2nd grow - experimenting with light cycle. Trying a radical new approach - Veg

[steveat]

Hey Guys,

I've only grown once before which was not successful, not because of what I did, but what I wasn't able to do..which was to care for my plants. I was forced to be away on business for an extended period of time which resulted in dead plants.

My second attempt I have implemented a new light cycle that was proposed on the weed scene website. This is not the typical 18/6 or 24 hour light cycle..not even 16/8.

The new light cycle I am trying out for VEG state is 12/5.5/1/5.5. That's 12 hrs light, 5.5 hrs dark, 1 hr light, 5.5 hrs dark. This is not meant to increased the rate of growth, but to create a stronger plant, thus producing better buds.

Anyway here is my setup:

Grow tent roughly 2.5' x 2.5' and 5.5' in height. I will be using Biobizz for nutrients - Root Juice - Bio-heaven, Bio-Grow, Bio-Bloom, Top-Max. I've never used these products before and actually have a question for those who use the Biobizz products. To me..bio bloom and top max should be used just for the flowering stage, but the instructions say to use them during week 3 and on. When should I use them? I know..follow the instructions, but want to know what other people's regiments are.

Plants

There are three plants, but because some of the packs were open when I put them all in the same bag and they got mixed up. I know one of them is Nirvana for sure because there was one seed left in the baggy. The other two could be Pineapple Chunk, Wonder Woman or G-13 Haze.

Lights

Right now, I am using a 250W MH light, though, the last time I used a 250W HPS, which TBH, so far, I don't see the difference (as far as veg growth is concerned). I will use the MH for veg this time and HPS for flowering. Last time I used the HPS light for growth/veg state and it was fine. Noob me got the lights mixed up!

To the best of my knowledge, no one other than that one guy on that website has done this, so I decided to give it a shot. Right now the plants are a week old. As seedlings, one cracked it's shell in 24 hrs, the other in a little over 48 and the last took 4 days.

Germinating

I planted them in soil at the same time. By the time the third seed was ready, the first one already completely spit out it's shell in the paper towel, so I had to plant it. I wanted to do them all at the same time. You can actually see the differences in development 1, 2 and 3.

I planted them on Monday and today is Sunday. They seem to be looking fine. I'll try to upload pics, but will keep some sort of journal to let people know if this works or not.

Do you guys think I'm crazy?

steveat Reviewed by steveat on 11-18-2012. 2nd grow - experimenting with light cycle. Trying a radical new approach - Veg Hey Guys, I've only grown once before which was not successful, not because of what I did, but what I wasn't able to do..which was to care for my plants. I was forced to be away on business for an extended period of time which resulted in dead plants. My second attempt I have implemented a new light cycle that was proposed on the weed scene website. This is not the typical 18/6 or 24 hour light cycle..not even 16/8. The new light cycle I am trying out for VEG state is 12/5.5/1/5.5. Rating: 5

[Pepper]

There is a 12-1 army of cannabis growers, this method is standard in Ag Industry. So no you're not crazy, it's well tested and works. You almost save 50% in lighting cost over a 24 hour veg cycle. The 1 hr cycle in the middle of the dark period prevents the plant from flowering, no magic. As far as bloom nutrient I've used them for veg no problem. Good luck on your grow.

Attachment 287873

[steveat]

What is the yield like? Is it less, the same or more? Is the potency the same or better? Just wondering how this affects the end result. The website I read it from never gave this indication.

[steveat]

My fault, I didn't notice the image you posted. I didn't know that this cut down on veg cycle? How? Is it because most of the growth is when the lights turn on and during the latter half, the plant is more or less stable...so technically to growth spurts?

[Pepper]

I really don't know all the answers. I believe there is a point of diminishing returns on lighting. For example, the most efficient grows I've seen use less wattage per square ft. This method just keeps the plants in a vegetative state with less light which results in a more efficient grow. At the equator, sativas never get more than 12 hours of light outdoors. It's not such a radical lighting schedule when I consider that fact. Here's an article on it: 12/1 Lighting for optimum growth and savings « Cannabis Dynamics

[EvilCartman]

My second attempt I have implemented a new light cycle that was proposed on the weed scene website. This is not the typical 18/6 or 24 hour light cycle..not even 16/8.

The new light cycle I am trying out for VEG state is 12/5.5/1/5.5. That's 12 hrs light, 5.5 hrs dark, 1 hr light, 5.5 hrs dark. This is not meant to increased the rate of growth, but to create a stronger plant, thus producing better buds.

Not exactly the same, but very similar to my buddy's schedule that he uses on his outdoor starts.
I don't notice anything too different about his plants, other than being a bit smaller than the clones I kept running at a "normal" 18-6 schedule. The plants were nice and healthy looking.
Good luck in your experiment. :thumbsup: