Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

[iSmokes]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I'm rather new to this but I love experimenting with different schedules just to see if I can actually spot a visible difference in growth. I completely agree with X on every point to be honest. I saw absolutely no "noticeable" difference in growth between GLR, 18/6, 20/4, or 24/0. They all did pretty well with keeping the plants healthy in veg. In my opinion no faster growth was observed between any of the schedules.

Plants under GLR, however, and as X already mentioned, switched to bloom incredibly fast. I'm talking full on pistils by day 2 and tiny preflowers by day 5 of 12/12. That was a very noticeable difference and noteworthy. This, combined with the fact the I save some $$ on electric with GLR in veg, I decided to stick with it.

This is kind of redundant because it's almost exactly what X already said. It was just funny reading a post and agreeing with every single point so I had to post .

Cheers guys

 

[Xlr8]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Driving thru. I see you working your magic on them girls. I got to try some PE myself. I had single bean of her that didn't take. I've bought alot of single seeds since the net came to age, but thats the sad thing, which of the 10-15% isn't going to germinate. Well your girls sure look happy. Keepem Green

Hey Wood!

I am super stoked to try the PE. It looks fantastic, smells fantastic... I'm really happy with the way it's growing so far - looks like it'll have some nice fat dense colas.

I tried to take shortcuts and killed a "Sweet Deep Grapefruit" freebie I had recently. Helmet got stuck, and I ripped it's head off trying to fix it. I rarely make a mistake like that, but it haunts me. I was so excited about that one, and it was the only one I had. Doh!

 

[iSmokes]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I just reread Cultivator's post. I actually keep seedlings under 20/4 for the first 3 weeks then switch to GLR and veg for a total of 6-8 weeks. So my input doesn't help much.

I did notice kind of slower growth if seedlings are on GLR than 20/4. So I agree with both Cultivator and X I guess. Further along veg, GLR was in no way different than 18/6 except for the $$ saving and faster bloom transition.

 

[Xlr8]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I completely agree with X. I went for the base nutes then only added the liquid blue. Having gallons of base 3part, I only bought a quart of liquid blue (ratio-wise, it should work out fine because you don't use liquid blue as often - obviously). It was incredibly cheap, under 10 if my memory serves me right.

Thanks for weighing in on that one, iSmokes. + rep

Great point on the usage - I'm still using the original gallon of it that I purchased, so it lasts for a while. Even a small bottle should make it a round or two (or more) unless it's a pretty large grow.

 

[Xlr8]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I'm rather new to this but I love experimenting with different schedules just to see if I can actually spot a visible difference in growth. I completely agree with X on every point to be honest. I saw absolutely no "noticeable" difference in growth between GLR, 18/6, 20/4, or 24/0. They all did pretty well with keeping the plants healthy in veg. In my opinion no faster growth was observed between any of the schedules.

Plants under GLR, however, and as X already mentioned, switched to bloom incredibly fast. I'm talking full on pistils by day 2 and tiny preflowers by day 5 of 12/12. That was a very noticeable difference and noteworthy. This, combined with the fact the I save some $$ on electric with GLR in veg, I decided to stick with it.

This is kind of redundant because it's almost exactly what X already said. It was just funny reading a post and agreeing with every single point so I had to post .

Cheers guys

I just reread Cultivator's post. I actually keep seedlings under 20/4 for the first 3 weeks then switch to GLR and veg for a total of 6-8 weeks. So my input doesn't help much.

I did notice kind of slower growth if seedlings are on GLR than 20/4. So I agree with both Cultivator and X I guess. Further along veg, GLR was in no way different than 18/6 except for the $$ saving and faster bloom transition.

More good feedback - thanks iSmokes! I owe you on the rep, I'd already repped you recently I guess.

I'm also guilty of not being in much of a hurry. Since I'm just keeping myself stocked, I can get ahead and not sweat how fast things go in veg as much. It's a matter of priority for me: which, is more quality first, then quantity/speed second. Much different if you are trying to turn a buck doing it - if that were my goal, you can bet I'd be focusing on what it did for me pretty closely like Cultivator is wisely doing. Thanks again for weighing in iSmokes.

 

[iSmokes]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I'm more than happy to share something I tried first hand and toss my two tokes on the topic. I'm very new to this, but learning from the best I guess (the good people on here). I hear you on your priorities. I bet if time was your #1, we'd see Xlr8 blog entries explaining difference in growth in extended detail under every possible schedule .

Thanks for the reps brotha! Coming from you, then I guess I must be doing something right .

 

[Xlr8]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Drive by dropping off reps OUTSTANDING!!!!

Thanks my friend!

 

[KushMeister]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Super glad to have you following KushMeister - Great name, btw! I appreciate that you took the time to read through it all - as I know it's a long read.

Thanks! I just liked the sound of it. Hopefully I can live up to it.

 

[Buckshot]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

the way cannabis smells, and this round is really a delight for me.

I'll bet!!
Caution, you should not let your plants get such a hard frost on them cause it's gonna kill 'em

 

[clayhead]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Hi X I have tried the GLR and will do it again ! Sorry for being repetitive but I am actually confirming what You, Cultivator and Smokes have said. I grew Chocolope, Shark Attack and, Happy Jack the basic traditional way of 18/6 in veg and 12/12 in bloom. I took cuttings (clones) from these three. I started them right away on the GLR , Don't know if I'm right but I reffer to ( 12 on 5 1/2 off 1 ......so on in veg and the deminished light in bloom) I call it all GLR. I agree .... it pushed my ladies into earlier flower so I put them in the Bloom room and started the diminished light. They did not have as much of a stretch and stayed bushy and hearty.( Oh while in veg I topped them.) This kept them bushy and created a bit of a SCROG . I did notice that they had a TON more Thricomes than their mothers. More Thric's than Ive ever had on any other grow. They all had real dark fan leaves with a pretty purple cast, but I attribute that to cold nights here in the Midwest. I have to use a heater while lights are on but it is off when lights are off, temps get down to 59 or 60 degrees and with the heater up to 72 to 75 degrees . Hence the purples (I think) . This is my experience and agree with Smokes ....The next time I will let them veg in 18/6 for about 3 weeks so they get a bit bigger then start the GLR.
OK for the Dumb thing I did, probably after a few hits on the bong. While feeding one time I mixed up the tags (Duh) so all three are curing together but I see no difference in the buds, So it is my "Breakfast Blend". They are still curing so I will give you a smoke update soon but I expect a Wig Singeing experience as the buds even though almost dry still sparkle like mad.
Summary : smaller quantity better quality , sounds like what you are after

 

[clayhead]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I just noticed one of Cultivators concerns ...... I don't put much stock in the amount of days that the vendors claim for completion because of so many variables ....watering , feeding , stress on plants and so on, Although Hydro may be more reliable for these problems but over all I think I save a total of 2 1/2 weeks start to finish with my GLR over traditional methods. Just my opinion and hope it helps someone.

 

[JB42]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Good info clayhead! reps for that. I experianced the same when I used GLR.

Forgot about that, they did veg longer with GLR from start but low wattage so maybe not, but when they hit 12/12 they went straight into flower! And the trics were everywhere in like a week or so. So your "start on 18/6 then GLR" is what i'm going to do also to get them ready for flower and tric production.

Maybe a mix of 18/6, GLR, 12/12 is a good thing.

This is my AK Day 5 12/12 after GLR from seed!!

And day 14 TRICS EARLY!

Hope you dont mind the pics Xlr8, thought they were relevant to todays class

 

[DocDee]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Wow that's some seriously fast growth jbc nice pics! I too am in the 18/6 for 2-3 weeks, then GLR for a couple, then flippage camp. Sometimes I have to leave out GLR if I got too much going on in the veg room (ie clones rooting, seeds sprouting, mamas growing) as I don't really know how clones rooting would do under GLR. worth a try one of these times though I guess

 

[Cultivator]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

i dont see the point in vegging for 2-3 weeks then flipping to GLR? If GLR works why not use it from the start? I veg 3 weeks absolute max, GLR on the grow im trying is already beyond that. My schedule is tight but it works. on average my veg time is 16 days and im averaging 5 oz per plant on my most replicated setups with the oxypots. Thats 50oz from 2 600w hps vegged 16days with 10 plants. only way to make massive improvement on that is to switch to hempys but thats more work and more plant #'s.

