24 vs 18/6 vs 20/4

There is a whole lot of debate out there and I expect none the less in here but I am also hoping that a couple guys in here will give me what they do.

go with 12/1 gas lantern method to save energy and get the same veg results as 16-8 and quicker flowering when beginning 12-12.

I have done all. 24/0 grows faster with closer nodes than if on 18/6 and 20/4. But 24/0, when its flower time. Plants get stressed. Produce seeds (few) , lagg on starting to flower depending on strain. 20/4 is a little faster than 18/6. I was doing 20/4 for a while. But when we changed the clocks. I accidentally set the timer for 21/3. I noticed after a couple of days later when I was there right when it turned on an hour early. They grew faster and lusher in soil than my buddies aero. No stress at all. I have been doing 21/3 ever since then....... Clones root in 5 - 7 days too.

well for me its 18 on and 6 off..

it may be a little slower than the really forced methods of getting them up quickly but i think the plant give it back in both how green and lush they are in veg and the fruit we get at the end...

just my opinion on it ....

and a simple switch to 12/12 to flower so no stress on them either...

Alright! Thank for the input fellas/ladies!

During vegetation my photoperiod is 18/6 not unless I have autoflowering strains in vegetation. Autoflowering strains I go 24/0. Prior to flowering I place them in complete darkness for 3 days to get them aclimated to the photoperiod of 12/12.

calicat said:

During vegetation my photoperiod is 18/6 not unless I have autoflowering strains in vegetation. Autoflowering strains I go 24/0. Prior to flowering I place them in complete darkness for 3 days to get them aclimated to the photoperiod of 12/12.

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If its a auto flowering strain just leave it on 18/6 why switch it to 12 /12 all your doing is losing out on yield auto's will automatically flower even on 24 hr lighting

Keeping plant in darkness 3 days prior to 12 /12 is a waste of time and los of 3 days growth it only induces stress, where on earth other then the poles do you get 24 hrs of darkeness ( POLES ) and nothing grows there keep it simple keep it closest to mother nature

Think of a plant like your self you work all day then go to sleep a plant doesn't sleep it works 24 hrs a day it will convert light to energy on lights on and store it lights out it will place it all over the plant from roots growth to overall growth lights off are needed
24 hr lighting creates very tight noding shorter plants
18/ 6 is pretty much closest to mother nature in veg and by far the best schedule for any plant it produces the best overal growth through out veg

12 /12 again is like mother nature producing autumnal equinox converting a vegging plant to flower mode

i agree, i think 3 days dark will only add stress....i like to keep it as natural as possible, yet believe 20/4 is optimal.......i think they benifit from a 4 hour nap each day.....

typoerror said:

go with 12/1 gas lantern method to save energy and get the same veg results as 16-8 and quicker flowering when beginning 12-12.

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Gas Lantern fucked my shit up bad and it took 6-8 months to fully recover. Be careful with it.

Kush's and Kush Hybrids can full on flower in veg with Gas Lantern and this will seriously reduce your yield.

I am not a fan of Gas Lantern lighting although it can work with very specific strains.

I have run all styles at length and I run 18/6.

I've always been a firm believer in the 18/6 light cycle. I have always felt that it's bad for the plants to be under 24 hours of light as a plant does need it's dark cycle. It may not be imperative for the plant to have it's dark cycle, but it just makes me happy that the plant is at least getting something similar to what it would in nature.

"keep it simple keep it closest to mother nature" Midsummer days are usually about 14.5 hours of sunlight

During veg I go 14 on/ 10 off
During flower I reverse to 10 on/ 14 off
This helps save a little electricity and keeps the wife happy. -ish

hovering said:

Gas Lantern fucked my shit up bad and it took 6-8 months to fully recover. Be careful with it.

Kush's and Kush Hybrids can full on flower in veg with Gas Lantern and this will seriously reduce your yield.

I am not a fan of Gas Lantern lighting although it can work with very specific strains.

I have run all styles at length and I run 18/6.

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so far i have had great luck. only one plant has gone full on flower during veg. a male dairy queen, so he just got culled early. lol

on the flip side, my other dairy queen(female) took 9 days to show sex after going to 11/13. by far the longest a plant has taken to show for me.

Actually marijuana / c3 plants do not need any darkness. If you talk about replicating nature. What about places like Alaska where there is sunlight for 3 months straight and c3 plants thrive. Here is a study from University of Colorado


http://www.colorado.edu/eeb/courses/1230jbasey/abstracts/1.htm

actually not sure where you get 3 months straight there is darkeness or rather dusk so its not 24 hrs of daylight or darkness either way here i can prove it

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/daylighthoursexplorer.html

24/7 all day long. 18/6 is 6 hours of growth(photosynthesis) that ain't gonna happen. Now let me be specific with that though. I veg in two different areas. My clone rooting and mother/donor area is 24/7 but when I take the next plant(s) into my flower area I veg under MH @18/6 for at least two weeks before changing bulbs to HPS and a 12/12 cycle.

even tho it is a c3 plant it can still benefit from a light off cycle. the light independent reactions in c3 plants is a bit of a misnomer as they don't actually need to be completed in the dark. they just don't need light in order to complete the reaction. even tho this is the case, I think that the plant benefits from a dark cycle as it is more easily able to use up the stored sugars in order to complete these reactions even tho it doesn't need to be dark in order for the plant to do it.

indoors: 20/4 unless heat and or $$ is a concern then i go with 18/6. for plants set to go outside i go with 16/8

DrGreener said:

actually not sure where you get 3 months straight there is darkeness or rather dusk so its not 24 hrs of daylight or darkness either way here i can prove it

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/daylighthoursexplorer.html

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That only shows 1 day out of the whole year. It depends where in alaska or where north. The northern part of alaska has 82 days of consecutive daylight in the summer. Then 60 days of dark. Parts of canada, iceland green land and europe are the same way too.

i only heard 3 days of darkness on the last 3 days b4 you harvest.