12 hours of dark

[DCguy81]

I live in an apartment with a balcony that gets decent sun most of the day. Little bit of arranging but no biggie. I have my seedlings under the sun most days and when it's overcast I put them under my 400 watt MH. I usually bring em in at night under my light just to finish off the last few hrs and leave them inside on my table by the window. No light comes I at all...it's pretty dark....no street lights or anything, even light from stars and moon is fairly minimal, nothing above what they would be naturally outside.

My question is, since my daytime light is in a sense hybrid... both natural and artifical.... will it be more hurtful to keep my plants on the kitchen table getting minimal, natural night light or should I make a blackout tent?

I would keep them outside on the deck but there is a timed light that comes on. The location of my kitchen window is away and in all actuality, prob gets less natural light at night than what they would be exposed to naturally. I know outdoors they adapt to natural surroundings... is it possible to keep that adaptation being indoors at night?

 

[sunandsky]

I've asked this same type of question before and most people told me to make a blackout tent. I've heard people complain about hermies from very minimal light leaks. I don't know from personal experience though but personally I wouldn't risk it

 

[DCguy81]

Thanks for the reply. I've gathered the same consensus really. ...make a blackout tent. I guess if I can get it darker than outdoors....the better right.

 

[tezzerLad]

The light leak is kindof a myth, it has to be really strong light to cause hermie.

My tents get tons of leaks from weak sources like street lights through curtains, the room light turning on and off everyday ....shit like that.

so it's a myth, but the darker the better, coz you won't have to worry about Mr hermie and his wife Ms youramalegotnosmoke comea knocking.

hope this helps

 

[DCguy81]

See now that's where Iwas leaning towards....being able to maintain good dark with minimal lighting and not hurting the girls...outdoors plants will adapt to natural ambient lighting... is it possible to keep them inside at night and still be exposed to natural ambient night lights.... or do they recognize and stress. My kitchen area is actually darker than my friends backyard where he has grown the past 3 years no issues. But I'm really new at all this and trying to gather as much info as I can. Plus in my apartment I'm very limited for space....so having a room for sleep time isn't an option and building a box or tent poses some issues aswell. I do have a 400 watt set up for cloudy days. ( tight for space but i make do) And they all come in at night as it is darker in my kitchen.

But darker is better....maybe I could try doubling uo thick garbage bags to pull over at night for the extra assurance. I'm super proud of my progress so far and really dont want to mess anything up. I know I'm going to find quirks I need to fix naturally, so whatever I can do to increase my yield I'm all for.

 

[SPLFreak808]

One thing thats kind of messing with my head, a cloudy day outdoor probably has more fresh air, penetration and light then a 400w MH indoor.

 

[sunandsky]

One thing thats kind of messing with my head, a cloudy day outdoor probably has more fresh air, penetration and light then a 400w MH indoor.

i've thought about this too. is it better to put my plants outside on a cloudy day or leave them under the 400w hps?

 

[Sire Killem All]

i've thought about this too. is it better to put my plants outside on a cloudy day or leave them under the 400w hps?

I would leave them outside unless it's a heavy rain

 

[SPLFreak808]

i've thought about this too. is it better to put my plants outside on a cloudy day or leave them under the 400w hps?

Outside. The 400w HID is GREAT for extending outside hours to keep plants shorter and in veg. Move them inside only if you want extra light hours after the sun falls or if its raining like sire said. Enjoy the electrical savings.

 

[DCguy81]

I live in Atlantic Canada, and I live in an EXTREMELY foggy city. Overcast and clouds are quite common. I have been kinda of been judging by whether or not they cast a shadow.... if no shadow then I bring them inside under my light. Their still vegging. And i do have a conversion bulb for flower on the bad days. Should I still be leaving them outside even with the overcast? My balcony is covered, fair amount of privacy, and I'm about 35 feet above ground. I do get great sun most of the day when it's sunny. It wouldn't suprise me if I'm over reacting and bringing them in when I should be leaving them.

 

[sunandsky]

i was just thinking about this more and i went and stuck my head where my tops are under my light. I had to squint quite a bit and it was really bright. then i went outside and compared that to when the sun sunk behind some clouds. It was a lot less bright with that sun behind that thick cloud. I bet you they do more growing under the light than outside on a cloudy day

 

[SPLFreak808]

i was just thinking about this more and i went and stuck my head where my tops are under my light. I had to squint quite a bit and it was really bright. then i went outside and compared that to when the sun sunk behind some clouds. It was a lot less bright with that sun behind that thick cloud. I bet you they do more growing under the light than outside on a cloudy day

My 1kw hps bulbs "look" brighter then our sun during any day of the year and i live in a 10 minute skin damage state near the equator. When you have a high concentration of peaky wavelengths it can APPEAR brighter then it really is. i would say get something that can read lux/lm or better yet par, let the tools do the talking instead. A cloudy day outside is 5000-10000 lumens sq.ft, a 400w hps without glass in a 3x3 is 5000lumens ft.

 

[sunandsky]

My 1kw hps bulbs "look" brighter then our sun during any day of the year and i live in a 10 minute skin damage state near the equator. When you have a high concentration of peaky wavelengths it can APPEAR brighter then it really is. i would say get something that can read lux/lm or better yet par, let the tools do the talking instead. A cloudy day outside is 5000-10000 lumens sq.ft, a 400w hps without glass in a 3x3 is 5000lumens ft.

ah good point man. you know i bring my plants under the lights every evening when the shade hits my yard. wonder if im better off leaving them out there until bed time? i guess the shade is different too. man science hurts the brain when you dont have the tools to conduct experiments

 

[SPLFreak808]

ah good point man. you know i bring my plants under the lights every evening when the shade hits my yard. wonder if im better off leaving them out there until bed time? i guess the shade is different too. man science hurts the brain when you dont have the tools to conduct experiments

Too many variables, maybe try a smartphone app that uses the phones sensor? It will not be accurate and you cant measure spots that max the sensor out, but you can compare different spots to see which has more light.

