I just veg them until they are: 1) Showing multiple preflowers, and 2) are at least 16" tall. Then I flip em into 12/12. I never flower plants that have not shown sex yet, as you are correct in saying that it only prolongs the process and it also stresses the plants. I continuously pinch the faster growing top shoots on all the plants (keeping them the same height as the slower growing ones) until I put them into flower, which keeps the canopy the same height at all times (give or take a few inches). When they stretch I could LST a few of the taller branches to make a perfect canopy, but so far I've never really seen the need. When the canopy is even to within a few inches, light distribution is even and growth is more uniform.
Stretch was about 100% for the Super Skunks, the HashBerrys stretched to about 50% more of their original height.
Grow your plants until they show sex naturally, preferably under an 18/6 lighting regimen. If you do this you won't stress your plants causing hermies, your plants will start flowering earlier/faster, and you'll actually be done flowering most any indica or indica hybrid in 8 weeks flat.
Oh and Kriegs - Next time you should probably not use Miracle Grow anything, and I would start Phing my input water if I were you. They need it. There is a huge difference between 6.5 and 8.0. The harder the plants have to struggle to grow, the longer it takes to get to where you want to be. Your plants should be a lot bigger and fuller by now, and I really think the soil and the Ph is holding them back big time.
Here's a pic of my plants about 2 cycles ago exactly 30 days from seed (the canopy is uneven as hell because there were 3 different strains and multiple phenos of each at this point):
Thanks, d.c. - great info; much appreciated. I'll try to be as patient as I can. I have both time and headroom to play with. Having the bub's hit 15" gave me an itchy trigger finger for a bit.
There's no doubt my superskunks were not happy starting out in MG. They struggled early, but have really picked it up lately. But yeah, next year - no MG - at least for young plants. And hey.. I totally appreciate how nice your 30-day plants look in your pic there. I would just point out that mine are growing under MH, and while they're 9-10" tall right now, they have 9-12 internodes ('bout the same as yours in the pics, no?), where yours are more leggy. You've clearly got your system dialed in; I'm still putting it together. Point is, there's a ton of variables from one person's grow to another, and trying to pin a height difference on two selected factors from the many is a little shaky.
We'll have to debate water pH another time; I'm weary of the subject.
It's all about soil buffering, ultimately. Your plants never see the pH of your incoming water -- it's zapped to another value immediately upon hitting the soil by soil buffers. In the meantime, ponder the fact that natural rainfall never exceeds pH 5.7 and, since the advent of modern man and worldwide atmospheric pollution, it's usually 5.0 or less, often a whole lot less, like low 4's. So, outdoor MJ has never ever seen this magical pH 6.5 water people are enamored of, and it hasn't seen a pH above 5.0 since about 1900.
Cheers, bro - thanks again.
