why 12/12?

Hi, I am growing 3 plants for the first time but I'm doing it mostly for the fascination of taking care of plants, seeing them grow and develop, getting strong and beautiful etc. I've been playing music to them :p and talking, I've always heard that plants like this so I'm giving it a try.
Yesterday while I was thinking whether I should buy lights or not (I'm in Portugal and there is a place in my attic that is very warm and the sunlight hits the floor really perfectly, so I thought I won't need any extra lights besides that of the sun at least for the first 10 weeks). And then it crossed my mind why the 12/12 method if in normal natural circumstances the plants grow outdoors and there isn't this light programming. Anyone can help? I know this is not the typical kind of question but it's interesting. can this be because of latitude and geography?

thank you

the days get shorter in the fall and force the plant to flower. eventually the days will reach 12/12 or less.....at least in the USA.

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Originally Posted by dylan

the days get shorter in the fall and force the plant to flower. eventually the days will reach 12/12 or less.....at least in the USA.

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what he said :rolleyes:

it makes the plant think that the days are getting shorter, by giving it more hours of dark.

to induce flowering it's suggested to have at least 12 hours of dark period, some people have been known to go 13 or 14 hours, different methods often result in different results.

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Originally Posted by dylan

the days get shorter in the fall and force the plant to flower. eventually the days will reach 12/12 or less.....at least in the USA.

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yes, this is also related to the seasons and geography is a factor.
thanks :)

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Originally Posted by BobBong

what he said :rolleyes:

it makes the plant think that the days are getting shorter, by giving it more hours of dark.

to induce flowering it's suggested to have at least 12 hours of dark period, some people have been known to go 13 or 14 hours, different methods often result in different results.

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right,
one must invent the conditions that favour the plant and recreate the circles of nature.
I dig it. :)

my plants are growing but very slowly, I am not giving them any extra light so I guess this will take its natural time. it's a indoor growing but a very simple one, I am not in a hurry. I even think I want to have a male plant as well, because thqat would be the best way to learn how to identify the sex.

thanks :cool:

Hello everybody :)

listen, I have a few questions, simple stuff.

My 3 plants are growing okay but one of them it's still a sprout :( the fans leaves withered though the other leaves are very very green. Did this plant died? It's almost 4 weeks and it's still a sprout.
As for the other two plants all is fine but I would like to know something please; when a plant grows faster than the others and gets taller than the others does it mean that it will be a male or it's not necessarly so?

not nessesarily a male. and some pics would be helpfull to help you with the sprout.

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Originally Posted by dylan

not nessesarily a male. and some pics would be helpfull to help you with the sprout.

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Hi Dylan :)
Thanks for the tip,
You know, I'm in a crossroad here. One of my plants died :( the stem got broken, it was still a sprout. I kinda of tried to plant it again :rolleyes: I know it won't do but I felt so heartbroken for my baby that I let the root there and buried the rest to see if it holds.
Now I am left with 2 and here's where I'm in a crossroad. I wanted to have at least one male so I would know how they look like :) only the problem is that if I'll have a male the other plant might be a male too :(
I'll show some photos when they are worth showing. well I hope at least one of them is worth showing.

its 50/50 of getting males. I know how u feel about the one that died (i had the same exact situation...even with the leaving the roots there lol) but im germinating a lot of seeds right now and plant them all knowing some wont survive. But i think I got the hang of everything to the point of not messing up anymore.

Hi there :)

well thanks man
I'm getting really wild about my plants.
but really wild.
I want them much
it's a great feeling
and I found out it's an excitement till I find out about their sex.
specially coz I have no fucking idea where these seeds come from.

ha! really crazy, but I guess it's just coz we instinctively don't deal well with death, yeah, even if it's a plant alright. it's just human we do that :) I find it curious we share that instinct.
yep, I planted about 6 seeds and this is all I'm left with but then the seeds have been in my drawer for about a year. I have no idea what these seeds are.
oh please, I'm getting wild about it. send me some good vibes wishing that at least one of them is a female :eek:

if you want males and females, just make sure you identify them very early in the flowering stage and separate them because you'll get a bunch of seeds in your female...you can't really smoke the male plant; its little pollen sacs will open up a shoot pollen everywhere, and it'll stick to the female's resins and she'll be full of seeds, just separate some females so they don't get fertilized (sinsemilla) and they'll grow good seedless buds...

