Quote Originally Posted by emilya
Never fear Trejedy... the red spot and trunk thing is simply a theory that was given to us by WW and is certainly not 100% accurate. ...The best advice I have ever gotten here on this forum was from our Rusty Trichome and I now pass it down to you... patience above all else.
Phew, that's a relief. I thought I had a sausage fest going on here with all my ladies actually just dudes in drag. I'm fairly confident that the company is reliable, but will definitely keep and eye out for tell-tale balls...


Regarding your light and moving in and out of the house: I don't think that the light is going to be an issue right now since you are not letting them think that the end of the season is coming with a shortening of the light cycle. I doubt that this is an issue. I would however take special precautions as to stressing the plants in other ways with all this moving about. I know it sounds silly, but I did it with my clones... don't drop them! Sunlight has to be good for them, but that sort of defeats the purpose of having a big grow light doesn't it? Part of the reason that we can grow such amazing plants indoors is because we can control everything, light, temp, humidity and in that closed environment we can guard against things such as molds and funguses and pests. I would worry more that with the outside exposure that you also may attract pests such as spider mites and end up bringing them indoors with you. For that reason alone I would trust my lighting system to provide and keep them inside... but that's just me. I am convinced that given the right spectrum of light with a strong enough flux density, plants can thrive even better than under direct sunlight. I will say that I am convinced that used correctly, a good t5 high output florescent system can provide what the plants need to thrive, and I know that there are many who argue that LED systems can do the same. Experts may disagree with me on this, and I am of course no expert with half a grow under my belt. I invite you to start a new thread asking that question... not everyone reads my little grow log here you know.
I will start a thread with this later when I get a minute, but the possibility of introducing mites, fungus, etc. was something I thought about. I was both hoping that it is a bit too early for the mites, and intend to use neem oil on the leaves when they get a little more robust.` I read that every couple of weeks a spritz of neem on the plants will prevent spider mites from enjoying the fruits of my labor, but again, I will keep an eye out for the signs. You are right it sort of defeats the purpose of the environment we create bringing the plants outside. But I am unsure about LEDs, not an expert in their use, and chose them for their parsimonious, environmentally friendly electricity use, plus the fact that they produce so little heat that I can put them practically on top of the plants and not worry about burn.

The plants are still quite small and I can transport them all conveniently in a walmart basket that I pilfered, and I am very careful with placement so they aren't stressed. I do wonder though about the sunlight. You are right in that they get light all day so it would seem like they wouldn't be affected by the sun/LED combo, but the suns strength does vary during the day and I wonder if the plants react to that waxing and waning. Like I said, I just don't want to confuse them. They are dearer to me than my own imaginary daughter...;-)

Thanks for the reply and the well-wishes. I look forward to hearing how you grow(s) progress(es).

Peace

Trejedy