I have three ladys going great indoors under a 400mh, they are about 2 months old, maybe 30" tall, no stretch at all. I also have a few seedlings at about 1 week. I would like to keep the 24/0 schedule under mh for the small ones, but I still want to flower the big ones. I force flowered outdoors last year after starting the plants outdoors, but didn't force them until mid may. My first question is how early in the mideast usa would the sun be strong enough to grow nice big tight buds like I had last year in midsummer. I would like to get them out in a few weeks and start the flowering. I do have a switchable hood, could switch to hps and flower indoors, but I would like to keep the small ones under the mh 24/0. another cab is not an option. Any opinions? Also, would going from steady 70-80 deg. temps indoors, to variable temps outdoors shock them? Thanks!
I just take them inside at 7:00pm to total darkness, then return to the outdoors at 7:00am. gets to be a pain in the ass, but usually is not a problem. Worked great last year, but I started and finished outside, never started inside before. The plants seem not to stretch as much, so I am afraid if I put them out for flower, the sun will not be as strong as the 400w, so it will slow down growth. I guess my question is would it be better to flower under a 400w hps, or outside in mid spring to early summer? Live on the east coast usa.
The sun is way brighter than any HPS bulb, no matter what time of year. You have nothing to worry about in that department. thge sun just gives more blue spectrum in the spring/summer vs. an amber/red spectrum in the fall. It's more intense during the summer too. As we all know....whew it's gonna be a hot one. Wouldn't a blackout material be easier than lugging the plants back and forth? Build a simple wooden frame and cover it. Nevermind I just reread your 1st post, 3 plants seem easy enough to move I guess, What size buckets?
The pots are 3 gallon. Wont be too bad moving them, I have a pretty good set up. Last year I did it w/ 6.5 footers, that was before I knew how to grow them short, lst, etc... This year starting them under the 400mh they are about 30 inches, and look like they could yield as much as my stretchy 6 footers last year. We will see. Thanks for the comments.
You know, you could probably drag them in for awhile and then put them back out after it gets dark out. I imagine that'd work just as well... it's what I intend to do, depending on exactly how I decide to run my operation... it's almost time to get started!