wich is best for the veg cycle? also what method should I use in transplanting a plant to the outdoors? Just dig a hole in some good soil and put it in?
Pot doesn't need a break during its veg stage so therefor "the more light = the better". I've heard using 24-0 can increase your yield by 30%. As to your outside question, yes, dig a hole, if the dirt is hard crappy clay i would dig a bigger hole and put in some good quality soil. Make sure the plant is hidden, but not so hidden that it only gets an hour of sunlight a day.
During the veg stage I set my timer to 16 on and 8 off. For transplanting outdoors, I suggest you dig a good size hole, make sure you cover the top of the soil that is in the pot, so the entire root bulb will grow and have some fresh soil to work with! Make sure to water after the transplat, so the soil and roots can take! When you transplat from the pot, be carefull not to damage any roots.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- what is better, 24/0 or 18/6, or any other photoperiod? well since mj doesnt need a dark period except for flowering, anything above 16hrs on will work. the big question people have, is which is better, or saving $ on electric bill. studies show that mj plants grow 30% more or faster on a 24/0 vs 18/6 photoperiod, and anything closer to 12/12 saves you money on eletric bill. well for example you get your mj plant to the desired size of 3ft on a 24/0 photoperiod in 30 days, then it would take you 39 days for your mj plant to reach 3ft on a 18/6 photoperiod. so do you really save money on your bill useing 18/6 vs 24/0 since it takes 9 extra days under 18/6 to reacy 3ft. so in hinesight you have to have your lights on at least 9 extra days on an 18/6 photoperiod, so do those 9 or so extra days of having the lights on still save you money vs the 24/0 photoperiod that has already finished 9 days ago. im bad at math but yall could probally figure it out. to figure your costs (watts of lights X hours on X cost of 1 kilowatt hour) divided by 1000. so say i have a 400w light, on for 18hrs, times 13.5 cents -(cost of my electric per kilowatt hour). 400X18X.135=97.2 divided by 1000 = .972, so it cost me 97 cents a day to run a 400w for 18hrs, & $1.30 a day for 24hrs. so it cost me $38 for 39 days of lights on 18/6 to reach 3ft, & cost me $39 for 30 days of lights on 24/0 to reach 3ft. my sayings is $1, is it worth it, i say no, whats a $1 vs 30% more growth. if i just wanted to veg my mj plants based on days (say 30), then it would cost me $29 for 30 day under 18/6, or $39 for 30 days under 24/0, then i save $10 a month. hope your not lost with the math, plus 24/0 of adeqaute light gives you closer internodes
I will repost my answer as well: The folks at Advanced Nutrients did a scientific study on this topic. I saw the results on one of the Urban Grower shows. They found a 24/7 (always on cycle) out performed any other cycle they could come up with for veging. It showed a relative slow down in growth for every hour in the off position. The study was done with a few hundred plants in a controlled indoor lab at Advanced Nutrients in Canada. It just did not seem right to me at first. Seems like god wants plants to sleep. Then I tried it. I had to reduce my veg cycle by four days. Even though it feels unnatural to us, the plants will cycle faster if the lights are left on. I reluctantly changed my mindset and switched to the lights on for veging. It is the best way. R.