12/12 to 11/13?

[santiago19]

Hi

I am doing a 12/12 grow from seed to bloom. Soil and CFL's

I switch on the lights at 7am and off at 7pm.

Now here in my country there is a problem we call loadshedding, it is when our electricity gets switched off completely for 2 1/2 hours each day at different times. Like a total blackout.

There are 2 days in a week when our power gets switched off at 6pm till 8:30pm, so it goes off 1 hour before it should for my time cycle, thus the plants only get 11 hours of light that day.

So this is leaves my plants with 12/12 lighting 5 random days of the week and 11/13 lighting for 2 other days.

It sounds like a eff up doesn't it?

Now my seedlings are only 10 days old on 12/12. Do you guys think I should rather switch to 11/13 permanently to avoid future problems or should I stick with 12/12?

It already happened last night and it's scheduled for tomorrow night again lel.

 

[closetorganic]

Hi santiago19
I would just leave be and stick with same schedule of 12/12,I say that so you get best yield in your 12/12 seed to bloom grow.
Full time 11/13 hours is what I am currently using for flowering. I feel it flowers the plant harder and faster but I veg them first under 18/6 hours. To me it would also shorten your grow time, but yield also, due to your plants flowering sooner and smaller.

 

[Dan Ultra]

Can you switch your timing to 6-6 and keep the 12/12 schedule?

 

[go4snypr]

let it go, your flowering right from seed anyways, a little more dark time isn't going to do any harm.

 

[LEDBud]

I agree with go4snypr the extra hour off every so often is not so detrimental its better then a extra hour off every day of the week imo

 

[santiago19]

I have another separate question.

Since I am growing with CFL's can I put my pants outside for a certain period of the day?

I am doing the 12/12 from seedling and I have 3 plants. I switch them on at 7am and off at 7pm.

I am worried that my CFL's aren't enough for the whole 12 hours because I only have 150watts available and yep I can't afford anymore.

Now there is a spot in my yard where the sun shines really really nice but only from about 10am till 3pm. (Only if it's not cloudy of course since it's winter here and it's already dark by 6pm.)

Now I wondered if I could put them under the CFL's from 7am till 10am then take them outside to the sunny spot from 10am till 3pm and bring them back inside under the CFL's from 3pm till 7pm when it's off time? Or would this really screw with the plant?
It's no hassle for me and it would only take 30 seconds to get all 3 outside and back in.

Thanks for all the help I have received thus far.

 

[LEDBud]

I think its a good idea to move them into the direct sun when its shining.

The inside of your house with its lights on etc. will be bright enough not to confuse the plants with dark cycles if that's what your worried about.
Keep the light cycles on/off constant

I myself would be worried about someone seeing my plants & stealing them etc etc

If you made a small DIY greenhouse of some type it would keep them warm and protected

 

[Weaselcracker]

I have another separate question.

Since I am growing with CFL's can I put my pants outside for a certain period of the day?

Good advice above. Just be as consistent as possible with the lighting.
Be careful if you are leaving your pants outside. If someone steals them it will be difficult to continue unless you have another pair

 

[santiago19]

Ok thanks guys. I will put them outside when it's sunny and I will keep them under the CFL's when it's rainy/cloudy.
I work from home at the moment so it's not a worry about the stealing part.

 

[closetorganic]

Can you switch your timing to 6-6 and keep the 12/12 schedule?

If that was to me UltraDan the plant wouldn't make flowering hormones and stay in constant vegging in 6/6 hours

 

[Dan Ultra]

If that was to me UltraDan the plant wouldn't make flowering hormones and stay in constant vegging in 6/6 hours

That was to the OP. He said he couldn't do 7am-7pm because his power occasionally goes off at 6pm. So I was asking him why he couldn't just keep the 12/12 schedule and have lights on from 6am-6pm. He would keep his 12/12 cycle with no random interruptions.

 

[santiago19]

I think its a good idea to move them into the direct sun when its shining.

The inside of your house with its lights on etc. will be bright enough not to confuse the plants with dark cycles if that's what your worried about.
Keep the light cycles on/off constant

I myself would be worried about someone seeing my plants & stealing them etc etc

If you made a small DIY greenhouse of some type it would keep them warm and protected

Good advice above. Just be as consistent as possible with the lighting.
Be careful if you are leaving your pants outside. If someone steals them it will be difficult to continue unless you have another pair

Just to clarify I was asking if I could take them out into the sunlight everyday, if the sun shines, from seedling until bloom, not just for the seedling stage. Is this still fine?

Ultradan I am now doing 6am-6pm and getting up an hour earlier lolol.

 

[AKgramma]

Personally, I think it is a treat for the ladies to get some REAL sunlight, even on a cloudy day. Even a window sill will be beneficial. Those UV rays will come through the clouds, so is well worth the effort.

I would not try and fight the brown outs. When put to flower, the amount of *uninterrupted* darkness determines when it will flower. Extra brownouts won't affect your dark periods.