Noob light cycle question

Hi all. Sorry if this has been discussed here before, but I couldn't find it.

Today my seedlings broke through the soil, and now I have them under fluorescent light. I'm planning on moving them into my greenhouse in a couple weeks, but I'm unsure how much light I should give them until then. I've read a few different things, like giving them 24 hours of light, 18 hours, etc. I'm wondering, since they will only be spending a couple weeks indoor under light before they go outside, would it be more beneficial for me to just mimic the natural light cycle until I put them out? For example, if sunrise tomorrow is 6:00 AM, and sunset is 9:00 PM, I turn the light on and off at those times, increasing the daylight time by a few minutes every day. If I give them 18 - 24 hours light for a couple weeks and then move them out into 15 - 16 hours of light, won't that make them want to start flowering? Will they veg properly if I stick to the natural cycle of 15 - 16 hours of light for a couple weeks and then move them to the greenhouse where they will get pretty much the same amount of daylight?

I don't know how much difference it makes, but the strain is Early Vixen, which is supposedly 60% indica.

Sorry about the noob question. I really want to give them the best start possible.

I would just do 24 hours if I didn't have a timer, if I did I would go ahead and mimic the light cycle. They won't flower going to 15-16 hours of light.

You do whatever you want. 24, 18, 16, doesn't really matter. They wont flower until they get 10-12 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night, so you are good.

Oh, and nice name. I loved that book. 1,300 pages that i read twice, and i'd gladly read again.

Thanks for the advice, guys! I appreciate the help.

And yes, The Stand is awesome!

veg 18 on 6 off or 16on 8 off. flowering 12-12

I'm sure he means 24on ,18 on , 16on. Some people wean the lights down slowly to 12-12, helps stretching in the 1-2 wks of flower.

I do 24 veg an this is mine almost 1 week into flower 3'x3'

vegged 1 1/2 months

The ability to control the light cycle is just another awesome example of why indoor kicks ass...

Ambitious growers often utilize a 24-0 veg photoperiod to get max growth in veg.
It really depends on how quickly u want growth, and how much electricity your willing to burn.

I do 24 veg personally...

personally ive found 18-6 for me for veg and ive strayed both way to 16-8 all the way to 24-0.

18-6 most light to most sleep and strong happy veg plants for switching to flowering 12-12 IMHO

not orious what lights you use?

I'd veg 24/0 until June 20th ( depending on your location ) then pop them into the greenhouse. But that's just me.

and do you have a pic of how far apart your branches are in that light cycle? I just figured the more light deprived the more they would stretch in that time I like my plants to grow "tightly together" is the only way to put it im too high. but if you are using like a hps or mh maybe they get enough, I use a five b panel t5 for veg

crazy 24h lights guys really do you have to stress them so much. i think the best light time is 16h on 8h off they LOVE THE DARK GUYS!! lol

they LOVE to STRETCH in the dark. a growing plant doesn't always mean a good thing tight nodes is what your after you can get the same yield off a tall plant as a small plant and in 30 days plant is ready to flower and is a perfect size never seen any "stress" of course some ppl might not find hp a plant acceptable idk...

refer to pic^^^ 2 months growing WhErEs ThE StReSS? 3'by3'

Obviously its up to you lol. Your day is actually a couple of hours longer than the sun up/down times as well. I do 18 myself as it seems a good medium between power consumption and growth. Besides power rates go up after 12 hr cycle here , from 7pm till 7am is cheapest then goes up and down throughout daytime. Not great for pot growing until flowering lol.

yes I don't see anything wrong with 18 6 it just takes a bit longer to veg imo and I hate messing with timers and all that tryin to make sure the lights get on/off. on 24 I just have to worry about watering