Does marijuana NEED darkness to be healthy and grow well?

fatality

Well-Known Member
if you give them darkness while vegging they will be a bit more stretchy than if you were to go all 24 hr light, i run 24 hour CUZ I GROW INSIDE AND LIKE MY NODES TO BE AS CLOSE AS THEY CAN TO MAXIMIZE POTENTIAL YIELDS !!!!!!!!
 

Milovan

Well-Known Member
Great topic. I think it partly depends on the genetics of the strain?
I run 18-6 with indicas and usually no problems with stretching. Close nodes(every 1") on my NYPD (New York Power Diesel) and
Black Dominas, but a bit stretchy on my Bubbas. Interesting to hear more friends opinions on darkness!
 

Jeffdt1966

Active Member
i dont agree ... I have done 18/6 and 24 hour at the same time and really saw no diff. .... save the juice bud - its just not worth the extra electicity it takes.... I truly believe that they need a rest that comes from the dark period to meet the full potential ... but no proof other than my own observations ......
 

smallclosetgrowr

Well-Known Member
not sure if i believe a plant will stretch out becuase it gets its natural dark time, i think its more based on the amount of light its recieving.however ive said this a billion times on here so once more shouldnt hurt......

it has been proven that weed plants grown 24/7 after 2weeks old show no more increase of growth from a plant that has been at 18/24.so in otherwords u should switch back your lights to to 18/6 after the first 2 weeks becuase its not worth the $$$ your paying for your lighting bill.
 

Jeffdt1966

Active Member
ok .. so maby there is proof beyond my obsveration ... I should google this and get a link to it ... it gets ask fairly often ....
 

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
You can't beat the way nature designed things to be with this plant. 18-20 hours of light and the rest dark is best.
 

hellraizer30

Rebel From The North
18/6
20/4
24
seen no difference in stretch maybe alittle bit more growth leening to the 24 side
but not worth the exspence of electric bills.
 

namtih024

Active Member
i dont agree ... I have done 18/6 and 24 hour at the same time and really saw no diff. .... save the juice bud - its just not worth the extra electicity it takes.... I truly believe that they need a rest that comes from the dark period to meet the full potential ... but no proof other than my own observations ......
fully agree. i run 24hrs at the moment to make my plants autoflower when moved outdoors where the longest days are only 16hrs.
but in the past have always given the 6 hrs of darkness. some growers swear by 24hr cycles but i dont see much benefit, and as stated above, when running high wattage lights that extra 6 hrs a day can add up to quite some money over time and reduce your profits in terms of yeild to kilowatt hours.
also if you look at a plant in darkness there is a noticable change. it droops slightly as if sleeping, plants dont breath co2 at night either. these factors lead me to a HYPOTHISIS (not proven) that there is something taking place in the plant that is probably good for it.
plants are like people in many ways, if you went without sleep it would mess with you.
and stretching as it pertains to light is more in the spectrum than cycle. plants grown under 2500k tend to stretch more than those under 6500k. thats why some growers use combination high pressure sodium and metal halide in flowering rooms
 

obijohn

Well-Known Member
I've been told that during darkness, the roots develop. Dunno if it's true or not, but I'd think mimicking nature with periods of light and dark has to be a good thing
 

alotaball

Well-Known Member
with my T5's i run 24 hrs.. with my 1000 watt MH i run 18/6.. with the big light they respond to the dark period well.. but with the t5 it seems they stay perky 24/7...
.
 
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