Struggling to force flowering

S

Schmuinki

Member
ilovereggae said:
Hmm, this might be part of your problem? I've never heard or seen of this before at all. Could be that the plexiglass is actually filtering more light than you think and they aren't getting what they need. Curious where you got that idea from?

I would try removing the plexiglass and see if that helps at all. Thats the only extra variable I can see.
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Thought that might raise an eyebrow. Well, red/yellow/orange light has a warmer colour temp than what's being emitted from the CFL (6500 Kelvin from the CFL). I.e better for flowering... So I figured if I change the color of the light hitting the plant by using a coloured filter then I will have achieved the appropriate colour temp without having to buy a whole new set of lights. I know, there will be some loss of light intensity, but dont think it's to much...
 
ilovereggae

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Schmuinki said:
Thought that might raise an eyebrow. Well, red/yellow/orange light has a warmer colour temp than what's being emitted from the CFL (6500 Kelvin from the CFL). I.e better for flowering... So I figured if I change the color of the light hitting the plant by using a coloured filter then I will have achieved the appropriate colour temp without having to buy a whole new set of lights. I know, there will be some loss of light intensity, but dont think it's to much...
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Gotcha. I am by no means an expert in these matters, but this is one of those decisions I would have run past someone with more experience first. I do understand color temps and their usage at different stages of growth. My most recent light build is using five 2 foot Bridgelux vesta tuneable strips which I got specifically so I can dial in different strains needs for veg.

I also am pretty sure the color temp of the bulb is what it is, and you are not going to lower the color temp with plexiglass. If I had to guess you are just diffusing 30% of your lumens/photons that way. So you are just at a extreme veg color temp and less of it, than than the 3000k ideal for flower, at the intensity that you need.
 
N

Newbie709

New Member
I have grown using 24 and then 12/12 and had no issues both from clones and from seed. Perhaps the genetics?? But the type of lighting could certainly be the issue.
 
S

Schmuinki

Member
ilovereggae said:
Gotcha. I am by no means an expert in these matters, but this is one of those decisions I would have run past someone with more experience first. I do understand color temps and their usage at different stages of growth. My most recent light build is using five 2 foot Bridgelux vesta tuneable strips which I got specifically so I can dial in different strains needs for veg.

I also am pretty sure the color temp of the bulb is what it is, and you are not going to lower the color temp with plexiglass. If I had to guess you are just diffusing 30% of your lumens/photons that way. So you are just at a extreme veg color temp and less of it, than than the 3000k ideal for flower, at the intensity that you need.
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Yeah I hear you. It was just a far cheaper alternative than buying new lights... Corona times...

For interest's sake, different colour light has different wave lengths and temp. The color temp is unique to that color light. You wouldn't find a blue light with a colour demo of 3000K for instance, neither would there be a red light with 6800K temp. My understanding is that by passing the light through a coloured glass or plastic, you are in effect changing the colour temp and wave length of the light....

I will however consider buying some other more suitable lights.
 
ilovereggae

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Schmuinki said:
Yeah I hear you. It was just a far cheaper alternative than buying new lights... Corona times...

For interest's sake, different colour light has different wave lengths and temp. The color temp is unique to that color light. You wouldn't find a blue light with a colour demo of 3000K for instance, neither would there be a red light with 6800K temp. My understanding is that by passing the light through a coloured glass or plastic, you are in effect changing the colour temp and wave length of the light....

I will however consider buying some other more suitable lights.
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Cool. You are also technically underpowered for 32sf at the moment. Even with LEDs which only need 30w sf to yield well, you would need 960W. With HPS/CMH you would need closer to 40-50w sf. CFL the way you have it probably needs a little more.

I would stick 2 600w CMH in there for best value/cost.

If tent height/heat/energy use is an issue I would go for a strips build or four HLG qb120 4 packs and run 2 480w drivers.
 
S

Schmuinki

Member
Newbie709 said:
I have grown using 24 and then 12/12 and had no issues both from clones and from seed. Perhaps the genetics?? But the type of lighting could certainly be the issue.
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ilovereggae said:
Cool. You are also technically underpowered for 32sf at the moment. Even with LEDs which only need 30w sf to yield well, you would need 960W. With HPS/CMH you would need closer to 40-50w sf. CFL the way you have it probably needs a little more.

I would stick 2 600w CMH in there for best value/cost.

If tent height/heat/energy use is an issue I would go for a strips build or four HLG qb120 4 packs and run 2 480w drivers.
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Brother, I live in Africa. We dont have those fancy lights here. If we did they would cost an arm and a leg.

