Lighting questions

[tk86high]

Hello , This is my first time to Post on this site and my second time even using a forum , as the last forum i used roll it up. org was very unprofessional , and the people very judgmental when u simply asked why and some even insulted u lots of egotistic people there. With that said I did some reading on this site before i Joined and It seems to be way more of a respectful site with better legit answers , Im hoping to make this my new home for my grow questions or issues.

So first order of business , This is my first grow , and everything seems to be going great.
But had some questions about the lighting periods and lights in general .

1. Do plants need direct sunlight when outside? So say 2-4hrs no sun on my balcony and then 5-6hrs direct sun would that be cool?

2.what If I do 8-9hours on my balacony * of course on sunny days only* and then the other 7-8hrs inside my grow tent lighting ?

3. As of right now im doing a 250W MH during my inside hours , when is a good time to switch to my 400W HPS? 2-3 weeks after sprouting ?

Thanks for any help in advance and hopefully on this forum I wont get any insulting comments or rude replies .

 

[fish cake]

Re: Lighting questions.

howdy Tk,welcome to .
direct is best but your girls will be ok with a little shade.
and yes the balcony for half the day is groovy to, but there is a small chance you can shock them if you bring them out in direct sun from inside.
as far as when to switch to the hps is up to you, how big you want your plants, how antsy you are to harvest and so on.
some folks here go to a 12/12hour schedual from the start.
I use a 400w hps from start to finish as long as I only have plants that started at the same time and are the same strain. but I also have flos as a supplement. so what are you growing?
check out my grow if you like
one other thing, you have an ugly big toe

 

[tk86high]

Re: Lighting questions.

howdy Tk,welcome to .
direct is best but your girls will be ok with a little shade.
and yes the balcony for half the day is groovy to, but there is a small chance you can shock them if you bring them out in direct sun from inside.
as far as when to switch to the hps is up to you, how big you want your plants, how antsy you are to harvest and so on.
some folks here go to a 12/12hour schedual from the start.
I use a 400w hps from start to finish as long as I only have plants that started at the same time and are the same strain. but I also have flos as a supplement. so what are you growing?
check out my grow if you like
one other thing, you have an ugly big toe

Thanks , ive been doing it for my first random plant which really is what got me into it , ill take her outside during the day and bring her in and night and honestly she looks beautiful very well grown nice and green. But just didnt know if that works with all strains as that was a seed i found in some kush i was smoking and just potted it with my flowers thinking it wouldnt grow and a week later i find a beautiful weed plant , So since then I have had the green thumb fever.
As for the first plant I have no idea what it is ,

But i got 2 lemon Kush , blue widow, sweet grapefruit and 2 auto's which arent coming in as nice as the normal strains. But i heard they usually dont come in that great but finish with a bang .
And im just trying too grow something for myself that would last 4-6 months , which im thinking if all these 7 plants im growing come in descent I wont need to grow for another 6month which is my goal , grow twice a year for personal needs.
And im gonna try not to give them any supplements as I want everything to be as natural as possible even using organic soil.
So far all my plants look great, but im just in first few days. shit can change quick im sure.

for the 400w , i thought just starting them out they wont need that much power as they r so tiny (trying to save as much as possible on light costs , cos where i live once u go over a certain amount for 2 months they make u pay that standard price the rest of the year and give u back whatever is extra if u use less ,Clue why i wanna put them outside) .

One other thing, Thanks for making me feel welcome by the insult hahaha,

 

[fish cake]

Re: Lighting questions.

Glad I could make you welcome
I'am growing a critical sensi star and a ak48, well thats what I have in flower. I figure that I have 2 maybe 3weeks till they are done.
I also have 4 blue moonshine clones started and they are getting big, hoping they will slow down abit till I harvest the others.
In regard to your electric bill have you thought about GLR for a lighting schedual?
I'am useing it on my clones with CFLs and they are going like gangbusters. may be something to look into after the sun starts to wain and it gets cold