lighting...

I can't decide what to use for my lighting source. This is my first grow and I wanted to know what the best lighting would be for 2 plants? thanks.

shop lights (flouros) or a 400W hps if you've got the space

any type of wattage? is it the higher the wattage the better? and once i drop the fertal seed in the dirt i leave the light about an inch and a half away from the soil 24 horus a day?

don't concern yourself with wattage so much as lumens per square foot. the sun provides about 1200W of power for every 16 square feet, so my 2x4 closet uses a 600W hps to give the same power as sunlight. the 600W bulb provides about 92,000 lumens, so 11,500 or so per square foot.

i hope i could help.

keep in mind, you'll probably get more lumens per watt with flouros, and much less heat generated. you'll just need more bulbs. much cheaper in the long run, and fine for personal smoke IMO

The best thing u could do for your grow is to go to a lighting supply store(btw, I am a journeyman union electrician), and get yourself a 400W HPS coil and core kit(ballast), and a mogul style lampbase(preferably with a reflector hood), and one 400W hps lamp, and one 400W MH lamp. The ballast kit I described will run both lamps, not simultainously, but independently, and u can use the MH for veg, and switch to the HPS for flowering, once u have sexed yer plants to make sure u have females. U cant get a MH kit and run a HPS lamp, as it doesnt have the starter needed to fire. But if u start with that, for two plants in a small, well-ventilated space, read as much on what yer plants need and when and how often they need whatever nutrients and water, you will suprise yourself at what u come up with. The setup I describe can be had for around $150, just about anywhere in the country. CFL's r ok to use to supplement, but I only use them for seedlings, clones, or keeping things alive until they can take their rightful place in my main space. Any more questions, feel free to ask me. I have grown for 12 years and still find myself asking rather silly questions sometimes, but there is no shame in seeking advice, no matter what rank u r in the wonderful wotld of cannabis cultivation... Peace, and good luck! P>S> I personally prefer using both spectrums for the entire life cycle, once my plants get big and healthy enough to come out of my phototron, and go to the 1200W full spec space I finish vegging, and flower in. It's a very good system I use. I currently have a 4' X 2' closet, with very good ventilation and temp control, with 1-400W MH, and 3-250W HPS, and using a large variety of nutes like nitrogen-rich bat guano and worm-castings and liquid seaweed(in feeding teas, and foliage sprays), and blood meal for veg, and phosphorus-rich bat guano, worm-castings, liquid seaweed, bone meal, and black-strap molasses for my usual flowering feedings, I keep 6-big healthy, delectably lush, "sugar-coated" ladies in there, and itz some of the best results I have ever seen OR bought before in my life. But that's just me....