About to switch light schedule for flowering...

Discussion in 'Advanced Growing Techniques' started by SHONOFF98, Jul 25, 2011.

  1. Should I have a dark period 24-48 hours between changing the light schedule from 18/6 to 12/12. I read in a couple journals that some guys are doing this, instead of going straight from 18/6 to 12/12. What does everyone think is the way to go?

    My plant is at 5.5 weeks of veg and I'm planning on switching the lights to 12/12 in about 1.5 to 2 weeks. \t\t\t\t\t\t

     
  2. You will get different opinions on this. I do it, I believe it helps "kick-start" the flowering reaction.
     
  3. How long of a dark period do you usually give them?
     
  4. Go right from whatever veg cycle to 12/12, the tried and true....
     
  5. #5 toastybiz, Jul 26, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 26, 2011
    ^That works too. Both approaches work, the only debate is if the extended dark causes flowering any sooner. If it does then it is only a matter of a few days difference at most.

    Typically my veg is lights-on at 6pm and lights-off at noon (18 hrs light, I go dark noon-6pm in order to not be adding heat from lights during the warmest part of the day), and during flower my lights-on is 7pm and lights-off is 7am, so what I do is when lights go off at noon on my last veg day I leave the plants dark until 7pm the next day, so they get about 31 hours extended dark.
     
  6. I'm not convinced that 24-48 hours of darkness is necessary (nor problematic), however the mechanism for floral initiation of short day plants is not well understood...

    Experiment, and post. Do a 24-48 hour dark period this round and count the days until the first bud sets, then next time go straight to a 12/12 and count the days again. I'd like to know if the time to flower induction is reduced with an extended dark period.

    I go from a 20/4 veg straight to 12/12 and see my first bud set as early as 6 and as late as 8 dark periods (depending on the strain).
     
  7. Also depending on the length of veg -- as you and I were discussing on another thread...
     
  8. True!

    I veg for about 2 months solid (primarily from clone).
     
  9. stressed plants aren't happy plants.
     
  10. Question on your cloning. Do you use 24/0 or the 20/4 schedule on your clones from the start? I hear all different time schedules but they are on so many different grows, that it is hard to judge the individual yields from each process. I am currently running 24/0 on my clones and was planning on going to the 18/6 for veg.
     
  11. My latest seeds have instructions to begin flowering with a 36 hour induction dark period.  I'm going to try it this time.
     
  12. #12 pointswest, Mar 12, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 12, 2015
    A total waste of 36 hours.  Switch to flowering cycle when ready.  There is only stoner opinions on this technique, no real science involved, only antedotal stories.This is especially true about the long nights at the end of flowering to increase potency.
     
    PW
     
  13. it is belived that during light a chemical is produced and during the dark it reduces.

    putting into 12/12 reduces the amount of time it has to replenish that chemical.
    when the chemical reachs its preset for flower it does so!

    the 24-36h of darkness makes this chemical go well below the trigger quantity giving a "kickstart"!

    iv found that veg at 24/0 having the 36 darkness flowers faster than going strait 12/12!

    longer length of light for veg has higher quantitys of said chemical so would take far longer for chem to reduce if being increased 12 hourly.

    if you get what im trying to say!?

    Sent from my GT-S5830i using Tapatalk 2
     

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