Growth accelerating light cycle?

GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
Hey guys and girls,

I've just been pondering about how to get a little growth acceleration by messing with light cycles a bit and I hope a few of you out there have experimented with this before and can give me (and everyone reading) some advice on my following idea.

Note: This is for people using longer veg periods, not really suited for SOG and such.

Ok, so my idea is, while vegging, flip the lights to 12/12 for 2-3 weeks (using either HPS or MH, not sure which would be best), so the plants put in there initial flowering stretch and then flip back to 18/6, 20/4, 24/0 (veg period) for a few weeks before flipping back to 12/12 to do a full flowering cycle.

Anyone think this would work to get some extra speedy growth in there, or has anyone actually tried this?
Anyone think it would have negative effects somehow?

Thoughts, ideas, theories, experience all welcome and encouraged.

Cheers!
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
We're going to assume we're using a stable strain and phenotype with minimal chance of producing hermies as I personally only grow high quality strains and phenos.

In my grows, if a plant shows signs of easily converting sex due to basic stress it is thrown to the curb pretty quick and regarded as a weak plant (or put in the sensitive pile, only to be grown in preferred conditions).

With a strong pheno, these light cycle changes are very unlikely to cause hermies, especially since it would be no more stressful than re-vegging, which I have done many times and never had cause hermies.

Cheers for the theory though.
 
socom3riot

socom3riot

Well-Known Member
Wouldnt switching the light cycle from a flowering cycle back to veg actually SLOW the growth down for a couple weeks? I havent tried it, but thats what I understand from people who do that to check the sex of their plant instead of taking clones.
 
OverD0se

OverD0se

Active Member
Yes..You will stress your plant . I think this method take longer than normal . Just start with 16-8 and then slightly decrese the light ...14-10 12-12 10-14 and finaly to force your plant to maxime the THC 8-16 (8 dark) ... I use this method and I get up to 15% more VS 12-12 light
 
natmoon

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Takes a lot longer that way.
The plants growth rates will slow down whilst they are going back to veg from flower and vice versa.
I have done it and am saying this from exp.
You shouldn't need to veg for more than 4-5 weeks anyway and if you are then you need better equipment.bongsmilie
 
BlazeAwayTheDays

BlazeAwayTheDays

Active Member
When you switch from 12/12 back to Veg it stresses the plant something terrible. that kind of shock would most likely reduce your yield and i imagine it would take 2-4 weeks to get growth back into vegetative fervor.

and as for the THC content testing, the only real way i've heard of is to use the kind of scientific equipment that isn't found in regular people's homes or utility stores :D
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
Takes a lot longer that way.
The plants growth rates will slow down whilst they are going back to veg from flower and vice versa.
I have done it and am saying this from exp.
You shouldn't need to veg for more than 4-5 weeks anyway and if you are then you need better equipment.
Click to expand...
Cheers mate, nice to hear an answer from experience.

Was just wondering coz I read an article in a magazine the other day that showed a guy with football (rugby ball) sized colas and he said he got clones just rooted, vegged them for two weeks, then flowered for 2- weeks, then vegged again for 3-4 weeks, then finished flowering in about 6-7 weeks, and they were some BIG, NICE looking colas.

Made me wonder if others had tried this and how well it worked.
Sounds like most are against it.

I still don't see how flipping back to veg is a major stresser, can't possibly be more stressful than re-vegging and I've done that countless time with zero negative effects.
Flipping a healthy plant back to veg photoperiod after only a couple weeks flowering simply cannot be more stressful than flipping a plant back to veg after it's just finished flowering, it's been heavily pruned on top and had it's rootball disturbed and given fresh grow medium (the treatment they get when re-vegged).

But slowed growth does seem like a big hassle, extending the veg period for sure one would imagine.

Cheers.
 
natmoon

natmoon

Well-Known Member
GreenphoeniX said:
Cheers mate, nice to hear an answer from experience.

Was just wondering coz I read an article in a magazine the other day that showed a guy with football (rugby ball) sized colas and he said he got clones just rooted, vegged them for two weeks, then flowered for 2- weeks, then vegged again for 3-4 weeks, then finished flowering in about 6-7 weeks, and they were some BIG, NICE looking colas.

Made me wonder if others had tried this and how well it worked.
Sounds like most are against it.

I still don't see how flipping back to veg is a major stresser, can't possibly be more stressful than re-vegging and I've done that countless time with zero negative effects.
Flipping a healthy plant back to veg photoperiod after only a couple weeks flowering simply cannot be more stressful than flipping a plant back to veg after it's just finished flowering, it's been heavily pruned on top and had it's rootball disturbed and given fresh grow medium (the treatment they get when re-vegged).

But slowed growth does seem like a big hassle, extending the veg period for sure one would imagine.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
It takes 3-4 weeks for a plant to even revert to veg from flower properly and vice versa.
In this period of revertion you normally will notice hardly any decent rate of growth.
I have never tried this with clones though,only from seed,and it may be quicker in a hydro/aero setup.

If you do it this way it takes longer and you do get more tops and bigger buds but you also,strain dependant,open yourself up to cases of mould,bud rot and possible hermification.

Imo you are better of fimming or topping for multiple tops and providing side lighting for buds from top to bottom.
Try it for yourself and see what happens.
Check out your exact strain first though as some strains will be seriously prone to hermie or budrot whilst others can be vegged and flowered for years with no problems.

Budrot usually occurs in very big buds and there is also the argument that smaller buds are more potent than huge buds as the thc is degraded in the middle of the bigger buds.
So more smaller tops could be better but i cannot say for 100% sure,give it a go and see what comes out:joint:
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
GreenphoeniX said:
Hey guys and girls,

I've just been pondering about how to get a little growth acceleration by messing with light cycles a bit and I hope a few of you out there have experimented with this before and can give me (and everyone reading) some advice on my following idea.

