10/14 on/off cycle...
- Thread starter Drr
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gitarrengene
Active Member
not sure if the longer night would benefit either but i kno for a fact that when I give my girls a 14/10 cycle in the last 3 weeks of flowering the 2 extra hrs. of light really make my ladies happy, and I've cataloged my results to show that the girls packed on at least a few more inches in height and width with new thick calyx formation ...more than if i didn't give them the extra 2hrs. of light.
BUT when I give them 24-36 hrs. of dark period to reset the internal clock the last 2 days before harvest I notice she'll put out an extra frosted layer of trichs to finish up before morning. so that dark period definitely benifits right before you harvest =)
BUT when I give them 24-36 hrs. of dark period to reset the internal clock the last 2 days before harvest I notice she'll put out an extra frosted layer of trichs to finish up before morning. so that dark period definitely benifits right before you harvest =)
I have gone as far as 8/16 before.. not all at once but slowly cut it back from 12/12 during the last 2 weeks or so. also stopped watering the plants and let them die off before chopping them down. resulted in amazing juicy buds.. no complaints here. with cutting the time back, but i would stick with the 12/12 for the majority of the time... no need to fix what already works.
Dfunk
Well-Known Member
I have been using a 10/14 cycle for quite some time just because it works for my schedule...this is my opinion on the matter. The 10/14 cycle really dosen't help or hurt the plants I've grown(all bagseed-never order seeds before). Giving your plants more light allows for more photosynthesis which equals more growth. The 10/14 cycle has one small advantage I've noticed & that is you will know the plants gender a little faster. I would recommend the 12/12 or 11/13 cycle myself, but there are all types of new technical experiments going on with lights. Some growers are giving plants 14/10 lights cycles with success. Some growers are exposing plants to blue light(L.E.D.) at night since it dosen't affect flowering. I found these things out from an article I read in a magazine. The point is every plant is different & they should all recieve as much light as possible according to the strain your growing if you happen to know. An example would be a plant that is almost purely sativa would probably benefit from a 14/10 schedule because it's heritage probably comes from somewhere tropical where the days are never 12/12. I hope I explained that well...throw me any questions you have.
born2killspam
Well-Known Member
Another factor to consider is intensity.. Plants can only do so much in a day whether they do that in 10hrs, or 12hrs, or 24hrs, once you've crossed the threshold you won't help them by giving them more hours before they rest..
Beyond that, plants measure hours of darkness, not hours of light.. You'll get the same hormonal response running 12/12 as you would running them 24/12 or 6/12, and depending on intensity (and CO2 levels etc) your plants may, or may not be able to put all the hours to good use if you run longer days..
Here is a rundown of the phytochrome mediated responses..
http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/phytochrome.htm
Beyond that, plants measure hours of darkness, not hours of light.. You'll get the same hormonal response running 12/12 as you would running them 24/12 or 6/12, and depending on intensity (and CO2 levels etc) your plants may, or may not be able to put all the hours to good use if you run longer days..
Here is a rundown of the phytochrome mediated responses..
http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/phytochrome.htm
gitarrengene
Active Member
I meant that if you give the plants more than 24hrs. of darkness it will reset the plants internal clock, so giving it that dark period a day and a half before you turn over into 12/12 makes the plant know it's time to start budding. once it's is in 12/12 I've seen my plants start showing pistils to bud in about 4 days from the dark period. and the same goes for when the plants about to finish I give it 36 hr.s of darkness so in the morning the plant will have put out it's last bit of energy into bud production because of the darkness it now knows it's time to finish.
born2killspam
Well-Known Member
Thats how I understand it too.. There is no resetting of any clocks in the process.. The only way to reset a plant's internal clock per se is to return it to its vegitative hours and wait patiently until hormone levels have returned to their vegitative state..that added frosty-ness of trichs, is protection because you gave her a huge dark period, she fears for her life, and thus prodcues shit loas of trichs as thats the ganja's natural defense