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Originally Posted by jadeius

if you want males and females, just make sure you identify them very early in the flowering stage and separate them because you'll get a bunch of seeds in your female...you can't really smoke the male plant; its little pollen sacs will open up a shoot pollen everywhere, and it'll stick to the female's resins and she'll be full of seeds, just separate some females so they don't get fertilized (sinsemilla) and they'll grow good seedless buds...

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thank you bunches, that information will be precious in the future. I know nothing about growing cannabis.
you mean that in the same plant I might get female and male branches?
and so I should remove the males? oh please, tell me that you will explain that to me when the time comes. so far the planst are still very young, I am not using any lights, just the normal sunlight. it's an indoor growing but the method is the natural one.

I'll need your help, I'll show some photos.

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Originally Posted by jadeius

if you want males and females, just make sure you identify them very early in the flowering stage and separate them because you'll get a bunch of seeds in your female...you can't really smoke the male plant; its little pollen sacs will open up a shoot pollen everywhere, and it'll stick to the female's resins and she'll be full of seeds, just separate some females so they don't get fertilized (sinsemilla) and they'll grow good seedless buds...

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I have a doubt, how do I separate the females and what about the rest of the male branches and leaves, can I smoke this?

you only want to smoke the female buds, not all the leaves, you'll trim away the bigger leaves that stick out when the time comes...it's nothing to it really...

don't smoke males, it's best to trash 'em, unless you want to save the pollen sacs for fertilizing females later (to get new seeds to grow new plants)

ideally, you normally won't see male and female parts on the same plant...that's called a hermaphrodite, and it usually only happens as a result of inbreeding or certain stressful conditions causing mutations...i was just saying to get the males away from the females (like in a separate closed off room) because that pollen that jizzes out from the males' sacs lasts in the air forever, and the resin that the female flowers produce (the thc) will cause the pollen to stick to the female, fertilizing it, and making seeds for a new generation....

but for right now, just water the seedlings once or twice a week, saturate the dirt with pure water (no city water unless you boil off the chlorine first and cool it)...then allow the water to drain off from holes at the bottom of your pot...the roots will be all through the soil before you even have a 6 inch tall plant, then as the plant grows more mass, you'll have to give it a little more water and start adding in very diluted plant nutrients (such as miracle gro)....if you have a good amount of sun coming in on the plants all day, then don't worry about lights for a while, it may eventually get a little annoying trying to give them the amount of sun they need unless you just leave them outside, they'll grow sideways to try to get more sun, it'll eventually probably get easier to switch to some strong flourescent light or invest in a better light... but they need at least 12 good hours of light per day right now, most people use lights to give the plants 18 hours of light and 6 hours of dark...

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Originally Posted by jadeius

you only want to smoke the female buds, not all the leaves, you'll trim away the bigger leaves that stick out when the time comes...it's nothing to it really...

don't smoke males, it's best to trash 'em, unless you want to save the pollen sacs for fertilizing females later (to get new seeds to grow new plants)

ideally, you normally won't see male and female parts on the same plant...that's called a hermaphrodite, and it usually only happens as a result of inbreeding or certain stressful conditions causing mutations...i was just saying to get the males away from the females (like in a separate closed off room) because that pollen that jizzes out from the males' sacs lasts in the air forever, and the resin that the female flowers produce (the thc) will cause the pollen to stick to the female, fertilizing it, and making seeds for a new generation....

but for right now, just water the seedlings once or twice a week, saturate the dirt with pure water (no city water unless you boil off the chlorine first and cool it)...then allow the water to drain off from holes at the bottom of your pot...the roots will be all through the soil before you even have a 6 inch tall plant, then as the plant grows more mass, you'll have to give it a little more water and start adding in very diluted plant nutrients (such as miracle gro)....if you have a good amount of sun coming in on the plants all day, then don't worry about lights for a while, it may eventually get a little annoying trying to give them the amount of sun they need unless you just leave them outside, they'll grow sideways to try to get more sun, it'll eventually probably get easier to switch to some strong flourescent light or invest in a better light... but they need at least 12 good hours of light per day right now, most people use lights to give the plants 18 hours of light and 6 hours of dark...

