-
ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Motherlode Gardens 2014
- Thread starter Shcrews
- Start date
Lighting till July is a waste , especially if you're rocking seeds ...
when do you cut the lights? We definitely had pre-flowering issues with some seed plants this year. I'll keep the fuckin lights on until august next year if it means we dont have to deal with that again.
Isn't June 21 standard?
I don't even put lights in my fields , they're too spread out and getting power to them all is a pain I only interrupt them for an hour at night in the carport green house and by may 21 the days are getting long enough at it works out
it might work out for you but a few of our seed plants pre-flowered including the BOG plant and a Bodhi Solo's Stash which we popped in april and been outside its whole life which decided to start spitting out 3-finger leaves last week. I respect your experience but I would rather be safe than sorry next year, in regards to supp lighting.
S
StanKDanK
^it seems like alot of folks are having early flower issues this year. I have noticed it this more this year than in the past too. I have also thought about supp lighting but I dont want my shit looking like an airport runway @ night either LOL
CoastalKind
Member
Seems like it just depends on the strain. Grow the strains that didn't preflower. The ones that did preflower weren't destined to be grown in out door in nor cal.
I feel that too. The Ancient OG's from bodhi are doing the best of all the seeds, they are huge and no preflowering. We are definitely grabbing a few more packs on the next trip to santa cruz
i dont want our hillside lit up at night next spring either, but i am thinking between 4am and sunrise might not be so bad. not many folks up that early.
That is exactly what I am doing right now. I got a late start this season and I am growing in a greenhouse so I decided to extend my season and turn on some lights at 4am. Everything is vegging hard and my decision seems to be working out fantastically. I will probably kill the lights in 2-4 weeks.
How many hours of light are they receiving when they are young?
Seeds have to grow for a bit to reach sexual maturity (whereas clones not really) but that isn't too long of a time period, so if they go outside too early they will end up being sexually mature before the daylength is long enough to prevent flowering.
Most strains start toflower at 14.5-14.25 hoursof daylight, however, if plants go from 20 hours of light (once they've been growing long enough to be sexually mature) to 15 hours all of the sudden, some strains will begin to flower due to rapid decrease in light. Not all strains, but some.
At your latitude (38?) The daylight reaches 14.5 hours the first week of June. This means that if you start your seeds in April, they are more than old enough to be sexually mature during the month of May.
Taking these things into account, I would use minimal supp lighting (just enough so that they get around 15.5 or 16 hours of daylight) and keep it running through the first week of June. After that your plants should be alright, provided they don't go from 18 hours of total light (from excess supp light) to 14.6 hours of light all of the sudden. Cannabis does certain things as basic function, but cannabis also reacts to just about anything. When you top two new main shoots form, when you supercrop the stem knuckles up to prevent future breaks, and in the same sense I think it's safe to say that (strain varient, some handle different types of stress/shock better than others) many cannabis plants will react to a sudden significant decrease in light by flowering, even if they're still getting just enough light that they normally wouldn't.
Seeds have to grow for a bit to reach sexual maturity (whereas clones not really) but that isn't too long of a time period, so if they go outside too early they will end up being sexually mature before the daylength is long enough to prevent flowering.
Most strains start toflower at 14.5-14.25 hoursof daylight, however, if plants go from 20 hours of light (once they've been growing long enough to be sexually mature) to 15 hours all of the sudden, some strains will begin to flower due to rapid decrease in light. Not all strains, but some.
At your latitude (38?) The daylight reaches 14.5 hours the first week of June. This means that if you start your seeds in April, they are more than old enough to be sexually mature during the month of May.
Taking these things into account, I would use minimal supp lighting (just enough so that they get around 15.5 or 16 hours of daylight) and keep it running through the first week of June. After that your plants should be alright, provided they don't go from 18 hours of total light (from excess supp light) to 14.6 hours of light all of the sudden. Cannabis does certain things as basic function, but cannabis also reacts to just about anything. When you top two new main shoots form, when you supercrop the stem knuckles up to prevent future breaks, and in the same sense I think it's safe to say that (strain varient, some handle different types of stress/shock better than others) many cannabis plants will react to a sudden significant decrease in light by flowering, even if they're still getting just enough light that they normally wouldn't.
epicorchard
Member
Your'e dead on Shak. Its not how long you run lights for, but rather how quickly you go from 18hrs down to 15hrs. The key here is a very gradual decrease in light.
epicorchard
Member
anyone in here noticing onset of flowering beginning now, about two weeks earlier than usual??
My stuff in me smart pots is definitely starting to do its thing , all the in ground stuff is working towards it. A little cold spell and no moon and decreasing day length may have been enough to push them over early.
I decrease the light 15 minutes per week , while they're in the he halfway house .. By the time they go outside they're synced with the increasing day length
I'd be totally cool with being done 2 weeks earlier with my full term
I decrease the light 15 minutes per week , while they're in the he halfway house .. By the time they go outside they're synced with the increasing day length
I'd be totally cool with being done 2 weeks earlier with my full term
epicorchard
Member
Yea I can deal with an early harvest. November strains finishing in october?? SWEEEEET!!!!!
I'm noticing white hairs from pronounced calyx's, and tightening node structure on everything but my Chems.
DrGreenthumb333
Member
I'm seeing pre flowers on the majority of our strains outdoors but going by previous years experience with these strains they are right on track...but I have heard more people say they are having early flowering this year than I ever had in the past...even people that are in the same location and running the same cuttings as past years. Wonder what could be causing this??? Anyways shcrews your garden is looking wonderful, kudos to you and all the hardwork you have put in. Much love brother!!
