# Nirvana Northern Lights CFL Grow



## cuy103 (May 21, 2009)

Hi everyone.  

Exactly two weeks ago, I germinated 4 seeds.  All four germinated but only three lasted.  So I germinated one more and now I have 3 two week old babies and 1 one week old. 
March 7th, Planted NL #1-3
March 14th, Planted NL #4

As the title states, I'm using CFL's (6500K for VEG, 2700K for FLOWER) from start to finish.  I grew my last crop, Diesel Ryders, with CFL's from start to finish and I was happy with the end results.  I enjoy using these low maintenance and low heat CFL's.  Besides, I don't have the money to purchase a HPS/MH light set with proper fans and ventilation.  
I am using a total of 8 bulbs giving me around 15,000lumens for VEG and around 20,000+ lumens for Flower.

My grow space is around 4-6 square feet.

I am using Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil and the trio line of the liquid fertalizers.  

The AC is set to 78 degrees for the entire house.  Although it's 78 degrees in the house, the grow space is higher, around 88 degrees.  Unfortunately, my hands are tied and I can not lower the temperature unless mother nature decides to have a cold summer. 
The entire room I am growing in is dedicated to these plants, but I'm only growing it in the closet.  So, for my ventilation I will have the window wide open for the entire length of the grow along with a fan to circulate the air.  

I will give, at the least, weekly updates if not more.  I water my plants every 3-4 days which are the days I will take pictures but that's a lot of picture taking for me, lol. 

Pic 1&2: NL1, 14 days

Pic 3&4: NL2, 14 days

Pic 5&6: NL3, 14 days

Pic 7&8: NL4, 7 days

Pic 9: Simple Grow Set-up
These aren't very exciting, but it will be in the next coming weeks.  

 Enjoy 


:watchplant:...praying for a female


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## lordhighlama (May 21, 2009)

cool I just picked up some nirvana nl beans myself so I'll be keeping an eye on this one!!!


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## NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer (May 21, 2009)

I like the tight internodal spacing in pic #2, you can tell they are getting enough light.


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## smokeup420 (May 21, 2009)

lookin nice bro,, i used CFL's threw my whole grow too, worked fine, although i had 25,000lumes on one plant lol, so yea they do work, plus it was a lowryder checkout my link down below


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## cuy103 (May 21, 2009)

NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer said:
			
		

> I like the tight internodal spacing in pic #2, you can tell they are getting enough light.



Thanks!  I can already see how short and bushy the plants will grow.  I love those fat indica leaves.  

In the picture you're referring to, pic #2, do I have two or three nodes?


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## zipflip (May 21, 2009)

idk if all strains look absolutely identical but today i was tod from the  buddy i got the seeds from for my ladies i have inflower now that the ones i got in pink buckets are northern lights. and was comparing pix of mine when tehy were botu same age etc. and tehy look identical  http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showpost.php?p=446746&postcount=37
  good lookin babies  man.


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## cuy103 (May 22, 2009)

zipflip said:
			
		

> idk if all strains look absolutely identical but today i was tod from the  buddy i got the seeds from for my ladies i have inflower now that the ones i got in pink buckets are northern lights. and was comparing pix of mine when tehy were botu same age etc. and tehy look identical  http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showpost.php?p=446746&postcount=37



If they are NL, then they should look very similar which they do.  



			
				zipflip said:
			
		

> good lookin babies  man.


Right back at ya!  

The diesel ryders I grew are a decent smoke, but It's definitely not the high I expected or wanted.  When I smoke my Diesel Ryders it's like drinking a cup of coffee combined with a chill buzz.  It's great for outdoor activities like hiking, camping, sun-bathing, etc.  But what I want is that couch-lock effect where all I can do is stare at the T.V. and drool, lol.  Is that what I can expect from Northern Lights?


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## zipflip (May 22, 2009)

i think i read somwhere how auto strains arent as potent as regular strains  BUT are gettin better at breeding or watever to get petter potency in the auros tho? but i could be imagining things too i guess. lol


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## cuy103 (May 22, 2009)

I've read that somewhere too.  But, of course, I would not beleive it until I tried it myself.  Unfortunately, in my experience, I feel that my auto's were just not potent enough for my liking.  Other than that, I think auto's are great!  

For anyone who has grown and/or smoked Northern Lights...what can I expect?  Couch-lock, lost in thought, dazed and confused...


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## cuy103 (May 23, 2009)

Did my 5th watering today and took some pictures.

