60/60 Forced Flowering Approach

[1love1earth]

I must have missed it, but what is the light cycle like outdoors when you are putting them outside?

In my area, we don't really even get an outdoor 12/12 length.

In mid July, we've got 15 hours of light, and 9 of dark, mid august we've got 14 light 10 dark, mid sept. we've got about 12/12.

So does this only work for folks that have a 12/12 cycle going on in july/august?

If I force flower some clones indoors and put them out in mid June (about 16/8) or mid July (15.5/7.5), would it work?

Can someone help me out here?

 

[Jon]

I must have missed it, but what is the light cycle like outdoors when you are putting them outside?

In my area, we don't really even get an outdoor 12/12 length.

In mid July, we've got 15 hours of light, and 9 of dark, mid august we've got 14 light 10 dark, mid sept. we've got about 12/12.

So does this only work for folks that have a 12/12 cycle going on in july/august?

If I force flower some clones indoors and put them out in mid June (about 16/8) or mid July (15.5/7.5), would it work?

Can someone help me out here?

Last year I learned that outdoors doesn't necessarily need 12/12. Cannabis can start to flower at 15 hours of light.

The theory with this way of growing is that you start them 12/12 indoors to initiate flowering. When you put them out in July, the plants sense that everyday the nights are slowly getting longer so the they'll continue to flower without slowing.

 

[tokinjoe]

My younger brother took some plants from indoors at 24/0 and planted them outside in early May here. The shock of going outdoors from 24/0 under a metal halide caused them to start budding and all leaves that grew were 3 instead of 5, 7 or 9. They went back to veg but grew short and bushy and still with only 3 leaves. One thing I did notice is that they flowered later than the plants he started outdoors (same strain) and the buds were smallish. For that reason alone, this year on my second run I won't put them out until mid or late July so when they automatically start to flower they will continue to finish with no reveg period.

 

[Groucho]

You could veg for a few weeks(to increase size/yield) then switch to 12-12,harden off then plant outdoors? right? they dont have to be small sog style single stalk buds. they can be trained first to make bushes.

 

[Guest]

Hi everone.

Groucho, yes you can veg these longer as opposed to forcing them to flower immediately. It is a little different because if you flower immediately, very little work is required to prepare a planting site, a little 2 gallon pot will be suffiecient for roots over the 55 days or so thast it takes the clones to finish. To veg longer may require a 3 gallon pot as the plant would be a bit bigger. Other than that, go for it. The grower I mentioned in the opening now veg's his for 2 weeks before he throws them into flower and tells me it adds an ounce to his take.

1love1earth, Jon is right in that this won't work until after june 22, when the days begin to get shorter. In my view, with the tests ive done, there is no way to force flower successfully as long as the day length is contiuing to get longer. (with the exception of photo sesitive or autoflowerers) That ceases on JUne 22. After that, the plant can be tricked into believeing its sept.

12/12 is one of the myths that come from indoor growing that has no real relevance to outdoor growers. . At my lattitude, plants usually start to show flowers by Aug 1 and I believe the day length is about `13.5. It to some extent is strain dependent, as some strains and certainly clones respoond differerently to light changes, but 12/12 is for indoor growers.

I won't get on my soap box right now, but indoor growers often attribute properties to the cannabis plant that do not really exist anywhere but in an artificially created enviroment. The numbers 12/12 have no relationship to cannabis whatsoever. I flower my indoor on 13 hrs because the buds grow faster. It's a slower flower, but indoors will flower at 14 for some strains.

Phrank, thats good info. Ive never tried to reveg an early outdoor plant but that information could be useful someday.

Yeah HempHut, i understand the nature of your earlier statement now. If one was growing a true autoflowerer, cutting the lights back or anyhthing else would have no impact because factors other than daylength determine when it flowers. I think thats right anyway..

 

[HempHut]

Yeah HempHut, i understand the nature of your earlier statement now. If one was growing a true autoflowerer, cutting the lights back or anyhthing else would have no impact because factors other than daylength determine when it flowers. I think thats right anyway..

Yep, that's exactly it.

The most straightforward way to think of it is that true autoflowerers flower by age instead of photoperiod.

 

[Mr Celsius]

Yep, that's exactly it.

The most straightforward way to think of it is that true autoflowerers flower by age instead of photoperiod.

Yes, "Day Neutral"

 

[bobblehead]

bumpity bump bump...

June 22 is about when I'll start throwing out most of my plants...
I'll put some moms outside before then, and take branches off to take clones from. Big plans this summer...

 

[Groucho]

This seems like one of the most efficient ways to grow/harvest an outdoor crop. Thanks SB for the insight on this method.

 

[HighonthePrize]

Silverback- do you think it would be advantageous to induce flowering by matching the night times with the date you plan to put them out? like from 24/0 to 15/9?

 

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

boblehead, I take clones from my plants up until they are in full bloom. Instead of removing those bottom - most branches like many recommend, cut them up into clones.

Groucho, its effiicient as hell. Plus you can do it after you have planted your main crop. I get all of my plants out and then I start on this. It gives me 2 harvest tracks.

