When/How do I change/know how many hours of light a day?

[SilasZaneB]

when do i change the lighting cycle?
how do i change the lighting cycle?
how do i know it is time to change it?

Please Help thanks

 

[Bakatare666]

when do i change the lighting cycle?
how do i change the lighting cycle?
how do i know it is time to change it?

Please Help thanks

WOW. You REALLY are a newb, aren't you?
You change the light cycle whenever you want, according to how long you want to veg.
You do it by changing the time the lights go on and off.
Your decision on how long to veg tells you when to change it.
.
I would suggest you do a LOT of reading and studying BEFORE you even plant any seeds.
This, along with your question about 'Will this CFL work?', tells us that you have done absolutely no research or reading on your own.

 

[SilasZaneB]

WOW. You REALLY are a newb, aren't you?
You change the light cycle whenever you want, according to how long you want to veg.
You do it by changing the time the lights go on and off.
Your decision on how long to veg tells you when to change it.
.
I would suggest you do a LOT of reading and studying BEFORE you even plant any seeds.
This, along with your question about 'Will this CFL work?', tells us that you have done absolutely no research or reading on your own.

well like about a year ago, i watched a lot of videos about it and was really fresh on it all. but recently was finally able to get a good spot for it and dont really remember a whole lot.
and i meant more along the lines of what signs should i be looking for that would give me a red flag it's time to change something. (ex: add more light/dark when it goes from veg. into flowering)

 

[longarms90]

I veg for about 45 days to 2 months, then, with my timer, I change the light cycle to 12/12. I personally add more lights when I switch to 12/12. I grow with cfl, and I add my 4 2700k bulbs along with my 4 6500k bulbs that are already there for veg. read read read!!!! refresh yourself and just start growing man. after a few seeds you'll get it down. maybe not even a few, maybe after 20, but practice makes perfect. not one person on here, im pretty sure, has grown a GREAT plant on the first seed. just grow and read around, and itll come to ya. forums are your friend!!! peace |)

 

[SilasZaneB]

Should I ease into a 12/12 from a 18/6 or should it be immediate?

 

[grorite]

your asking the most basic questions just do a google search and you will get all your answers

 

[Caliweed760]

I veg for about 45 days to 2 months, then, with my timer, I change the light cycle to 12/12. I personally add more lights when I switch to 12/12. I grow with cfl, and I add my 4 2700k bulbs along with my 4 6500k bulbs that are already there for veg. read read read!!!! refresh yourself and just start growing man. after a few seeds you'll get it down. maybe not even a few, maybe after 20, but practice makes perfect. not one person on here, im pretty sure, has grown a GREAT plant on the first seed. just grow and read around, and itll come to ya. forums are your friend!!! peace |)

How many plants did you have with all those CFL's during flowering? Just curious cause that sounds close to a setup im looking for.

 

[DeeTee]

As a newbe you have good questions, you veg on 18/6 light cycle for as long ans you want, it depends on how much room you have, you switch to 12/12 imediately when you decide to bloom, changing you veg nutes to bloom nutes, bare in mind that when you switech to 12/12 for bloom you plants will double if not more in size. you should have a fan blowing at all times preferibly an oscilating one. have patients, indicas can take up to 8 to 9 weeks ( flower time ) maybe more it all depends on you grow conditions, sativas will take at least 10 to 12 weeks maybe more....good luck on your grow.

 

[joe blow greenthumb]

As a beginner I'd recommend vegging for 4 weeks. I did and pulled over 2 oz per as a first timer myself . Veg with a 24/7 light period, no dark. Switch to flower by going 12/12 light to dark. Make sure there is no break in the dark phase. Not even a flash of light! Make sure your water is always Ph balanced from 5.8 to 6.3. If using tap water then always let it sit out and open for 24 hours before using. Use cfl, mh or hps lighting. When dealing with fertilizers remember that there's 3 numbers on label but only two are really important. The first and second. During veg use a fert where the first number is high. During flower you want the second number high and first number low. Those are the basics I used on my first grow and pulled just over 2 oz per photoperiod plant and I got just offer 1 oz from each auto. All were grown in 5 gallon buckets with soil. Hope that helps.........

 

[longarms90]

How many plants did you have with all those CFL's during flowering? Just curious cause that sounds close to a setup im looking for.

I only grew one plant. I LST'd her but only one. I think its 100w min. for one plant usually and something like 50w per plant after that. that's the min. requirements usually. but im sure with the wattage I have going I could do 2 small plants.

 

[Randm]

As for how long to veg for:
First you have to detrmine how tall you want your plants to get when they are done. That is determined by two factors:
How much room do you have between the lights and the floor.
What kind of lights. The more powerful lamps ( 1000 watt ) will penetrate the foliage farther than the less powerful lamps ( 400 watt, cfl etc... ).

Also different strains will 'stretch' more or less than other strains. Some will hardly stretch at all and others will triple in height. I try and find all I can on whatever strain I happen to be running to find out about the peculiarities of that one strain.

So if you have room for only 3 feet ( as an example ) of total growth, then you want to veg for a shorter amount of time. If you have 1000 watt lamps and plenty of headroom then veg longer for bigger plants.

As an example, I have aproxamitely 6 ft. of usable space between the lamps and the floor. I use 3 and 5 gal. pots for my plants so taking that in consideration I really only have 5 ft. of usable space. I want to keep my plants about 12 to 16 inches away from the 400 watt hps lamps so they don't get burned, so that brings the usable space down to about 3 and a half to 4 ft. as a maximum size of plant that I can grow. If a strain doubles in size during flower, then I would veg until they are 16 inches in height at the maximum. Usually I flip them between 12 and 14 inches on average, but again, this is strain dependant.

Do a google search on your particular strain to see what you can expect from it.
Keep reading the forums and growing articles to learn all you can from other peoples mistakes and discoveries.
The most important tools a gardener has is knowledge, and inquisitive mind, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes.

Hope this helps, welcome to the wonderful world of growing your own.