widow auto under CFL’s and i totally agree with @peachfuzz I didnt get a huge havest but off of 2 plants i filled 3 quart jars of some good bud. As a first grow and all the unknowns it’s definitely a starting point for learning with good results.

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Thanks slot for all the information and your pics are awesome !! Do you have any idea on the white widow af seeds, is it really 8-9 week’s total ? How much do you think they average on the yeilds ? I know it varies but what do you think ?

Do you think if I had more lights it would help to increase the yeilds ?

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@Tracy1 Absolutely, i started the seedlings with a 4’ T5 bulb then used 8 spiral cfl’s. But in my opinion the more the better.

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Thank you so much @PigmanBBQ, if you don’t mind me asking another couple of questions. If I’m going to have 2 plants ww af. Should I double the lighting ? And is 8-9 week’s total really all it should take ? Oh, and I’m hoping to get your advice on what soil to use and what light cycle is best with the extra lights. Sorry to pile all these questions on you , I have had cancer for 8 yrs but just now got the opportunity to grow my own meds.Thank you very much for your time and help.

I have some ilgm photo fem white widow’s and they grow pretty big… but I control when they start to flower…
The 8 to 9 weeks that your referring to, is after you start to see flowers form… and I believe autos start to flower 6 to 8 weeks after the seed pops out of the dirt… so 8 to 9 weeks plus 6 to 8 weeks would be closer to a time line for what to expect… to get to harvest…
I don’t grow auto’s , but I’m pretty sure my info is correct…
Here’s a pic of one of the buds of an ilgm white widow that I grew using a 600 watt hps light fixture with the best environment possible…:wink:

:v::sunglasses:

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Wow!! That’s beautiful ! Your a true master gardner ! I was curious about the time frame because in the advertisement for the complete pkg from ILGM it says from seed to harvest in 8-9 weeks and you get all the chemicals and 20 white widow af seeds for 149.00. and that sounded great. I live in a small town in Oklahoma ,we just got it legalized and until we get some plants producing the supply is very limited which makes the price go up considerably. So I really need to get this first one done right and soon cause my cancer doesn’t take a break,lol, it’s a hard worker.lol

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I used fox farm happy frog soil from start to finish with the fox farm nutrients as well. I made a hood for the 8 cfls and grew both plants under them, and the light cycle I used was 18/6 from seedling to harvest. I would say as a general rule of thumb 8-9 weeks but every strain is going to be different.

here are some pics of lights and the plants

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Were those auto’s… ?
Lookin good… :grin:
Never mind… I just re read your post… :wink:
:v::sunglasses:

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Theses ones are growing now but under led’s

:+1::+1:

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Wow I can’t wait to have a setup of my own ! Now ,lol , your spirals in the hood what are they ? Do I need to put 23 watt 2700k’s in mine ? 8 of them ? Or 23 watt 6500 ? I want to make it the best for the plants that I can. It’s the least I can do for what they are going to do for me ! Lol. So what would be more than enough ?

I got a mix in mine id ask @peachfuzz he know better then me

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If your going auto’s… I would mix them up with 6500k and 3500k bulbs and just alternate them…
They sell the light fixtures at lowes and home depo for $20 bucks and you just have to hook up a plug $9 bucks to it and $5 bucks worth of chain to hang it and some y sockets $1.25 each…
Here’s a pic of mine that I put together…:wink:

I just used cheap reflectix for the hood to direct light… :wink:

:v::sunglasses:

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