So I had a thought...

So I was sittin on my bed smokin an L and I was thinkin about my plants. :thumbsup:. And a thought came to me about flowering. I have read numerous times on the internet on the best way one should go about switching the lights from veg to flower.

Some people say give 72hrs darkness and then start flower, others say just 24hrs, and even some have said that it doesn't matter, and just switch the lights but try to maintain the same mornings as veg. Isn't the whole point to try to imitate nature? Thats how these plants have grown for thousands of years without these lights and fans and nutes that people use nowadays growing indoors.

So my point being, an hps bulb is used to imitate the 'autumn sun' that comes lin september. If you think about it, as the days progress nearing early fall when plants start to bud because of the shortened days, it is a gradual decrease of daylight, the day doesn't just shorten all at once; over the previous weeks the days have been gradually getting shorter and shorter. So how should one go about switching the lights from veg to flower in the best manner? my theory is that if your running an 18/6 cycle for veg, you'd have a schedule that would look something like this

(Also weeks will vary depending on how long you veg. Mine is on an 8 week veg schedule)

All weeks up to week 5 maintain an 18/6 schedule. Middle of week 5 starts the decrease in lighting hours.

My Very Own Natural Light Schedule

Week 5- Sun.--------Mon.---------Tues.--------Wed.------- Thur.------Fri.-----Sat
----------18/6--------18/6----------18/6--------18/6---------17/7------17/7----17/7

Week 6-17/7--------16/8----------16/8 -------16/8 ---------16/8-----15/9 ----15/9

Week 7-15/9--------15/9----------14/10------14/10--------14/10----14/10---13/11

Week 8-13/11------13/11---------13/11------12/12--------12/12----12/12---12/12

If this is hard to understand I apolize i'm not the best at making organized tables. :)

If this is totally whack then someone please tell me. It just came to me and I thought it made so much sense.:stoned: I have not tried this but will the next chance I am able to grow (selling the house so after this one I have to pause for a little while). However if someone has done this then please let me know!

peace

This isn't a new thought.

-C

Well whoopty doo I could have figured that one out, I just have never found anyone talking about this. anyone on this forum ever try it?

ps. Chart is there for those who would like to try it this way

Well WHOOPTY DOO you havent done any research, just because it isn't recent doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Look around, Search is an awesome tool.

-C

im sorry i don't need to defend myself on how much research i've done. Thats for me to know and you to not because your not here reasearching with me. Nor did I not think this method has never been tried. obviously it has been, I must of not been searching in the right field. I had a high moment, had a thought and felt like writing down so who the hell gives you the right to insult me for my own ideas and thoughts. I'm sure you've had plenty of questions that you couldn't seem to find the answer to, have you not? And many a times where you've had 'high' moments? So please, no comments from the peanut gallery especially if you know damn well that they are fightin words.

Back to the thread, sometimes its nice to have recent information posted in the forum so people who ARE lazy when it comes to searching will find threads like this easily.

Good day

You can try it but like most people, I'm lazy, so I'll just stick to slapping a timer on that thing and going straight to 12/12 from 24/0...My thoughts would be that if you gradually go to flower it would take longer to start, and time is $.

I've also read people who give their plants sometimes up to 72hrs darkness prior to flowering induce flowering faster than someone who just switched the timer.

The way I did it was at the end of the last day of veg, I left the lights off for the remainder of the following day, so it was like they just had a really long night, and then flipped em on. My plants sexed in two days, but I don't know if that had something to do with it, or the fact I vegged for 9 1/2 weeks. So I figure if you were to gradually decrease light, the plant would start producing what it needed to flower a little sooner when the lights were say running on the 14/10 or 13/11 cycle for that period of days, so when 12/12 hit they would be ready to bloom.

hmm...

I myself have been here since 2005 and have never seen a post such like this, but I do keep my nose outta the outdoor growing section as its not for me.

I do think that it would have a maybe a slight minor effect ni the increase of THC on your plant because of more hours of darkness.

ForgetClassC -- I think you should quit smoking weed, or even growing it for that matter. It clearly doesnt make you happier like it does to 3/4 of the other members. All buddy was doing was asking a simple question, forget the search bar sometimes people want a quick and straight up answer to there question and not a 1/2 answered question from someone else's. So please if this is not your thread please dont trash it for him. Pay the same curtousy to him that anyone would to you. Thanks

Interesting in my eyes Bcals -- Keep your mind flowing -- give it a try!.

EDIT -- For my lights I leave them on 24 hours to veg, they show sex in 1month and are fucking monsters. I flowered them 1 month and a few weeks into veg and theyre insane ( Check my log if you may ). I just switched from 24/24 to 12/12 immediatly and it works fine for me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcals0087

I've also read people who give their plants sometimes up to 72hrs darkness prior to flowering induce flowering faster than someone who just switched the timer.

The way I did it was at the end of the last day of veg, I left the lights off for the remainder of the following day, so it was like they just had a really long night, and then flipped em on. My plants sexed in two days, but I don't know if that had something to do with it, or the fact I vegged for 9 1/2 weeks. So I figure if you were to gradually decrease light, the plant would start producing what it needed to flower a little sooner when the lights were say running on the 14/10 or 13/11 cycle for that period of days, so when 12/12 hit they would be ready to bloom.

hmm...

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I tossed a clone in the window sill this past week and it showed sex in 2 days also. Right now we're getting 14hrs dark...Heard strain has something to do with it also.

Word Joel thanks for the input, I checked out the log and your ladies do look real nice. Think I will give it a try next time, how long did you veg for?

Redtails, I'm assuming you have other clones in another area, most likely on the same schedule as the one on the window sill. did they take longer to show sex?

Whats up guys...

I would think that if you vegged for 9 1/2 weeks you should have seen the sex at around 4 weeks of veg. I dont know if its strain specific but you should get preflowers on mature plants in veg.

Ive also read about that gradual light cycle thing... everything ive read shows that the period of extended darkness between veg and flower is the fastest way compared to just flipping or the gradual cycle like the one you came up with. From what ive seen and read... 36hours of darkness in between boosts flowering by up to a week.

just some info to toss around to talk about!

:jointsmile:

Well, I like the idea. I posted something about this in the advanced section but it didn't really fly. It makes sense that if a plant is programmed to work a certain light schedule, especially a "outdoor" plant might benefit from this graded change over to 12/12.

The only way to know is to do batches side by side with all other factors being equal. One batch goes straight 12/12 at the same time another batch of clones goes into gradual change time. I know your flower time would be longer but would other plant features be affected favorably? Size of colas, thc and resin content?

Let us know what you think. Do control groups...like anyone has an identical flower chamber to experiment with.

Now my question is do you think that even though flowering might be boosted by a week, that it could possibly effect yield in the end. I've also read that due to the extended period of darkness between veg and flower, harvesting will be sooner.

Idealy, plants should grow stress free, other than natural stress from mother nature ie. wind, rain, extreme high's and extreme low's of temperature. Something as important as light schedule can be a high stress factor for some growers. People end up with hermies or males due to the stress of inconsistant 'days and nights' all the time. now given some of these people may have no control over these incidences where there may have been a power surge, or a ballast blowing a fuse, or just any curveball that life throws us when we're trying to accomplish something significant. So, even something as little as just switching the timer to 12/12, puts some form a stress on the plant. This is an 'artificial' environment, and the goal is to try to imitate nature to the best of our ability. It's like artificial flavoring in a juice drink opposed to natural flavoring in a juice. Natural always taste better.

So by having a gradual decrease in the light schedule, flowering may not start as quickly as the 'artificial technique', but yield and quality might be greater in the end. The only way to find out is to do what jakester said and do a controlled experiment. Sounds like it could be fun haha.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcals0087

Redtails, I'm assuming you have other clones in another area, most likely on the same schedule as the one on the window sill. did they take longer to show sex?

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I don't, the bonsai mom & her first clone are all I have of this strain as well as 1/3 of a budding autoflower under 24hrs light. I'm actually gifting these two to a coworker when the auto finishes around V-day & I'll be going on a break while I do a few things. Wish I had the time to do a controlled test, I can ask him if he wants to test it out but I think he's gotta warm up first as he's pretty new.

I wish I had two identical flower chambers to test this out in.

You know I always used to think about doing it this way too... not as gradually as you're suggesting though. I was just going to do it over about a week period... an hour less light a day maybe.

I'd like to do it this way, but I don't have the time. I wouldn't think it'd make that much difference though. Flowering still works.... I think the abrupt change just introduces a stress on the plant (an unnatural one at that), but it's been shown that this stress can be recovered from. Maybe it would increase yields by never being stressed, but I bet it would be a negligible increase.

