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18/6 or 24/0 in veg?

2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
I understand the C3 Calvin Cycle means no dark period is required and weed grows better on a 24/0 light regime but after doing half a batch of seedlings on 24/0 and the other half on 18/6 i have to say the 18/6 seedlings look a lot better, bigger and zero stress whereas the 24/0 seedlings turned away from the lights now and again and generally looked a bit stressed.

Ok i repeated this a few times before posting to make sure of my results and read every scientific paper i could get my hands on.

Everybody says otherwise but consistently plants were much better with a dark period. My environment is dialled in perfectly (except for the odd uninvited carpert beetle).

Yes everything points to C3 plants not needing a dark period but all data focusses soley on the calvin cycle but make a point of saying there are many other processes making hormones/vitamins etc etc that could be the limiting factor and a dark period may benifit these.

Ive read the science (even phytochromes) and experimented myself but i have to go against the tide and say even though it appears C3 plants dont need a dark cycle they do a lot better with one.

Everything has prompted me to set my timer from 24/0 to 18/6 and im getting much better growth.

There seems to be a lot we dont understand and i feel that marijuana does better with a little daily rest. Strange how my 18/6 plants grew much better over the 24/0 girls.

Hmmmm! :-)
 
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Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
NOT strange ,, and just because a plant doesn't "need" a lights out period to grow, sure doesn't MEAN that it will grow better!

Your experiment has shown that!

Thank you for your time to show others!

Now someone will argue that we're wrong....
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
Not just us as few years back an experiment ran 18/6 20/4 and 24/0. The results consistently showed 20/4 gave best biomass and growth.

Coincedentally enough autoflower experiments yeilded that 24/0 actually gave a much smaller harvest and plant than both 20/4 and 18/6.

Each to their own but personally i find 24/0 stresses my plants a little and they end up too small and compact.

Intresting how autoflowers run better with a dark period when you think 24/0 would produce much more.

Dr. Who said:
NOT strange ,, and just because a plant doesn't "need" a lights out period to grow, sure doesn't MEAN that it will grow better!

Your experiment has shown that!

Thank you for your time to show others!

Now someone will argue that we're wrong....
Click to expand...
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
vitamin_green_inc said:
Yeah I think 20/4 is actually the sweet spot for veg, and autoflowers do produce more under 20/4 than 24/0
Click to expand...

Damn, years ago i always had timer for dark period in veg but this time when i set up i thought why not go 24/0 and ditch the timer, one less hassle and electrical device. Plants stalled a little and grew smaller and slower. I thought i was ferting wrong and went up to high ec's but no change. Then i reset everything back down to normal but this time i pulled the timer out and set for 18/6 and voila seedlings looking good again.

So much info says 24/0 makes for better plants but ive trialed it a few times and i cant explain why this one variable makes such a difference.

The autoflower photoperiods really convinced me a lot and to be honest i thought peeps would tell me 24/0 is best so mucho thanksio for your input on this very strange matter :-)
 
ISK

ISK

Well-Known Member
24/0 consumes more electricity and bulb lifespan, has anyone ever been able to justified these additional costs?.

Each mode (24/0, 20/4, 18/6, 16/8 or any thing in-between) seems to have some advantages at certain points of the plants life.

example: seedlings do very well in 24/0 especially if night temps are cold

I think certain strains can do better in one mode than others, but generally speaking I believe 18/6 to 20/4 are the most effective...I like to split the difference at 19/5

I would love to do a side by side comparison some day, but it's hard to duplicate conditions to properly compare

BTW: I tried 16/8 last fall....I was impressed and may consider trying it again
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
If the plants grow better with less light, that means less money and more production. Win/win. I run 18/6 and they grow like mad.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
ISK said:
I would love to do a side by side comparison some day, but it's hard to duplicate conditions to properly compare

BTW: I tried 16/8 last fall....I was impressed and may consider trying it again
Click to expand...
Easy to do just plant 6 seeds and put 3 in a dark place for six hours a day.

I can control humidity and temps with humidifier and heat mat for the dark period just to keep all variables the same for all seedlings.

I would say its easy to do if you got a spare flouro and seeds.


Smokenpassout said:
24/0
Click to expand...

I dont disagree man but i am curious about what im seeing in seedlings.

Tbh i think seedlings fascinate me more than anything else when growing weed.



ttystikk said:
If the plants grow better with less light, that means less money and more production. Win/win. I run 18/6 and they grow like mad.
Click to expand...

Have you done a 24/0 from seed for comparison?

Many threads seem to suggest clones do best with a dark period, also seen many threads where peeps got shot down for suggesting mary J does best with a dark period and 24/0 is not superior
 
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ISK

ISK

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2Hearts said:
Easy to do just plant 6 seeds and put 3 in a dark place for six hours a day.

