NO NO NO.

NOT MV

OK, here we go.

To bud the plant you want to put it into 12/12. That's 12 hours complete darkness, as the plant measures the un-interuppted darkness to release a flowering hormone so that the plant actually flowers.

The best lights to use for flowering are not mercury vapour [MV], they are high pressure sodium [HPS]


If the plant has alternating internodes it is mature enough to flower, altohugh you can flower before.

If it has 2 white hairs comming out at the nodes and top it is a female, which is the plant you want.

If it has small balls, its male, and 100% useless. Theres no point in even making hash from them cos you will hardly get anything.

If it IS a female, you keep the lights on 12/12. It normally takes around 8 weeks to flower a plant, sometimes 10, and long flowering sativas can go as long as 14 weeks.

Alot of people seem to think that you can tell the maturity of the THE in the trichomes by looking at the white hairs [Pistilles] and when they turn /orange/red/brown.

This is wrong.

You tell by the colour of the trichomes. Clear is not ready, cloudy is ready and amber is too late.

Now i really do suggest you read the FAQs too, so you know all about temps, lights, ferts, heat, humidity, lumens, and ph, not to mention all the other things.