Video: How Dark is Dark Enough? Darkness level requirements for plants with Dr. Bruce Bugbee

[Cvh]

Hi all,

Here's an interesting video about how dark it should be for Cannabis and what the influence of moon and small LEDs has on the flowering.

 

[troutman]

Indoors, I prefer not being able to see my hand in front of my face
when the grow lights go out. Always check for light leaks and cover
any you find.

Last year, I grew in a location where city lights was too visible at night.
Despite the plants being found by the piggies I did notice they were
late in flowering compared to my previous guerilla locations which
are more remote and darker at night. I'll never grow there again for
both reasons.

 

[G.O. Joe]

I didn't watch the video but have a "small LED" cautionary tale: my last grow had a Philips surge protector in the tent, which has a green led on it. It was on the floor and pointed towards a corner so I thought nothing of it because it was just this little light. The plant nearest to it went full herm and was the first herm I've ever had, growing indoors since 86. There's tape over the light now.

 

[TexasTea]

Very interesting, thanks for posting!

Btw, the Cannabis and Science podcast over on kisorganics.com is worth checking out if anyone is not familiar with it. Many informative topics and interviews with top researchers in the field.

 

[bibi40]

I didn't watch the video but have a "small LED" cautionary tale: my last grow had a Philips surge protector in the tent, which has a green led on it. It was on the floor and pointed towards a corner so I thought nothing of it because it was just this little light. The plant nearest to it went full herm and was the first herm I've ever had, growing indoors since 86. There's tape over the light now.

i got a pretty similar story , with no herm , but ...
i did put a ionizer with a tiny blue led 10 day after the 12/12 and ... all my plant had reveg , i had lost 1month or more on my planning but at least the harvest was huge ....

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I've noticed extreme differences in light levels to be much more problematic than equal exposure.

For me, pinhole light leaks cause herms where they hit stem. I've been putting tape over tiny equipment lights for 20 years now, specifically because of the above mentioned issues.

 

[Redrum92]

FWIW I always have consistent pinhole/power strip light leaks and have found that nutrient stress lead to herms more often than light. Many times have had serious light leaks turn out 100% female buds. Good genetics, I guess.

Everyone looks for different things in genetics, but for me, if there's more than a couple bananas in response to a very small light leak, that's too unstable. I'm an amateur and make enough mistakes without worrying about genetics with the sensitivity of an electron microscope

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Genetics for sure make a biiig difference. I have a Bekka Valley Lebanese plant which refuses to herm without silver, and tough even then.

 

[farmerlion]

Cvh, very interesting video. I have a growing number of oil well flairs about two miles away. If I go a half mile closer , it's noticeably lighter there. The reflective light off the sky at night is the only source that can effect my greenhouse.
Peace

 

[f-e]

I use green LEDs all the time. I once took a 100 LED string and balled it up within a plant, to see how far I could push my luck. I learnt nothing. Those 100 LED strings can light a room for most purposes. With my green head torch, I have trimmed. I like the 15w equivalent gold ball lamps for most domestic grows. Just to replace the ceiling pendant lamp.

Having night lighting can be a breath of fresh air for people who don't want to work around that 12/12

 

[LostINgreen]

how do you deal with ventilation window? if the light at night(no matter what's the source) passes through it

 

[Cerathule]

how do you deal with ventilation window? if the light at night(no matter what's the source) passes through it

There's easy solutions like a DIY lighttrap using cartonage or pipes if you use the round inlets

 

[wutwut]

how about if i want to look for the ladies during night time? how many minutes with a phone's flash will cause some harm? it's a habit that i cannot fix haha. during dark cycle these buds just look so good under small spotlight.

 

[Murdawg420]

In my experience, there’s more to a plant stressing out than a simple light leak.
Be it weaker genetics, or the strain not being put through proper tests(intersexing)), whatever, but good genes don’t hermie under light leaks. There must be other factors involved.( perhaps night time V.P.D, temps, or some other environmental issue.)

For example, my 12/12 is from 8 am to 8 pm, I run my 5x5 bloom tent, door open during lights on.
Very frequently, I either forget to close the door until 10 or 11 pm… (or just can’t get to the tent on time because I fell asleep on the couch from smoking really good weed, even if it was a good movie.)
Still,
No stress No hermies ....(is it just dumb luck 25 strains later?)
Though I don’t have any other light source than what I grow with in the tent, there is a light right outside the door of that tent! (T5HO) that is on for 20 hours for the babies.

I don’t stress pin holes or light leaks anymore and the plants appreciate that I’m not stressed! (Yes they feel it, think of how you felt when your mom or dad was stressed!)
Everything has an electrical charge/current, be it positive or negative And the plants take on that energy too! (Why do so many growers swear by playing music to their cultivars!?)

Personally, I believe we tend to forget that plants have a life of their own and are strong enough to adapt to most stressors, it wants to live, and so will somewhat adjust.
As I said above, this is MY Experience, and it may well vary for your environment, but none the less, next to the lights, the most expensive thing in my tents are genetics!
All said and done, “worth” is worth!
Put on them happy tunes and get your grow grove going!

 

[Ca++]

how about if i want to look for the ladies during night time? how many minutes with a phone's flash will cause some harm? it's a habit that i cannot fix haha. during dark cycle these buds just look so good under small spotlight.

It's instant. Though to a degree you might not notice.
Just get a green light. Not a light with a green cover though, it needs to be a green LED. Then you can pop in for a look, limiting the chemical changes light brings.

 

[lemonade]

It's instant. Though to a degree you might not notice.
Just get a green light. Not a light with a green cover though, it needs to be a green LED. Then you can pop in for a look, limiting the chemical changes light brings.

This! So many people don't know about these. You can get em online or at any grow shop.

Not only can you pop in to check on them in the dark but you can work on them if you want! Defoliating or staking or whatever needs to be done. Doesn't hurt the plants at all I've been using them for years!

 

[romanoweed]

.

 

[romanoweed]

i once heard that Cannbis estimates Daylenght around their Stem-axis (i dont know all the Plantsparts Names) , but where the Branches spread, there it detects daylenghtt..

I was thinking over simply taping all those Axis, so the Plant thinks its time to flower, thats another Experiment i need to do, because i love long Sativas.

 

[romanoweed]

man i need a delete function