May 24 in Ontario

[Herb Green]

Hey, Herb here. I will be putting 6-8in. plants out May 24, traditional time for us. If I have them under fl lights for 18-6, won't they start to flower when I put them out? If so, how long until they resume veg.? Isn't it a waste of growing time or is it just a blip in the growth c ycle? Would it be safer to put them under lights 15-9, since May 24 is 15 hrs daylight in Ont.? Thanks.

 

[AKgramma]

Supposedly, the day/night cycle has to be 12/12 or 11/13 to trigger the flowering process. May is Spring in the North, and that is veg time for all flowering plants, except a few spring bulbs. You should be able to get a head start on your grow indoors with the correct lighting schedule.

One hour (16 to 15) is not going to trigger full-out flowering, maybe a few preflowers, but real flowering should not take place till the days start getting shorter again.

 

[Atulip]

18/6 is fine to veg them indoors until you're ready to take them outside. You could slowly adjust them to match the light schedule outside about a week before. Drop lights to 17/7, wait a couple days, then 16/8, then 15/9. 15/9 shouldn't trigger flowering.

Good things grooooww, in Ontario!

 

[Weaselcracker]

Generally anything over 14 hours daylight won't trigger flowering, so you will be fine.
Hypothetically speaking- If May 24 in your part of Ontario did have less than 14 hours daylight, it definitely would be better to wait until you had longer days. Otherwise you would be wasting weeks of precious growing time as the plant started flowering, then reverted to veg again. It's a known problem that some people experience when they put them out early in the spring. The times I've experienced this it caused weeks of lost growing time and general confusion for the plants.

 

[Rifleman]

Making plans early for the next crop I like it.