when to change the bulb

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jungle

kind bud
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I just thought of something? I began to flower my plants and I changed to an hps bulb 1 day after going to a 12/12 light cycle....did I do this right? Or was I supose to wait till a bud began to appear? Thanks... getting stoned on some fan leaves.... all I have lol
 
Yes, you did that correct, however, some people flower with MH bulbs - it is the light cycle that determines if the plant will go into flower

Getting high off fan leaves :confused:
 
I use t5's to veg for a while. Once my flowering plants are done I will veg some more under HPS for a week or so. They get big fast under an HPS although MH is better for vegging but HPS works very well too. So when to change is really up to you.

As for when to change the bulb I can only say on HPS, one year of 12/12. But the sooner the better. A 1000 watt HPS bulb loses 30% of its useful spectrum in the first month and about 5% every month after that.
 
cadlakmike1 said:
Stop cutting fan leaves off your plant, it's bad for her.

I did this to my first plant =/

got 6 buds the size of mini snickers.

ouuuuwwwccchhh
 
jungle said:
getting stoned on some fan leaves.... all I have lol

Dont be cutting off your fan leaves or you wont have anything.
 
Medman said:
I use t5's to veg for a while. Once my flowering plants are done I will veg some more under HPS for a week or so. They get big fast under an HPS although MH is better for vegging but HPS works very well too. So when to change is really up to you.

As for when to change the bulb I can only say on HPS, one year of 12/12. But the sooner the better. A 1000 watt HPS bulb loses 30% of its useful spectrum in the first month and about 5% every month after that.


Whats a t5 ?
 
thanks for the advice on the fan leaves...I've picked the dead leafs off the plants.....the unhealthy ones .yellowish near death type stuff,,,..like the ones at the bottom of the plants...there has been a few leaves in other parts that were dry and brittle...
i just removed those...one had been broken because of watering and bumpng it...i leave the good healthy ones alone.......to me i'm just keeping my plants clean from leaves that have dried up and already quit functioning....there hasn't been that many......
but i can tell.....in just 3 or 4 days the potency has improved....the plants are very healthy looking......and i'm not taking the good leaves...there arn't anymore bad leaves at this time....I hope this sounds better...as far as taste and stuff it's ok to me...sort of a below average bag seed buzzz..with a clear high...not real potent....but still got high
i didn't mind for myself to try and see what affects just leaves might have Everything sounds ok with the way I changed the bulbs....thanks.....and thanks for letting me know when they need replaced....jungle
 
mikepro88 said:
Whats a t5 ?

Basically a flouro tube, but skinnier bout 1" dia. My hydro shop guy says they put out twice the lumens as a regular tube. Very happy with them. Made by hydrofarm
 
T5 simply stands for the size of the bulb- based on 1/8". The old bulbs were T12- 1 1/2" dia. T8= 1". T5= 5/8". The best bulbs in this category are actually the "High Output" bulbs that produce about 3 times the lumens per watt versus a standard flourescent.

Can't really answer the original question cause there are several variables-
were the plants showing preflowers?
what were you vegging with?
how old / how tall?

Good luck to you.
 
I have noticed with my first indoor grow that the first few weeks veg groth is very slow, but the more fan leaves that apear the faster the plant grows so the more fan leaves the more energy the plants seem to be taking in am I right
 
they will flower with MH but part of the HPS benefit is it more closely mimics the fall spectrum (along with slightly more lumens per watt). this is more lumens in a more usable spectrum. with MH you are loosing some lumens of used energy because it isnt in the correct spectrum. buds will be noticably smaller with MH if ran throughout flowering as compared to HPS but still better than comparable fluorescent lighting.

as to switching one day later, no biggie. i imagine one week wouldnt matter either
 
cheesebud I would think so...the plant being larger with more leaves would require more to sustain it properly.....another reason for (my plants) not to grow so much the first few weeks is because they depend only on the nutrients in the soil....then they get fertilized after about 3 weeks....then they start growing faster....I would say nutrients and fertilizers help the plant to grow more....not the amount of fan leaves.....but the more fan leaves usually the larger the plant is....and it will need to take in more energy to sustain it properly and for further developement....but there could be something else i don't understand....i'm a fairly new grower...hope you have good luck....hope I understood your question ok...I think what your saying is if I pick the fan leaves....the plant won't grow very well because you think the amount of leaves makes a difference....truth to the matter they probly need both plant food and all their leaves a combination of the two, but then theres the root system also.....if the roots are in to small of a container the plant wont get as big also....well this has been deep ...gl
 