 

[DocDee]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Yeah that's amazing 5 zips per plant with only vegging 2-3 weeks. I veg for 5 or 6 and average about 3-4 oz per plant. Sounds like you got your system down gotta check out your journal!!

 

[Xlr8]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I'll bet!!
Caution, you should not let your plants get such a hard frost on them cause it's gonna kill 'em

Love it Buckshot, thanks for making me smile this morning!

 

[Alaskan1]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Just to add my 2 cents on GLR
I have been using it the last 10 months on all my different grows and I have to agree with everything so far said but have a couple of things to add.
I have noticed that my res seems to stay cooler under GLR. It's not always getting heat in the room now to 24/7 lighting and the temps don't go as high because now under GLR they temps have time to come back down. Also another added benefit I see is if you happen to have mites the eggs don't seem to hatch as fast because they aren't getting all the heat required for them to hatch sooner.
Again, just my 2 cents and observations.

 

[iSmokes]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

I never said I veg for 2-3 weeks then flip to glr. How can that be? GLR IS veg lol. I said seedling and cuttings take 20/4 with me, then when they're established I switch to GLR. So YES I've noticed slower growth on seedlings and cuttings under GLR. But mature plants showed absolutely no difference between 18/6 and GLR. I'll go with the penny savings + fast switch to bloom thank you.

That's why I said I agree with both of you. Vegging for 2-3 weeks isn't much vegging so I don't know why you're sweating it to be honest. Do whichever schedule suites you most.

i dont see the point in vegging for 2-3 weeks then flipping to GLR? If GLR works why not use it from the start? I veg 3 weeks absolute max, GLR on the grow im trying is already beyond that. My schedule is tight but it works. on average my veg time is 16 days and im averaging 5 oz per plant on my most replicated setups with the oxypots. Thats 50oz from 2 600w hps vegged 16days with 10 plants. only way to make massive improvement on that is to switch to hempys but thats more work and more plant #'s.

 

[Hozona]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Just to add my 2 cents on GLR
I have been using it the last 10 months on all my different grows and I have to agree with everything so far said but have a couple of things to add.
I have noticed that my res seems to stay cooler under GLR. It's not always getting heat in the room now to 24/7 lighting and the temps don't go as high because now under GLR they temps have time to come back down. Also another added benefit I see is if you happen to have mites the eggs don't seem to hatch as fast because they aren't getting all the heat required for them to hatch sooner.
Again, just my 2 cents and observations.

GLR and DLS in combo seem to do the trick for me, but I will have a better idea about this combo after this grow does the "after harvest" shuffle I still like germ/early veg under florescent lights whether CFLs or T5s...Never caught any mites lurking in my veg area and think I finally got rid of them in the tent also.

 

[Xlr8]

re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza

Oh my the variables!

Part of what makes this difficult, is that there are so many other factors that can have an impact on nodal length, vigor, trichomes, etc. Large day/night temp swings and topping can keep them low, tight-noded and bushy, too, especially if the corresponding RH was low, which it often is in that scenario.

Instead of answering all the posts on GLR separately, I thought I'd do a general brain dump with a few more thoughts.

I'm blessed to have a few people trust my opinion, and have had a number of interactions with growers using GLR for the first time, or for only a short time - sometimes new to growing, sometimes just new to GLR and seeing things they aren't used to seeing, like sexually mature plants that haven't fully vegged to size.

There is confusion over pre-flowers, and sexual maturity - and this sometimes doesn't present itself to a grower until pistil pairings show early in the plants life, in veg instead of flower, when they first try using GLR.

Something I have seen quite a bit of confusion on is the relationship of GLR, pre-flowers, and sexual maturity. If you put them into flower based on showing sexual maturity earlier, with a shorter veg period, you'll also get shorter bushier plants as if -- you just put them into 12/12 sooner from a regular lighting schedule. If that's when people are initiating flower, then smaller plants and net yields will probably happen along with the lesser stretch. In the case of a SOG, or limited space grow, that may be just what the doctor ordered, however.

