How much light?

[T!CTAC]

Hi everyone.

Well, I've since found out that you can use a fluoro light to help your sprouts to get growing before moving them outside but how many hours a day should the light be on them? I would have thought 24hrs would be too much because when they go out into natural light, they won't get that amount and maybe try to flower, as tiny and immature as they are.

I'm also considering once they germinate, putting them into seedling pots in a plastic propagator and letting them enjoy filtered natural light and light cycle. (Half my yard is under cover so they won't get to hot or dry out) and then toughening them up gradually before planting them properly outdoors.

What are people's suggestions and ideas?

Cheers all and have a top weekend! :-)

[itchybromusic]

it's all about light hours TT

you can try matching the amount of light hours happening outdoors for when you plan to put them out 

if you want to put them out mid Nov check how many light hrs there are in mid Nov & match that now indoors under light 

 

keep in mind a indica can start flowering under 14:30 hrs of light 

where as a sativa needs to get closer to 12hrs of light B4 flowering 

 

as long as you have a small flurro outdoors to keep them under light for more than 15:30hrs you should be right 

i use just the backdoor 400mm long flurro tube ( porch light ) , plant can sit 10m away & get enough light 

to stay in veg mode , once past 15:30hrs of outdoor light you can leave the plants to do there thing & don't put the light on anymore 

 

i light dep the plants & put them in flower when i'm ready for them to flower outdoors by

putting the plants into darkness for 12hrs via covering or dragging them into my indoor grow room & out again 

 

means you get to flower plants out in the middle of summer & not waiting for the rains / humidity to increase

B4 the plants finish , however like everything with this plant , consistency is very important if your going to 

light dep the plant , means your chained to your grow , every night & every morning you have to cover or uncover

the plants , the more you mess that up the more you mess up the plant , consistency

 

although i have heard that sativas aren't fans of light depping & can herm , clones have been taken from a single sativa mum

& flowered in diff growing situations & the light dep clone herm'd every time , i've never had this happen but i've never light depped 

a full sativa 

 

be a lill careful covering small plants outdoors during the day , heat can rise very quick under a dome , you can cover the

seedling cup with glad wrap under lights indoors where you have control & consistency with heat & humidity

outdoors the temp humidity swings under cover can be pretty big  

[Jim420]

Awesome response itchy .. [emoji1362]

[T!CTAC]

it's all about light hours TT

you can try matching the amount of light hours happening outdoors for when you plan to put them out 

if you want to put them out mid Nov check how many light hrs there are in mid Nov & match that now indoors under light 

 

keep in mind a indica can start flowering under 14:30 hrs of light 

where as a sativa needs to get closer to 12hrs of light B4 flowering 

 

as long as you have a small flurro outdoors to keep them under light for more than 15:30hrs you should be right 

i use just the backdoor 400mm long flurro tube ( porch light ) , plant can sit 10m away & get enough light 

to stay in veg mode , once past 15:30hrs of outdoor light you can leave the plants to do there thing & don't put the light on anymore 

 

i light dep the plants & put them in flower when i'm ready for them to flower outdoors by

putting the plants into darkness for 12hrs via covering or dragging them into my indoor grow room & out again 

 

means you get to flower plants out in the middle of summer & not waiting for the rains / humidity to increase

B4 the plants finish , however like everything with this plant , consistency is very important if your going to 

light dep the plant , means your chained to your grow , every night & every morning you have to cover or uncover

the plants , the more you mess that up the more you mess up the plant , consistency

 

although i have heard that sativas aren't fans of light depping & can herm , clones have been taken from a single sativa mum

& flowered in diff growing situations & the light dep clone herm'd every time , i've never had this happen but i've never light depped 

a full sativa 

 

be a lill careful covering small plants outdoors during the day , heat can rise very quick under a dome , you can cover the

seedling cup with glad wrap under lights indoors where you have control & consistency with heat & humidity

outdoors the temp humidity swings under cover can be pretty big

 

Hi Itchy!

