12/12 question How bad does light disturb plant during dark hours?

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by SmokeyMcDank, Feb 17, 2012.

  1. Well I grow in my closet in my room.

    During darks hours I occasionally need to get something out of my room.

    Does a light on for approx 3-4 min affect anything?

    To be honest I dont even think any gets into my grow box I just get paranoid when I cut the lights on.

    Also I do 12/12 from 12pm to 12am

    My other question is I get off at work around like 10 30 and like to go into my room and play xbox.

    If any light does seep through would it stress the plant out considering it would only be for the last hour or so during the dark hours.

    Possible mimic the sun slowly rising up?
     
  2. No, it shouldn't bother them. Sometimes the moon is brighter than normal outside.. Just as long as they get their 12/12 routine.
     
  3. Just use a green light.
     
  4. IDK some strains are more sensitive than others. Back when I started growing I was using some random bag seeds and they had tons of light pollution during the day and never hermied. On the other hand some strains I've grown tend to go hermy if you give them even the slightest provocation. IMO it all depends on the genetics.

    If you don't wanna worry about it another option is autoflowers. They really don't care as much about light cycles.
     
  5. Sorry, but absolutely wrong. A few minutes of light during dark cycle is the surest way to induce hermies. Even a faint glow can mess them up. It's called "dark" for a reason, leave it that way. You can put the plants on a schedule that fits you, so that it is lights-on when you have time to tend to the plants.
     
  6. #6 Loki7, Feb 18, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 18, 2012


    Any light brighter than a full moon will interupt your dark cycle. The dark cycle is really just the biological changing of Phytochrome from one form(Pfr) to another(Pr). The plant reacts to the Pfr and changes from vegging to flowering. Any red light instantly changes the Pr back to Pfr. Stay away from green lights, if you have to go into your grow area, you should use a blue light because as light passes thru leaves it gets red shifted. A green light can shift enough towards red to cause problems.

    You can have your dark cycle at any time, as long as you have at least 12 hours of darkness.

    If enough light leaks into your, it will slow or stop your plant from flowering. You don't want to mimic the rising sun.

    -Loki
     

  7. Have to agree with Toasty on this one. We think 3-4 min won't do anything but consider this in Cannabis Grow Bible it states "A 100% lightproof room will increase yields as much as 30% more then a room that is only 99% lightproof; that is how important total darkness is to your plants during the flowering stage of the life cycle."
     
  8. I do wonder how outdoor grows work out sometimes. I mean wouldn't you get a TON of light pollution from the moon, stars and all the general city lights? Surely the plants can tell the difference between the sun(or a grow light) and any random light pollution.
     

  9. Ive also wondered that as well. I think the moon and stars are a non factor but human light pollution is considerable. You would not even know stars exist at night in my city. Perhaps were inadvertently creating freak show plants!!!

    I think though anything adapts given time. Look how animals have adapted to humans.
     
  10. Keep in mind that we perceive light, we don't experience it directly the way plants do. The moon isn't as bright as you might think it is, it appears "brighter" to our eyes because of the contrast against the pitch-black sky around it. And what we think is "a little bit" of light in a grow space can be more than you think.

    Is there an amount of light that won't hermie the plants? Yes...but. The problem is you don't know what that limit is, you don't have a way to measure it, your perception of it is not a good gauge, it's different for every strain and how that light is exposed, way too many variables to be able to say this is OK but that's not. And as soon as we say that a tiny bit is OK, each grower interprets that differently, and then other growers figure that maybe a tiny bit more than a tiny bit is also OK, and the result would be lots of hermies.

    Bottom line: If you let light into your grow space during the dark cycle then it isn't the dark cycle to the plant. There is no known level of light that is OK. There is only one safe way to ensure you won't light-induce hermies, and that is to keep your grow space completely dark during dark cycle. Period.

    If you have a proper setup in all other respects then light-proofing shouldn't be that hard. And you have 12 out of every 24 hours when the lights are on, that's the time to go into the grow space. Put the plants on a cycle that fits your schedule. Leave the dark dark.
     
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  11. I am in my mobile so I can't type a book. But use a green light. It won't effect your plants photo cycle.
     
  12. #12 XXSINISTERXX, Sep 23, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2013
    Think I have all of you beat on this topic.  Fourth year grower, and have a consistently successful rate.
     
    ATM am running seven feminized plants: 2PC/2CK/2LSD/and 1CC.  Nice vegging to 18" ave ht on the indy doms, a little lower on the sat doms.
     
    Started flowering, First five days, running smoothly on my reliable timer 12/12.  Here in lies the problem. Enlarged my grow area (which is in my accommodating basement) on the sixth day of flowering, and somehow, a couple of slots on the timer between my dark time (which is between 8pm-8am) got activated.
     
    I had a difficult time going to bed the other night (mind you, the timer has been now going off not only at 8pm, but at 1:30am-2:30am, 4:00am-4:30am, then correctly at 8:00am.).  SO, anyways, thank the gods, as I was saying, I couldn't sleep well the other night, and I hear this low rumbling start up, and I immediately have this feeling of dread and panic. (This f'd up time had went on apparently for five days!)
     
    I jump out of bed and run down the stairs, because I know my ballast, lights, and fan have came to life.
    Well.  Look for my update on the situation.  But I'm sure we all know what's gonna happen :(
    CHECK YOUR TIMERS PERIODICALLY FOLKS!  Nanners anyone?
     
  13. You don't say how many days the timer was like that. You might be suprised and find out nothing happens. I accidentaly left an incondesant 60w bulb on all night after spraying for insects, which ment the plants had 36 hours of light and I had no problems. My plants were at different stages of flowering, some were at 4 weeks, some at two weeks, and a few at one week. No problems with any of them. Is there really any "scientific proof" of any kind of what causes hermies? I havent read any. I think it is all speculation. If I'm wrong and there is proof somebody will correct me I hope.
     
  14. Has anybody tried to bring a flowering plant back out of flower. I have and it is next to near impossible. Yes you can but it takes forever, and I'm talking a couple of months and that is for a plant that was only in the flower room for two weeks. The longer a plant has been flowering the harder it is to bring it out of flowering and there is a point of no return when it is impossible. I have no idea when that point is and I'm sure it is different for all varieties.
    Anybody have any experience with this? I would like to hear other folks thoughts on this if you have had any experience.
     
  15. Five days.  Five miserable f'n days.  
     
  16. I'll just have to sit and watch 'em all everyday.  Prolly twice or more a day for pods.  Truly an unintentional light experiment for sure.  BF's seeds.  They all germ'd and were vigorously thriving, so no bashing on them for sure.  First time I grew from good stuff.  Thanks for chatting.  I'm feeling a bit better.  Nothing I can do but chill out, and wait and see what happens.
     
    I'll post when something develops.  Seeing signs of femaling (word?).  LOL.
     
    Peace~
     
  17. I would only say it's good practice to get into the habit of never allowing light in during the dark period. If you just make sure you let it be, there will never be a problem. You should consider putting it in a separate enclosure inside your closet.
     
  18. #18 tdf, Sep 23, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 23, 2013
    Let's see ; You expanded your room on the 6th day and had the light problem the next 5 days. So your plants were in flower less than two weeks. I do belive you will have absolutly no problem what so ever. You were so early into flower it shouldn't make a difference. Relax, don't beat youself up, sit down and have a smoke everything will be fine, I promise.
     
  19. tdf.  I could hug ya man.
     
  20. Instantly? Really ? I read the link on Phytochrome. I never saw the word instantly. What I read was " in time ". My experience is it takes a long time.
     

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