12/12 too Early? Move back to 24/0?

[Racerx]

I have a post in basic growing but I sort of wanted to find this answer out ASAP. Indoor, 250watt HPS. Grown from seed. I am moving from my place in a little more then 2 months so I started to force flower when plants were about 4 weeks old. Started 12/12 about 8 days ago. I have never grown from seed before. It is good to note that this is a closet with good ventilation, but its been about 105 everyday for the last 2 weeks. I moved my large fan from inside the closet to my window, and the small one into the closet, and it dropps temps by a good 8 degrees so its a little more manageable now.

I am being told by some friends that I should move back to 24/0 and let them mature more because they arent old enough to flower. They also said it would take the same amount of time in the end. I really dont care too much about yield, this was just to experiment with seeds and how they would fair with hardly any attention or nutrients.

So should I continue 12/12? There are no signs of sex. Or should I move back to 24/0? I feel like moving to the 12/12 has slowed their growth considerably. They were growing .5" everyday for awhile. Sometimes more. I have always used clones so Im used to flowering with only 3-4 weeks veg at times.


PS. If someone wouldn't mind, I am confused about using pH drops with nutrients. If I use some Flora Nova and test it with drops for pH, will it read inaccuractly because its not clear? My water is like 7.5-8, but with the ferts it says its about a 6. Is this false? No money for electronic pH.

Racerx Reviewed by Racerx on 07-27-2006. 12/12 too Early? Move back to 24/0? I have a post in basic growing but I sort of wanted to find this answer out ASAP. Indoor, 250watt HPS. Grown from seed. I am moving from my place in a little more then 2 months so I started to force flower when plants were about 4 weeks old. Started 12/12 about 8 days ago. I have never grown from seed before. It is good to note that this is a closet with good ventilation, but its been about 105 everyday for the last 2 weeks. I moved my large fan from inside the closet to my window, and Rating: 5

[Racerx]

Oh, forgot to mention. About half the pots (4-5) had multiple plants in each one. I was hoping to detirmine sex as soon as possible then kill off, but didnt realize it took so long. It was suggested by a few people here and my friends to just take my chances and remove any extra plants. Those pictures are a few days old. There is only 1 plant in each pot now.

[kdspecial]

I have herd of people flowering as early as 2 weeks into growth. But I am not 100 percent sure As I am a new grower. I have also read about people flowering as soon as their clones have rooted. SO I imagine you will get a bit of bud. I am curious as to what others think as well. Because I plan to grow small little plants too. Due to my limited space.

kd_special

[orangeman]

You can flower. You'd be surprised at the size your plants will grow when flowering. I recommend you switch back to 12/12. But hey, it's your decision.

[stinkyattic]

Started 12/12 about 8 days ago.

You should be seeing males in a day or so then.

It is good to note that this is a closet with good ventilation, but its been about 105 everyday for the last 2 weeks.

That's why your growth rate has slowed, in part. Keep it under 85.

I am being told by some friends that I should move back to 24/0

Only if you want a closet full of hermaphrodites.

and let them mature more because they arent old enough to flower.

Look as the leaf placement. Are they opposite or alternating? When they are alternating, the plant WANTS to flower.

They also said it would take the same amount of time in the end.

Not really. You 're going to speed it up a bit. I flower by size, not by maturity since my veg room consists of racks and plants over 12" touch the lights. The immature ones take a bit longer, but not too too bad.

So should I continue 12/12?

yeah.

Or should I move back to 24/0?

nope!

I feel like moving to the 12/12 has slowed their growth considerably.

Well on top of your heat problem your plants are changing their life processes and diverting energy to reproduction rather than vertical growth. However they will shoot up quite a bit when you get your temps straightened out.

If I use some Flora Nova and test it with drops for pH, will it read inaccuractly because its not clear? My water is like 7.5-8, but with the ferts it says its about a 6. Is this false? No money for electronic pH.

Most ferts are tinted, so it can be confusing, just take that color into consideration when you're reading pH. If your ferts are green and the pH is in the 'yellow' range, you'll see a light green. Get it? Ferts can often drop the pH of the solution you put them in.

Okay now finally abou the multiple plants in the same pot... Each plant needs one gallon of dirt per vertical foot that it will grow to be. But this is your first time from seed, so you can do an experiment:
Keep the plants in 12-12.
Kill all the males.
If you have 2 or more pots with 2 or more females, kill one female in one pot. Track the progress of the remaining female in that pot as compared to the other pots with 2 females. When it's time, measure your yield. If the solo female has as much or more bud weight than the total bud weight from each of the pots with 2 or 3 girls, that should send you in the right direction next time.

[Racerx]

Wow, thank you soooo much guys! Thats the assurance I needed! Seriously, answered everything. I decided to take another risk and weeded out all extra plants, so it is only 1 plant per pot. They already seem to like it more and I dont need to water as much. The temps inside the room were reaching into the 90s, but Ive got it into low 80s now. A big 3 foot box fan in my window is effectly dropping tempature by more then 15 degrees (serious) and in turn the closet is getting dropped.

I have kept it on 12/12. I came to the conclusion before I read your guys responses that even if there was a possibility of it taking longer, I didnt want to stress them any extra and yeah...get some hermies or something.

I am so used to using clones which carry the age of the mother. 3 weeks of veg and boom they are more then ready to go and within a few days of 12/12 they are busting out big ole pistils.

I got some pH down (amongst other things, spent like $250 today in supplies for next grow and a little for this one). I had to ad a hefty amount to my water to get it close to 6. I know that GH Flora Nova has pH buffers, but according to my pH drops it was dropping it nearly 2 pH. This seems excessive but the water is already brown, so maybe it technically is reading a more lighter green.

I am getting some leaf droop and curl. Doesnt seem to be over watering. Top leaves and new growth looks fine, a little pale but fills in pretty quick, I am thinking its maybe the heat? I have the HPS about 14" above the plants but its not really that hot.

What do you mean by alternating? When the stems come out of the main stalk alternating? I am confused.

[ate]

Can someone explain to me what "alternating" and "opposite" leafing is?

[busteruk7]

alternating nodes is a good sign that the plant is maturing ,
you will see the main stem and the individual branches coming off in pairs one branch on each side of the main stem that meet in the same spot
when they start alternating these branches will start coming off the main stem but in difrent places so that they dont look like they are growing in pairs they will be growing in random places all around the main stem .
hope this helps dude
cheers all

[Racerx]

alternating nodes is a good sign that the plant is maturing ,
you will see the main stem and the individual branches coming off in pairs one branch on each side of the main stem that meet in the same spot
when they start alternating these branches will start coming off the main stem but in difrent places so that they dont look like they are growing in pairs they will be growing in random places all around the main stem .
hope this helps dude
cheers all

well my plants definitely do not have alternating nodes. Everything is symetrical. Will they not flower without alternating? Im confused since I have seen plants flower without alternating...

Also, I hope I didnt mess em up last night. My grow room fan broke so I left the doors open but my alarm didnt go off so they got a little light. Not direct light but some light leaking in.

[Pothead4204life]

dont stress about it...your doing fine...just stay on 12/12 and enjoy your grow...