HIghonthePrize, I may not understand the question completely but Im going to answer "no". I believe it would be disadvantageous to mimic night times. In my area, the day length in early july is still a little long to induce flowering. When you reduce the light artificially by moving your clones in and out of darkness at 12 or 13 hrs and then set them out after June 22, the daylenght isnt long enough to prevent flowering any longer. You have already initiated flowering, so the only relevant issue is that they continue to flower

Theres too much daylight to induce flowering at that time of year, but not enough to prevent flowering once it starts . You have to start it into flowering before you set it out and if you mimicked the natural daylenght, the plants wouldnt' be forced into flower.

So, I would go from 24/0 to 13. Just as soon as the clones show roots enough to be planted in soil. (I use a little homeade aerocloner.) , I start them on 13/11. By the time they are hardened off and fully rooted, they are beginning to show signs of flowering. Out the door they go.

I hope i answerd the question. Let me know if i missed it.
sb

 

[HighonthePrize]

Thanks silverback, that is what I was asking. This will be my first real attempt at an OD grow, just trying to cover all the bases. If this season is a success, it will be due in large to your write ups.

 

[CovetedSeeds]

Interesting.............


So what do yo think would happen if you put a 2 ft clone (indica strain) in a 5 gallon bucket if it was put outside after it was 3 weeks into its flower cycle? Say june 12th a 47 N?

What would be the earliest I could put something like this out b4 the danger of reveg would be a problem?

A little birdie told me that after they are fully flowering (3+ weeks of 12-12). There is no danger of reveg, especially with kush strains;-) Ever heard this?

 

[Jon]

I'm interested in the above question too. Will the yield be comparable to a same size plant in october?

 

[dbfr3sh]

This method wouldnt work. you cant put a plant outside that you started flowering im june/july whenever you said to put them out, and expect them to keep flowering. I kno this because i experimented with Purple Power plants last season. the day to night hr ratio isnt even close to 12/12. my plants had a couple weeks on them before i put them in a half shaded area and they re-vegged way before any chance of budding. you would grow the clones a little bigger indoors and induce flower indoors until say august when the day/night is closer to 12/12. but what i dont get is alot of people harden off clones and flower them outdoors? why wouldnt you jus grow the whole thing outdoors, get massive plants and takes alot of clones and grow them out and theyll flower on there own? it only takes four months. plus you could do like 5 mother plants and get the strongest 50-100. sorry but i didnt read everyones posts but this is my 2cents. keep puffin bro, great theory

 

[guest3589]

This method has been proven an innumerable amount of times by countless growers, there is really no need for debate as to the merits of the method. The real ability to accomplish this method takes a good understanding of the strain and the local sunrise sunset schedule. The possibility to harvest ahead of 100% outdoor plants is such a huge benefit that the reduced yield is compensated by the reduced loss to rippers and leo. Which can actually increase the total harvest that gets collected.

Rippers are for real, and the loss that accompanies rippers is so devastating that many even give up the grow. The method SB outlines here can work very well, autos in the spring and summer and in the fall the force flower clones will finish a month before the rippers are even putting their boots on.

SB thanks for a great thread.

 

[Guest]

Hi everyone.

Coveted seeds, what I saw was a significant delay in some cases, in others i observed confusion in the plant. Ive experimented to a great extent with this and my conclusions are that it is difficult and problematic to try and keep a standard strain in flower when the daylenght is getting longer and telling the plant to grow. That is why I believe June 21 is the magic day. After that, the enviroment starts telling the plant to think about flowering as the days will begin to shorten. I have had limited and unpredictable results whenever I didn't observe that reality. thats not to say you cant do it successfully, its just that my results werent as positive as I liked.

Expertsetup, you said it all man.

Jon, I would answer no to your question because of the problems that come with transplanting and shocking related to photoperiod and other issues, I believe yeild would be diminished.

dbfr3ish, its been working for me for some time, but in the beginning, like you, i had some disappointment. Unlike you however, i didn't give up and conclude it wouldnt work, I just tried something different and thats what you need to do.

Your lattitude may be an issue. This will be less effective at higher lattitudes and require more effort and your strain may be significant.. I don't grow many sativa leaning plants and don't have as good of understanding as to how they might react but don't give up, keep at it. This is effective and fun. You can work through it . Try and idica strain. Mandal a 1 is an indica/ sativa cross with a sativa high that might work well for you.

 

[dbfr3sh]

im not saying this isnt a impossible task im just saying theres really no worth in it. i mean yea like u said if rippers were gunna be such a problem i wouldnt want to grow there in the first place. and i think a large patch of 50 or more clones is easier to see then a couple of plants. its a hell of alot of work then you really need to be. why dont u just grow an extra plant and think hard of where you want to plant. so do u live in the south bc all my grows were in NE so yea it wouldnt work. will say it could work--but not worth the trouble

 

[kmk420kali]

Damn Silverback...I wish I could get that 60 day harvest shit down!!
I am breaking all the rules, and vegged mine since Jan...I am in So Cal, and put them out on April 1st-- I expect a bit of reveg, but last year I did 600 + plants this way...and trimmed 60 pounds from the Preemie grow--
My other plants I expect to get 1/2 pound each....but from these...I will prolly get 3 oz's per-- But I will have 4th of July weed!!

 

[guest3589]

dbfr3sh, your right about it being a bit tricky the further up north you are. For an early crop up there you could give some auto strains a try? KMK420kali, looking good, I also flower some from April 1st, I use a dark room for a few hours each night until the last few weeks of flower.