How long before turning back lights

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skunkbunk

Weed A.I.
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My babies have been going on 12/12 for 39 days. I noticed that 6 out of 16 or so buds are starting to show amber tints in the hairs, not much but at least 8-9 hairs on a half a dozen buds. I know i am getting close but if i go by my grow chart, i should be placing them under 8 hours light in a week. Is this so or is it up to me when i adjust the light. I want to time the harvest perfect but also want to get every bit of growth out of them. I also have 10 clones that are 4 weeks old and doing nice. I have not been able to finish my second ebb& flow set-up yet which would allow me to double my grows. As of now, i am waiting for the 5 that are in the system described above. I will take some snaps tonight to give more of a visual. I was just trying to figure the right time to set back my lights, so i can get my Sour deisel clones into it to work their magic. Any help is appreciated. SB
 
yes usually atleast 8 weeks. i must be misunderstanding- they shouldnt be under only 8 hours of light. it should at very least be 11 hours on.

?

it is pretty much up to you when to adjust your light cycle within the life- there are just suggested times to do so- nothing written in stone.

but ur light cycle should def. not be less than 11 hours on. it is usually suggested to go 12/12 all the way. but it is on the rise to drop it to 11/13 the last couple weeks
 
11/13? what do u do with that extra hour? ive heard 8/16 the last week. and also no nutes the last week, just water. someone plz correct me if im wrong cuz im on week 5 of flowering myself.
 
See, i know i read somewhere that during the last three weeks before Harvest, the lights should be turned back to 8on-16off as the darkness is needed for full bud production. Of course, i can't find the thread and i am admittedly a newbie. Can an expert or a reasonable facsimile, tell me the straight dope(pun intended) about lighting cycles matching to growing cycles. Is there a link? Is their an advantage in setting the cycle up as 8-16. Would there be a difference if you went 8-16 or 11/13? My plants have been in flower for 39 days. I turned my lights to 12/12 on Nov.20th. If i use 8 weeks as my guide for flowering, i am 17 days or so away. What is confusing me is that my grow chart from GH which shows a 2 week germination, 6 week veg, 8 week flower, is up on 1/14. The chart shows the lights being turned down the last three weeks of flower and to flush and use only water during the last week. So should i be harvesting some buds on 1/15, or is my chart just a basic guideline and play it by ear? As i stated in my first post, i allready have a few bud hairs that are beginning to turn amber and i am over two weeks away from the end of the chart cycle. I will be attempting to post some pix in a few . SB
 
I would just keep it on 12/12. I only flush 1 or 2 days at most in my hydro setup. Sounds like you are right on track. When about half of the hairs turn flush 2 days with phed water and harvest away.
 
Can't get my pics to post up . what am i doing wrong? I click on add image and it asks for my URL. What the f%$%. My pics are on my HD, Why can't i post them in my message???????
 
sb, i think u should start your drying/curing process the last week in jan. you are pretty much in the same stage as me.
 
skunkbunk said:
Can't get my pics to post up . what am i doing wrong? I click on add image and it asks for my URL. What the f%$%. My pics are on my HD, Why can't i post them in my message???????
When you're at the screen you write your post, scroll down and click "Manage Attachments"

Browse to them then click "UPLOAD".

Then go back to your post and click "Submit"
 
i have never heard of 8 on 16 off for growth. the other way around, yea.

but photosynthesis is a light dependent reaction (of course). which means the actual process of turning gases into sugars and creating energy for growth begins on a full scale after the light has been on for a while (not to long of course)

there is logic to that fer sure. however it isnt anything to do with growth that is for sure.

thc levels drop in the day and replinish in the night. it would definetely make perfect since to have your light off 16 hours the day before you harvest- simply because it would prolong the descent of thc levels, and probably/possibly raise them a tad, tad bit more.

but it most definetely has little to nothing to do with growth, and i would suggest if you plan on doing that, to not do it more than a couple days.

11/13 has been around for a while- to me there is little difference. some people like it some dont; and i think it mostly affects early bird strains (fast flowering strains) more than anything.

but there should be no 'going back' to 8 on 16 off. if you are to use that, you would definetely only want to do it for a short amount of time before harvest- not at any other time during the life cycle.

also, it is pretty concrete that harvesting by the colors of the hairs has many flaws, and isnt very accurate. certain strains will have pistils and pistil production that act differently- not only that but individual plants.

in my experiences most plants will shed plenty of hairs and replace them with new white ones a cool second before harvest. leaving you with a scattered amount of amber hairs for a couple weeks.

some strains and phenos will have pistils that hardly red at all, and spend excess energy in keeping them hydrated- as well as diverting more thc to the trichs which can all lead to the hairs staying mostly white- while the trichs may tell a different story of optimum thc production.

it is best IMO to harvest by the look of the trichomes and not the hairs. unless you know your strain, you know the general flowering time, and know your getting close, i would leave it until trichs have shown the plants peak thc output.

alot of inner calyxs will burst the last week or 2 of flowering, putting on well needed girth faster than the previous weeks, usually.

so you dont want to harvest early. not only will you pass up higher thc and cbd levels, but you can pass up weight that of course you want.

also, unless you bought those nutes in the netherlands, the scales will be a generalization, and not completely conduscive (sp?) with mj growing. not a huge difference either, just stay at 1/14, and maybe flush a little before harvest.

like papa said, he only flushes a little and keeps it on 12/12 the whole time. there isnt really a right and wrong way at all, concering most everything on here.

it is just style,technique, preference, and what one ends up being comfortable with. but in the end there isnt much hard evidence to prove any superior; because there is so much variety out there in strain, pheno and setup; ya know what i mean?
 
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These are my darlin's now. Finally figured out how. Thanks Stoney. You have provided much guidance thru your posts. 16 days away............and counting.
 
I started off with some pretty turbo, but undetermined bagseed and placed 10 babies into my 10 pot E&F. As my luck would have it, 7 out of 10 where rotten males. However, i had two Clones i took off a Flowering Arizona plant that looked pretty straggly until i evicted the 7 males and inserted them in their place, They took off overnight. Ebb & Flow is beautiful in my opinion. There are 4 left presently. One was trashed by a falling shelf that has now been removed and burned for good measure. Eye for an eye. I can't wait to get these babies harvested. I am 80% complete with another 10 pot set-up, however, this time i am expanding the flowering set-up by an extra foot or two. I had a real overcrowding problem in veg after the 3rd week or so. This time, i can transfer them to a slightly bigger area for optimal growth in flower. Plus the added benefit of doubling up my harvests. I am planning (hoping) on starting a new grow towards the end of January. I have 10 sour deisel clones that are at 4 weeks and should time up perfectly with the end of my first grow. I can't believe how much i have learned from this site by just scrolling thru these forums. I know i have a lot more to learn but it's nice to be able have a place to fix and help with any problems that inevitably flare up. I will be posting again in a few days. And more as i tick off the days till 1/14, D-Day for me. later. SB
 
Your plants are looking good man. Thanks for the kind words. I love this place too!

SB to SB, we must be brothers from different Mothers man! I think we went to different schools together!
 

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