How much light after germination?

[speedygaf]

Im growin weed for the first time, im living in ireland and as every1 knows we have a pretty shitty climate

i have my seeds soaking now and i will be starting them off im cotton woll tomorro, i intend to grow outside but obviously not for the first month,
once they have germinated and are planted, how many hours light do they need for the first few weeks while they are indoors? any tips for first time growers welcome as i genuienly havent a clue:rasta: cheers lads:rastasmoke:

speedygaf Reviewed by speedygaf on 07-02-2009. How much light after germination? Im growin weed for the first time, im living in ireland and as every1 knows we have a pretty shitty climate:mad: i have my seeds soaking now and i will be starting them off im cotton woll tomorro, i intend to grow outside but obviously not for the first month, once they have germinated and are planted, how many hours light do they need for the first few weeks while they are indoors? any tips for first time growers welcome as i genuienly havent a clue:rasta: cheers lads:rastasmoke: Rating: 5

[seattlesmoke247]

Either 18 hours on/6 hours off, or 24 hours on/0 hours off.

I personally have had better luck starting them outside.

[speedygaf]

think il just give them 24 hours light for the first 3 weeks indoors cuz it will be alot easier for me. then when there strong enought to withstand the irish weather il put them put them outside:rastasmoke:

[Smoketobehappy]

Although I'm definatly one of those people who are lazy and let the lights run 24 7 and have had success doing it i'm not sure its the best light schedule. I would think immatating nature would produce the best cannabis but I really don't know.

What I do know is that I've always used 24 7 to start plants indoors to go out later and its never really been a problem. If you are using cfls I cannot stress how important it is to have the plants VERY close to light (3 to 4 inches). Also, don't be lazy and a use a huge pot cause you don't want to transplant often because that in combination with distant lights will makes your babies stretch like hell and you certainly dont' want that to happen with future outdoor plants.

With that I should also say bringing your plants that close to the light can create heat damage which is VERY dangerous for young plants. MAKE SURE your on top of what the temps are always, i'd say max temp shoud be about 87 degrees unless you wan't really stunted growth and all males (lower temps, more females, also less hermie plants).

Bottom line
-Keep lights close as possible
-Small pots (average dixie cup is fine for about 2-3 weeks)
-MAINTAIN TEMPS****
-Provide lots of light (atleast one cfl per plant, more is really recomended)

[Smoketobehappy]

One more thing, recently I did a grow and because the pots were like 3 inches away from the light the soil dried out and caused alot to not germ. Make sure your soils moist cause for some people like me for example this can happen and it just sucks. When it hasn't sprouted yet makes sure the soil is always dark in color (full saturated with water but not overly).

[speedygaf]

cool cheers for de info:jointsmile:

they have been germinating for 7 days and only 1 looks ready which i will plant tomorro, i will give the other 4 another day or 2,

what are ''cfls; ? are these just like standard lights? as u can guess im totally new to growing, and if say 3 of my plants made it to de planting stage wud 1 normal 600w bulb do the trick about 4 inches away? im not looking for massive yields this year, i no i am very late planting but i wud be very pleased if i got an oz on total, anything at all will be a result for me this year to be honest once they actually make it to the harvesting stage:rastasmoke:

so all i really need 2 no is would a 600w bulb do 3 plants for the first month or is this just stupid giving the plants this little amount of light??

cheers 4 de advice stoners:hippy:

[Smoketobehappy]

600 watt bulb is too vague of a description, is it CFL (compact fluorescent), HPS (High Pressure Sodium), MH (Metal Halide), Incandescent (standard home bulb)?

If your only starting them inside for a short period, all you need are cfls; the little spiral bulbs you see being advertised as much more efficient, which they are. I'd say minimum 1 per plant but more would be better. Usually they're around 23 watts or so each the ones you find in stores like walmart and other alike stores.

If its possible, it'd be really helpful to find out what kind of light you have exactly. Chances are even if its the right bulb your seedlings won't need the massive amount of light 600 watts will provide (young plants are sensitive to the extreme light and conditions hps and mh systems provide)

[WeayLay]

To be honest, I'd go for a 18/6 cycle. Growers have experienced their plants going into flowering because of the sudden light drop. You could do 24/0 but I recommend giving the plant more and more dark time as you reach your transplanting date.

[Smoketobehappy]

Yo weaylay what do you mean by "Growers have experienced their plant going in into flowering because of the sudden light drop." I'm confused what light drop would there be if had the lights on 24 7?

[oldmac]

To be honest, I'd go for a 18/6 cycle. Growers have experienced their plants going into flowering because of the sudden light drop. You could do 24/0 but I recommend giving the plant more and more dark time as you reach your transplanting date.

:wtf: Say what?

Plants go to flower based on the dark period, ususally need 8hrs or more of dark to do it.

Not sure why you'd want to "lenghten the dark time more and more" headed to transplanting.