Rum Nugginz
Active Member
Does the dark period during veg need to be kept completely dark, like it needs to be kept it during flowering?
Does the 6 hour dark cycle during 18/6 veg have to be completely dark?
- Thread starter Rum Nugginz
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TheSadBadGrower
Well-Known Member
no. the dark is just to have the plant think summer is over and its time to produce big boy or big girl parts.
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
I do understand that the 12 hour dark period during flowering has to be uninterupted and pitch black. However sometimes during the vegetative 6 hour dark time I will turn on a light or watch television in the same room as the tent. I was wondering how sensitive they are to that. Thank you
alphapinene
Well-Known Member
It's fine
Budget Buds
Well-Known Member
Not quite, Flowering plants are not affected by full moons, A little light will not hurt them , but it's better to err on the side of caution with that....
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
so,during during veg. as long as the grow lights are off and they are in a fairly dark spot, they can get enough rest to carry on their nighttime functions, like root growth, respiration etc? I have always noticed that the plants do a lot of growing during the dark period.
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
I always try to be very careful during flowering
Budget Buds
Well-Known Member
Get or build a flower initiator and you can run 10/14 and still flower normally, it's nice because it equates to an extra 4 or 5 days during an 8 week cycle 
TheSadBadGrower
Well-Known Member
You can run your lights 24/0 in veg if you'd like....plants will still be fine.
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
I used to run em 24, but I like to give them a bit of rest now.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
They do grow at night. They use carbs stored from the daytime photosynthesis. I've always noted that plants look tired after about 16 hours of light, giving them a little rest at night really perks them up. I have not noticed a drop off in growth rates since I went from 24/0 to 18/6 lighting years ago, if anything they are a little healthier with the 18/6 schedule. Saves some energy too.
I would never go back to the 24/0 schedule.
TheSadBadGrower
Well-Known Member
Yea I run 20/4 for the first week then drop off to 18/6 then 12/12 and finally 10/14 in the final week prior to harvest. I run a few lights so it saves on the bill.
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
interesting
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
I agree 100% some of the fastest veg growth I ever encountered was when I did a 12/12 from seed grow a while back
TheSadBadGrower
Well-Known Member
To be honest I think the entire light leak thing is just a made up thing for plants that just had the hermie gene in them. Outside growers got full moons and all kinds of lights and their plants don't hermie every grow. Just a thought though....
Rum Nugginz
Active Member
I have often wondered the same thing about the outdoor moon. I think that the biggest chance of getting herms in flower is to mess with the light schedule or to turn on the grow light on full blast in the middle of the dark cycle intermittently
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Rum Nugginz
Active Member
I could be wrong though
Renfro
Well-Known Member
There are two types of hermie.
1) The kind that produces balls. Thats a true genetic hermie and it won't make any difference what the environmental ques are, it will make pollen.
2) The kind that produces bananas. Genetics plays a part as some strains aren't prone to this issue regardless of stress. That said, the hermies that produce bananas are generally triggered by light leaks, although some will just do it anyway, those are really aggressive and make a LOT of bananas.
So if you get a hermie that makes balls it's not from light leaks, just bad genetics. If you get one that makes just a few bananas then it is likely stress related, some do it if they are too hot in later flower, but light leaks are the biggest cause IME.
1) The kind that produces balls. Thats a true genetic hermie and it won't make any difference what the environmental ques are, it will make pollen.
2) The kind that produces bananas. Genetics plays a part as some strains aren't prone to this issue regardless of stress. That said, the hermies that produce bananas are generally triggered by light leaks, although some will just do it anyway, those are really aggressive and make a LOT of bananas.
So if you get a hermie that makes balls it's not from light leaks, just bad genetics. If you get one that makes just a few bananas then it is likely stress related, some do it if they are too hot in later flower, but light leaks are the biggest cause IME.
TheSadBadGrower
Well-Known Member
Would the nanner pollination create a feminized seed since the male gene isn't present?