Staggering down the light cycle to 12/12

[GreenGrowth]

G'day all, hope you are well.

I planning my next grow and have been considering the 2 different ideas when flipping the light to flower.

1) going from 18/6 to 12/12 over the course of a week i.e. Sunday 18hrs, Monday 17hrs, Tuesday 16hrs, Wed 15hrs and so on until I reach 12on 12off.

2) complete darkness for 24-36hrs, then straight to 12on 12off.

Interested in hearing about peoples experiences with trying these 2 methods of flipping the light cycle.

 

[Pennywise]

I always just flipped the light and be done with it.

 

[oldsmokey]

What penny said

 

[GreenGrowth]

I always just flipped the light and be done with it.

So have I, but just wondering if there are better techniques and what the differences may/ or may not be.

 

[Pennywise]

I’m sure there’s peeps here who have tried. I’ll look

 

[Stunned]

I use the week of transition as exactly that and decrease the light an hour a day from 18/6 to 12/12
Now whether it makes any difference to the quality of the grow, I can't say.
But it does satisfy my itch to be as anal as possible with my grow

 

[Stoned Ape]

I have done both. I go with straight to 12\12 now.

 

[Nunyabiz]

I start with 24/0 for first 3 maybe 4 weeks.
Then 20/4 for a week, 18/6 for a week, 17/7 for a week, 16/8 for a week and then to 12/12.
I also change light intensities from about 300-400 PPFD first couple weeks then to 400-600 PPFD then 600-800 and if the plant can handle it might bump up to 900-1000 PPFD the final two weeks.

Thats what works for me

 

[GreenGrowth]

I use the week of transition as exactly that and decrease the light an hour a day from 18/6 to 12/12
Now whether it makes any difference to the quality of the grow, I can't say.
But it does satisfy my itch to be as anal as possible with my grow

I'm thinking that it is a more natural way to transition into flower, agreed not sure about quality or yield.

 

[GreenGrowth]

I have done both. I go with straight to 12\12 now.

So your thinking that there's no advantage or disadvantage, just more work mucking around with the timer.

 

[Stunned]

I'm thinking that it is a more natural way to transition into flower, agreed not sure about quality or yield.

I won't continue with this practice
As, it seems to have little value
I shall... find another aspect to become anal about

 

[multiVortex]

So your thinking that there's no advantage or disadvantage, just more work mucking around with the timer.

I do it when it's convenient. On two of my grows it's quick to change the timer. Like 15s quick. On the other timer, not quite as quick. Takes maybe a minute. That timer is also the least convenient to get to, so I tend to only do that one once. I cut the light down from 18/6 to 16/8 about 2 weeks before I expect to flip. The last week I cut it down to 14/10 for 3 days, 13/11 for 3 days, then 12/12.

I don't believe it has any impact on yields or quality. I do think that at times it can get you flowering a few days or so quicker. Is it worth it? Not really. What's 4 days when you're already going anywhere from 60 to 80 days anyway? OK, it adds up if you need every day you can get. But for most people it isn't much worth it. I still do it just because I like to tinker, and that is something harmless but still scratches that itch.

 

[Stoned Ape]

So your thinking that there's no advantage or disadvantage, just more work mucking around with the timer.

Just takes longer to flower with no noticeable difference in quality or yeild is what I got. Just seemed to add longer till harvest.

 

[Stoned Ape]

How about thoughts on late flowering reducing light hours to hurry up ripening. Any one tried this with any success.

 

[nivek]

my simple thinking for my simpleness,, why complicate things,, switch and be done,,

things be complicated enuf,, i seek simple,, tho that is so complicated,, indeed

like a wee babe,, it won't remember and resent you for it

cheers

 

[nivek]

How about thoughts on late flowering reducing light hours to hurry up ripening. Any one tried this with any success.

my thots only,, other pseudo scientists will for sure disagree,,

it takes a week to notice any affects from near any change in the usual normality the plant receives

how would one notice a dif in 48 hrs dark before harvest? ever? cept by a side by side comparison,, and even then,, the dif,, how dif would it really be?? perceptibly so??

the skeptic in me suggests not

but i am me,, not you or them,,

cheers friend

 

[Stunned]

It's all so beautifully aggravating

 

[GreenGrowth]

How about thoughts on late flowering reducing light hours to hurry up ripening. Any one tried this with any success.

I'm trying this now on my amnesia haze, changed it (timer for the light) yesterday and lowered nutes considerably to aid in flushing over the next 10-14 days. The trichomes are nice and cloudy now (how I like them) and thought it would be a good chance to see if they ripen further

 

[GreenGrowth]

Just takes longer to flower with no noticeable difference in quality or yeild is what I got. Just seemed to add longer till harvest.

Don't want that, I'm want the opposite

 

[TorturedSoul]

How about thoughts on late flowering reducing light hours to hurry up ripening.

Unlike screwing around with the light schedule when initiating flowering, that will actually give results. Many people who grow sativas flower at 11/13 or (occasionally) even 14 hours of darkness in order to shorten what might otherwise end up being a 16 or even 20+ week flowering period. Expect your yield to suffer, though. I cannot, however, even guess at whether it'll end up being a net positive or negative in terms of yield per day. I suspect it'll work out to a slight negative... Say you cut two weeks off your flowering period length, but at the cost of (wild guess ahead, lol) 18% to 22% of your yield. Over the course of a year, do you gain enough time to make that lost yield back up? I think not. But that's just my opinion/guess, as I have never tried to chart such a thing.

If you have the resources it would take to set up two (separate) identical gardening spaces, do so, and use clones from the same set of mothers (set, because you'd probably be ahead to try this with both sativas, indicas, and mutts)... it would make for an interesting and potentially useful experiment.