they first showed the green leafs with the seed still stuck to one of the leafs on feb. 23. and now here they are i quesstimate 2 weeks ish dont feel like looking at a calander.....and i dont feel like baby sitting 4 plants much longer...i would want to sort males from females sooner rather then later.. here are some pics when is the earlist i could start and any good or bad wasy of doing it?
old enough for early sexing?
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Solstice07
Well-Known Member
Dude,
How and why did you put the straws on the stems? A better question might be how are you going to get them off? I'd prolly just have filled the cups full of dirt if it's support you needed and then get more/closer lighting. I'm a Noob here and don't think you can sex a 2 week old seedling. Best of luck to ya.
How and why did you put the straws on the stems? A better question might be how are you going to get them off? I'd prolly just have filled the cups full of dirt if it's support you needed and then get more/closer lighting. I'm a Noob here and don't think you can sex a 2 week old seedling. Best of luck to ya.
about the straws they keep em up right with the fan blowing on em and i put a slit down the middle of the straw so there easily removed.the plants are about 5 inches tall ......and there about 6 inches or less from 2 26 watt 6500k cfls and there are 2 incandesent lights above those mainly to keep em earm cause the area is only 65 ish but they make a littl ebit of light as well now can somone answer my under lying question?
grind
Well-Known Member
allright so 1. get those straws off of there, the stems won't get big and thick if they're not exposed to wind and so it wont be able to hold up shit. 2. start 12/12 whenever you want, the plant wont show sex until it's mature enough and then you can either keep going or revert back to veg if you want some monsters. Im not sure if there is any truth to this but i think that if you start 12/12 early, the plants veg cycle is sped up as a result of the plant trying to mature faster so that it can flower.
BenasaurusRex
Active Member
Those plants aren't barely past the seedling stage, you've got a long while until you can accurately sex them. They broke ground broke last 10 days ago so you can pretty much say you entered vege stage like let's say monday. Estimate 2 months of vegetative growth before the plants enter pre-flowering, which is when a plants sex can be determined for sure. When the plants start to develop the calyx, (calyx are the little rain drop shaped parts of the bud, when you tear a bud off a stem right before you smoke it, it's that little piece of goodness that sometimes stays attached to the stem) the males will have raised calyx while the females calyx will be grow directly out of the node. That's the 100% way, also, males tend to be the taller more vigorous ones. I'd get them into some bigger pots, asap, the roots can really blow up quick.
BenasaurusRex
Active Member
Also, switching to a to a 12/12 light cycle before your plants enter pre-flowering can cause hermaphrodites. Hold them at 24/0 or whatever you're using until they show sex.
homegrownboy
Well-Known Member
Plants will show sex between week 5-8 of growth. I always let my plants preflower before I start my flowering stage.
grind
Well-Known Member
I've read that the sex of the plant is genetically predetermined and even if it isnt i really don't think that switching to 12/12 early will cause hermies because most people start 12/12 before the plant shows preflowers so that it doesnt get too big and still have an average male:female:hermie ratio.
Mr. Bitti
Well-Known Member
really? i just had a plant show sex in about day 19 after sprouting. its all about the strain. when the plant is ready to enter flowering it will if not it will stay in veg even under 12/12 lighting untill its ready. grind had it right the first time
Mr. Bitti
Well-Known Member
didnt you ever think outside its always 12/12 in the tropics and plants grow just fine lol. it just makes more sense to think that an 18/6 schedule will maybe make them hermie. i am not suggesting anything of the sort. they react very well to both light cycles and even heard of peaople goin 14/12 cycles of 26 hrs and no hermie.
BenasaurusRex
Active Member
The whole point of switching the photoperiod to 12/12 is to make the plants think that it is later in the year, thus causing the plant to create larger flowers, to generate more resin, in order to catch pollen from a male plant. If the plant is still in the vege stage, the stress of being forced to flower early triggers the plant into a situation where the plant thinks its chances of reproduction are slim to none. This causes the plant to try and self-pollinate, the condition known as hermaphrodite.
BenasaurusRex
Active Member
If you're getting hermies, it's either bad genetics, or you're stressing them into it. And unless you are exactly on the equator, the day is still longer than the night until the fall equinox, which is when most outdoor crops are harvested
Mr. Bitti
Well-Known Member
why the hell would they be stressed to flower? you can have a plant that will veg on 12/12 as long as it wants before it starts flowering. i would understand they might get stressed to flower if you put them on something like 8 hours of light a day. i think your argument is not very true. i have had outdoor girls in the tropics planted in december with under 12 hours of lights a day and never a single hermie. i believe that having plants on a 18/6 veg cycle is to be able to grow them the way you want and train them to the size you want and cause all that stress before you enter the flowering stage. that way you dont stunt the plants growth while buds are forming and get the better yields. ive seen plenty of 12/12 from seed and all the weed grown near the equator outdoor lives like this
BenasaurusRex
Active Member
It may seem like a waste, but wiegh the cost of soil and some $2 pots over your plants not growing anymore, I understand you don't want to pay to keep the males alive, but for all you know, they could all be females, there is a chance. If the roots run out of room to grow tho, the plant will stop growing and you'll have a little beer cup sized plant until you harvest.
Mr. Bitti
Well-Known Member
if you are close to the equator plant a seed of weed any time of the year and watch it thrive! even when the days are getting longer the plants grow just fine. you do have a point there i think hermies come more from genetics and other factors of stress, light cycle changes like going from 18/6 to 12/12 and then back to 18/6 can stress the plant but if you have a constant cycle and when you switch you keep it that way then you shouldnt get anything hermie because of your light cycle
BenasaurusRex
Active Member
I don't care where you live, unless it is exactly on the equator, natural daylight is never exactly 12/12 except on the equinox. I use the word exact because minutes and seconds count.