They aren't going to show sex until approx 10-14 days AFTER you switch to 12/12.
Printable View
They aren't going to show sex until approx 10-14 days AFTER you switch to 12/12.
Actually, let me correct that somewhat....they will pre-flower at a certain stage and some will show a few pistils in the preflower....I have never tossed a plant until after switching to 12/12 and making sure....perhaps others have a better way to tell pre-flowering males/females. I personally have made several assumptions on the sex of plants only to be found wrong later (not new). I don't wait for preflowering to turn them...just do it and cull the herd later..
Hi Weedhound. Thanks for the advice.
I'm getting kind of contradictory advice with regard when to determine sex and when to move to 12/12.
Some have recommended waiting until pre-flowering has commenced before switching to 12/12, although I take your advice on sexing the plant in the 12/12 period to be absolutely sure, prior to "culling the herd" (can the leaves of early, culled, males be used to make hash?).
Reckon I'm going to wait a couple of weeks yet, although my plants are getting big now in a small space.
Coulpe of questions that have arisen from the responses I've received though:
1) I am at week 7 from seed and was expecting to have to keep in the veg stage for at least another couple of weeks. Can you pretty much move to 12/12 whenever you like? I assume that the younger the plant, the lower the yield and/or strength of the yield? Some of the pictures on here it seems that people are moving to 12/12 within a few weeks on really quite weak looking plants. Is this just impatience, or just a desire to keep the time-scale down?
2) I've got a 200W red spectrum envirolite for the 12/12 period. Would it do any harm keeping my 200w blue running as well? I don't want to run it if i don't have to but if it might improve things in any way, I'd consider keeping it in.
Thanks again. Sure appreciate the advice.
Chester Atkins
Nashville
Chester i'm afraid I cannot answer your question about lighting but I'm sure someone else will know and pop in with an answer. I bought the light setup I was told to buy and never looked back....or studied about it for that matter.
You've discovered the joy of this.....there are a million different approaches from all theyway around and some of them seem to actually contradict each other. What I ended up doing was attaching myself (almost literally) to someone experienced and doing things exactly the way they told me (i grow hydro) and voila....buds and things really did appear right and left (and they were good too).
I believe there are several reasons that make folks decide when to switch their plants over...I discovered as do we all that these suckers don't really take off until you are flowering....they can easily double or even triple in size during this period and go crazy; jamming up every inch of your space and lighting so turning them earlier keeps the size down. It does indeed affect the amount of your yield but not the potency....genetics does that part be it a little or a lot of yield. Also some people have continual systems where the timing of the process matters...
As far as when to turn I turn mine in hydro at six weeks...did not wait for preflowers although some do...on my first grow I waited 8 weeks for preflowers and they never really showed and i don't rely on the preflowers to sex the plants anyway. It is recommended by some to wait to avoid stress to the plant and possibly hermie....amongst other arguments....I found the waiting around to be a waste of time for me.
You really can turn your plants whenever you feel they are aready....have seen folks veg for only 2 weeks or so (after two week seedling stage) ...it's a personal preference. Once you have gotten through this grow and seen how much more these things will shoot up in flower (I couldn't believe it the first time) it will help you decide in future grows how long to wait. Space restrictions have a lot to do with it. Good luck and keep us updated!!
Ok as for when to switch your plants to 12/12, I have heard (from jorge cervantes book) that it is best to wait for your plant to pre-flower before you force it to flower, because preflowers mean your plant is mature. if you want your plant to preflower faster, you can change the lights to 18/6. As for your picture, I couldn't really see preflowers, although it was hard to tell. If you think you see preflowers, and wait for a while it will soon become obvious as to what sex it is. Little white hairs= females, balls on sticks=males.
Hello again. Really appreciate the advice offered.
I didn't want to attach myself to one way of thinking/working just in case it was the wrong way! :jointsmile:
I am really enjoying the whole experience though, as you say Weedhound. Not particularly because of any possible yield at the end, which I am, of course, excited about, but the whole process of growing a plant indoors...it's fascinating!
Yes, in terms of space I think I am close to having to make a decision about moving to 12/12, particularly if they double/treble in size as you suggest Weedhound! That would be a problem in my room.
Please find a couple of photos attached - firstly, a photo of plant 3 at almost 8 weeks....female? Then a photo of my room size at present - do you think I am going to run into problems when flowering begins?
Thanks again folks.
Chester Atkins
Nashville
female! i didn't see any balls which is a great sign. lol. From what I can tell of your room size, you appear to have lots of room. My pots are all pretty much touching each other, and it looks like you have way more room than that so I would say you are in good shape. Also, LSTing your plants is a good way to keep the size down, I don't know if you have read about it yet but it is definitely worth trying, at least as an experiment. LSTing can also make your plants more spread out, if that is what you want as well. It is beneficial cause more buds get more light that way. More light= bigger buds:D My biggest plant right now (Check out the thread entitled "All Stage Grow Log W/Lots of Pics"), was topped, and then bent over right afterwards. What has resulted is a huge (but manageable) 4-main cola plant, with many many other bud sites, all getting lots of light because of how we trained the 4 main tops to grow outwards. I'm really proud of it. Check out the pics.
nah, I meant that they can take a lot of nutes, i.e. they are good for newbies because you can abuse them a bit - like I did on my first grow :) and yeah its a female in that pic. I still think it looks 'limey' though :DQuote:
hey emmpey, you said Northern Lights needs a lot of nutes (something along those lines)?
Is "limey" bad? Anything I can do about it?
They are in a bright room, and they look really healthy to me, apart from a few yellowing/browning leaves at the very bottom, which I believe is natural.
They still have traces of the "yellow blotches" (see pics in the first post in this thread), but it hasn't developed any further really.
Anyway, if you've any advice on the lime effect, I'd be interested in what it is and what I can do about it.
Cheers
Chester Atkins
Nashville
Ok, first picture is a closer shot of plant 3 which you mention is a female and it does have those white, hairy, pistils and no "balls"! :D
Second pic is plant 4...female too? :rasta: :rasta: :rasta:
Heh-heh!
Chester