Autos and 18 hours veg.lighting + 6 hrs night

[redpassion]

Hi friends, I have been growing feminized auto plants in a tent. Can some member advise me about the light and dark periods necessary for auto plants. I am growing Sweet Skunk from Sensi Seeds. I have given these plants 18 hours of light, using Leds, and 6 hours of darkness. I thought that auto's also need a 12 hour light and 12 hour hour dark period for flowering. Am I right or wrong? A 12 hour light period would save a considerable amount of electricy!!

 

[sMACkaddict]

Autos do not flower based on photoperiod, so they dont "need" 12/12 to flower. Using 12/12 for flowering with an auto will most likely reduce your harvest amount. I dont have much experience with autos tho.

 

[RubyRed]

Autos do their best under 20/4 lighting. you can run lights 24/0 but read that 20/4 is best.

tcabs

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

You are wrong. Autos are so called because they will automatically flower with any light schedule. A lot of people start out with a 24/7 light schedule for a few weeks and then go to a 20/4 light schedule to finish out. Autos are a mix of either a sativa or indica strain and ruderalis (basically ditch weed). Because they have a limited life cycle, they cannot be cloned or revegged. Because they are crossed with ruderalis, they usually lack the quality and quantity of photoperiod plants (plants that require a 12/12 light schedule to flower.

 

[Hushpuppy]

If you are concerned about saving electricity then you don't need to be growing inside. I don't say that to be sarcastic. MJ is a high energy plant like a fruit tree. It needs loads of light energy to make the complex molecules that we enjoy so much. But you really don't need to worry too much about using a load of electricity unless you are trying to grow a commercial crop. If you have a single "cabinet", "closet", or small tent grow then you can easily light it sufficiently without increasing your electricity usage more than having a teenager in the house. Probably less actually as the plants don't use hot water to take long showers.

You will generally have better results if you grow them under 24hrs of light and feed them as hard as they will take it without burning the tips of the leaves. Then look for the plants to show the sex with preflowers. When you see preflowers, cut your lights back to 20/4 and they should roll right into flowering like you want.

If the plants are showing a Sativa dom structure then I would FIM them or top them. This will make them turn more into a bush rather than remaining "stalky" or "xmas tree" like.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I would be very cautious doing ANY training at all to autos when you are just starting out growing. As autos only live a certain number of weeks, IMO, it is critical to keep them as stress free as possible. Any thing that you do that slows down growth will affect yield adversely. Unlike photoperiod plants, you do not have the luxury of recovery time.

How much actual wattage are you running now? I cannot imagine that the difference in electricity is great.

 

[redpassion]

I am using 280 watt 8 modular leds. However, I have noticed with 2 crops, that the autos never reach more than 30 cm. and some cases only 20 cm. Hopefully my external guerilla garden will give me some 20 odd plants, feminized regular and not autos. I have been growing autos in the hope of getting a quick crop to make RS oil to cure my cancer. My external crops always take 7 months before harvest. Thank you for your reply.

 

[redpassion]

Thank you hushpuppy, My concern is more about the photoperiod these plants need. I have already taken steps to cut back on electricity consumption by substitution a 600 watt HID with a 280 watt 8 modular Led light source. My tent is 1,20 m x 1,20 m x 2,00 m. Can you advice me concerning the new Plasma lighting? These lights are expensive to buy, costing about $ 1400,00 per unit.

 

[redpassion]

Hi The hemp Goddess, For my latest crop I have been using an 8 modular 280 watt led unit. For my last crop I used a 600 watt HID unit Hopefully I will have 20 + regular feminized plants growing in a guerilla garden, but cannot expect to harvest before mid to late october. I grow autos in my tent because I need a quick crop to make my medical oil. This way I can expect to harvest 2 crops whilst the regulars are still producing. Can you give me advice about the new Plasma lighting?

 

[redpassion]

hi sMackhabit, Thank you for replying. I am growing autos in a tent for quick crops whilst my regulars are in a wild guerilla garden.

 

[Hushpuppy]

THG is right about the hazards of topping or Fimming autos. I should preface my statement with "I have had good luck training my autos during the 24hr light period, but that is only on a limited number of auto strains. And it may not work well for all auto strains"

I don't know much about the plasma lighting but I have heard that it produces a lot of heat that has to be dealt with, and they are seriously expensive. I haven't used the LEDs any so far because I don't trust the technology enough yet. (or should I say, I don't trust all of the manufacturers). I have always had solid results with 600whps for flowering and T5HO lighting for veg.

 

[redpassion]

hI hushpuppy, Thank you for your remarks concerning LEP/ Magnetic induction lighting. You are damned right when you say that Plasma lighting is expensive. In Spain and italy, the plasma lights cost € 1200 for an approximate 300 watt power. This price is without the dimmer. This said, according to Jorge Cervantes in his excellent publication entitled "The Cannabis Encylopedia" he writes that these lights are excellent, and the most powerful available. I am not so sure about heat dissipation; I will have to read all available criticisms to date. Thanks again my friend. Peace to you and a remarkable crop of our saintly herb.