So I ask rumpleforeskin a question about light scheduels and got what I consider a terrific response with good insight and backup. Thought this would be a good bit of information to share! A long time ago we all used to do 18/6 for veg. Then a few people (some seed companies and Advanced Nutrients) did a real scientific study on it. It seems the plant's growth is relative to every hour the lights are on in direct proportion. Leaving the lights on made the plants grow faster 33%. Rumors of stress and making male plants spread without merit. Lots of old book will tell you to do 18/6, but most current publications tell you to do 24/0. People get caught up in their own emotion on this subject: "Sleep is good for me why not my plant? I want my plant to be happy. No sleep is like torture. I don't want to hurt them." Well we are not plants. If they are happy they grow. Here is what HighTimes author Ed Rosenthal had to say on this: Need the dark by Ed Rosenthal. Posted on Thursday, October 23 2003 11:00:00 PM Do plants need a dark period during the vegetative cycle? Does marijuana require a dark period during the vegetative growth stage? I recently read a grow book that advocated an 18-6 light cycle during the early growth stages. One way in which plants are categorized is by the way they gather and handle carbon dioxide. Cannabis is a C3 plant. It uses the CO2 it gathers during the light period, when it is photosynthesizing. Plants designated C4 also gather CO2 during the dark period for use during the light period. Many C3 plants, including cannabis, do not need a rest period. They continue to photosynthesize as long as they are receiving light. The plant's photosynthetic rate determines its growth rate because the sugars are used by the plant to build tissue and for energy. Cannabis under continuous light will grow 33% faster than the same plants on an 18-6 light regime. Readers with grow questions (or answers) should send them to Ed at: Ask Ed, PMB 147, 530 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA. You can also email Ed at AskEd@cannabisculture.com and send queries via his website at www.ask-ed.net. All featured questions will be rewarded with a copy of Ed's book, The Big Book of Buds.[/quote] thanks again dude!! Much respect
Did Rumple give you permission to publicly share a private post? No matter how innocuous the info may seem, it would be common courtesy and proper netiquette to get permission to post any private communication. In general I am not a big fan of private questions that have general application. I think it is much better to post such questions publicly and then if there is a specific person you would hope to get an answer from, PM that person asking that they respond on your public thread. This way you can get not just one person's input but hear from a variety of viewpoints, and others can benefit from this knowledge-sharing as well. When people ask me private questions this is usually the crux of my response.