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so my timer is busted and i havent been able to get a new one because iv been sick and iv just been switching by hand. i turn them off around 830 in the morning and turn them back on at 830 at night. tomorrow night i have to leave my house at 8 do you think it would be better to let them get 11and a half hours of dark or 12 hours or dark and 11 and a half of light. and then will it be ok butting tham back to 830 again after that?
turn them off at 8 and then resume consistant schedule...
Try to get another timer. The 12/12 photo period is very important, as the plant actually measures the amount of time that its in un-interuppted darkness. This then makes it release hormones to flower.
Yeah, they're meant to go from the sun ... and we all know you can set a clock by that thing. I mean they're BASED on the sun!!!
Which makes me wonder ... what would happen if you grow indoors up until the light outside drops to 12/12, then put them outside to flower?
I've begun to not worry about a religious adherence to 12/12.
Theres only a handful of days of the year when 12/12 naturally occurs...the rest of the year it can range from 10 1/2 hours, on up to 14+ of day light.
The notion of missing an exact time of lights on/off is furthered when considering...all things being perfect for 12 hours of day light...the travel time for Earth coming around to a plant receiving anything more than ambient light shaves off 3-4 hours of direct light hitting a plant. Or said in another way...the outdoor grower gets 12/12 twice a year, the rest of the time they're either losing and or gaining a minute + each day. I'd think it'd take speaking with a year round farmer in the tropics to realize which part of the year plants either excel or merely get by on available light.
So while maintaining 11/13 - 12/12 - 13/11 - 14/10 is preferred for sake of things being simple...I feel keeping a down to the minute schedule is not a thing that is wholly required in order to maintain an optimal growth rate per unit of energy stored for celluar division during the dark part of the day.
For more info on just how much daylight your burg receives any given day...
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.html
When I have to adjust my schedule like that, I give them a little extra dark, instead of a little extra light. My thinking is: if you give them too much light, you can set them on the road to re-vegging, which, if they're flowering, you probably don't want to do. A little too much darkness won't ever send them on the path to re-vegging.
I also had a power outtage for nearly 3 days, and they got virtually no light during that time. (I used flashlights, to hopefully make them think it was daylight, and basically just keep them on their established schedule.) Surprisingly, after almost 3 days of high heat (peaked at 99.5 degrees F), no ventilation, and virtually no light, they had sustained very little damage. Cannabis plants are actually more durable and tough than I had thought.
A timer cost like 5 bucks.
WTF?
You are right about actual days never being the perfect 12/12 but, photoperiods can vary, yes...but, consistant day to day photoperiods are essential...You cannot have 10.5hours light one day and 12 the next and not end up with problems...this grower just wants to change 1/2 an hour, once! so, the answer is yes you can, and it won't bother your grow at all, regardless of whether you have a timer or not...peace good overall info though.
I do use shorter veg days and flower all the way down to 10.5-11hrs light at the end...emulating a season/fall as close as possible
lol....I read Jam's logic as...
'Luke...you do not realise the power of the dark side.'
3 days without power or light eh...makes me glad I'm prepared to slide the whole thing over by a window! But damn...nice to know the things aren't afraid of the dark!
lol...thats one less nail I'll be biting come the stormy part of the year here.