Flowering under 19/5?

[Paladin]

Here's the scoop on this . I crossed Afghanni female with Big Bud male just to see what the results would be . When I first germinated the seeds , I had problems with the root staying in the seed and the first leaves popping out of the seed covers. After many attempts I finally coaxed 30 to sprout normally . All was well untill yesterday when I noticed that there were 2 plants in full blown male flowering . Under closer scrutinizing I found three females that appeared to be in advanced preflower stage. I wouldn't think much of this except that the light cycle is 19 hours of light and 5 of dark. They are only 4 weeks old. I was hopeing to give them another 3 weeks of veg before going 12 / 12 but seeing as how some decided to start flowering on there own, should I just switch to 12 / 12 or should I just let them do their own thing ? They are between 12 and 16 inches tall and planted in 1 gallon pots.

 

[CookieMan]

well you could let them do their thing and the rest very well might start flowering or you could switch it to 12/12. Depends on what you want to happen.

You said you wanted to let them veg for a few more weeks? I'd transplant to larger pots soon and just leave the lights as they are. You might end up harvesting the couple that have already started flowering 3-4 weeks before the rest of the crop. This could potentially cause an uneven garden level especially if more start flowering on their own, so just be prepared for that.

Switching to 12/12 will probably cause the rest of the plants to start flowering and keep the garden profile more even. So the choice is up to you.

You could try making another autoflowering plant like lowryder with this afgan big bud cross.

 

[Paladin]

Thanks for the reply , I think I'll wait another week to see what if anything happens with the rest of the plants and if more start to flower I'll turn down the light cycle . I guess my real question should have been , What caused this abnormal behavior in the first place ? Both the parent plants showed no tendancy to go into flower under said light cycle . Could it be just that the genetics of these 2 strains are too far inbred and shouldn't have been coupled to begin with ? .....The only other factor that could have anything to do with this is that it does get a bit on the chilly side during the dark cycle ( about 56 degrees).

 

[Racefan]

preflowering is normal Dank. Just because a plant shows it's sex does not mean it's flowering.

 

[Urdedpal]

Sounds like they preflowered early, you sure you have the proper germ date?
Average time for preflowers is 5 weeks to 8 weeks.
Why the oddball time slot? 18/6 is good enough and more cost efficient.

 

[Paladin]

Pre flowering , in my understanding , is where there are single flowers appearing at the juncture of the main stem and a branch. The male plants that started flowering have mass clusters of flowers not only at the branch junctures but are from the growing tip down . The females that have showed flowers , at first appeared to be in preflower , but are now really starting to pack on some bulk , especially in the tips of the branches and the main top. The reason for the extra hour of light is, that I use the heat from the ballast and light to keep the temps high enough so that I don't get a freeze out as the night time temps drop. It's cold where I'm at ....right now it's -14 degrees F outside. The plants are in a 8 X 10 X 8 room in an unheated drafty old barn. My light cycle was 22 / 2 last week because it was alot colder during the high temp of the day when the lights go off . One other thing that I can think of that may have something to do with the abnormal flowering would be that the lightbulb is due to be changed to a fresh bulb and could not be giving out the proper spectrum . What do you think ? Whatever the reason , this has been a strange grow right from the start. ............Just when ya think ya know all you need to know and feel that ya have everything down pat ..... stuff like this happens . It really makes for an interesting hobbie , doesn't it ?

 

[MadameCrash]

Sure does..

But seriously... some folks really hate the autoflowering thing.. and some folks go out of their way to get their hands on autoflowering strains.. so in the end, it's all up to what you prefer....

Peace
MC

 

[RangerDanger]

You should try to avoid light cycle variations (22/2 to 19/5)
By the way, plants grown under 18/6 isn't any more cost efficent than 19/5 or even 24/0, since the longer the light cycle the faster the plant grows.

 

[KM3GA360]

I grow on 19/5 I don't see what's wrong with that. Is there an issue with growing g on 19/5?

 

[Melville Hobbes]

The member you're replying to hasn't been seen since 2007.
But you're right, there's nothing wrong with your light schedule.

 

[KM3GA360]

The member you're replying to hasn't been seen since 2007.
But you're right, there's nothing wrong with your light schedule.

Appreciate it.