hey bro - im running my autos at 18/6. Energy savings isnt really anything I am worried about and what would 2 more hours really cost. So would you bump it up to 20/4 or keep at 18/6. Been running 18/6 since first week of December. I have also read min should be 18/6, but I also read that 24/0 doesnt really make much of a difference. So any real life stats - for i.e 24/0 produced x amount more vs 18/6 vs 20/4. Does anyone have any factual #s?
To me personally ... I really didn't see the value of 20/4 or so. For me the ONLY benefits you can gain from the plant isn't the schedule .... It's the grow environment and conditions of your grow ... feeding them right , little to no stress , light training and just letting them do their thing .
Percentage wise , it was not really worth it for me as gains were not that much.
I like to do 18/6 MOSTLY to give my lights a break , not the plants.
18 hours on is plenty for great plant growth , with dark time 6 hours that just keep a natural night and day routine. Even though this mimics long days , it is the normal cycle to use. Plants are grown with 20/4 or 24/0 - user preference. There are members here killing it with higher cycles ... If it won't be an issue , then run them , just keep it the same seed to chop.
Actually , for AUTOS - Do Hempy grows or hydro . These will grow bigger plants.
I do 100% perlite Hempy from time to time and they grow about a good 1/3 bigger than my grow pots in soil .