Hello- great site lots of helpful info. A move to a colder climate and the fact that we have just started winter has required to move my growing concerns inside. My previous growing experience has been quite elemetary. Slap some seeds in fertile soil, cull males, water and fertilise. As we were previosly lived in a warm dry climate most plants did well and i did'nt have to pay for a smoke. This indoor growing is and continues to be a learning experience as well as a mildly expensive one. With assistance from my local hydroponics shop i have set up my grow cupboard with ventilation, lighting and a 2 tub self watering hyro set up. I currently have 5 seedlings which have been under lights 24/7 for about 21 days. They are about 5" and already look very mature - some have filaments appearing at the branch nodes and the stems are quite thick - looks like bonsai. I am a bit confused about the transition to 12/12 lighting- 1. Is it the transition to 12/12 that brings on sex determination. 2. what determines and what are the indicators of the transition from veg to flowering and what role does lighting play. 3. when should you change to 12/12 lighting Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Hiya, and welcome to the site. To answer a few of the indoor questions, yes the 12/12 lighting is what iniciates the flowering of the plants, you should be able to determine sex within the first 10 days for sure. Now few strains may be fast at showing sex and others a bit longer. The first indication that the plant has reverted the light is youl notice a different smell in the grow room then slowly as it progresses as the nitrogen is not as needed during flower as it is in veg youl notice the plants lessen in leaf color and focus more on growing nice fat buds for you !! much better then viggin plants in my books.... hehe Good luck if ya have more questions be sure to ask there are alot of knowledgable growers here with years of experience !! Budguy™
Thanks for your response. Let me see if i have got this straight. It is the act of altering the light phase to 12/12 that throws the plant into a flowering state. If so, could you do that to plants regardless of maturity. My reason for asking is wouldn't it be better to throw plants into flowering when they are smaller to save on the need for room?
Let me put a natural science spin on this. Indoors growth attempts to mimic natural outdoor growing. All plants have a natural rythmn of life. they sprout early in spring, grow strong and tall during early summer, bloom flowers and prepare seeds for the next years growth at the end of summer. If you look at the amount of natural sunlight a plant would get, you would see that plants naturally turn from growing tall and strong to seed production after the summer equinox. Less and less daylight tells the plants that cold killing winter is coming and they had better get the seeds ready for next year or the species will die off. The long indoor hours of 18/6 or 24/0 tell the plant that winter is a long way away and that they can grow as big and tell as they can. When you make the switch, it reminds the plant that death is coming and they had better get to work for the next years crop. This is also important for plants to be in totall darkness or near darkness during the lights out phase. The plants get confused on what time of the year it is and they do all kinds of wacky things in response. Similiar to a moth to a flame. Moths use starlight and the moon to direct them , but a left-on light confuses them and they circle the light
Thanks for the responses. Hope you dont mind if i quiz you all for a little more info. Do plants grown indoors tend to be smaller and nuggety? The plants i grew with these seeds outdoors were all quite tall. I have heard that particular types of lighting may lend themselves to smaller and bushy plants. I have a SON-T 400 AGRO made by phillips currently running 24/7. Have other members had similar experiences?