24/0 vs 18/6 for Veg

Literally less than £5, I'm not sure about moving on your time schedule, but I imagine that if you did it as a drawn out process (eg, shifting your on/off times by periods of say 10 minutes over the coming few weeks) then your plants probably wouldn't notice a thing. Don't take my word as law though

I need the light on at night anyways. Because it's gonna get cold here. I'll get some cash and buy one. That way even during vegging I can be more timely.

It's a really useful tool that I expect most growers take for granted, it'll give you a lot more flexibility and mean that you'll never have to rush home to get the lights on again. If money's too tight you can still do it manually but as a long term prospect I'd see it as an essential.

I'll keep the lights on 24/0 until I can get a timer. Just so I can make the times right when I want them. They are 10 bucks at the nearest home depot, so I'll just go get one soon.

PotatoPower said:

Well, I don't know if this will affect the plants much, but when I start to flower, I could just switch the time to 7:00 AM and 7:00pm. Would that be bad switching the time like that? How much do timers cost?

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harmless go for it, timers come in all kinds of price ranges depending on the power handling and quality, me I never bothered with one.

i say 18/6 because it promotes root growth. during the light time the plant wants to do photosynthesis and produce new floral growth but during its dark hours it gets to rest and expand its root growth. and it is true 24/0 stresses the plant slightly making it more likley for hermie. so for 18/6 it gives a resting time for plant, makes time for more root growth, stresses the plant less, more "natural" (we dont have 24 hours of light in nature), uses less energy, and imo creates overall a healthier plant.

That reassures me that someone who has quite a bit of rep says it's harmless. I need a timer though because of Drama Club... xD

I'm sorry but I disagree. I have many strains going, from what I see the plants crave the darkness. My veg plants are all on 18/6. My Sativa plants will actually relax the leaves at about 17.5 hours, and perk up strong before the lights go back on. My seedlings were on 24 hours and seem to get healthier once I went to 18/6. Just my opinion.... not looking to debate it. Just sayin'.

Do you have like, pictures/night vision pictures to back that up?
It sounds as if they are going to bed, which is interesting.

I have to agree with legilizeit. Plants do grow roots during the day, but much slower than at night. During my first grows I did 24, but then tried 18/6 and was amazed at the growth. Honestly it would be something to test for yourself, but in all my experiences some night is never a bad thing.

Well, tomorrow, I'm starting the 3:00pm to 9:00pm dark time. I am looking forward to seeing the changes

yup good luck! also it is nice to invest in a timer makes things more consistant and makes things easier on you.

Yeah, I'm going to definitely buy a timer. I'll just do it by hand for now.

i do one area 24/0 jus cuz i dont got a timer and the other on 18/6. when i grew the autos i kept them on 20/4 (s lil darkness for good measure. as far as lightschedule.... when you go to flip the lights let them sit in the dark for 24 to 36 hours. if u look at the green house videos arjan does this to initialize the flowering process i often do this when i fuck up the timer in the beginning cuz im lazy

They aren't autos. And they are just little babies right now. Like, they don't even have their first fan leaves yet. So, do I still need to let them sit in the dark? I wouldn't think so. FrmrBoi seemed to think it was fine...

onewize1 said:

i do one area 24/0 jus cuz i dont got a timer and the other on 18/6.

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... whats the point if doing a 24/0 grow because you dont have a timer if your just going to grow another at 18/6?

any recommended brand timers yall suggest?

I'm using a GE pin timer from homedepot, it works great and is only around 5 bucks.

Meth On Zombies said:

I'm using a GE pin timer from homedepot, it works great and is only around 5 bucks.

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Same timer i have for my clones!
Works and its pretty cheap!

I'd definitely stick with what I said before about giving the plant a break. Even if there's no merit in it I like to think that I've tried to keep my plants as healthy and happy as possible, and I see that plants perk up incredibly during the night. I have a tiny little one who really looked weedy, didn't think she'd ever make it past day 2 of existance. She lasted quite a bit longer she was drooping horribly and so I formulated a little special feeding for her with tiny amounts of nutes (literally tiny, 1/24th of the recommended dose, couldn't measure out any smaller with my current tools). As the day went by she stayed pretty limp to be honest, her leaves were starting to look like they were going to die and then the lights go out, I take a sleep and POOF! she's back and she's growing.

You could argue that the nutes just had a delayed response time but I personally believe that a break from everything helped her along the way every bit as much.