12/12 grow for first ever grow?

[santiago19]

Hi guys.

It is my first time ever growing.

I have setup a CFL(seedling to bud) grow space in my room with space for up to 2-3 plants.

I received some unknown seeds, which could possibly be a sativa, already in it's seedling stage under the lights and then I got some good quality bubba kush seeds yesterday and it's already germinating in a paper towel as I speak.

Seeing that it is in my room and the lights are bright as hell, I usually go to sleep at 10pm and therefor I can only ever put the plant on 16/8 cycle for seedling and veg. (Put it on at 6am and off at 9:30 or 10pm)

So my question is, seeing that it is my first ever grow, do guys think that it would maybe be more viable to just do the whole grow in 12/12? The reason for this is because I will only be able to host 2 plants and the possibility for both being males are quite good? I will be disappointed and it could possibly put me off growing for life.

As you can see I really don't know how to put it in words.

Basically I would be disappointed if both plants turns out to be males after 12/12 of 2 months or so and would be willing to try again, but I would obviously be even more sad if I do the 16/8 and wait twice or three times as long just to find out that both are males and would probably quit altogether.

So, do you think I should do 12/12 from start to finish and see if I make it and like it? Or should I just push through and do 16/8 until half of desired size?

If I had space for 6 or 10 plants then I wouldn't be asking this question and would have pulled through with the 16/8.

Second question: In a few days time when I will be able to see if the seedlings are actually sativas, do you think I should scrap those plants and rather make space for the bubba kush? I heard that sativas grow long and indica grow short and bushy ( that is definitely what I want seeing that I have minimum space.)

Note: I received about 60 of those seeds that I think are sativa and they were very poor quality with most of them being brittle and only 4 out of 50-60 of them germinated. (Took 2 weeks just to see a sign of a taproot)

Now these bubba kush seeds I got are x3 times the size and are beautiful brown and feel like a little rock between my fingertips. Two of the four are already germinating and I received them 36 hours ago. So, again do you think I should scrap the others and replace my valuable space with these bubba kush?

Side note: I am growing it as a new hobby because I love plants and at this stage I will never be able to grow 18/6 just fyi.

Thank you for your time.

 

[santiago19]

Ok I just read the 12/12 thread by SpeesCees and the threads by Boss, and I think I will switch it to 12/12 from tomorrow seeing that I can only afford CFL's and the height that my plants can grow are limited to only 3,9 foot.

 

[Dan Ultra]

You can grow at 12/12 the whole time and they will just begin flowering as soon as they are sexually mature. Albeit a 12/12 cycle for photos is not really ideal.

You can veg on 16/8 for 2 months, it doesn't have to be 2-3 times that like you mentioned.

Vegging a photo on 12/12 will probably send them to flower a LOT sooner than what you want, so it will be a pretty low yielding plant with not much structure.

If I were you, I would either:
1. Purchase feminized seeds and run 16/8 with no worries of males.
2. Purchase autos and run 12/12 without sacrificing yield.

 

[Dan Ultra]

the height that my plants can grow are limited to only 3,9 foot.

Just saw this. It might be worth it to send the plants to flower sooner so they stay small. And with that height I would avoid autos. My room is 4 feet with HID lighting (so much less workable space than you have) and I have managed a decent size plant. Check it out if you're interested.

 

[santiago19]

Thank you, so you would suggest I start with 12/12 as of tomorrow?
I wouldn't worry about the yield for my first time.

 

[Dan Ultra]

Thank you, so you would suggest I start with 12/12 as of tomorrow?
I wouldn't worry about the yield for my first time.

If you don't care about yield then yes

 

[Stealthboat]

Dan's got the 16/8 or 12/12 stuff covered. As for the second question, I'd keep the strongest growing seeds out of them and toss the rest or do whatever you want with them. Being your first time, you want the strongest growers who can handle the most stress, weaker plants probably won't be worth your time. If the seed is dark with spots and doesn't get crushed when pinched between your fingers it's usually a good seed. The bad ones are pale/bright green with no spots and they pop as if they were hollow when pinched.