Full sunlight on my phone

Same spot but phone moved in front of the shadow casted by my body
4ft away under a 64 watt t5 in a dark 20x20 room

See what im doing?

 

[Brandon Nebel]

One thing thats kind of messing with my head, a cloudy day outdoor probably has more fresh air, penetration and light then a 400w MH indoor.

I love that you make this point. Most growers think plants need direct light cause when we start indoors were told to put the light directly on top of them. The truth is even a cloudy day has better light for cheaper than most lights most people have inside. And the fresh air can't be beat. Plus if a little wind comes the plants just get stronger by adapting. They anchor their roots in more for stability. All around its good to put them outside in my opinion unless you're going to go all out on a full indoor grow. Good luck

 

[sunandsky]

nice man. I wouldn't mind seeing the result under the hps bulb inside a 3x3. what app is that?

 

[DCguy81]

I like that everyone is explaining their responses. Helps me undertake it all better. I like having the safety of my bulbs just incase there's a bad storm or something. And i know that sun is the best light possible. Even on cloudy days I should leave them out longer than. I tend to bring them in once I see fairly dark clouds rolling in. And around 7, 8 ish at night the sun passes over the next building and is blocked....that's when I'm most likely to bring em in and let them finish the last few veg hrs under the light.
I think i'm eager for light as I'm in veg right now and hoping my plants can bolster a bit before flower. I'm going to attempt to force flower one soon. I'd just like to get some decent growth before I flip.

Flowering I'm not too worried....suppose to be a nice sunny warm summer. I think i'm more worried about getting my veg growth up a bit. I planted all from seed this year, soaked em in water for 6 hrs then dropped em in soil in jiffy pots n let em go. Put down 25 seeds, ended up with 12 solid seedlings.....one of which grew 2 sprouts....I separated them and their doing well..... slight leaf deformity in the bigger one but very healthy. And you can tell the runt of the 2 for sure....but ding good aswell.

Going to be taking pictures today and starting my grow journal. With the info I've researched, been given amongst generous bloggers here and that I've seen thru a friend who is liscensed. ...I should be able to make a solid go and get something for my efforts. Not expecting trees but hopefully something.

Once again i greatly appreciate everyone's input and info. At the end of the day, we all want quality smoke.

 

[Brandon Nebel]

I like that everyone is explaining their responses. Helps me undertake it all better. I like having the safety of my bulbs just incase there's a bad storm or something. And i know that sun is the best light possible. Even on cloudy days I should leave them out longer than. I tend to bring them in once I see fairly dark clouds rolling in. And around 7, 8 ish at night the sun passes over the next building and is blocked....that's when I'm most likely to bring em in and let them finish the last few veg hrs under the light.
I think i'm eager for light as I'm in veg right now and hoping my plants can bolster a bit before flower. I'm going to attempt to force flower one soon. I'd just like to get some decent growth before I flip.

Flowering I'm not too worried....suppose to be a nice sunny warm summer. I think i'm more worried about getting my veg growth up a bit. I planted all from seed this year, soaked em in water for 6 hrs then dropped em in soil in jiffy pots n let em go. Put down 25 seeds, ended up with 12 solid seedlings.....one of which grew 2 sprouts....I separated them and their doing well..... slight leaf deformity in the bigger one but very healthy. And you can tell the runt of the 2 for sure....but ding good aswell.

Going to be taking pictures today and starting my grow journal. With the info I've researched, been given amongst generous bloggers here and that I've seen thru a friend who is liscensed. ...I should be able to make a solid go and get something for my efforts. Not expecting trees but hopefully something.

Once again i greatly appreciate everyone's input and info. At the end of the day, we all want quality smoke.

cant wait to see the pics, i was worried about the same thing, veg time. This is why i started mine on May 10th. The summer solstice just passsed so the days will still be long for a week or so then start to get shorter. so my girls will have had at least 6 to 7 weeks of veg time. i started early indoors then tossed them outside for good on June 6th. They handled to dark time just fine. I had them inside under 18/6 for 3 to 4 weeks tiLL they got too biv for my indoor set up. I planned on putting them outside from the beginning so I didn't spend much money on inside lights. Just a nice 2 ft led grow light along with a nice t5. I used 2 different typest of light source to get the benefits from both. It worked really well. My plants took off and once they hit the sun they grew even faster. I know I slowed their growth by transplanting them too many times. But they are about 6 weeks into veg and they aren't the biggest plants. But my topping at lSt training has produced many cola sites on all my girls. Will be interesting to see my yield. Good luck

 

[nerdsativa]

as someone who has reached flowering by growing on in a balcony i would bet that sunlight on any day is better than the indoor lights! constant breeze gives you a superstrong stem which means bigger buds!

 

[Craig1969SS]

In and out .....someone at some point is going to bring hitchhikers back in with their plants. I did it and now after the battle has been waged I keep them inside. But they sure did respond to the sun. BTW it's my understanding that dark isn't necessarily dark outside. A full or partial moon would be worse than any light leak but moonlight is reflected light and as I was told, it doesn't count...anyone hear of this?