Man, this feels really complicated for a weed...

Can I stick to the plant on Father's Day, harvest on Mothers Day rule?

Father's day starts on Sept 3 but the light hours will only be 11.5hrs during the day but obviously getting a bit longer each day. December 26 is the peak light day before it starts dropping off again. September 12 is 50/50....

I'm REALLY confused as to what to do....

They will only be sprouts when I put them outside (inside little plastic Coke bottle greenhouses to keep birds off and some heat in at night). Surely they couldn't tell light cycles that early on, could they?

I'm f*cked as to what to do mate... :-/

[itchybromusic]

sorry mate i sometimes put to much down & confuse people when trying to write it out in stead of just speaking direct with someone face to face  

 

of cause you can 

it only is a prob when you germ indoors under light 

& if they stay in indoors for some time under longer light hrs than outdoors 

once they go out as a older plant they could start flowering from a large light hour decrease 

as a tiny just sprouted seedling this is not a prob 

 

if you germ outdoors around that time you won't have any issue 

 

have a play mate get some seeds , can be any seed but you can buy hemp seed 

sold as bird feed , & start sprouting seeds & see what works best for you & get used to the or your process  

[Sir PsychoHashy]

Itchy's info is good.

 

The Father's/Mothers day rule is not necessarily applicable to all strains, and whilst popping sativa beans on dad's day is probably fine for most Aus latitudes, it's not for a lot of indica's in my experience in Northern NSW.  When they germ the light cycle doesn't mean shit to them, but after 2-3 weeks when they hit sexual maturity it means everything to them, and as Itchy said, some indica's can pop into flower as high as 14-14.5hrs light per day.  This is even more likely to happen if you put them out after being in a light cycle with more hrs of light, or if you are growing clones, especially off a revegged plant.

 

I start my indi dom's off under 14-15hrs light/day and put them out mid to late October.  I've started sati doms outside from seed in mid September with no problems.

 

As for what to do, be less rushed and more relaxed, then make a plan and enact it.  You don't need to start them super early to get decent sized plants, you just have to give them adequate light, water, and nutrition outside, and nature will grow you some monsters.  So if you make a plan that gives those things you'll do well even if you leave it a couple more months.

 

[itchybromusic]

good stuff hashy 

[firebrand]

Some awesome advice Itchy - I'm experimenting much along the lines of TT.  I'm up in Qld, and we are getting around 11h of sun, around 12 hours of light (ish).

Bringing them into the shed of night, and Ive just got them under a cpl of CFL lights. Nothing fancy. I just leave the lights on for 4-5 hours, switch them off when I get up for a piss

Lugging them around twice a day is a labour of love. Nothing like waking with a hangover and jumping outta bed to get them out into nature haha...

[itchybromusic]

Some awesome advice Itchy - I'm experimenting much along the lines of TT.  I'm up in Qld, and we are getting around 11h of sun, around 12 hours of light (ish).

 

Bringing them into the shed of night, and Ive just got them under a cpl of CFL lights. Nothing fancy. I just leave the lights on for 4-5 hours, switch them off when I get up for a piss

 

Lugging them around twice a day is a labour of love. Nothing like waking with a hangover and jumping outta bed to get them out into nature haha...

hey fb, a bit of a ball & chain isn't it

 

yeah i'm into light dep , i like it allot , automated greenhouse one day 

 

you can get round the morning move out or uncover if keen by knowing the next 

mornings sunrise & pulling the plants in 12hrs B4 that time , once dark outside 

you can uncover them to the night & start there 12hr day cycle with the sunrise 

 

so you take them in & out in the one night & use the sliding sunrise times as you in time  

 

make sense or talking tish again 

 

this might be handy for some , don't forget to add some of that Civil Twilight to sunrise / sunset times 

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/australia/melbourne

[pedro de pacas]

Keeps you fit, especially using scoria as a aerator