The higher level of bloom hormones that build up in a plant with more overall dark period (GLR) force maturity, but they don't need to be acted upon, necessarily. The exception is for SOG style grows where you are purposely forcing bloom at a very early age.

A plant can veg infinitely with pre-flowers/pistil pairings, and won't flower until we force it to with a steady, uninterrupted night period*. There's some confusion about pre-flowers out there. I see newer growers especially - or just growers new to GLR perhaps - often feel they need to react to them by putting their plants in flower, or that they mean there plants have started to flower (they haven't). Often it's even seen as a failing of GLR, erroneously when people say "Ahhhh, my plants started flowering!!" Sometimes, that's probably happening (that they flower), but other times when I start digging more, it's just pre-flowers - indicating that the plant is sexually mature (ready for bloom), but NOT that it is flowering. Plants vegged under 18/6 often don't show sexual maturity like this without a really long veg period, or often, until we put them in bloom. People aren't used to seeing so many pre-flowers in veg, even though it's nothing that needs acting upon.

Sexually mature plants can still be vegged longer for larger yield, or whatever purpose. GLR seems to help plants reach sexual maturity at a younger age, but this doesn't mean they have really started to flower just because they start showing pistil pairings, nor that they should be placed in flower yet. Again, SOG's are another story, or anytime we are forcing flower earlier to limit size.

As I read all of the feedback so far, I have to say there does seem to be a few things we can have confidence in, perhaps, and a few that we can't say for certain:

• GLR plants will transition to bloom cycle quicker than a plant coming from 18/6 or 24/0, etc.

• GLR saves money, and electricity.

• It's stealthy, and it probably leaves less of a tell-tale electricity usage signature

• Some plants will react more favorably, indica or indica hybrids seem to like it better.

• Better heat control, res temps, easier to keep environment where you want it in some set-ups. Great point by Alaskan1, that I hadn't thought of previously.

Now, where I'm still unsure, personally:

• Better growth, quicker growth, than 18/6. Mixed opinions and experiences here, and so many other variables in the examples given, my own included. Not saying it isn't true, just that there are mixed messages and experiences that cast some doubt/confusion as to whether this is fact or fiction, perhaps.

• Shorter nodal length. This may be true, but again there are so many variables to consider that affect this, so I'm still not completely confident. Perhaps. But even in the posted examples I can point to other possible causes much of the time if I wanted. I'm not doubting or bashing, just not completely certain yet.

Finally, it seems a few people are thinking that they don't get quite as vigorous of veg growth with GLR, or maybe more accurately/specifically, they are looking for more size before going to bloom, even if they have the same number of nodes, so they do the combo 18/6 / GLR.

They start the plants in 18/6 to get some size going, then go to GLR more as a way to smoothly transition to flower and get a quick flip. Cultivator, I think that's where you may be a little confused. But I believe that's what they are really saying - unless I am misunderstanding? It does make sense to me in a way, and may be a nice modification because it capitalizes on the strengths of each light cycle at different stages. In the end, it could reduce the need to veg longer for size (that some GLR users report experiencing), while still helping speed the transition to flower. Interesting approach!

----------------

* One little note, another source of confusion sometimes, especially with newer growers: We as people always think of things in terms of how much light we give them, or light cycles/light periods... but the plants think in terms of how much dark they get. They need light, but it's the dark that changes their behavior or brings them to sexual maturity. Think about this one a little. It's the key to GLR.

What a plant needs to be able to flower (excluding autos, different altogether) is a specific amount of uninterrupted dark period. At least one period per 24 hours. Typically at least 12 hours is needed for bloom. Sativas sometimes like even longer nights.

Okay, I'm curious. What other assumptions can be made for certain, regarding GLR? Did I miss something obvious, (I am a bit forgetful at times). Or did I get it wrong somehow? Sorry if this sounded preachy, but I know there are a lot of people that are still confused about some of these things, many of them may not be posting but just reading. Want to make sure we're all on the same page, too.