seedlings under artificial light for outdoor grow

[greentoe]

Anyone had experience with this? Curious about the benefits of using lights on seedlings for the first 4 weeks or so (depending on growth rate) and then transferring the plant outdoors.

I only have experience with outdoor grows and I have never used lights so excuse any naivety.

 

From the semi-relevant threads I've read it looks like I've got 3 options:

1. Use a 12/12 light cycle and transfer outdoors to a 12 hour daylight environment. Stress free?
2. Use 18/6 cycle then instantly transfer outdoors to natural 12/12 daylight when ready. Will this sudden change in hours of light freak the fuck out of the plant? If so then maybe...
3. Start with 18/6 then slowly decrease to 12/12 before transferring. Will slowly decreasing the artificial light followed by the slow increase of the natural light once it's outdoors confuse the plant as well?

Basically looking for as much plant growth as possible while minimising stress to the plant when it get's transferred outdoors. And I do NOT want the plant to start flowering after it's transferred outdoors, I want it to continue the veg stage, am I right in saying the plant won't start to flower as long as it's exposed to at least 12 hours of light per day?

[wurlie]

plants WILL flower @ 12/12 light

only way you keep in vegetative state is have indoor light same photoperiod  as Sun prior to going outdoors

gradually decreasing daylight hours WILL send a plant to flower,

so until late July days will be decreasing daylight, after that days start to grow longer

hope this helps

[Matanuska Thunder]

Anyone had experience with this? Curious about the benefits of using lights on seedlings for the first 4 weeks or so (depending on growth rate) and then transferring the plant outdoors.

I only have experience with outdoor grows and I have never used lights so excuse any naivety.

 

From the semi-relevant threads I've read it looks like I've got 3 options:

Use a 12/12 light cycle and transfer outdoors to a 12 hour daylight environment. Stress free?

• yes, stress-free(isn) takes more than that to stress out a cannabis plant

Use 18/6 cycle then instantly transfer outdoors to natural 12/12 daylight when ready. Will this sudden change in hours of light freak the fuck out of the plant? If so then maybe...

• see answer above and most indoor growers do this to their plants ie. go from 18hrs of light to 12 in a flip of the switch, whilst not 'natural' it won't freak the frick out of the plant

Start with 18/6 then slowly decrease to 12/12 before transferring. Will slowly decreasing the artificial light followed by the slow increase of the natural light once it's outdoors confuse the plant as well?

• no need to do this, you are making too much work for yourself

 

LUCK!

 

edit: typo's

Edited May 8, 2014 by Matanuska Thunder

[ZEN2U]

It is all to do with the light cycles of the seasons.

 

Winter Solstice- June 21. Shortest day of the year. Light increases slowly.

 

Spring Equinox- September 23. Equal day and night, 12/12. Light is slowly increasing.

 

Sunner Solstice- December 21. Longest day of the year. Light slowly decreases.

 

Autumn Equinox- March 20. Equal day and night. 12/12. Light is slowly decreasing.

 

There are some minor changes to the table above in differing years, but you get my drift.

 

What you have to do is look where you are in the above seasonal chain. More light indoors than in the environment will trigger flowering and or reveg at 12/12 All depends on the time of the year. 18/6 will just trigger flowering virtually at any time of the year.

 

Any decrease of lighting indoors, no matter how slowly, is only mimicing mother nature, to flower.

 

You have to adjust your indoor cycle to follow the natural order of the progressive and digressive cycle of light outside to get the desired results you require. You can control the light inside, but outside you have no control to the natural order of the seasons., but you can manipulate your plants to take advantage of the seasons.

Edited May 9, 2014 by ZEN2U

[greentoe]

Thanks for your replies,

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but sexual maturity in a plant occurs anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks? Will decreasing the light cycle still have an effect on the plant before it reaches sexual maturity?

With my previous outdoor grows I have usually germinated mid September when the daylight hours are just below 12 hours per day and the seedlings have always done OK but never spectacular because of the weather at that time of year, the cool temperature and cloud cover obviously hamper growth a bit (still more productive than starting later though imo), which is why I'm looking into using artificial light. So option 1 will NOT encourage flowering even with the 12/12 cycle because the seedling's have never been exposed to a longer light cycle and by the time they are transferred outdoors, around 4 weeks in, the daylight hours will be increasing from 12+ hours?

 

Also based on your experiences what difference in growth could I expect comparing a seedling under lights at a 12/12 cycle for 4 weeks to a seedling outdoors in Victoria from mid September (cool temperatures and cloud cover most days)

Edited May 9, 2014 by greentoe

[ZEN2U]

Any decreasing of the light period will induce flowering, it is a Bio-Mechanical responce to lighting conditions.

 

As you suggest, starting your plants inside where you can control all environmental conditions, is possible, then placing them outside. If you start and maintain a 12/12 cycle, it will not cause your plants to flower if placed outside when the Photperiods, as mentioned above, are on the increase past the 12/12 indoor cycle.

 

I had a mate in Tassie who did this very thing, because of environmental condotions.

 

As to the growth expected inside, there are way too many variables to answer this question with any certainty. The answer would depend entirely on your imput.

[greentoe]

Thanks, guess I'll need to do some light shopping before next season