Note: This is for people using longer veg periods, not really suited for SOG and such.

Ok, so my idea is, while vegging, flip the lights to 12/12 for 2-3 weeks (using either HPS or MH, not sure which would be best), so the plants put in there initial flowering stretch and then flip back to 18/6, 20/4, 24/0 (veg period) for a few weeks before flipping back to 12/12 to do a full flowering cycle.

Anyone think this would work to get some extra speedy growth in there, or has anyone actually tried this?
Anyone think it would have negative effects somehow?

Thoughts, ideas, theories, experience all welcome and encouraged.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
I haven't yet tried it, am only just beginning my first indoor grow, but I have been giving this some thought, with regard to photoperiods. And, my thoughts are that there is something happening (in the northern hemisphere) with the increasing dark period that triggers flowering in outdoor plants LONG before we've hit the equinox. So, what is it? The amount of light reduction within a given period of time? Change in the quality of light? Angle (I see a marked difference up here)?

When I get enough equipment that would allow me to play with the light cycle, I think it would be fun to set up a server that would allow you to play with changing light cycles, maybe a half hour at a time. Because I think that if you could mimic how natural light changes, you could get flowering induced without really reducing photoperiod.

Now, I'm not talking about switching back and forth, just... finding that sweet spot. I don't know, but your question kind of matches what I've been pondering on is all.

And..! Reading I see that there is someone here who does the reduction of photoperiod, but you reduce it way beyond 12/12. Would you mind talking about what differences you've seen doing it that way?
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
It takes 3-4 weeks for a plant to even revert to veg from flower properly and vice versa.
In this period of revertion you normally will notice hardly any decent rate of growth.
I have never tried this with clones though,only from seed,and it may be quicker in a hydro/aero setup.

If you do it this way it takes longer and you do get more tops and bigger buds but you also,strain dependant,open yourself up to cases of mould,bud rot and possible hermification.

Imo you are better of fimming or topping for multiple tops and providing side lighting for buds from top to bottom.
Try it for yourself and see what happens.
Check out your exact strain first though as some strains will be seriously prone to hermie or budrot whilst others can be vegged and flowered for years with no problems.

Budrot usually occurs in very big buds and there is also the argument that smaller buds are more potent than huge buds as the thc is degraded in the middle of the bigger buds.
So more smaller tops could be better but i cannot say for 100% sure,give it a go and see what comes out
Click to expand...
Thanks for reply mate.

Never ever had a problem with rot so don't see that being an issue in my case but I see what you're saying.
With reveg and such you definitely notice slowed growth during the reversion period. I know some guys who find you can speed through this process by bumping up temps (if that option is available to you), but that's no more acceleration than you'd get from bumping up temps any other time during the grow (too high = bad, for those who don't know lol) ... I personally usually top or LST so from what everyone is saying it sounds like it's a better option when having a long veg period than trying this light change.

Was interesting that this guy in the magazine did it though... It didn't say why he did it :s haha, guess somethings we'll never know ;p
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
I haven't yet tried it, am only just beginning my first indoor grow, but I have been giving this some thought, with regard to photoperiods. And, my thoughts are that there is something happening (in the northern hemisphere) with the increasing dark period that triggers flowering in outdoor plants LONG before we've hit the equinox. So, what is it? The amount of light reduction within a given period of time? Change in the quality of light? Angle (I see a marked difference up here)?

When I get enough equipment that would allow me to play with the light cycle, I think it would be fun to set up a server that would allow you to play with changing light cycles, maybe a half hour at a time. Because I think that if you could mimic how natural light changes, you could get flowering induced without really reducing photoperiod.

Now, I'm not talking about switching back and forth, just... finding that sweet spot. I don't know, but your question kind of matches what I've been pondering on is all.

And..! Reading I see that there is someone here who does the reduction of photoperiod, but you reduce it way beyond 12/12. Would you mind talking about what differences you've seen doing it that way?
Click to expand...
Now we're getting some interesting thoughts going haha.

I've heard of creeping flowering photoperiod up to 14/10 and 16/8 with heavily sativa dominant strains before, as it mimics their natural photoperiod where they're endemic to somewhat.

Why reduce photoperiod below 12/12? Wouldn't less light have negative effects? As in less growth, less flower production, THC may be increased seen as light degrades THC.
I'm also interested to hear why you do this

Cheers all!
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
Less light might have a negative effect, or, it might spur the plant to finish a little differently. Jeez! That reminds me of someone who's got a strain that he can never get to finish, I wonder if this could help him get this strain to go all the way.

I think that there is a whole host of natural factors that play into how the plants grow, form flowers, and finish. The waxing and waning of daylight (crepuscular hours), how the sunlight changes throughout the year is definitely a factor, or flowering plants wouldn't want that peak in the red spectrum that they like so much. Who knows? Maybe terrestrial plants are even able to signal each other and make war upon each other from relatively afar in a manner similar to corals. Could this be a link to the expression of hermaphrodism? (This leads to something else I've been chewing on, which would totally hijack the thread.)
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
That reminds me of someone who's got a strain that he can never get to finish
Click to expand...
I've got a Jock Horror pheno that I've never finished, but I've never ran it past 12 weeks as most the strains/phenos it was flowering with were 10 weeks... I wonder if it would finish if I left it longer or just keep going? hmm.

(This leads to something else I've been chewing on, which would totally hijack the thread
Click to expand...
Create a new thread with the thing you've been chewing on and link it for those interested! That be the way to go haha
 
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