I am new to this, this is going to be my first grow. I was curious as to if one can grow an auto-flowering plant in 24 hour light, and if not, what the scientific explanation behind the plant needing darkness is? And if NOT what would be the best light:dark ratio for the fastest most efficient grow? I hope this is in the right section if not I am sorry! Thanks in advance!
I've heard you can, but save electricity! It seems like 16/8 to 18/6 works very well. Go to the indoor journal section and look for auto grows. See what they do and see how it turns out. If it's good, do what they do. It's a good bet that your grow will turn out similar if you replicate theirs.
I grew my auto in full sun dead of summer. My result was a very leafy bud. After talking to the breeder he said it was the photo period the made it that way. He said less light would contribute to a less leafy bud. Just a thought.
Depending on the time of year I veg under T5's, for about a month at 24hrs solid, then flip them to 12x12 under hps for 2 months or so, T5's are ok for me but weak, so leave them on longer by 4 hours per day. They don't like the continuous light, as they look scrawny, and underdeveloped for there age, but I make it up to them by giving them the HPS...and they luv it. peace "V"
No, do not flip the lights over to 12/12 with autos. The AUTOMATICALLY flower without the light switch. I'm growing my first auto now, I've done some research, and I'm going with 20/4 for my whole grow. This is all opinion, but I believe the plants grow the most at night when the light is off, some sorta chemical reaction. But I'm not a scientist, or botanist, so I can't explain that lol :-/
I'm growing autos at the minute. I've had them under 600w HPS 24/0 from seed and they love it. They're 3 weeks old at the minute and they're all getting fairly big. My friend grew these out last time, he did them under CLFs for 1.5 months then finished under the hps, he told me my plants are twice as big at 3 weeks then his were going under the hps. They'll be getting 24/0 until the end of this grow so I'll let you know how it works out
I wouldnt go more than 20/4. You need to remember plants are Natural. They wernt developed in a lab, and they wernt designed to grow under ""optamal"" lighting. Your roots grow in the dark, and if you dont think your roots have much to do with your buds, your in the wrong business. t5's are dope. You can veg the shit out of a plant with t5's. Im at 1 month harvests, t5 VHO's for veg, started with HO"s and notice a difference, nothing huge though, and 2 1000w's HID's for flower. between 3-4lbs per month. I can get 2-2.5 lbs per month off Auto's. And ill never go over 20/4 for any part of an auto's life cycle. Find me a place where the sun shines 24/7 and plants thrive and ill consider trying it, untill then, i like to do what nature already did best.
iv done this with autos and it wasnt a problem just resulted in a bigger plant for flowering the first couple of weeks of an autos lifes is spent building the root system preparing for the massive growth spurt to come so i believe the idea is to get them as big as possible in this stage giving them 24 hr light..but this is just how i'd do it
http://forum.grasscity.com/attachments/indoor-grow-journals/731936d1319221471-650w-hps-indoor-devilmatic-autoflower-grow-dscf5006.jpg There's a little pic of my garden, my GJ is linked in my sig if you want to check them out. As I said, I'm growing under 24 hour, almost from seed and the only thing I can see is these things turning into monsters really fast
very interesting. theres always a tonne of arguments against which is better 20/4 and 24/0 but from what ive read its good to give them some rest so they can direct alot more energy towards root growth and essentially flower growth also. just my 2 cents
[quote name='"5Jperday"'] very interesting. theres always a tonne of arguments against which is better 20/4 and 24/0 but from what ive read its good to give them some rest so they can direct alot more energy towards root growth and essentially flower growth also. just my 2 cents[/quote] Totally agree. I think that most people are concerned with getting a huge yield instead of grown great weed. I would take less of some quality erb versus a shit load of less than dank erb.
They all do the job- haven't seen a side by side difference, but usually the breeder will let you know what they use and whats "best" for the strain- which always seems like 20-4.
If you rotate your plants a few times a day, move them around the grow room a bit, you won't be sacrificing and quality for yield. Quality is more about the love and care you put into your plants, the pruning, ensuring all of the buds are getting sufficient light. It's not about leaving the light off for a couple of hours. The Ruderalis strain comes from the Artic circle where there is naturally 24 hours of light. It does not need any dark period to flourish. My plants are 5 - 6 weeks old now and getting massive buds on them, I can see the result of love and care. I'll be getting both a massive yield and great quality for my efforts
I started my plants on 24/0 for the first two weeks but now i plan on giving them a break by going to a 20/4 light cycle. Just feel like they'll flourish in the 4 hrs of darkness(plus easier to sleep haha)
Its from central Asia, plants (hemp) that escaped cultivation in Russia (then soviet union) and adapted to the climate were also called ruderalis.
Just to touch on the whole ruderalis arctic circle 24 hour light thing.... Yeah the ruderalis maybe can go with no darkness but a ruderalis crossed with a regular photoperiod strain maybe cannot. Well I guess it could but you know.. If you couldn't get my point by now, well that's ok. I know what I'm trying to say haha
im sure when they cross ruderalis with photperiod they do it so they still auto flower? i duno about breeding seeds but sounds logical