Can I grow outdoors but bring my plants in at night and use metal halide lights for vegetation. I am afraid that if they get the little amount of sun that they currently are they will start flowering too quickly. Is artificial lighting at night safe?
A lilttle sun is not bad for your babys, however I would make a decision on whether you want to grow indoors or outdoors. Im not sure how the plants will react to the different lights though. Putting your plant in the sun will not induce flowering, the plants need 12 hours light and 12 hours dark to start the flowering. As far as the night lighting I keep my girls under the light for 24 hours a day during veg stage, some like to do a 18 hour on 6 hour off schedule. Both work great. Happy growing
Wow, this must be a "spring has sprung" topic. Lots of posters asking this same question these days. Funny how impatient we can be at this time of year. Pros: 1. More total light/lumens to the plant. Cons: 1. Stress from constantly shifting light intensity and spectrum. (If you're into hermaphrodites, this is your thing.) 2. Outdoor pests, mold spores, etc being brought indoors. 3. Damage to plants carrying them around and through doors/windows. 4. Dripping nutes and or soil around your house. I've heard more horror stories from attempting this than successes. If you plan on finishing outdoors, they won't "flip" until the gradually decreasing amount of light in the day causes the hormonal shift from veg to flowering. You will get more than ample veg growth waiting for that shift to happen. If you're frost free, I would put them outside and leave them outside. They may stunt or delay for a bit as they react to the new environment and natural light schedule, but I think you'll be more than satisfied with the production from that natural light in the end.
Thanks that was really helpful, I think you are right. I am just worried that I might stunt their growth or prevent them from reaching there potential if the weather is bad and doesn't give them enough light. The problem for me is that the sun only shines directly and strongly for around 7 hours a day. Would it still be bad for them if I left them outside but plugged some cfl's in and put them on at night. The reason I am asking this is because I heard that during vegetation plants need a minimum of 18 hours, and the sun doesn't give even half of that.
You can put lights outside but probably be best to do it inside , I'm doing mine all inside and here's 5 days of flowering Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Question: is there anyone holding a gun to your head demanding a particular yield from these plants? If not, I wouldn't stress over whatever decrease in yield you might see. Being outside means you can either put the plants in the ground or in giant containers. Having room for that additional root mass allows the plant to grow that much larger, which should easily offset the yield impact caused by the shorter light cycles. People grow outdoors all the time and just about everywhere. While ideal, the plants don't need full power for the full cycle with natural light to get the job done. I wish I could grow outdoors. No timers, fans, and all that. Just let Mother Nature do her thing, watch the show, and then harvest when ready. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum