i take it that you are an experienced grower i am not however i have spent alot of time researching growing and i have found alot of contridictions.

my mate sorted me out with seven white widow seeds they look alright nice healthy colour firm an juicy.

now a couple of weeks ago i got an empty dvd case got a few sheets of wet paper towels and put the seeds in between them 2 or 3 days later i took them out and planted them today after being in soil in a propagator i decided there must be something wrong so i dug them up and they hadn't germinated so ive put them back under my electric heater on where its warm. but as the seeds have swelled i assume from absorbing water will they still be alrite secondly i need to buy a growlite i was thinking of getting a 400w growlux bulb from starlite plymouth (i live not too far from liskeard) now i have trouble going a few days without ganja which im paying the muggy plymouth prices of 12.50 for a bit of a shitty teenth do u no anywhere i can get some cheap green in the liskeard/plymouth area i may be willing to go further i can get resin tenner an eighth but thats shit if i spend £82 on a growlite im going to have to give up weed for a few weeks which i dont no if i can handle.

any advice would help cheers.

Hi ilovebud,

If you are living in one of those glorious countries where the government encourages you to grow weed rather than fund the black market, read on... Otherwise you better put them in the fridge where they will keep for years until the nanny state sorts itself out.

So, if you live in a cool country:

1) BE PATIENT!! It's a weed - it will grow

2) Germination can take longer than you think - 2 weeks and above! So keep them in the germination setup for up to a month if you are not seeing anything happen.

3) Paper towels are ok - cotton wool or rockwool is better. Remember you want to keep them warm and damp (not flooded!). IF THEY DRY OUT THEY WILL DIE!!

4) Don't fuss with them - leave them alone - check once per day at most.

5) The seed will swell and split and a small stem will peek out.

6) Once the stem is a few cm's out you can transplant them.

7) Avoid touching the stem.

8) Plant a few cm's deep with the stem pointing down (the leaves will come out of the stem casing)

9) In a week or so you should have a small seedling with a leaf pair.

It can be tough to get going, but remember, you only need to start from seed when you are starting out or trying a new strain. Select the best plant (remember to sex it first!!) as a mother and then clone your next generation.

Hope this helps and don't give up!!

TheWebguy

whats better a 400w growlux or are envirolites worth it as i no they're lower on lecci but i read a few things about lower yields with them but if i bought a 200w and reflector would that do 7 plants and give me similar yields to the 400w because if its not a huge difference id rather have envirolites.

As with most things in growing - it depends what your setup is.

HPS lights have a better spectrum for flowering but generate LOTS of heat. If you are in a small space, ventilation can become a problem.

Flouro's run cheaper and cooler but do not have the best spectrum for flowering. They do however have the better spectrum for vegatitive growth.

So the real answer is both! My advice would be to pick the cheaper option, you can always upgrade later and your first crop or two wont be great until you get the hang of it.

There are lots of other things to consider other than light, so get what you can and don't break your budget yet

On your previous question - if you know someone growing already you should just ask for a clone from their mother plant - it would get you up and going waaaaay faster.

i decided not to break the bank on a great light im going to buy a 125w blue and reflector and upgrade the bulb as the plants grow 1st to a 250w blue spectrum for vegging and for flowering a 200w red spectrum how much bud will i get per plant

Sounds like a good plan

As for weight of bud per plant, that really depends on how well you do at growing it! Don't look for too much from your first few crops.

Read up on the Sea Of Green (SOG) method - they have some numbers on what you should expect per square metre/wattage

if any of the seeds don't germinate, put a bit of sandpaper in a film pot(or something like that) with the rough side facing inward, so it covers all the way round. put the seeds in and shake it for a bit. its called scarification and helps the seeds absorb water and pop. then put them in a bowl with a few small squares of kitchen towel, moisten them and put the seeds underneath the top _layer_(roots need darkness to grow) and put some cling film over the top. put this somewhere warm and you should have success within a few days.

a cheap alternative to envirolights are cfl's. (just normal energy saving light bulbs). the warm white ones(2700k) are good for flowering and the cool white(6200k) are good for veg(but its best to use a combination of both). you need roughly 100 watt of light(most bulbs are around 18-24) for one plant and 50 more watts per additional plant. so you could probably grow 2 plants for around £30. you can make cheap reflectors for them out of beer cans and pringle pots...........

Don't forget to sing and talk to them as well.