 

[Antics]

I need to mention the lighting here as well.

If the 16/8 light cycle is bright, and bothers you when you sleep, it means you have light leaks. If light is leaking out, it means light can leak in.
So when you switch to 12/12, the light from your room will leak into the grow and can potentially ruin the grow by causing them to hermy.

I would fix the light leaks before switching to 12/12

 

[santiago19]

Thanks all.

@Stealthboat Yes just as you describe, unfortunately the seeds that are now in seedling stage...when I handled them between my fingers after germinating they felt spongy and felt as if they can just disintegrate like a powder. The 2 of them are now in seedling stage and look beautiful and all, but I wouldn't know what problems they will give in the long run as you say.

Yes unfortunately it is not in my closet or in a closed box. It's right on top of my table in the corner of the wall with mylar around it.
I am going to start with 12/12 from 7am in the morning and switch off at 7pm at night. Although a little light shines out, it is still impossible for light to come in when they are supposed to be dark since it's winter here, and the sun is down by 6pm.

Just checked the strong seeds in the paper towel and 2 of them have a 5mm taproot but they are both curved/curled heavily around the seed :/

 

[santiago19]

Another question: If I'm doing 12/12 from start to finish should I plant them all in their final pots or can I transplant them at a later stage?

 

[Dan Ultra]

Yes unfortunately it is not in my closet or in a closed box. It's right on top of my table in the corner of the wall with mylar around it.
I am going to start with 12/12 from 7am in the morning and switch off at 7pm at night.

This isn't going to work very well unless the room is totally pitch black during the dark cycle. It will probably leave you with hermied plants.

If the taproot is out they are ready to be planted. I would go to their final pots so they aren't stressed even more when transplanted.

 

[Antics]

Yes unfortunately it is not in my closet or in a closed box. It's right on top of my table in the corner of the wall with mylar around it.
I am going to start with 12/12 from 7am in the morning and switch off at 7pm at night. Although a little light shines out, it is still impossible for light to come in when they are supposed to be dark since it's winter here, and the sun is down by 6pm.

Just checked the strong seeds in the paper towel and 2 of them have a 5mm taproot but they are both curved/curled heavily around the seed :/

Nope. Outdoor sunlight was not my concern here. Unless the room they're in is completely dark at 7pm, you can end up with problems. That means no TV. No alarm clock. No flashing 12:00 on the VCR, DVD, or Blu-Ray. No lights. The more light they're exposed to during their dark period, the higher the chance of the plant going hermy.

Hermy means it will produce male pollen sacs, fertilize itself, produce tons of seeds that may also exhibit the characteristic to hermy easier. It's not an ideal setup. And definitely not a problem most growers want to experience.

Curled taproots are why I germinate in my growing medium. In the paper towel the seed doesn't know what's what.

I would dive in head first, click the following link, and start doing some reading on ways you can improve your grow: How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know

EDIT: Bah should have refreshed. Dan beat me to it lol. I opened the tab this morning and just now got to replying.

 

[santiago19]

Thanks all again.

There are absolutely no sign of any sort of lights at all coming into my room in the dark period. It's completely dark after 7pm.

 

[Stealthboat]

I would plant the seeds once you see the tap root, they are good to go at that point. And it is best to have all transplanting done 2-3 weeks before flower as to avoid stressing the plant. I put my ladies into their final pots during veg and let them grow a bit before flower

 

[AKgramma]

I flower in my bedroom, too. LOL! I used a wardrobe on wheels as my "tent", and threw enough dark sheets over the frame and cover to block out all light. My first lady flowered on schedule, with 32 flowers. Mostly now just waiting for final harvest, with a bit of training and pruning where needed.

You can probably attach a black sheet around the mylar, hang from the ceiling, using push-pins or something similar. I also use binder clips to securely close the flap when I'm done messing with the lady.