I can control humidity and temps with humidifier and heat mat for the dark period just to keep all variables the same for all seedlings.

I would say its easy to do if you got a spare flouro and seeds.

I dont disagree man but i am curious about what im seeing in seedlings.

Tbh i think seedlings fascinate me more than anything else when growing weed.
Click to expand...
it's such a manual process to move the plants into a dark room daily at specific intervals, which would require me to live a life of a routine....I've done this before and it takes over your life, best to have timers take care of business :)
 
204Kush Master

204Kush Master

Well-Known Member
Yea I agree I clone in rock wool takes clippings a week tom 7 days to root then I place them in cups for about 3 or 4 days and there already 7 or 8 inches tall then I put them in 5 gallon pots for 7 to 10 days and there already 18 to 20 inches tall straight into the bud room and slowly lower the yellow lights starting about 4 feet away till there 18 inches from plants and slowly adjust 18/24 to 12/12 .I do this over a 3 or 4 day period so they can adjust to the flower cycle and different light spec.after that its go go go by the 3rd week into flower their 3 feet tall with loonie sized buds.5 more weeks and done
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
ISK said:
it's such a manual process to move the plants into a dark room daily at specific intervals, which would require me to live a life of a routine....I've done this before and it takes over your life, best to have timers take care of business :)
Click to expand...
Right on but the grow bugs got me and i just cant pop enough beans atm. Once they hit veg i lost intrest as im already trying somthing else.


204Kush Master said:
Yea I agree I clone in rock wool takes clippings a week tom 7 days to root then I place them in cups for about 3 or 4 days and there already 7 or 8 inches tall then I put them in 5 gallon pots for 7 to 10 days and there already 18 to 20 inches tall straight into the bud room and slowly lower the yellow lights starting about 4 feet away till there 18 inches from plants and slowly adjust 18/24 to 12/12 .I do this over a 3 or 4 day period so they can adjust to the flower cycle and different light spec.after that its go go go by the 3rd week into flower their 3 feet tall with loonie sized buds.5 more weeks and done
Click to expand...

A lot of what your saying references to phytochromes and the far red nm. A lot of what i read seems to suggest that its better to change from 24/7 to 12/12 ( except i dont like 24/7 hence the thread :-) ) because the plant sees a bigger change in red nm and far red nm light so initiates flowering quicker.

I am still popping bean after bean and a while till im even considering flowering so can only speculate here.

Growing weed gives me bucket loads of patience but really really deep deep way down inside me ive kicked crap out of my plants, slashed and burnt my tents and checked into rehab for the sheer frustration of trying to get things perfect perpetually. Im at the end of 30 bagseed so almost time to do a grow.

Pic is two seedlings at day 4/5 under 24/7 which i change tonight to 18/6 just to run one final experiment. I allow temps to run few degrees C° cooler at night but humidity i keep 50% always.

They just dont have that vigour ive seen previously and dont look very lush plus a day or so behind so smaller and compacter than usual.

The back furthest one got ferts at 0.5 and is more shiny and more stress and near closest one is just using the earthwormcasts in the promix (which seems enough without any added ferts).

Ive got two more sprouting in a couple days also toms and jalepeno few days after. Run a few plants 18/6 and hopefully its all good.2015-04-16 01.23.32.jpg
 
