Rolling Thunder
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
- 161
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midnightTOKER85 said:
Hey there MT85,
That depends in part on the goals that you set for your grow. For example, if one of your goals is to increase the ratio or number of females you end up with when growing from seed, then it is critical to give your seedlings the right colour and amount of light during those first few weeks of growth, as it makes a huge difference, in the ratio of girls to boys. If you have'nt checked out Mutt's Sticker on that subject, it's worth a read.
Secondly, if another goal is to realize the highest possible yield, then again, the right kind and amount of light is equally critical during the veg stage as well. You need to provide them with the maximum amount of the best possible light, without stressing them out, in order to maximise your end yield, in terms of weight; 30 watts per square foot is not going to yield as well as 60 watts per square foot, nor will 60 watts per square foot yield as well as 90 watts per square foot. Having said that, it is important to also realize that there are other growth factors besides light that can affect the light's ability to yield; such as a deficiency in CO2. It is not good enough just to hang a big light and think it's going to produce a big yield, if several other of the growth factors are out of wack. But the point is, if you want to maximise your yield, then peak lighting is equally critical during the veg stage.
Thirdly, it goes without saying that peak lighting conditions are critical during the flowering stage, for obvious reasons. Low lighting conditions during flowering will result in several negatives that will not only affect your yield, but also the overall quality of the bud itself. Now, there are a host of indicas and indica dominant varieties that will perform very well in small spaces and very low lighting conditions. Northern Lights is the classic example of that. However, that is not to say that they will not perform much better under optimal growing conditions. Sativas and sativa dominant varieties, on the other hand, generally do not do as well under under low lighting conditions. They'll often hermy on you, if you screw them out of the right kind and amount of light, which is a major negative for most good growers.
So, as you see, it kind'a depends on the goals that you set for your grow. If maximizing yield is not one of those goals, then it would be more important for you to maximize lighting conditions during the flowering stage. But even then, you run the risk of stressing out the ladies if you screw too much with the type and amount light iduring their transition from vegging into flowering. It should be the goal of every good grower to make that transition as stress-free as possible, for good reasons. Having said that, there is an axiom that what does'nt kill you will only only make you stronger. There are specific instances when a breeder will intentionally place his ladies under a huge stress load in order to weed out the weak and select the strongest breeders for the next generation. They intentionally try to force them to hermy, and those that resist to the very end, make it to the next round. Those that give into the stress, and pop some bananas get axed.
Except nowadays, those bitches are viewed as desirable for making feminized seed. Sh%t, that sucks really large. ~ RT
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