Growing with a time limit, should I shorten veg or flowering time?

[plainenglish07]

Ok, I am growing on a schedule because I need to harvest before I have to move back to college. The seeds were germinated may 17th and I need to harvest on august 15th. My current plan was to let them keep veging like they are till july 1st and then move them to 12/12 and flowering them. I thought 45 days of flowering would be enough but I am wondering now if it would be better to start flowring them earlier and cut veg time down. I know this isn't the ideal way to grow but I have no choice. What would be my best option here?

 

[Merman]

12/12 starting about....... now

 

[Wiimote]

What strain are they? Very few strains (if any) take less than 50ish days to finish. Supposedly AK 47 is one that will finish in 47 days, but all the grow reports I've read most people let them go 56 or so days. If the strain you have is a fast finisher, then starting flower now would work well for you, however if it is a heavy sativa strain, even flowering now may be too late to get quality from.

 

[Seve]

are you planning to harvest and then dry in your dorm room?

just a thought. you know, rushed pot (especially the very last stage) never turns out nearly as good, in my opinion.

good luck anyway, maybe you could have a friend dry/cure for you.

 

[Guest]

Start on 12/12 IMMEDIATELY!!!!
After you’ve done that, check out the 6:40 on, 12 off cycle. You theoretically gain an extra day each week, cutting 60 day strains down to 45 days. Might be worth your while.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=47358&highlight=640/12
info on the type of timer needed


http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=51207&highlight=640/12
read the last post by bounty

 

[marley420]

plainenglish im am in the same situation you are my seeds were germinated may 14th and i am going to begin flower tomorrow altough i dont think they are quiet ready i guess ill just have to see how it goes

good luck

 

[plainenglish07]

I have no idea the strain, the seeds were saved from bags bought. Yes I was planning on drying in my house at school, thats not a problem at all. Looks like i am switching to flowering tomm. The plants aren't huge, but half of them are 10 inches or so tall and have 6 sets of leaves and the other half have 4-5. Like i said i know this isn't ideal but is this still ok?

 

[Wiimote]

Assuming you have the vertical room for a 3ft tall plant, then yes you'll be fine. 10in during veg will equal 2-3+ feet come end of stretch (strain dependent). And the "usual recommended" veg time is a month, which you have. Your real worry at this point however, is if you have more sativa leaning beans, your still going to be cutting early.

 

[plainenglish07]

Your real worry at this point however, is if you have more sativa leaning beans, your still going to be cutting early.

Not sure what you mean by this.


On another note, I will start flowering tonight when I get home. Is there anything special I should do other than keep the lights off for 48 hours and only turn them on for 12 hours a day thereafter?

 

[f0urtwenty]

Not sure what you mean by this.

Sativa's have a longer flower time than Indica's. Since you don't know your strains genetics, if they turn out to be Sativa, you will still be harvesting about 2 weeks early. Indica leaning hybrids run about 8-9 weeks, while Sativa leaning hybrids run 9-11 weeks.


Regarding your light, i've always switched to 12/12, without a 48 hour dark period, however to each his own. I'd like to see if other people do this too. I would imagine this would FORCE the flowering must more aggressively.

 

[plainenglish07]

Regarding your light, i've always switched to 12/12, without a 48 hour dark period, however to each his own. I'd like to see if other people do this too. I would imagine this would FORCE the flowering must more aggressively.

That is the way i heard to do it, im not sure if it helps or anything. I also heard I should increase the lighting. Currently I am running 4 23watt cfls in each speakerbox they are growing in. For flowing I heard I should bumb it up to 6. Is this accurate?

 

[Guest]

Try 12/12 during the stretch and 10/14 the last 30 days.People lose yield using a 10/14 photoperiod because they start flowering that way,you want 12/12 when nodes are stretching and flowers are forming.The last 30 days can be grown under a 10/14 photoperiod without significant loss in yield if'n you need to speed thangs up.There is also an issue of thc decreasing and cbd increasing when using short flowering light cycles,I've never experienced any difference though using 12/12 during the stretch and finishing up 10/14.This is not my normal cycle,but it works if you must go

 

[Luther Budbank]

I often start using 11 on and 13 off flowering cycle to shorten the time after 3 weeks veg. I imagine I sacrifice some quantity, but the quality is always superb. It does sound to me like you need more light to produce high quality buds. 42 watt cfl's are pretty easy to find. 1000bulbs.com will deliver them to your door. I switch to HID lighting after buds start forming. With cfl's, you need to keep the light as close as possible to each bud without burning them. Good luck, brother.