Flower now or Wait?

Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
Hey everyone!

I have a dilemma atm with a simple question of flower now or later. I'm 6 weeks into Veg and my girls are doing great! I have 5 White widows that I LST'd to hell and back in 5 gallon pots. They seem to get bushier and bushier everyday and I should have plenty of room for growth (7'0'' grow tent.) I know that I could keep them going for awhile but I'm starting to feel the summer weather coming in. I'm growing in my garage under a 600w HPS and during the day the temp reaches about 81 degrees with my tent wide open. I live in the southern US where temps can definitely reach high 90s. I know this strain goes 10 weeks in flower and I'm wondering if I should go to 12/12 now to avoid the oncoming heat. I'd be going dark from 6am to 6pm. What do you guys think? Should I let them bush up more or hurry them into flower? Does heat really destroy them in flower stage?
Sorry in advance for the HPS pics.

Thanks!IMG_4288 - Copy.JPG IMG_4289 - Copy.JPG IMG_4290 - Copy.JPG IMG_4291 - Copy.JPG
 
blowingupjake

blowingupjake

Well-Known Member
They are ready to flip. Keep training them to ensure they don't choke each other out for light while the stretch phase is in effect.

High heat in flowering is no good, the plant will survive but the buds will not be top quality. With you being in the south you should also consider heat and humidity.... Ie.. Mold.... Keep a fan running on them 24/7

I'd flip em now. Definitely run lights on at night.

Looking good so far.
Jake
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
I've got a high quality dehumidifier in that room so no probs there. I can easily keep it as low as 30 pct if i wanted. Most posts I've read say to turn lights off for atleast 24 hours straight before flipping them to 12/12. Any proof to that? Thanks for the advice!
 
DesertGrow89

DesertGrow89

Well-Known Member
Canninoobis said:
Hey everyone!

I have a dilemma atm with a simple question of flower now or later. I'm 6 weeks into Veg and my girls are doing great! I have 5 White widows that I LST'd to hell and back in 5 gallon pots. They seem to get bushier and bushier everyday and I should have plenty of room for growth (7'0'' grow tent.) I know that I could keep them going for awhile but I'm starting to feel the summer weather coming in. I'm growing in my garage under a 600w HPS and during the day the temp reaches about 81 degrees with my tent wide open. I live in the southern US where temps can definitely reach high 90s. I know this strain goes 10 weeks in flower and I'm wondering if I should go to 12/12 now to avoid the oncoming heat. I'd be going dark from 6am to 6pm. What do you guys think? Should I let them bush up more or hurry them into flower? Does heat really destroy them in flower stage?
Sorry in advance for the HPS pics.

Thanks!View attachment 3609609 View attachment 3609610 View attachment 3609611 View attachment 3609612
Click to expand...
Flower soon else you are going to have space problems, I've been there! Red light also causes stretch so when you flip throw an mh bulb in there if you have one. Try to keep your temps below 85 if possible, also the plants need at least a 10-15 degree temperature fluctuation from day to night so keep that in mind, I cam elaborate if you want.
 
C

covert222

Well-Known Member
Maybe flower a couple or three and hang the others back a little while and let em fI'll out some more if you have the space
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
Unfortunately I don't have space other than a single small t5 that would maybe cover 1 plant. You really think I'm gonna run out of room? Also everything I read said to switch to HPS for flower.... I just switched from my MH.
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
This is my first grow and I have to say you guys have gotten me a bit paranoid. I'm buying some LEDs for my next grow (to combat the heat) and am now wondering if I should pull my middle plant and temporarily put it under the t5 giving the others room. Then I'd throw it under the LED after I harvest the other four. Only problem is if I veg that thing for another 10 weeks it would be monstrous and wouldn't fit in my tent anyways not to mention the t5 would probably be too weak for that size of a plant. What to do what to do....
 
blowingupjake

blowingupjake

Well-Known Member
I don't think you need to pull any of them.

Now you just work the plants to grow vertically. Your dream of an awesome lst canopy is done for this run. Now you need to train them as tall bushes, not round/flat bushes. I will echo others, those things are going to fill every inch of that tents foot print. Just be careful of your humidity,don't be afraid to trim away inner/under growth in an effort to keep humidity within the canopy under control.

You have the potential for an awesome harvest there and it seems like you have a grasp of what you are doing.

In my tent days I learned after a few harvests that even number groups of plants work better than odd when training the plants to grow out and not up.

My 2cents.

Happily hazed,
Jake
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
Thanks for the advice!! I'll definitely be trimming as they grow taller. Right now they are so bushy that its sometimes hard to evenly water them. :P Do I start with the MH for 2 weeks then switch back to the HPS or end with the MH?
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
blowingupjake said:
In my tent days I learned after a few harvests that even number groups of plants work better than odd when training the plants to grow out and not up.
Click to expand...
I see that now as well! The reason I did 5 is because I was given 10 WW's and wanted to do half and half..... but now that I've done these I'm thinking more along the lines of trying 2 plants in 7 gallon containers next run and give SCROG a go.
 
blowingupjake

blowingupjake

Well-Known Member
I generally work MH in at the beginning only but others use MH at the last stage of flower as it provides a spectrum associated with resin production.

There is a lot of debate on the subject...

Good luck, and keep up the good work!

Jake
 
GreenLogician

GreenLogician

Well-Known Member
"Do I start with the MH for 2 weeks then switch back to the HPS or end with the MH?"
--- Yes, ~2 weeks of MH instead of HPS at the start of flowering will reduce flowering stretch stem growth, and ~2 weeks of MH instead of HPS at the end of flowering will increase resin (and THC) production as a defense response against the MH's higher UV light.
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
Great info guys!! That's definitely something I would probably not been able to find on here since I wouldn't have been looking for it. Lights have been off since 6pm yesterday and they will be flipped on for the first stretch of 12/12 tonight. I'll do as the doctors have ordered on the light changes and I'll keep you guys in the loop on this thread with pics as the grow pans out if you'd like!

Thanks a million!
 
Canninoobis

Canninoobis

Member
I flipped on the lights after a 24 hour break and I'm stunned at the amount they've already stretched. I think the entire canopy raised about 4-5 inches. One thing I noticed is all of the new growth is bright yellow. Is that normal? I know that if you cover grass it turns yellow after a bit so I'm guessing it's the same thing. Other than that the girls look like they are on their way.
 

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