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Thank you dearly jadeius, your information is precious but a problems occured. Oh my! maybe none of these two planst will survive.
I'll read your post above more attentively later because I need your or someobody else's help now, urgently.
The first leaves of my two plansts got white, I think I overwater them. the rest of the plants are okay but the first two set of leaves are all white and withered. please tell me, what do I do? should I cut these white damaged leaves or leave them there. the plansts are young, they are 5 weeks but I have been growing them just with the light of the sun. there are just 2 nodes and they are still very fragil.
please, what do I do about this white slow death? should I cut the leaves that are white or wait till the planst is older?

thank you much
and jadeius, I'll reply to your posts as soon as I feel less nervous about this new problem.

thank you bunches people.

:( I'm a bit sad alright
I want to save my planst
thank you again.
what do I do?

So, my darlins on my porch..facin south/southwest..gettin right now in may s ontario..8.5 hrs of direct sunlight12:30-830 pm.....are they receiving sufficiant light?
10 day old seedlins?

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Originally Posted by Beyond Freedom

So, my darlins on my porch..facin south/southwest..gettin right now in may s ontario..8.5 hrs of direct sunlight12:30-830 pm.....are they receiving sufficiant light?
10 day old seedlins?

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10 day old?
no, they are 5 weeks old.
wait bit, I got some pictures

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Originally Posted by major crisis

Thank you dearly jadeius, your information is precious but a problems occured. Oh my! maybe none of these two planst will survive.
I'll read your post above more attentively later because I need your or someobody else's help now, urgently.
The first leaves of my two plansts got white, I think I overwater them. the rest of the plants are okay but the first two set of leaves are all white and withered. please tell me, what do I do? should I cut these white damaged leaves or leave them there. the plansts are young, they are 5 weeks but I have been growing them just with the light of the sun. there are just 2 nodes and they are still very fragil.
please, what do I do about this white slow death? should I cut the leaves that are white or wait till the planst is older?

thank you much
and jadeius, I'll reply to your posts as soon as I feel less nervous about this new problem.

thank you bunches people.

:( I'm a bit sad alright
I want to save my planst
thank you again.
what do I do?

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Here are the first pics I took. do you see the white leaves? it's the first leaves, those that don't grow in a pair of 3, if you know what I mean.
Please read the post in quote so you understand my situation a bit better.
can you see the white leaves? It's two different plants. the bigger one is not so bad but the small one... oh my.
please, what do I do with these white plants? should I cut them now, later or leave it there?

i think i would add some more dirt to keep them from falling over and not water them for awhile n see if they start lookin better,it could have been over watering along with other factors,how often do you water?other than that im not sure,i kill the weak in my garden lol,you should let the dirt dry about an inch deep or more before you water(its usely twice a week when in small 16 oz cups i use for my seedlings and once a week when i move them to a bigger 2 or 3 gallon pot).also pick them up n get use to how heavy they are u can get a feel for when its time to water that way for the most part. if you woulda had a fan on them (at least) and a light 2 inches above them instead of sunlight in a window the stalk would be alot fatter.thats one bad thing about letting them get sunlight without them being outside where the wind can help make them stronger.inside they grow upwards too fast n stretch to reach the sunlight thus becoming skinny n weak.add over watering to that n you got a real mess :( sorry i cant help more,hope they make it ! peace

