Hello, I have a lot of plants outside at the moment and they are in the early vegetative stage so need as much light as they can get. As its early in the growing season it has been difficult to get enough hours of sun and I was therefore wondering if it is safe for my plants to be brought in at night and be put under some Metal Halide lights to boost there vegetative growth. In the morning, around 7am I would bring them out again. Can changing the light source from the sun to artificial lighting on a daily basis cause any problems like messed up flowering times or hermaphrodites. I am really stuck on what to do here as I am not sure if its safe? Thanks and peace
I don't think it can do too much harm unless your giving them 20 hours of light.. .I have mine in a greenhouse now until May 15th. They get natural light and my flourecents kick on an hour before sunset and stay on for two- three hours and then kick back on two hours before sunrise and stay on until about 10:00 AM. I'll cut back an hour or so May 1st, before going outside around May 15, so that by the time I put them out they are getting within an hour or two of what the sun will provide full time. That said, I have heard that clones can be a bit more sensitive than seedlings in turning hermie with light sensitivity. I've been growing both clones and seedlings for a long time and do pretty much what I just described every year, and have never had a clone or seedling go hermie or start to flower.