Dark Period Tending & Caring?

I would like to know if anyone here tends/cares to there babies during dark periods? If so, what the way you do to preserve complete darkness? I thought there was a type of bulb (black light??) not sure but any help would be great.

Not sure why plants need full darkness during dark time!! Don't outdoor fields and plants have the light from moon? Not sure if moon project UV and all the other rays like the sun but curious to know. So if any of you uber smokers/growers have any insight I would bmuch obligedkiss-ass

Bump! COme on no one knows

Supposedly you can use a green light during the dark period. Although I don't know why you'd want to tend your plants during the dark period because a green light won't put out enough for you to see what you are doing or if there are problems going on in the leaves. You really need to look at them in good lighting..... anyway... that's my thought on it

I already posted this but I'll post for you again . . . you can use a light with a green filter to safely check your plants during the dark cycle.

that doesnt answer his question about moonlight. I have a stand up lamp with a small CFL bulb in it, if I need to do anything at nighttime in my flower room, I turn it on and work away with whatever chore needs doing. No hermies yet.... but I'm not going to walk around in there like a dork with a green headlamp on. Complete darkness seems like overkill to me, I have to agree.

YaK said:

that doesnt answer his question about moonlight. I have a stand up lamp with a small CFL bulb in it, if I need to do anything at nighttime in my flower room, I turn it on and work away with whatever chore needs doing. No hermies yet.... but I'm not going to walk around in there like a dork with a green headlamp on. Complete darkness seems like overkill to me, I have to agree.

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Its more about sudden disruption of the light cycle than anything else. There are also periods where it is more critical your plants are not disturbed like early flower. Also outdoors the days get progressively shorter and the transition to flowering is a little longer indoors you just switch them right over to 12/12. Why risk hermies when you don't have to?

YaK said:

that doesnt answer his question about moonlight. I have a stand up lamp with a small CFL bulb in it, if I need to do anything at nighttime in my flower room, I turn it on and work away with whatever chore needs doing. No hermies yet.... but I'm not going to walk around in there like a dork with a green headlamp on. Complete darkness seems like overkill to me, I have to agree.

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Complete darkness really is necessary. I've tried to work in my flowering area's dark period with a CFL and absolutely have induced hermaphrodism, even with indirect light on the plants.

Yes- moonlight can induce herms in outdoor grows, but a full moon only happens once every 28 days; the phases between the full & new moons yield less and less light until the new moon when there's no moonlight. The reverse occurs during waxing phases. Cloudy nights can block moonlight completely, too. So, moonlight, which plants get comparatively little of, is less likely to cause herms than you going in to your op and running a CFL a few times a week.

Has anyone tried those dim, red-colored light which illuminates a darkroom for photography? The photosynthesis in photography bound to be the same as in plants.

Plants don't respond to green light, but they are sensitive to red light. A photo darkroom light would do the same as a CFL.

The process used in photography is not photosynthesis, which is a chlorophyll-based biological process. Quite different.

I learn something new every day, i suppose the green light it is then.

How about you just organise the lights-on sked to coincide with your availability to work in the op?

Let me say again, more strongly, that the indoor dark period must be dark. Everyone always says what about the moon, well, we don't have moonlight indoors, and we are making the plant do our bidding unnaturally. The shortest interruption in darkness will destroy the buildup of hormones that causes flowering to continue, and if you do that several nights in a row, you can actually revert the plant to veg. Whether or not hermies are the result of this, it will delay your ripening time.

On the very odd occurrence when I absolutely had to do something with some lights on in the flowering room at night, I simply started that night period over again, by resetting the timers, and then setting them back after they came on again.

A green light may be used without affecting the plants, but your foliage will appear black.

HTH

potroast said:

The shortest interruption in darkness will destroy the buildup of hormones that causes flowering to continue

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yeppers, that's how she works.

Thanks Sir Potroast.

Wow thanks for the great info. I was asking because I like to spray my foilage spay during dark times so no heat damages the leaves. I'm usually pretty good in dark after eyes adjust for 10 minutes so then I just mist away trying to get the underside of the leafs as mush as possible. Works great. Green light I might try for a little more help. Great info

A must for the dark tending action:

Picture 1 for Streamlight Buckmasters Camo Trident LED/Xenon Flashlight Headlamp 61070 - 61070

During the dark period, I sometimes turn on the light in the living room and maybe, just MAYBE the light from the living room penetrates the flowering room from under the door. does that count as a light leak? Should I cover the bottom of the door or its not neccessary?

Thank You

Longscare73 said:

Wow thanks for the great info. I was asking because I like to spray my foilage spay during dark times so no heat damages the leaves.

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You could do your spraying for a brief time right after lights-off using a CFL for a work light, not more than 10-15 mins. If it'll take longer, shorten the HPS lighting 'day' and turn on the CFL.

Go easy with foliar sprays, not more than 1x week or so. Can shoot thyself in the foot by encouraging fungal probs.

sharok said:

During the dark period, I sometimes turn on the light in the living room and maybe, just MAYBE the light from the living room penetrates the flowering room from under the door. does that count as a light leak? Should I cover the bottom of the door or its not neccessary?

Thank You

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How much sin can you get away with and still go to heaven?

Darkness is darkness, mon frere.

Longscare73 said:

I would like to know if anyone here tends/cares to there babies during dark periods? If so, what the way you do to preserve complete darkness? I thought there was a type of bulb (black light??) not sure but any help would be great.

Not sure why plants need full darkness during dark time!! Don't outdoor fields and plants have the light from moon? Not sure if moon project UV and all the other rays like the sun but curious to know. So if any of you uber smokers/growers have any insight I would bmuch obligedkiss-ass

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leave your plants when in the dark period, if light gets to them, then they will stress and go hermie. and all you will have is sseeds.
your plants need 100% darkness in the dark period of 12/12.esp when growing indoor.

its different than an outdoor grow, plants look after there selfs.
but you must not get any light near your plants in there dark period.
unless you like hermies and seeds.

Al B. Fuct said:

Complete darkness really is necessary. I've tried to work in my flowering area's dark period with a CFL and absolutely have induced hermaphrodism, even with indirect light on the plants.

Yes- moonlight can induce herms in outdoor grows, but a full moon only happens once every 28 days; the phases between the full & new moons yield less and less light until the new moon when there's no moonlight. The reverse occurs during waxing phases. Cloudy nights can block moonlight completely, too. So, moonlight, which plants get comparatively little of, is less likely to cause herms than you going in to your op and running a CFL a few times a week.

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Point taken and heeded. I didnt advice the original poster to the contrary, but the whole light/moonlight/ does it really matter stuff made me think. I know most people are ridiculously overcautious about their plants.

Much like what you say with tap water vs. RO water. I use tap water now, and everything is fine. sometimes people worry too much, but I'll be more mindfull of dark periods.

Thanks Al and potroast for the good info. That is what these forums are for.

there has to be some tolerance to light during dark periods. these things naturally live in tropical places where there is frequent lightening. there has to be some combination of brightness, duration and frequency of occurrence that doesn't hermie every plant.