Hey all, I'm nearly a month into growing clones for the first time and they're doing great. As the title suggests, I'm using a 300 watt Platinum LED grow light, and there's a conflicting message in the instruction manual. In one section, it says the bloom switch is to be used only when triggering the bloom cycle in conjunction with changing the light schedule. In another section, it says to use both veg and bloom switches during late vegetative growth. My plants are reaching late vegetative growth, so I'm wondering if I should hit the bloom switch now, or wait until I actually trigger blooming in a few weeks. Any thoughts on this? I appreciate your advice!
I also own platinum LEDs, and turn on the bloom lights when I first believe that the plants can handle the extra intensity. For me that means early to mid veg. It is true that slight reddening of the sun signals the arrival of autumn, but that's not a major flowering factor like 12-12 lights, and the sooner the extra energy is provided, the bigger the plants will grow. The bloom lights don't trigger blooming, they just support it. My experience is that these lights can easily cause leaf burn, so don't get them too close.
Hello and thank you for the advice! I went ahead and turned on the bloom switch per your suggestion. My clones have grown to nearly a foot tall in the three weeks I've had them and are looking healthy with no signs of stress. I'll keep them on an 18/6 light schedule with both switches activated and the light 24" away until I'm ready to bloom. Sound about right? Thanks again!
I've talked to growers that have run the BLOOM and VEG switch throughout the VEG cycle. We recommend turning it on during late VEG or when you first see signs of early flowering. Some people like to turn the switch on for a couple hours during the end of the day and gradually increase the time it's on to simulate the sun getting lower in the sky and more red in the color spectrum. It's really all about finding your own recipe. Happy growing!
well, thats probably due to a bad translation from mandarin or something lol. But, you should remember the plant will always need the most light during flower. Blast it with all it can handle, which is probably more than you have, and be rewarded.