August 20, 2010 – Some people who grow medical marijuana don’t even realize that you can use fluorescent T5 grow lights during your grow to help save energy and still get great results. Fluorescent lights, as everyone knows, run on a very low amount of energy, especially compared to HID grow lights such as Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium grow light systems. These T5 fluorescent also operate much cooler than HID lights to help keep your growing climate at a favorable temperature for your flourishing medical marijuana plants.

Most medical marijuana growers that use T5 lighting systems, use them during the cloning and/or vegetative stage of growth. This is because the plant needs much less light energy during these phases of growth. A fluorescent T5 grow light system can offer the amount of light needed to these plants while using much lower energy. It is a little hard to compare a fluorescent light fixture to an HID because they are such different lighting systems, however it is easy to compare the output you get from using either one and the energy used to get there. Most 4′ T5 light bulbs are rated at 54 watts. The most popular T5 grow light system is the 4′, 4 light ballast. So using 4 lights, you are looking at using approximately 220 watts to give light to a 2′x4′ area. If you were to use an HID light for the same area, most growers would decide to use a 400W MH light. This system would obviously use at least 400 watts, if not more and will produce much more heat. This increased energy use adds up on the energy bill!

To help you understand why the vegetative or cloning phases are the best times to use a fluorescent light I have included the maximum light requirements for medical marijuana plants in these different phases (via Jorge Cervantes):

Growth Stage Foot-Candles Lux Hrs. of Light

Clone 375 4000 16-24

Vegetative 2500 27000 18

Flowering 10000 107500 12

You can see by the illustration that flowering plants need a drastically increased amount of light to flourish. The much lower amount of light needed for the vegetative phase can most of the time be met with a T5 grow light system. Start saving energy today and switch to T5 fluorescent lighting ASAP. Source.

If you have seeds, sun, soil and water- then growing Medical Marijuana should be one of the easiest ventures you’ve set out to accomplish. As of this writing, only California, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington have passed legislation for their qualified patients to cultivate Medical Marijuana. Arizona and Maryland are in a favorable holding pattern.

If you have reviewed your State’s laws and have a green light, let’s proceed. We’ll use an easy State also as our growing state model, California. The first thing a grower or gardener needs to be aware of is the sunniest spot in the back-yard. Of course you realize that the sun tracks differently in the winter, as opposed to the summer months. Basically, a 10×10 area with a minimum of 5 hours a day is great. If you prefer, you could plant all around in different sunny areas of the yard. Cannabis plants are sun lovers, so don’t worry about too much sun.

Next are seeds, which you’ve been saving up for an occasion like this. But, which strain or type should you plant? In warm weather States like California, it doesn’t matter. In others, you’ll need the skunk, or Indica strain. Some seed banks have a Sativa/Indica mix, but you need to avoid Sativa’s or mixes of them, as they may need to mature past your grow area’s first frost. Obviously, a frost could kill your crop. Skunk plants (Indica), which are short, bushy, and very potent – will come in before Halloween in most places.

In the soil part, once again California is quite easy. Many southern Cali backyards have never been truly cultivated, so they are just waiting to grow wild. The soil is rich, dark, teeming with worms, and has an earthy humus aroma. Worms live in nutrient rich soil, and after you turn the dirt 15-20 times, they’ll take off to another part of the yard. Cannabis loves to be in a soil with ph between 5.5 – 8.5, 6.0 is ideal. If you are an experienced gardener, obtain a soil probe from a nursery for a ph check. If you’ve never grown in the area, don’t worry about fertilizer the first season. If other plants and regular weeds are effortlessly growing, your Medical Marijuana will do even better. Turn and rake the grow area several times during winter and early spring, until the soil is smooth and fine. There should be no large clumps of dirt or rocks.

When you plant, use an eraser end of the pencil as the depth for the hole, then lightly cover your seed with soil. Do this prior to a rain or keep a light mist over the soil until the seeds pop. If you are familiar with germinating techniques or transplanting, then you are ahead of the game. On average, water about once a week or when the soil feels dried out. It’s better to underwater, than to over water Cannabis. When you do water, make a reservoir around the base of the plant so that you can give it a good soaking. This type of watering will help the roots to follow the water deep into the earth. Light watering on top causes superficial roots. The tap root will be really long if you watered correctly. Don’t even think about fertilizers, unless the plant’s growth seems sluggish, or the leaves start to yellow. If necessary, use a liquid mix or fish emulsion as fertilizer.

Well, that’s it in a nutshell, – seeds, sun, soil, and water. Good-luck, Joyce.