Jungle-
Not to belabor the point, but fan leaves are crucial to the growing of your plant. Towards the end of the plants life cycle you will notice your fan leaves starting to yellow and die- that is simply the plant "eating itself" if you will to get the last bit of energy to the flowers.
The plant grows by photosynthesis. Fan leaves are the main source of this process- that's why you'll hear some people refer to them as "sun leaves".

However- to your original question- assuming you were using a MH bulb for veg- switching to HPS when you flip to 12/12 is a personal preference. IMO if you flip to 12/12 without preflowers, you should keep your MH bulb going until you get flowers. If you have preflowers, then switching the bulb is what I would do.

Good luck to you Jungle!
 
jungle said:
cheesebud I would think so...the plant being larger with more leaves would require more to sustain it properly.....another reason for (my plants) not to grow so much the first few weeks is because they depend only on the nutrients in the soil....then they get fertilized after about 3 weeks....then they start growing faster....I would say nutrients and fertilizers help the plant to grow more....not the amount of fan leaves.....but the more fan leaves usually the larger the plant is....and it will need to take in more energy to sustain it properly and for further developement....but there could be something else i don't understand....i'm a fairly new grower...hope you have good luck....hope I understood your question ok...I think what your saying is if I pick the fan leaves....the plant won't grow very well because you think the amount of leaves makes a difference....truth to the matter they probly need both plant food and all their leaves a combination of the two, but then theres the root system also.....if the roots are in to small of a container the plant wont get as big also....well this has been deep ...gl
...:rofl:.yup "deep" ;)
this link provides a pretty concise explanation...hXXp://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookPS.html.
 
speaking of leaves.a friend of mine asked me what i do with the plants after i harvest.i tole him that i just trash them.i do not care for the iso and i do not make hash either.so after i get the biggest buds,i scrap the rest of the plants.he wanted them.so i saved all my scraps for him, wondering what he would do with them.he drys them and smokes even the fans.beyond me why anyone would want to do that.if its not bud,i do not smoke it.
 
You turn it into hash. A shopping bag full will get you some good amount of it. Read the how to section on ice hash.
 
thanks all.....this is my third grow attempt and already there have been plenty of flaws...practise makes perfect.....a friend want's to grow the males....for seeds....we might makesome hash...I will check into how to make it....a little later.....If the male plants are grown to maturity and the seeds harvested....the rest of the plant can be used for hash....is this the best time to make hash from the male plant....or is the best time as soon as one finds out it's a male...it would probly be a good idea to grow it and get the seeds then make the hash...also if it is made into hash will it be more potent then if the leaves are dried and cured then smoked? well I'll be back later and see the answers ..thanks...
 
jungle said:
thanks all.....this is my third grow attempt and already there have been plenty of flaws...practise makes perfect.....a friend want's to grow the males....for seeds....we might makesome hash...I will check into how to make it....a little later.....If the male plants are grown to maturity and the seeds harvested....the rest of the plant can be used for hash....is this the best time to make hash from the male plant....or is the best time as soon as one finds out it's a male...it would probly be a good idea to grow it and get the seeds then make the hash...also if it is made into hash will it be more potent then if the leaves are dried and cured then smoked? well I'll be back later and see the answers ..thanks...

There are those who say the males of certain high quality strains are better than the females of lower quality strains (Jorge Cervantes). Personally, I think that's a load of guano- Males are only good for pollen. I will occassionally grow out a healthy male to collect pollen- I have never seen any trichs on them. That's where you get your hash from- the trichs- it's not hiding in the leaves somewhere. If your buddy does grow them- don't let him near your ladies unless he's showered and put on clean clothes. Really though, if you're not collecting pollen- KER CHOP!!!!!
 

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