This morning, I read this thread ,,,,
https://www.rollitup.org/t/no-lower-budsites-do-not-need-light-to-develop-get-educated.829061/
I wanted to post a response but couldn't because it had been locked.
I decided to start a thread and see if a discussion could take place without the negative nonsense? IOW have a discussion that benefits growers and our gardens.
If you remember when I was here as Riddleme, my pet peeve was lights and I pulled 2lbs from 4 plants with 2 400's. Now I flower with T5's and yeppers it's 1000 watts of T5's but still T5's and when I post I pretty much always have someone that says I should just get an HPS (which I would never do lol) I simply ignore it and move on. I understand why some like and use HPS, I understand that we as growers all have different methods and ways of doing things, different goals, different needs, hell it's kinda like just bein human.
To be honest, I kinda enjoy reading the threads that go sideways as it can be entertaining as just an observer, not fun when your the poster and your intent gets stepped on so much I guess. I think a lot of us have been there. And yeppers, I like Uncle Ben, he is a gruffy old dude but he knows his shit when it comes to plants and I well know there are some that disagree with that but I also am guilty of posting in threads to try and protect or steer new growers in a more sane direction. IMO once you move beyond new grower status, you should start experimentin with things and see for yourself. Much like I did in a thread here where defoil was concerned, I took 3 clones (same plant) and removed all the fans on one, some fans on one and no fans on one. The one with no fans removed yielded the most and the one with all fans removed yielded the least. I moved on. I didn't prove anything IMO and I wasted a couple ounces of yield but I saw for myself and have not done it since. With that said, I still tell new growers to do it and see for themselves, because that is what should be happening, it's how we learn.
The problem with light is most do not seem to understand it. You have the Inverse square law driving a point that is moot and you have the more light is better (it's not) you have the get it closer and even cool it to get it even closer nonsense. When it is the other things in your garden that make a bigger difference. The truth is the plant can only use so much light and then it stops. Google Mid day depression in plants and read up on it. I, the guy flowering with T5's actually have 1/2 hour of darkness interrupt my light schedule after the lights have been on for 6.5 hours to give the plants a break and thwart the effects of mid day depression. I have it because I keep my canopy at 89 ~ 92 degrees while my ambient room temp is 77 ~ 84 (the minor fluctuations are seasonal) I learned a long time ago that heat is your friend if you use it properly and the high canopy temp mimics what happens outdoors under the sun. There is also a way to adjust temp and humidity to put the plants in a condition where they grow their collective asses off, but rather than learn these things and make adjustments, most simply add more light and fight with heat? I have never understood this which I suppose is why it has been a pet peeve lol.
As to the post I wanted to make in UB's thread that was locked, I am sharing a pic of popcorn that is over 3 feet from the closest T5 bulbs and is under leafs and is thriving. Nice and dense and covered in trics and my point is,,,,, if your garden is tweaked properly penetration is not an issue, less light is actually better and the end product is better as well. Light is simply one of many elements/tools in our gardens that we have control over (unlike outdoors).
I hope that we can now have a discussion about it and that those participating and reading this will have a chance to learn a thing or 3
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