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Originally Posted by SyKo

i think i would add some more dirt to keep them from falling over and not water them for awhile n see if they start lookin better,it could have been over watering along with other factors,how often do you water?other than that im not sure,i kill the weak in my garden lol,you should let the dirt dry about an inch deep or more before you water(its usely twice a week when in small 16 oz cups i use for my seedlings and once a week when i move them to a bigger 2 or 3 gallon pot).also pick them up n get use to how heavy they are u can get a feel for when its time to water that way for the most part. if you woulda had a fan on them (at least) and a light 2 inches above them instead of sunlight in a window the stalk would be alot fatter.thats one bad thing about letting them get sunlight without them being outside where the wind can help make them stronger.inside they grow upwards too fast n stretch to reach the sunlight thus becoming skinny n weak.add over watering to that n you got a real mess :( sorry i cant help more,hope they make it ! peace

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Good God, thank you.
You helped me indeed :cool:
I got it! I summarized all you said and I thought about the plants growing conditions and it's the wind factor; you're right.
It's the one thing I have been thinking for these 5 weeks of growing, the attic doesn't provide enough wind and the plants aren't forced to a daily struggle like standing up before the mighty wind - which some people should actually test for themselves - daily, like in a normal day.

thanks much. You did enlighten me and now I feel my plants will survive.
:)
in some months I'll be begging you to help me on wishing thinking for a female.
oh please
;)

now tell me,
should I cut those white leaves later?

and more dirt embracing the plants.
that will provide them with new growing conditions. probably they will stop growing for some days but I hope I can make them kick on growing after getting used to more wind and also more dirt around. I'll make them almost tight to surface.
You think it might work?


Thank you bunches :cool:

the ever popular advice for those stretchy plants: more light closer to the plant, and get a small fan and run it on the lowest setting, don't let it blow the plant over, just a little breeze...you may not be getting enough light, you need at least 12 hours of light right now, 16-18 hours of light would be great...go to wal mart and get some little compact FLOURESCENT lights (the kind that will screw into a lamp) and find a way to get them hovering one or two inches above the tops, and be careful with water, only once a week for now, you'll probably have to adjust the height of the light every day or so. don't let the leaves ever actually touch the light bulb though, it'll burn them even if it doesn't feel that hot...

MAy I ask a question...will stretching more commonly occur under artificial light?
Ive been growing my babies in promix soil..give them 8-8.5 hrs of direct sun now..no signes too much stretching..just added a little more dirt...should they be fine...they certainly werent anywhere as stretched as the pics just above here
thanks
need some help..much appreciated

use the sun when you can, outside if possible...for other hours when the sun is not available, use the lights indoors. try to have at least about 16 hours of light for now. they need as much light as they can get to use up the water and nutrients in the dirt

the sun is the most intense light you can give the plants, if they have the outdoor breeze/circulation along with that light, they shouldn't stretch too much...with lights, it depends; get as many lumens of flourescent light as you can get, or invest in a more expensive light like high-pressure sodium or metal halide...don't use halogen or incandescent

thank you so much for your advice. I hope my plants will survive.
I added more dirt and I put them in my balcony. Now the growing conditions have changed, there is more sunlight and for more hours (6am to 8pm) and the wind is mild (I live in Portugal).
this was a dramatic change for the plants, I know. But if the temperature here remains the same then I am positive the plants will survive :)

oh yes, there's no problem about the police because the plants can't be seen from the street and there aren't big buildings around.

I'll need your help again, I'm sure. But now I have to let them recover.

(I can't buy any lights, I wouldn't have money to pay the bill so this is really the only solution, growing outside in the balcony)

I hope this first clumsy experience will work; at least I hope one of those plants will be a female. I already lost a sprout and it was the water, most definitely. I am afraid the second plant won't make it because the first set of leaves are white and withered, but I hope it recovers.
If this will work then this topic might be of use to other people because I am growing outdoors now but at home.
Notice that my plants are 5 weeks, they should be more adult by now I guess but this is my 1st experience so I'm sure next time it will be better. I keep asking my granny to pray that at least one of them is a female :) my grandmother is 79 years old and she's a real nice lady ;)

yeah that thing should be bigger for sure, it'll enjoy that 14 hrs of sunlight though, and the wind will help. good luck!!