Pic #1-3: NL1, Day 16

Pic #4-5: NL2, Day 16

Pic #6-8: NL3, Day 16

Pic #9-10: NL4, Day 9

Started full strength Big Bloom + 1/4 strength Big Grow.  I will work my way up to full strength Big Grow until flowering stage.  I have another 5 waterings before then, so I'll see how they handle the nutes.  

Thanks for stopping by!


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## GrowinGreen (May 24, 2009)

They all look nice and healthy, I'll be watching


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## zipflip (May 24, 2009)

beutiful!!


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## cuy103 (May 26, 2009)

Did my 6th watering today.
Full str. BB + 1/2 str. GB

Pic: #1-3, NL1, Day 19

Pic: #4-6, NL2, Day 19

Pic #7-9, NL3, Day 19

Pic #10-12, NL4, Day 12

Looks like they handled the last dosage of nutes well.  I can't wait to put them into flower. 

Thanks for stopping by!  :smoke1:


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## zipflip (May 27, 2009)

i lovin the tightness of the node spacing man.
  my ladies in flower right now had same thin goin on at first as well.
  lookin good.  keep it goin man.

ps:  HONNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!  (ya avatar) lol


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## Zmoke (May 27, 2009)

looks good man, keep up the good work =)


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## TokeWithHope (May 27, 2009)

what does your light setup look like? and in your opinion is it better to have the cfl pointing at the plant or to be horizontal with it?


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## lordhighlama (May 27, 2009)

nice and green cuy,, keep it up!


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## smokeup420 (May 27, 2009)

yeaa lookin good, ur gonna have one giant nug!! lol node r very close.....keep up da good work


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## MeNtAlPaTiEnT (May 27, 2009)

> ps: HONNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!


I second that!

Cuy, good growth so far, very good work.


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## cuy103 (May 27, 2009)

TokeWithHope said:
			
		

> what does your light setup look like?



Here, you can see how I set up my lights.   



			
				TokeWithHope said:
			
		

> and in your opinion is it better to have the cfl pointing at the plant or to be horizontal with it?



I'm assuming the CFL is above the plant in both conditions.  In my opinion, for what it's worth..lol, it does not matter.  The CFL should equally disperese the light, in terms of luminosity, in all directions regardless if the light(bulb) is horizontal or pointing.  I would not think there is more luminosity on the top of the bulb versus the sides.  



Everyone, thank you for your comments!  I adore the support and appreciate the feedback.

HHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNKKKKKK:smoke1:


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## cuy103 (Jun 2, 2009)

Did my 7th watering May 29th
Full Str. BB + Full Str. GB

Did my 8th watering *TODAY*
Full Str. BB + Full Str. GB

Pic #1-3, NL1, Day 26, about 12 inches tall

Pic #4-6, NL2, Day 26, about 7 inches tall

Pic #7-9, NL3, Day 26, about 7 inches tall

Pic #10-12, NL4, Day 19, about 5-6 inches tall

I can't wait to put these bad boys into flower.  I'm putting them into flower on Saturday which would give them about 30 days of VEG.  They are taking the nutrients well.  There are no signs of nutrient burn or nutrient deficiency.  

Thanks for stopping by!:smoke1:


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## thedonofchronic (Jun 2, 2009)

hey man nice looking plant
i wish you good luck
check out my grow in my signature too
ill be watching :watchplant:


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## lordhighlama (Jun 2, 2009)

looking real nice man,
have you taken any clones off these?
or are you just going to stick em' in flower and see what you got?


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## TokeWithHope (Jun 3, 2009)

im jealous those babies are lookng tasty


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## Weezy (Jun 3, 2009)

Yo, those look sexy. 

Northern Lights is more of a couchlock high because it is mostly indica.  If you let it flower until the trichs are half cloudy/half amber then it could possibly make you drool unvoluntarily... anyways with those fat leaves, tight nodes and bushiness that phenotype of northern lights is definately mostly indica.

I haven't tried Nirvana's NL (I might try a run at a pack sometime...) but those look alot more indica than the Nirvana NL I have seen people do in the past...  I just have only done some BCSC NL #5 and G-13 Labs NL freebies so Nirvana could be different but it prolly will not deviate much from this.

Keep up the great work.


