Light confsuion URGENT!!

[Jennylynnm6280]

My plants are almost 4 weeks old. They are about 7 inches tall. Doing really good, very healthy. From seedling to now they have been under 24/0 light. I was told by a friend that I should cut back the light for 24 hours starting now. check them in 24 hours and if there is no sign of sex then cut it again for another 24 hours and so on until they sex. After that they said to put the light schedul back on 24/0 then to 12/12 before harvesting. Is this good advice? Or will that do damage to my plants? I need advice asap because about an hour ago I turned out the lights. Thanks!! :rasta:

Jennylynnm6280 Reviewed by Jennylynnm6280 on 02-23-2010. Light confsuion URGENT!! My plants are almost 4 weeks old. They are about 7 inches tall. Doing really good, very healthy. From seedling to now they have been under 24/0 light. I was told by a friend that I should cut back the light for 24 hours starting now. check them in 24 hours and if there is no sign of sex then cut it again for another 24 hours and so on until they sex. After that they said to put the light schedul back on 24/0 then to 12/12 before harvesting. Is this good advice? Or will that do damage to my Rating: 5

[BobBong]

Stick to a more normal light schedule in my opinion.

There are different and still very important processes happening during the dark hours.

try 18/6

:thumbsup:

[stra8outtaWeed]

seedlings should be started under 12 hours of light and slowly increaased over time just as in nature....seeds that sprout under spring like conditions and lighting have a better chance of being a girl....seeds that sprout later in the year under warmer conditions and longer hours of light have more chance of being a male as they will grow faster and stretch more so that they can drop pollen onto the shorter females to make more seeds to perpetuate itself.

when i grew from seed i always started them in the flower room for at least 3 weeks before increasing the light.....do what nature does not what your friend tells you

[Jennylynnm6280]

Thank you for that advice, And I will keep it in mind for my next grow, But that doesn't really answer my question. I need to know if keeping the lights out for 24 hours or more just to sex quick is dangerous for my plants. I have had the light out for 22 hours so far and just took a quick peak without turning the light back on and I haven't seen signs of sex yet but the plants are still doing really good, none are wilting or anything, still standing strong. I was thinking about cutting the light yet again today for another 24 hours seeing if they sex. Any advice or opinions would be greatly apreciated!! thanks.:thumbsup:

[bigtopsfinn]

Thank you for that advice, And I will keep it in mind for my next grow, But that doesn't really answer my question. I need to know if keeping the lights out for 24 hours or more just to sex quick is dangerous for my plants. I have had the light out for 22 hours so far and just took a quick peak without turning the light back on and I haven't seen signs of sex yet but the plants are still doing really good, none are wilting or anything, still standing strong. I was thinking about cutting the light yet again today for another 24 hours seeing if they sex. Any advice or opinions would be greatly apreciated!! thanks.:thumbsup:

Your just asking for hermies by messing with the lights so much.

Simple: 24/0 or 18/6 (or something in between) while you veg. Your plants will show sex in 4-8 weeks.

To flower, use 12/12, and leave it at that, until they are finished.

Plants aren't going to show sex in a day or two, more like 2 weeks, once they have 12 hours of darkness everyday.

If I were you, I'd put the lights on 12/12 now, and leave them like that. If you keep changing the lighting cycles, your plants will be confused, throw become hermaphrodites, and ruin your crop.

[Jennylynnm6280]

Excellent, thank you, glad you told me now because I was so confused on that and no one would give me the answers I needed specifically. Although there is a lot of good advice on this site!! Thanks again.

[Jennylynnm6280]

When i went to turn the lights back on after being off for 22 hours, I found a tiny mushroom growing in one of the pots of the plants. Is that weird?

[stra8outtaWeed]

no...just a fungus spore in the soil! i have had a few over the years...not many though!

remember...when starting do as in nature and the plants will show sex in time...be patient is the most important thing and let your plants do their thing naturally or you are asking for hermies as BTF said

get them going under 12/12 for 30 days then increase lighting hours by an hour a day every other day until you get to 18/6 then once they show sex you can clone and use a 24/0 light schedule to keep the girls from going into flower....unless your are growing above the arctic or below the antarctic circle no where in nature does anything start on 24 hours of light:smokin:

[moody420]

turning the lights off for 24 hours isn't going to show you anything. It takes a little more time (about 1-2 weeks in 12/12 cycle) to show signs of sex. Maybe your friend meant when you are ready to flower your plants (when they are at the height you desire) that you should cut the lights for 24-72 hours. This is supposed to help induce flowering...

It's also been recommended to do this same process at the end of your flower cycle right before you harvest. Turn the lights off and let the plants sit in the dark for 24-72 hours. This is supposed to push out resin and make the buds denser. I've tried both methods...can't say I've seen a big difference, but then again, it didn't hurt.....

You gotta find what techniques work for you....good luck! :jointsmile:

[Jennylynnm6280]

turning the lights off for 24 hours isn't going to show you anything. It takes a little more time (about 1-2 weeks in 12/12 cycle) to show signs of sex. Maybe your friend meant when you are ready to flower your plants (when they are at the height you desire) that you should cut the lights for 24-72 hours. This is supposed to help induce flowering...

It's also been recommended to do this same process at the end of your flower cycle right before you harvest. Turn the lights off and let the plants sit in the dark for 24-72 hours. This is supposed to push out resin and make the buds denser. I've tried both methods...can't say I've seen a big difference, but then again, it didn't hurt.....

You gotta find what techniques work for you....good luck! :jointsmile:

ty for the advice. I might try that more towards harvest time. But for now I have turned the light cycle to 12/12 and I am just going to keep it that way until it's almost harvest time. Thanks again!!:hippy: