I’m starting my plants indoors. What should my light schedule be before I move them outside?

Cammcdan

Member
I started my 4 seeds indoors. I have them under lights and I’m waiting till they get established and the weather gets better so I can move them into the sun. Should I mimic the actually sunlight or should I add more light to there schedule ? Also there in red solo cups. What size pots should I transplant into ?
 

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
There's a lot of different ways of answeringthis with generic info. Generically 16/8, light dark for veg in early spring.
Are your seeds feminized or traditional seeds? That answer can determine your light cycle and your goal of moving them outdoors.
 

Cammcdan

Member
There's a lot of different ways of answeringthis with generic info. Generically 16/8, light dark for veg in early spring.
Are your seeds feminized or traditional seeds? That answer can determine your light cycle and your goal of moving them outdoors.
They are feminized P1 seeds
 

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
16/8.
While indoors this will get them as big as possible. When putting outdoors keep the lighting schedule untill end of April or beginning of May. Where im at thats when its 14 hours light and getting longer. Clones keep on veging without lights, feminized seeds show sex but keep on veging and traditional seeds declare male or female.
So wherever your latitude when its 14 hours light and getting longer you can put em out with little risk of going into flower.
 

petert

Well-Known Member
I’ve always gone 18/6 and then slowly dialed back about 3 weeks until I’m at 15 or so /9 before planting outdoors in May. I’m right about 45N in Oregon.
 

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
Yes that works too. And yeah do taper it down. Going from 18/6 with lights to 14 sunlight can be stress full for sure.
Im in your neighborhood too. Every time i try and plant before may 20, cold snaps, hail storms or wind storms get me replanting a few! Even low 60s in June a few years back had lotsa people digging up preflowering plants.
 

Cammcdan

Member
16/8.
While indoors this will get them as big as possible. When putting outdoors keep the lighting schedule untill end of April or beginning of May. Where im at thats when its 14 hours light and getting longer. Clones keep on veging without lights, feminized seeds show sex but keep on veging and traditional seeds declare male or female.
So wherever your latitude when its 14 hours light and getting longer you can put em out with little risk of going into flower.
Im in Ventura California I was planning on bringing them outside when there like 4 weeks old
 

Cammcdan

Member
16/8.
While indoors this will get them as big as possible. When putting outdoors keep the lighting schedule untill end of April or beginning of May. Where im at thats when its 14 hours light and getting longer. Clones keep on veging without lights, feminized seeds show sex but keep on veging and traditional seeds declare male or female.
So wherever your latitude when its 14 hours light and getting longer you can put em out with little risk of going into flower.
[/QUOTE
Should I go from my red cups straight to 25 gal smart pots or should I go to 10 gal first
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
Im in Ventura California I was planning on bringing them outside when there like 4 weeks old
You want your length of day to decide when it's safe for them to go outside. (too soon with longer nights means early flower, which you want to avoid)

This is a great tool to help you decide when it's safe. You reach 14 hours length of day on May 8th. Gradually taper your light hours down until they match that, then you will be alright putting them out. (also don't forget to harden them off. ie, get them used to how bright the sun is)

 

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
I have generally always started my seeds before spring equinox(12/12 light/dark) and either not used any supplemental lighting, or if I do use a light I mimic the natural light cycle. For me personally it's all about growth momentum and branching pattern, and preflowering can dramatically effect both.
One of the biggest motivating factors for me deciding to switch from growing clones to growing from seed was the preflower factor. I would plant a big beautiful bush of a clone in the ground(in May) next to a tiny, leggy seedling that I had started under natural lighting, the clone would sit there and do nothing for two to three weeks, the seedling would start growing from the start and never slow down, by the end of the year there would be no comparison.
Keeping a plants growth momentum plays a huge roll in how big a plant can get, I grow trees now, before I grew a few big ones every year, but usually about half would fail to meet my expectations.


Every time i try and plant before may 20, cold snaps, hail storms or wind storms get me replanting a few! Even low 60s in June a few years back had lotsa people digging up preflowering plants.
I'm confused by this statement, cold doesn't cause preflower. I live in the mountains where night temps are below 60 almost every night, have never had a plant started under natural light cycles preflower, ever, I've had them freeze and never preflower. I keep a grow journal and looking back I've planted the first week of May several times with no issue.
Perhaps I misunderstood your statement, not trying to be a dick, just trying to be helpful.

Good luck and happy growing everyone!
 
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Cammcdan

Member
I have generally always started my seeds before spring equinox(12/12 light/dark) and either not used any supplemental lighting, or if I do use a light I mimic the natural light cycle. For me personally it's all about growth momentum and branching pattern, and preflowering can dramatically effect both.
One of the biggest motivating factors for me deciding to switch from growing clones to growing from seed was the preflower factor. I would plant a big beautiful bush of a clone in the ground(in May) next to a tiny, leggy seedling that I had started under natural lighting, the clone would sit there and do nothing for two to three weeks, the seedling would start growing from the start and never slow down, by the end of the year there would be no comparison.
Keeping a plants growth momentum plays a huge roll in how big a plant can get, I grow trees now, before I grew a few big ones every year, but usually about half would fail to meet my expectations.