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## painterdude (Jun 3, 2009)

hi cuy103....just found this and will watch you thru the grow....I am doing my first cfl grow, also using 6500kelvins for vegging and am in day 18....but am experiencing a slight problem from two plants that withered up from lack of watering...my fault....been too buzy building a deck on the south side..am also using Fox Farm Ocean for first time and before yesterday, everybody was happy....am wishing you well....painterdude


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## cuy103 (Jun 3, 2009)

Unfortunately, I will not be taking clones because I have limited time and I lack space, _lordhighlama_.  And thanks for the input _Weezy_, I can't wait to start "drooling involuntarily."  Your grow is looking great, _thedonofchronic_.  I can't wait to see what you can do!  I think you're going to love the Fox Farm soil, _painterdude_,because I know my plants are loving it!  LoL, no need for jealousy,_TokeWithHope_, because soon you'll have a plant looking healthy and tasty too!

Thanks for the comments everyone!

p.s. I think you'll notice some browning on pic's #1 and 7 which is a result of heat burn not nutrient burn.  I was away for the weekend and underestimated how tall the plants would grow.  When I came back the top of the plants were pressing against the bulb.  But it's ok with me.  I'm more happy about the amount of growth than I am upset about the burn.


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## nikimadritista (Jun 3, 2009)

Hey!
Nice grow Cuy!
Keep them coming... 
Sorry if I've missed it somewhere, but when do you start flowering?


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## TokeWithHope (Jun 3, 2009)

haha i can only hope my stupidity allows them to get that far


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## cuy103 (Jun 4, 2009)

nikimadritista said:
			
		

> Hey!
> Nice grow Cuy!
> Keep them coming...
> Sorry if I've missed it somewhere, but when do you start flowering?



Thanks!!!  I am going to start flowering this Friday, June 5th which will give me 29 days of VEG for NL's #1-3 and 22 days of VEG for NL #4.


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## TokeWithHope (Jun 4, 2009)

:smoke1: fingers crossed brother


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## cuy103 (Jun 4, 2009)

I can't hardly wait to put them into flower which is tomorrow!!!

And then the "real" waiting begins, lol.

Will post pics tomorrow.


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## cuy103 (Jun 5, 2009)

Did my 9th watering today.
Full FLUSH w/ distilled water, no nutrients.

Pic #1-3: NL1, Day 29, little over a foot tall (13"-15"), 10 node sites

Pic #4-7: NL2, Day 29, around 8"-10", 9 node sites

Pic #8-10: NL3, Day 29, around 8"-10", 9 node sites

Pic #11: NL4, Day 22, around 6"-8", 8 node sites

I'm really excited because I can see *very *slight signs of pre-flower's.  I was expecting to wait 10 days INTO the flowering light cycle to determine sex.  But I can already see signs of sex!  Besides seeing very slight signs of pre-flowers, all my plants have alternating nodes, as seen in pictures #5 and #10, which tell me that they are mature enough for flowering.  

I am 90% positive that NL #1-3 are female.  I can see very small "sacks" with extremely tiny white hairs emerging from those "sacks."  I wish I could take pictures of these little white hairs but my camera doesn't do small close ups well.  

Unfortunately, I only have room for two females and I'm pretty sure I have three MAYBE four which would give me a 75%-100% female rate!  

I wish I could take some clones and do some breeding, but I only got until the end of August to finish.  Oh Well.  Thanks for stopping by!  :smoke1:


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## zipflip (Jun 6, 2009)

i used 16 26watt cfls 2700k for flower an my buds were still prettty airy. and my space is only 2.5x3ft. 
  u said ya usin 8, right? im sure ya sittin like me, cant afford the 150-200$ at one crack for hps...  but if you can in any way afford even 1 more cfl it would help more IMO 
  or even squarin ya space smaller when ya weed out the males by  puttin up a sheet cardboard wit mylar or wat ya reflectant is. that would help too i would think. it basically makin ya canpy square foot amall = more lumens/ft
  thats kinda wat i did when i made my room. now i wish i woulda made it bigger lol.
  but honestly man you will definately not regret throwin in as many cfls for flower as ya possibly can as if ya wanna check the bud shots of my last harvest wit cfls clik my 1st micro grow 2009 link in sig.  them bigger buds, dry the ones wit the lightr in pic for comparison all only weighed in at 1-1.5 grams. they look decent but definately fluffy bad.
but i could be mistaken this for somethin else that gone wrong too makin them that way...who knows. they servin their purpose either way.
  they look really nice n healthy. wat eva ya doin is workin keep it up man. 
  but trust me  get a few more cfls in there at least.. Jus my honest opinion. ya plants will love you for it and yo will love them back in the end..