You know, this is still not imitating nature. It's probably less stress, but in the summer each successive day is only shorter by like ~1 minute or so!!! THAT would be a PAIN IN THE ASS to recreate!

haha lampost that is true, I could see that being a very big pain in the ass. Having identical flowering chambers is not common but i too would love to see the difference. some day...:jointsmile:

For sure. Nice plants BTW...

Lovely LSTy ladies:D

thank you much they just finished and i'm extremely pumped to cure them and then smoke them!:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcals0087

im sorry i don't need to defend myself on how much research i've done. Thats for me to know and you to not because your not here reasearching with me. Nor did I not think this method has never been tried. obviously it has been, I must of not been searching in the right field. I had a high moment, had a thought and felt like writing down so who the hell gives you the right to insult me for my own ideas and thoughts. I'm sure you've had plenty of questions that you couldn't seem to find the answer to, have you not? And many a times where you've had 'high' moments? So please, no comments from the peanut gallery especially if you know damn well that they are fightin words.

Back to the thread, sometimes its nice to have recent information posted in the forum so people who ARE lazy when it comes to searching will find threads like this easily.

Good day

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Ok cool guy, you must have memory issues, because you were the one that started "them fightin' words", all I said was, "This isn't a new thought", than you being mister big balls over here decided that you should talk big. I didn't start anything that wasn't thrown at me first, so think, again, before you act.

-C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joel

I myself have been here since 2005 and have never seen a post such like this, but I do keep my nose outta the outdoor growing section as its not for me.

I do think that it would have a maybe a slight minor effect ni the increase of THC on your plant because of more hours of darkness.

ForgetClassC -- I think you should quit smoking weed, or even growing it for that matter. It clearly doesnt make you happier like it does to 3/4 of the other members. All buddy was doing was asking a simple question, forget the search bar sometimes people want a quick and straight up answer to there question and not a 1/2 answered question from someone else's. So please if this is not your thread please dont trash it for him. Pay the same curtousy to him that anyone would to you. Thanks

Interesting in my eyes Bcals -- Keep your mind flowing -- give it a try!.

EDIT -- For my lights I leave them on 24 hours to veg, they show sex in 1month and are fucking monsters. I flowered them 1 month and a few weeks into veg and theyre insane ( Check my log if you may ). I just switched from 24/24 to 12/12 immediatly and it works fine for me!

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Am I going crazy here? All I did was say what he said. Maybe he's in politics, do what I say not what I do.


-C

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lampost

You know I always used to think about doing it this way too... not as gradually as you're suggesting though. I was just going to do it over about a week period... an hour less light a day maybe.

I'd like to do it this way, but I don't have the time. I wouldn't think it'd make that much difference though. Flowering still works.... I think the abrupt change just introduces a stress on the plant (an unnatural one at that), but it's been shown that this stress can be recovered from. Maybe it would increase yields by never being stressed, but I bet it would be a negligible increase.

You know, this is still not imitating nature. It's probably less stress, but in the summer each successive day is only shorter by like ~1 minute or so!!! THAT would be a PAIN IN THE ASS to recreate!

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Not at all. You get a photo-electric switch and grow during the natural day shortening season. Then your light goes on at sunrise and off at sunset. At least then you can grow 3 groups, 1 outdoor, 1 indoor on abrupt change and one on graded change and judge the results.

This is my plan...if I ever aquire the means.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ForgetClassC

Am I going crazy here? All I did was say what he said. Maybe he's in politics, do what I say not what I do.


-C

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Quit filling up this thread with your nonsense, if you cant contribute then dont post anything at all. What you said was dickish and you know that, dont go beating around the bush to sugar coat it. Now be a man, give it up, and quit ruining this thread, there is alot of constructive conversation going on here, wether is a new or old topic, people can do as they may. Its the admins choice if he wants to remove it because there's a more information efficient thread on here, or let it stay and see where it goes. Thanks "C"

Also I could see a benefit for plants that are specifically for outdoors as they're used to the more different lighting schedules, hense possibly giving them better results? I say give it a go bcal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jakester

Not at all. You get a photo-electric switch and grow during the natural day shortening season. Then your light goes on at sunrise and off at sunset. At least then you can grow 3 groups, 1 outdoor, 1 indoor on abrupt change and one on graded change and judge the results.

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I like this idea, it may be the only real way to tell. Possible to only do two groups? Maybe just two outside, one under the sun, one in a tent with same weather conditions, only under "artificial sun". It's true with the strains though, there are so many crosses now and phenotypes that are designed to grow indoors and what not, and some that are best outdoors.

Yeah, you guys are definitely in politics.

-C