I'm confused by this statement, cold doesn't cause preflower. I live in the mountains where night temps are below 60 almost every night, have never had a plant started under natural light cycles preflower, ever, I've had them freeze and never preflower. I keep a grow journal and looking back I've planted the first week of May several times with no issue.
Not trying to be a dick, just trying to be helpful and I believe there is a easier way.
So if u currently have my plants under 18/6 and I plan on moving outside end of April. Should I slowly start working my light back a couple minutes until I meet natural day light ?
 

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
I have generally always started my seeds before spring equinox(12/12 light/dark) and either not used any supplemental lighting, or if I do use a light I mimic the natural light cycle. For me personally it's all about growth momentum and branching pattern, and preflowering can dramatically effect both.
One of the biggest motivating factors for me deciding to switch from growing clones to growing from seed was the preflower factor. I would plant a big beautiful bush of a clone in the ground(in May) next to a tiny, leggy seedling that I had started under natural lighting, the clone would sit there and do nothing for two to three weeks, the seedling would start growing from the start and never slow down, by the end of the year there would be no comparison.
Keeping a plants growth momentum plays a huge roll in how big a plant can get, I grow trees now, before I grew a few big ones every year, but usually about half would fail to meet my expectations.



I'm confused by this statement, cold doesn't cause preflower. I live in the mountains where night temps are below 60 almost every night, have never had a plant started under natural light cycles preflower, ever, I've had them freeze and never preflower. I keep a grow journal and looking back I've planted the first week of May several times with no issue.
Not trying to be a dick, just trying to be helpful and I believe there is a easier way.

Good luck and happy growing everyone!
Easier doesn't mean better. In my state its risky to plant early. And yeah cold snaps do stress a plant and will trigger preflower. Even in seeds.
Wildfires as well will cause preflower too. During the solar eclipse a few years back a wildfire early in the season had many people preflowering in June too.

Are you sure youve had them freeze? Ive had a freeze come in last year in September. Just one day inbetween 60s day and high 30s/40s at night. Wasn't any freeze warning. Woke up frost all over Blackberrys, frozen dog pool. Went to garden and some full terms split at the base and had ice coming out of it.

You gotta work out whats the best way for your region. Im not some groundbreaking grower, just doing what successful growers been doing for decades out here.

Not to be a dick but how many hundreds of pounds have you harvested?
 

Snoopy808

Well-Known Member
Spreading disinformation can be bad homie. Theres widely recognized ways to grow cannabis and lots of ive done this before, once, and it kinda worked info.

And 60 degrees at night isnt nearly cold enough to trigger preflower! Im talking back down to low 30s at night and low 50s at day. 4 days of that late May or early June has growers biting nails and usually replanting some that dont get back to normal veg growth.
 

Funkentelechy

Well-Known Member
"Yeah cold snaps do stress a plant and will trigger preflower. Even in seeds.
Wildfires as well will cause preflower too. During the solar eclipse a few years back a wildfire early in the season had many people preflowering in June too."
I've never had that happen before, I wonder if the plants were already stressed from something else.

"Are you sure youve had them freeze? Ive had a freeze come in last year in September. Just one day inbetween 60s day and high 30s/40s at night. Wasn't any freeze warning. Woke up frost all over Blackberrys, frozen dog pool. Went to garden and some full terms split at the base and had ice coming out of it."


Positive, as I've said I keep a grow journal and have kept track for years, I also keep a thermometer in the garden.
Every year where I'm at, in the fall I have had plants freeze. The amount of damage it does to the plants depends in large part on the amount of humidity, when it's wet and there is more frost on the plants they take more damage, in fruit orchards when it freezes you will see big fans set up to keep the frost from forming on the trees. Your experience sounds awful, I've never had a plant split at the base, but I've had it happen about halfway up and on branches many times. I have also had it freeze in the spring, and we've had eclipses and wildfires, no preflower.

"Spreading disinformation can be bad homie. Theres widely recognized ways to grow cannabis and lots of ive done this before, once, and it kinda worked info.
"And 60 degrees at night isnt nearly cold enough to trigger preflower! Im talking back down to low 30s at night and low 50s at day. 4 days of that late May or early June has growers biting nails and usually replanting some that dont get back to normal veg growth."
Did I misunderstand your statement? "Even low 60s in June a few years back had lotsa people digging up preflowering plants."

"You gotta work out whats the best way for your region. Im not some groundbreaking grower, just doing what successful growers been doing for decades out here."
Fully agree with this statement and there are many many people with more growing experience than myself.

"Not to be a dick but how many hundreds of pounds have you harvested?"
You don't honestly expect me to answer that do you?
 
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