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204Kush Master

204Kush Master

Well-Known Member
I here yea get rid of the bag seed choose 1 good strain
buy 2 fem seeds from I can suggest berry bomb
6-8 week flowering time resistant to almost everything plant
.you cant kill it good strain huge tight bud I got over 9 oz 23g 1 plant
grow those seeds as soon as you can get 4 good clones from
each plant cut them root all #1 is alls I use the powder stuff
then DSCF7328.jpg ph 10 rock wool blocks cut your clones then cut the top of each
plant and clone use those as your moms put them in a tray with a lid
keep moist and I use 1000w mh and keep them at least 4-5 feet away
should root in 7-10 days keep them just close enough to the light for
temps about 78f inside the tray. When rooted place in a beer cup 4-7 days
you will see when there ready as they eat and the soil dries use trace nutes
I grow soilless mix #4 .Transplant into 5 gallon pot remember to ph your
medium veg and slowly lower your light till its about 2 feet away and they
look super nice.Take the best 2 there your Moms. Put the other 8 into a flowering
room keep the 1000w hps about 3 feet above your plants and over the
next few days lower your light to about 18 inches from plant , rotate the
plants so the yellow light gets all sides of it and the plants get used to it.
I make circles and drop the light in the middle . spin the plants every feeding
slowly increase the nute level . Remember its feed feed water or feed water water
depending on strain .Now the hard part.
you have moms for clones learn to grow 1 strain till you get perfect results.
might take 10 - 20 grows but learn to grow 1 strain perfectly. When you do
that you'll be able to grow anything.lol
oh yea if you choose berry bomb a perfect grow is 3 lbs a light dry
follow that method I wrote up above and you'll get this when its a perfect grow.
there's also tons of other stuff like I clip everything at the bottom about a foot up
even more at week 1 day 5 and so on and so on lolol
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
I grown before for few years just now after a break i want to mess around and get things much better. I have my prefered strains and most grow equipment for full badas grows but bagseed allows me to practice cheaply. It all the same indica dominant strains round here so your quite confident in the bagseed plus its free to me. I no matter the seed there always similar from the same batch. Id honestly have flowered many times over by now just i wasnt in a rush and wanted to boost my grow experience level as ive in the psst at points. I hope my pics at least show an average grow level not a noob level and i run great gear which gives me great control and enviromentals. Next seeds ive used smallet pots to increase watering frequency, always trying to improve the seedling stage atm and rest is uninteresting until i start a grow.
204Kush Master said:
I here yea get rid of the bag seed choose 1 good strain
buy 2 fem seeds from I can suggest berry bomb
6-8 week flowering time resistant to almost everything plant
.you cant kill it good strain huge tight bud I got over 9 oz 23g 1 plant
grow those seeds as soon as you can get 4 good clones from
each plant cut them root all #1 is alls I use the powder stuff
then View attachment 3396447 ph 10 rock wool blocks cut your clones then cut the top of each
plant and clone use those as your moms put them in a tray with a lid
keep moist and I use 1000w mh and keep them at least 4-5 feet away
should root in 7-10 days keep them just close enough to the light for
temps about 78f inside the tray. When rooted place in a beer cup 4-7 days
you will see when there ready as they eat and the soil dries use trace nutes
I grow soilless mix #4 .Transplant into 5 gallon pot remember to ph your
medium veg and slowly lower your light till its about 2 feet away and they
look super nice.Take the best 2 there your Moms. Put the other 8 into a flowering
room keep the 1000w hps about 3 feet above your plants and over the
next few days lower your light to about 18 inches from plant , rotate the
plants so the yellow light gets all sides of it and the plants get used to it.
I make circles and drop the light in the middle . spin the plants every feeding
slowly increase the nute level . Remember its feed feed water or feed water water
depending on strain .Now the hard part.
you have moms for clones learn to grow 1 strain till you get perfect results.
might take 10 - 20 grows but learn to grow 1 strain perfectly. When you do
that you'll be able to grow anything.lol
oh yea if you choose berry bomb a perfect grow is 3 lbs a light dry
follow that method I wrote up above and you'll get this when its a perfect grow.
there's also tons of other stuff like I clip everything at the bottom about a foot up
even more at week 1 day 5 and so on and so on lolol
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
204Kush Master said:
I here yea get rid of the bag seed choose 1 good strain
buy 2 fem seeds from I can suggest berry bomb
6-8 week flowering time resistant to almost everything plant
.you cant kill it good strain huge tight bud I got over 9 oz 23g 1 plant
grow those seeds as soon as you can get 4 good clones from
each plant cut them root all #1 is alls I use the powder stuff
then View attachment 3396447 ph 10 rock wool blocks cut your clones then cut the top of each
plant and clone use those as your moms put them in a tray with a lid
keep moist and I use 1000w mh and keep them at least 4-5 feet away
should root in 7-10 days keep them just close enough to the light for
temps about 78f inside the tray. When rooted place in a beer cup 4-7 days
you will see when there ready as they eat and the soil dries use trace nutes
I grow soilless mix #4 .Transplant into 5 gallon pot remember to ph your
medium veg and slowly lower your light till its about 2 feet away and they
look super nice.Take the best 2 there your Moms. Put the other 8 into a flowering
room keep the 1000w hps about 3 feet above your plants and over the
next few days lower your light to about 18 inches from plant , rotate the
plants so the yellow light gets all sides of it and the plants get used to it.
I make circles and drop the light in the middle . spin the plants every feeding
slowly increase the nute level . Remember its feed feed water or feed water water
depending on strain .Now the hard part.
you have moms for clones learn to grow 1 strain till you get perfect results.
might take 10 - 20 grows but learn to grow 1 strain perfectly. When you do
that you'll be able to grow anything.lol
oh yea if you choose berry bomb a perfect grow is 3 lbs a light dry
follow that method I wrote up above and you'll get this when its a perfect grow.
there's also tons of other stuff like I clip everything at the bottom about a foot up
even more at week 1 day 5 and so on and so on lolol
Click to expand...
Btw your pics impressive and great bud ratio :-)
 
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