Natural Vs. Artificial

[NYUrbanFarmer]

My new seedlings are progressing well and getting about 14 hours of natural sunlight a day before I put them into there night cycle in my closet. Still I was considering lining the closet with foil and some CFL's to continue lighting for and additional two or three hours giving them a typical 18/6 or 19/5 cycle. Is it bad for them to go from natural sunlight to artificial light? And should I switch them earlier in the day so the switch occurs while the natural light is still strong instead of when the sun is setting? Has anyone had any experience using both sun light and artificial light?
I'm new at this process and looking for advise and I'm open to anything.

 

[think2toke]

I wouldnt... Why dont you leave them outside 24/7?

 

[DevilWeedSeeds]

Unless you have 10,000 CFL's in the closet I would just leave them outside. Fresh air, rain the sun they will be happy and a much larger harvest to boot.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

I wouldnt... Why dont you leave them outside 24/7?

The problem is I live in an apartment building on the third floor and I only have three windows two facing south and the other facing south-east so it is hard for me to give them the sunlight that they desire. So I decided to split up the batch. 2/3 went under artificial and 1/3 natural. Surprisingly the plants under the artificial light are already two inches bigger than the ones left on the window sill getting natural light. I wonder why? How could the artificial be better than the natural sunlight?

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

Unless you have 10,000 CFL's in the closet I would just leave them outside. Fresh air, rain the sun they will be happy and a much larger harvest to boot.

The problem is I live in an apartment building on the third floor and I only have three windows two facing south and the other facing south-east so it is hard for me to give them the sunlight that they desire. So I decided to split up the batch. 2/3 went under artificial and 1/3 natural. Surprisingly the plants under the artificial light are already two inches bigger than the ones left on the window sill getting natural light. I wonder why? How could the artificial be better than the natural sunlight?

 

[Gelado`]

Glass eats light. Use the light you're getting and stick a CFL or two in the windowsill 3-4" over your plants. Problem solved.

 

[RB56]

Glass eats light. Use the light you're getting and stick a CFL or two in the windowsill 3-4" over your plants. Problem solved.

Flip side is that you'll have an illuminated MJ plant in your window.

 

[Gelado`]

Flip side is that you'll have an illuminated MJ plant in your window.

True, and I did think of that, but he's already got them in the window throughout the day.

 

[RB56]

True, and I did think of that, but he's already got them in the window throughout the day.

I'd build a little stage with curtains

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

I'd build a little stage with curtains

 

[Gelado`]

You can absolutely take them through flowering with CFLs or even LEDs in CFL-like temps. Just up the wattage. You'd be amazed what you can do with 150W of CFL.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

You can absolutely take them through flowering with CFLs or even LEDs in CFL-like temps. Just up the wattage. You'd be amazed what you can do with 150W of CFL.

Yeah that is what I figured right now I have them under 2 150watt CFL's and a low temp 53 watt Full spectrum lamp and since I did that they have literally grown faster in the last two or three days then they did in the entire first week. Right now I have them on a 20/4 but two of those 20 hours are with my closet door open using only ambient light to simulate sunrise and sunset. So they really only get a full 18 hours of direct light. What do ya think?

 

[Gelado`]

Sounds fine to me, I wouldn't even bother with the ambient light and just give them the full 20 hours of CFL.

 

[think2toke]

Yea cross out the outdoor light in general. Just start planning how you want to flower them batches

 

[Gelado`]

You can flower and finish under CFL with decent results too. What color temperature are your CFLs? e.g., 2700K, 5000K, etc

 

[Omnipotence]

You want to give them as much of the natural photoperiod as possible. Maximize the time without the lamp and just give them a few hours under the lamp each evening, then put them outside. If your doing this regularly they will grow well, the transition between differing environments will have a greater effect the longer the artificial environment is prolonged, so keep the lamp for suplimental lighting only and keep the plants hardened.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

You can flower and finish under CFL with decent results too. What color temperature are your CFLs? e.g., 2700K, 5000K, etc

I'm not sure there 150 watt not sure of color temp. Doesn't say it on it. there bright white almost tinted blue a little. How can I find out. I also use a full spectrum light as well that's 100 watt.

 

[exploziv]

I'm not sure there 150 watt not sure of color temp. Doesn't say it on it. there bright white almost tinted blue a little. How can I find out. I also use a full spectrum light as well that's 100 watt.

That's probably around "Daylight" color spectrum. (5000 K +, maybe 6000 K if it's more of the blue tint)
You can always google the bulb model if you got it to get this info.
Anyway, blue tint in CFLs means they are better for veg than flower.

 

[Gelado`]

In reality you should be able to finish them up just fine under CFL. The boxes would have told you the temperature. If you've thrown em out, go back to Lowes/Home Depot/whatever and check. 5000K have done VERY well from veg to finish, but many use a blend of 2700 and 6500. I know I do, and I supplement with plant-specific LEDs. Also when I'm around I switch on my 250W halide. So far so good.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

View Image

That's probably around "Daylight" color spectrum. (5000 K +, maybe 6000 K if it's more of the blue tint)
You can always google the bulb model if you got it to get this info.
Anyway, blue tint in CFLs means they are better for veg than flower.

Thank you for that scale now I know what is what with the heat strength of my bulbs. Awesome!

In reality you should be able to finish them up just fine under CFL. The boxes would have told you the temperature. If you've thrown em out, go back to Lowes/Home Depot/whatever and check. 5000K have done VERY well from veg to finish, but many use a blend of 2700 and 6500. I know I do, and I supplement with plant-specific LEDs. Also when I'm around I switch on my 250W halide. So far so good.

According to the scale that exploziv_gbb posted My full spectrum halogen is about 3000k and the CFL's are about 5500k. So I think that they should do well.