How long until I should switch the blub? (Photos in thread)

[SHOTGUN420]

Right now they are under a 1000w MH and 3 of the biggest ones were transplanted into a bigger pot since these photos from 1 day ago. So my question is when should a put them under the 1000w HPS? and then from that point about how long until harvest?

 

[kinddiesel]

depending on your goal , if you shooting for 2 ounces or more then at least a foot tall. if you only have 4 depending on your light space. I would veg 2.5 feet tall go for the big bucks, less work too, ide say at lease a month if I was vegging , 6 to 12 weeks floweing

 

[brewing up]

week 2 or 3 of flower i think is best

 

[Orlandocb]

I would flip lights at flower or a few days before they usually take a little stress during the change, or mine did anyway. And they'll be ready to harvest when their damn well and ready! haha, average is like 9 weeks though i would say

 

[brewing up]

wk 2 or 3 stops them stretching so much

 

[Orlandocb]

Yeah i Imagine! though my last lady barely strecthed. Friends joked she was growing away from the light. Really not much to worry about i'd think, atleast he's not just packin one or the other

 

[SHOTGUN420]

thanks for the replies .

So judging by whats being said here about 2 - 3 weeks I should switch over? My tallest one now is 10 inches tall from soil to top of plant. not from the roots to the top tho. I wasn't sure if I should of measured from the roots or the soil ?

My light is only up just barely 5 feet from the floor ill be lucky if i could bring it up another 6 inches.

 

[LadyZandra]

IMO-- tie your taller plants so they are the same height as the smaller ones... keep em vegging! you want the smaller ones to have time to mature before you flip to 12/12 (when you go with the HPS...)

Is the hood glassed in?
Is it air cooled?
How close can you get the hood to the plants before you feel the heat on the back of your hand?
Have you checked the grow area (from the inside) with the lights off to make sure there are no light-leaks coming into the grow area? even pinhole leaks can cause slowed growth and hermies!

Measure soil to top of plant... all the plants need to be in the same sized planters so you can jusdeg their height and keep the big ones tied (besides- tying increases your yields!)

 

[brewing up]

im confused now, what i would do is veg until it suits with the mh then switch the bulb to hps 2 or 3 weeks after you go 12/12

 

[tooteefrootee]

IMO-- tie your taller plants so they are the same height as the smaller ones... keep em vegging! you want the smaller ones to have time to mature before you flip to 12/12 (when you go with the HPS...)

Is the hood glassed in?
Is it air cooled?
How close can you get the hood to the plants before you feel the heat on the back of your hand?
Have you checked the grow area (from the inside) with the lights off to make sure there are no light-leaks coming into the grow area? even pinhole leaks can cause slowed growth and hermies!

Measure soil to top of plant... all the plants need to be in the same sized planters so you can jusdeg their height and keep the big ones tied (besides- tying increases your yields!)

...this user is giving great advice and also asks questions about your setup in detail as it helps us with experience to better help you. in the future, when you post your questions as your plants grow along, also include setup and equipment details because there are some excellent growers here very skilled and you could be missing out on some wealthful knowledge. I'll give u a great tip, keep those plants as close as possible to the light as you can with a fan blowing thru the tops. the closer the nodes are, the better the yield. the more spaced out, they are searching for light and will stretch causing fewer possible node sites and less yield...

 

[LadyZandra]

No-- always flower (12/12) with HPS of floro-- MH keeps them from flowering properly since it is the wrong spectrum of light...

Switching over is called "transition" when you start feeding the plants flowering nutes and change the bulbs to HPS and switch the light cycle to 12/12... then in a week or so, the plants will start to bloom...

HOWEVER- they have to be old enough to do that...
and in the right sized planters so they have room for root growth (it continues through the entire grow!)

Put them all in matching planters-- tie down the big ones... leave the lights alone... keep feeding them their veg nutes...

In 2-3 weeks- switch your bulbs, feed them flowering nutes and go to 12/12... and make SURE there are no light leaks coming into the grow space!!!

 

[SHOTGUN420]

my set up is

1000w m.h. bulb
florasun 1000w hps
xt1ac xtrasun ac relector
bac100a 1000w convertable xtrasun ballast
roots organic soil

the light is currently set 5 feet above the ground I believe the light covers 8x8

 

[SHOTGUN420]

bump.. When you say tie them do you mean like you would tomato plants putting the stick behind them or do you mean physically tie them down to match the smaller ones? I don't think the latter would be worth it being that I'm still trying to find out if I have any females at all my luck I will stunt the single female I get.

 

[6ftbunch]

im confused now, what i would do is veg until it suits with the mh then switch the bulb to hps 2 or 3 weeks after you go 12/12

wait until you start seeing preflowers then you'll know they are mature enough to flower. when you see them they are ready to go into flower. Go straight to using your HPS on 12/12. You need at least 30x microscope to tell when its time to harvest. depending on the strain and other factors usually around 7th to 9th week you should start looking at the trichomes that develop on the buds with a microscope when the majority of the heads turn milky white you can harvest. if you left it growing beyond this point the trichomes start turning amber, thats ok. if you left it go beyond that the trichomes get black and your weed is now degrading as you would be into a late harvest.

 

[LadyZandra]

You carefully tie each branch and the main cola down toward the lip of the planter by loosly looping string around the branch 1/2 way don and pulling it GENTLY down-- if it will only go at a 45-degree angle at 1st, leave it- then tighten the bond a little each day until the top points almost down... This doesn't "Stunt" the plants- it makes them bigger, healthier and they double their production.

And get the lights closer! 5 ft away you are getting less than 1/3 the lumens as you should from that light--- a 1000w will do a 8x8 space with it placed 24 inches from the plant... put your hand palm-down at the top of your plants and see if you can feel the heat-- if you can- raise it a few inches until you barely feel the heat.

IS the hood glassed in? If so- you should have a fan hooked to it with flexi-ducting to suck air from another room or outdoors thru the light and back outside the grow room.

 

[tooteefrootee]

You carefully tie each branch and the main cola down toward the lip of the planter by loosly looping string around the branch 1/2 way don and pulling it GENTLY down-- if it will only go at a 45-degree angle at 1st, leave it- then tighten the bond a little each day until the top points almost down... This doesn't "Stunt" the plants- it makes them bigger, healthier and they double their production.

And get the lights closer! 5 ft away you are getting less than 1/3 the lumens as you should from that light--- a 1000w will do a 8x8 space with it placed 24 inches from the plant... put your hand palm-down at the top of your plants and see if you can feel the heat-- if you can- raise it a few inches until you barely feel the heat.

IS the hood glassed in? If so- you should have a fan hooked to it with flexi-ducting to suck air from another room or outdoors thru the light and back outside the grow room.

im with this person. great instruction and i agree, get them close as you can but not closer than 12 inches on 1,000 watt bulbs, even air cooled they can be intense in the 12 inch range. thats why this user tells you go in the 2 foot (24 inch) zone. you dont want the tops of your plants on the danger close distance because they still grow and will wind up growing into the intense zone and burn up the top..