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## cuy103 (Jun 6, 2009)

zipflip said:
			
		

> i used 16 26watt cfls 2700k for flower an my buds were still prettty airy. and my space is only 2.5x3ft.
> u said ya usin 8, right?



I used four 32 watt and four 26 watts CFL's 6500k for VEG.  I am using 16 42watts CFL's 2700k for flowering two ladies.  

I wished I had used more CFL's to surround the plants while they were in VEG.  Instead of staying short and *bushy*, I think they look tall and spindly because they're reaching for the light.  Lesson learned, lol.



			
				zipflip said:
			
		

> im sure ya sittin like me, cant afford the 150-200$ at one crack for hps...



Actually, I think I have already spent close to that, if not more, on my entire lighting system.  The 42watts CFL cost me a total of $145 and my VEG lights cost me around $80.  

Without getting into specifics, I use CFL's because of my particular growing "situation."  I think CFL's are a decent alternative to HID's.  However, if it were not for this "situation" I would most defintely use HID's. 

Thanks zipflip for the support and advice, I appreciate it!  
I grew Diesel Ryders in Frebruary09 using CFL's.  I didn't get "airy" buds persay, but they would have been more dense had I used HID's.  I definately agree with you that I should add more light.  What I need to do is surround the plant on all sides from top to bottom.  Hopefully, I can think of a way to do that with my limited space.

For those of you keeping score at home, I officially switched my light cycle to 12/12 today.  I planted the sprouts on May 7th which gave them 30 days of VEG.  

When I did my watering yesterday, I saw some tiny tiny per-flowers but wasn't sure of their sex.  I have been wanting to get the "Eyeclops" ever since Meghan made that excellent post about the product.  So, I went out and bought one today and took some pictures of the pre-flowers I saw.  I am now 100% positive that I have 3 females.

I only have room for 2 plants.  When I took pictures of the pre-flowers on NL #4 I could not determine ANYTHING, as you can see in pic's #8 & 9.  So I cut it down to make room for the 3 confirmed females.  Unfortunately, I hate to do this but, I will cut down one more female on Monday. :fid:

And here are the pictures of those tiny tiny pre-flowers.  I had to blow them up 200x under the scope to clearly see them, that's how tiny they are.  

Pic's #1-3, NL1, Day30

Pic's #4 & 5, NL2, Day30

Pic's #6 & 7, NL3, Day30

Pic's #8 & 9, NL4(Chopped), Day23

The hairs on NL3, pic's #6 & 7, are very tiny.  I don't know if you can see them.

Thanks for stopping by!  :smoke1:


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## TokeWithHope (Jun 6, 2009)

congrats on the females bro. keep it green!


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## dirtysox (Jun 14, 2009)

cuy103
keep updates posted and the flower pics are just red x's on my end


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## Beavermonk (Jun 15, 2009)

congrats on the little ladies


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## cuy103 (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks everyone!  Keep the suggestions and comments coming!

Well, today is day 9 of 12/12 cycle.  

I've noticed some problems and I'm almost positive it's a pH problem which is causing some nutrient lock-out, I think.  My plant looks like it has some deficiencies, but I'll be positive later this week when I test and re-test.

I'll post pics up tomorrow so you can see what I'm talking about.  

Picture update tomorrow!!!


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## truepothead (Jun 15, 2009)

heyy man, very nice plants and congrates on the ladies. have you ever tried low stress training your plants? its a good way to get more bud off less plants. it works really well when growing wit CFL's. all your buds will be of equal size and potency due to the light hittin the plant evenly, just a thought tho,nice plants.

Happy Growing


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## GrowinGreen (Jun 21, 2009)

Looking good cuy guy- I'm now doin a CFL grow too- so I'm interested to see how yours turn out. How many lumens/square foot are you using for flower?


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## zipflip (Jun 21, 2009)

truepothead said:
			
		

> heyy man, very nice plants and congrates on the ladies. have you ever tried low stress training your plants? its a good way to get more bud off less plants. it works really well when growing wit CFL's. all your buds will be of equal size and potency due to the light hittin the plant evenly, just a thought tho,nice plants.
> 
> Happy Growing


 
  just that you almost have to position them correctly to acheive such results. or like i do i do major LST i stake down as much as i can on my girls.  
  or even go scrog or sog via lollipoppin and topping for even canopy, etc.. all would benefit when usin cfl's from wat i've seen so far.


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## nikimadritista (Jul 5, 2009)

Girls a!!! 
Enjoy!!


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## zipflip (Jul 29, 2009)

you still around cuy?
 just seein how the girls come along...


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