A Little bit of Everything to ask

Hello to all, iam new to this forum and to growing as well so i have a few questions that i hope some of you might be able to help me with.
a few things first, this is my first grow..and iam on day 29 now.
1. iam running on 24/7 light, is it better to go right to 18/6 then 12/12, or should i just go to 12/12?
2. how do i know when to go to 12/12 to start flowering?
3. do i need a HPS for flowering?
4. do my babies look like there ready to flower?
Thanks in advance to all you guys for your help...

Hey Trance, looking good there. Most of your questions (and many more) are answered in the FAQ section... but here goes

"1. iam running on 24/7 light, is it better to go right to 18/6 then 12/12, or should i just go to 12/12?"

This one is constantly debated, many people think that the dark period in 18/6 gives the plants time to recover and to develop their root structure while 24/7 is potentially stressful. Realistically it seems to come down to personal preference, regulating grow room temps and power consumption, many differing opinions; if you look around you'll see great looking grows that started both ways. Starting 12/12 from seed is generally not recommended as seedlings need time in veg. growth to establish a root structure.

"2. how do i know when to go to 12/12 to start flowering?"

Again there are many differences in opinion on this. Some say to hold off on flowering until you begin seeing alternating growth (i.e. new growth isn't in symmetrical pairs). Others say wait until the plants show sex. It seems, though, that as long as the plant is well established and healthy you can pretty much put it into flower when it gets to a size that you're comfortable with. Of course the smaller your plant is when it goes to flower, the less potential it has for production. Remember though that the plants will increase greatly in size during flower, so if space is a concern you can flower earlier. Again there seem to be many approaches on this, and many great grows resulting. Some breeders actually recommend that indoor growers start flowering their bigger Sat strains as soon as roots are established.

"3. do i need a HPS for flowering?"

No, but it would probably improve your results.

"4. do my babies look like there ready to flower?"

They would probably be fine, but you should probably let them veg for a bit longer.

I sort of misread your first question. I haven't seen a whole lot of compelling arguments for stepping down the lighting schedule from 24/0 to 18/6 before flowering. From what I've read just switching to 12/12 should be fine without the intermediate step. Do a search for "photoperiod" "light/dark cycles" and things like that, there's lots of stuff floating around from the plain old silly to the highly technical.

thanks for you help man, iam sure i will posting on here more often

also, just a tip

ditch the drip-trays you have under your pots. When you water them just pull them from your grow space and water them over a sink or over something else to catch the run-off water, then once they have finish dripping put them back in the grow space.

The reason I said this, is because the drip trays will keep the bottom layer of soil very very wet and mud-like, which will cause root rot in your plants, which could potentially kill them.

You might also want to add some dirt to the top so stale air doesn;t sit in the top of your pots. You can add dirt up to the point of the stem where the cotyledons are

actually, you may want to pull the root ball and add more dirt under it, they are pretty far down in those pots

how the hell can u get them out and dirt under it...there way to big for that and pulling them will rip the roots......but thanks for all the advice...it does come in handy...

You would do it the same way you would normally do a transplant to a larger sized pot, except in your case, your going to put it back in the same pot, just with extra soil added under it.

absolutely do not try and just pull the plant out of the soil.

if your plants have taken up the dirt, to transplant you should be able to tilt the pot on it's side and SLOWLY work/slide it out. If it has taken up all the dirt space then you can transplant. Most of the time if all the space is taken up it should be fairly EASY to take out. Just don't straight rip it up, even though I had a plant the last go around that I could just grab by the bottom of the stalk and lift straight out the pot...roots, dirt, and all! It's all really dependent on your root structure you got going on....

LOL!! rip it right out...thanks guys right after i read this i just tipped em over holding around the stem and the whole thing just dropped into my hand, i got it now....

See it really is that EASY! :thumbsup::jointsmile:

For future reference:

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Originally Posted by syde00

ditch the drip-trays you have under your pots. When you water them just pull them from your grow space and water them over a sink or over something else to catch the run-off water, then once they have finish dripping put them back in the grow space.

The reason I said this, is because the drip trays will keep the bottom layer of soil very very wet and mud-like, which will cause root rot in your plants, which could potentially kill them.

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That, my friend is a pain in the ass. You could also add some rocks or pottery shards to the drip tray for the pot to sit on, thus elevating the soil out of harm's way. Wayyyy easier and quite effective. :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by syde00

You might also want to add some dirt to the top so stale air doesn;t sit in the top of your pots. You can add dirt up to the point of the stem where the cotyledons are

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Adding soil to the top would cause more of a suffocation issue, as now the surface roots are buried under more soil.
Usually best to either pop the plant out and add soil to bottom, (leaving enough room for watering) or wait till your next transplant, and adjust levels then. No signs of plant stress, so doubtful it's an issue yet. :jointsmile:

Sativa dominant strains can stretch 3-5 times their size in flower. Indica doms can stretch from double to triple in size, depending on a shitload of variables. (pot size, lighting, skill level, strain...)

This means that a 1 foot sativa dom. placed into flower can likely stretch to a final size of 3-5 feet tall. Getting to know your strains will help you determine when to go 12/12. However, if you are going to let your ladies grow that large, an HPS or two is your best option at this time.

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Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

For future reference:


That, my friend is a pain in the ass. You could also add some rocks or pottery shards to the drip tray for the pot to sit on, thus elevating the soil out of harm's way. Wayyyy easier and quite effective. :thumbsup:

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That is actually an excelent idea! Its a little different for me, as I have large laundry sink that i quite literally need to just pick my pots out of the grow box, do a 180 degree turn and the sink is right there, so its pretty convienent for me :) but I also only have 4 plants on the go, so they can all fit in there at once.

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Adding soil to the top would cause more of a suffocation issue, as now the surface roots are buried under more soil.
Usually best to either pop the plant out and add soil to bottom, (leaving enough room for watering) or wait till your next transplant, and adjust levels then. No signs of plant stress, so doubtful it's an issue yet. :jointsmile:

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yeah, thats why i made the second post right after suggesting to pop them out instead :thumbsup: they just seem REALLY far down in those pots, looks like there is at least 1 entire node below the rim.

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Originally Posted by trancehead

Hello to all, iam new to this forum and to growing as well so i have a few questions that i hope some of you might be able to help me with.
a few things first, this is my first grow..and iam on day 29 now.
1. iam running on 24/7 light, is it better to go right to 18/6 then 12/12, or should i just go to 12/12?
2. how do i know when to go to 12/12 to start flowering?
3. do i need a HPS for flowering?
4. do my babies look like there ready to flower?
Thanks in advance to all you guys for your help...

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It would be best to switch to 12/12, than go to 18/6. No, you don't need hps, but it will help. I recently tried to flip my plants into flowering at 8-10inches, but I had no success. (2 days dark period). Nope, given another week, an I'd yes.