I appreciate the help. I'll keep you posted
 
THT

THT

Well-Known Member
Doug Dawson said:
"Vegging plants indoors is overrated"? Can you expand on that?
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happy to elaborate. 12/12 from seeds with most strains allows me to harvest within about 3 months, meaning I can harvest 4 times per year in the same space a standard 4 week veg time may only be harvesting 3 times per year. Secondly, indoors for most people limits height substantially, not you folks that have entire rooms with 9ft ceilings, I'm talking a tent with 6ft height or less. depending on the strain and the lights, ive still had plants @12/12 from seed overgrow a 6ft height tent. While some strains that begin flowering faster under these conditions may only yield an ounce or so, my standard per plant is usually 60-80 grams, with some plants yielding well over 120 grams. 12/12 from seed, 3 months to finish. Having grown both ways for me (and most indoor growers) its a no brainer, the potency, flavor, smells, none of this appears to be changed by using this method.
 
THT

THT

Well-Known Member
Schmuinki said:
The plants have been growing well and show no signs on deficiencies or excess nutrients. What more info could I share with you that may help you understand ?
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you said Hydro, DWC? RDWC? Flood and drain? what you got? PPM? What type of nutes? what are your temps? what is the water temperature, what is the starting PPM of the water you use, what water are you using? etc etc etc etc
 
THT

THT

Well-Known Member
Mrs. Weedstein said:
So you basically sprout into 12/12? What kind of yield does that give, because I was under the impression you end up with basically nothing. (Like an eighth or less.)
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Yes I sprout directly into a 12/12 light cycle and it never changes.
your assumption about yield is incorrect, most plants naturally 'veg' even under 12/12 for a few weeks up to about 6 weeks usually depending on the sativa influence, from there, there is still a week or 3 of 'stretch' then the standard flower cycle. If you see my previous post, my average yield per plant is 60-80 grams, 12/12 from seed has no drawbacks that I am aware of.
 
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THT

THT

Well-Known Member
just an example - sorry for hijacking the thread, want to make sure you all know I'm not just spouting BS - I use DWC with 5 gallon buckets botanicare pro grow and bloom and thats it, this is from a few rounds ago but should give you an idea of what is possible with 12/12 from seed, strain is Super City Haze (Super Silver Haze X Uptown Brown) yield was outstanding so its not like this is the 'norm' with most strains. Light is the mars hydro TSL2000 so about 300W
20200307_133308.jpg
 
THT

THT

Well-Known Member
ilovereggae said:
Flowering plants before they are sexually mature increases your chance of herms.

I agree that flowering lots of small plants is better than a few big ones. Fuck plant counts lol. Running from clones that have been taken from mature moms is a better move than flowering straight from seed. Plus that way if one of the phenos turns out killer, u can immediately take more cuts from the mom instead of having to reveg and wait months until more cuts are ready. Just my experience.
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I am with you, I personally do have access to clones, but I like the hunt more. Also - if I want to ensure I wont have to reveg, I take clones from them before they start flowering - this does make it a bit harder and theres usually abou a 2 week window where taking clones is most ideal, but it doesn't stop them from rooting. Ive used this method with a bunch of grows to ensure i didnt lose anything special, and well, ive also revegged a lot of plants.
 
Doug Dawson

Doug Dawson

Well-Known Member
THT said:
happy to elaborate. 12/12 from seeds with most strains allows me to harvest within about 3 months, meaning I can harvest 4 times per year in the same space a standard 4 week veg time may only be harvesting 3 times per year. Secondly, indoors for most people limits height substantially, not you folks that have entire rooms with 9ft ceilings, I'm talking a tent with 6ft height or less. depending on the strain and the lights, ive still had plants @12/12 from seed overgrow a 6ft height tent. While some strains that begin flowering faster under these conditions may only yield an ounce or so, my standard per plant is usually 60-80 grams, with some plants yielding well over 120 grams. 12/12 from seed, 3 months to finish. Having grown both ways for me (and most indoor growers) its a no brainer, the potency, flavor, smells, none of this appears to be changed by using this method.
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HMMM, that is interesting. It's was the "indoors" that made me scratch my head. You are still vegging indoors but really just talking about a different light cycle than most use from the start. Thanks for the explanation, I see what you were talking about now. Nice looking plant :bigjoint:
 
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DustyDuke

DustyDuke

Well-Known Member
Schmuinki said:
Hi everyone

So, I started a grow a couple months ago. It's my first hydro grow and also first grow where I have had the lights running 24hrs a day during veg.
Some of the plants developed pistils relatively early but some not at all and no sign of Male sex organs either. The plants are all growing very well and are extremely healthy looking.

I switched to 12/12 light cycle about 2 weeks ago, changed to a warmer light color AND increased potassium quite substantially.
The plants all appear unchanged by the switch and many still not showing any signs of sex.

I am perplexed to say the least.

The seeds are just from the bag, that I collected over some time.

I have a second, younger grow running simultaneously that also started with 24 hrs light. Not a single plant has shown its sex after about a month.... I've switched it over to 18/6 schedule now.

Has anyone had similar issues with 24hrs light cycle ??
Any advice would be appreciated.
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What lights are you running? They look like cfl's I find they they take a bit of time to get the flower cycle started. Plus 2 weeks isn't that long there bagseed so who knows what they will do. I would just be patient and stick to 12/12
 
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