The Good Ol' "When Should I Flower?" Question

So I have a predicament on my hands. First the facts: I'm going out of town Wednesday for a week. My plants are 23 Days old as of today. The were topped about three or four days ago and have just now began growth. These are not feminized and I have three of them. They're on 20/4 right now. They are about 5" tall and have about 16" of total height room.

My plans for keeping them watered? In a word: Overwatering. If thats one word... The tops of soil will be covered to keep the water from evaporating. I've kept them for 4 days like this already. I'm also going to place them in dishes and make sure the bottom stays moist. To be honest I'm not worried.

So let's look at the scenarios.

Scenario one: I throw them into flower on Sunday and hope they show by Wednesday morning before I leave so I can take the male(s) out. This scenario would run 12/12 during the week I'm away and would be less demanding on the water situation. But the overwatering may hurt during this transition to flower.

Scenario two: Let them veg during the trip and flower em right when I get back. Only turn it to like 17/7 so I still have the less demand for water.

Scenario Three: Just let them keep going at 20/4.

Thanks in advance.

First off, give the roots some room to grow and you will have huge plants when you get back.

I'm testing out a SOG method. Ive got two more that are in 6" pots and are being LSTd. I've screwed up on them a lot so their growth has been slowed. This is them at day 53.

yeah ive been searching for a couple days on here about people swtiching to 12/12, ive always just forced my plants to flower, having good results until the last time... i had 6 plants and 5 turned male. i read in more than one source that your supposed to wait untill the plant shows pre-flowers, otherwise it stresses the plants. but my question is how much stress exactly does it cause? enough for your plants to most likely turn male?? i have some plants in my grow journal that are about 5 weeks old now, im running out of room... can switch to 12/12 without worrying that ill have more males?

smellzlikeskunkyum said:

yeah ive been searching for a couple days on here about people swtiching to 12/12, ive always just forced my plants to flower, having good results until the last time... i had 6 plants and 5 turned male. i read in more than one source that your supposed to wait untill the plant shows pre-flowers, otherwise it stresses the plants. but my question is how much stress exactly does it cause? enough for your plants to most likely turn male?? i have some plants in my grow journal that are about 5 weeks old now, im running out of room... can switch to 12/12 without worrying that ill have more males?

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Four weeks is the generally accepted amount of time. I just posted my question cause of the me going outta town issue. You'll be fine, I think you just got unlucky. Another way I heard to tell if its ready was if the nodes are alternating individually instead of two by two. If you know what I mean. One on each level instead of two then two.

I'd just water them real good and worry about flowering when you get back. They'll be fine while you are gone. You can easily get away without watering for a week at a time, usually takes 10 days before they will show signs of lack of water depending on how much they were watered and how much soil they are in.

mobone said:

Four weeks is the generally accepted amount of time. I just posted my question cause of the me going outta town issue. You'll be fine, I think you just got unlucky. Another way I heard to tell if its ready was if the nodes are alternating individually instead of two by two. If you know what I mean. One on each level instead of two then two.

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hmmmm ok ill try it then, it seems to be what everyone else does too, shoot, i even was doing that

and yes, when the internodes alternate individually, it usually means fllowering time, that is unless u just have a mutant lol

la9 said:

I'd just water them real good and worry about flowering when you get back. They'll be fine while you are gone. You can easily get away without watering for a week at a time, usually takes 10 days before they will show signs of lack of water depending on how much they were watered and how much soil they are in.

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Should I run it at 20/4 or 18/6? 18/6 would be more natural.. showing fall is coming.

smellzlikeskunkyum said:

hmmmm ok ill try it then, it seems to be what everyone else does too, shoot, i even was doing that

and yes, when the internodes alternate individually, it usually means fllowering time, that is unless u just have a mutant lol

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im no photographer!, but heres some pics, the date on the camera is one day ahead, these are the most recent pics i have
im growing: grapefruit x willie nelson, afghan, and indica bag seeds

pic1 is a grapefruit x willie nelson

mobone said:

Should I run it at 20/4 or 18/6? 18/6 would be more natural.. showing fall is coming.

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I don't think the plant really cares or even knows, as long as you have at least 18/6 lighting it will be fine. If you think 18/6 is better then go for it, you are probably more worried about it than the plant will ever be. So put it on 18/6 and flower when you get back so you'll have time to pay attention to it in case something happens during the switch, allthough unlikely, if something would happen you'd be there. I've been reading and I'm going to go with the 36 hours of darkness before switching cycles next time. I think it was an article by the owner of TH Seeds and he made a lot of good points about doing that way, I'm sure he knows more about it than me, so that is what I'm going to do. I can try to find he article again if you want to read it. I should actually copy it and put it in my book of notes and experiences anyway. I keep a book of notes so I don't forget about something and do the wrong thing twice.

I went ahead and found the article, it's pretty short with a lot of good info so I'll post it for those interested. It's Adam from TH Seeds.


Your preferred growing method? For personal use go for a good bio soil follow the nutrient guidelines of that particular company, In Europe most particularly Holland there are hundreds of different nutrient companies promising bigger this, better that, more yield etc. I recommend giving them a try but sticking with them for that crop rather than mixing this with that. As to my preferred growing method for production, go for coco, coco slabs, to me I find using the slabs a lot more controllable.

Finally, any tips for our green fingered U.K. readers? Great question. If a plant is healthy from the beginning, has vigorous growth and is bug free, then the need for extra nutrients/boosters isn't necessary, and you will find the natural balance of your garden. Companies are always offering better results, promises of better yield etc. but how are you going to tell if you don't know how your garden grows with little or no aid from extra nutrients or boosters? Also, before you put your garden into flowering from 18 to 12 hours, give the plants 36 hours of darkness; by doing this it, will reset the plants natural body clock. After 36 hours (or anything between 24 and 40 hours) the plant will go straight into flowering rather than adjusting from 18 to 12 which in some strains can mean an extra few weeks. When the plant is finished give it another 36 hours, this will reset the body clock again this time the plant knows it is finished and will push out all remaining energy into its last trichome production try it. There is so much different advice or tips that the only thing I can recommend is that you visit us here at Hempworks the next time you come to Amsterdam: we are on the Nieuwendijk to the left of central station. Here you will find a great selection of Hemp wear, seeds and great glass ware as well as a good hit of sage! See you soon.

hi, im a complete noob to growing so im not sure if this is a good idea or not but if you are going away for a week you can get Miracle-Gro Moisture control gel. It absorbs up to 400 times its own weight in water and releases it as the plants need it.

thats what i use, trust me it doesnt hold water as well as it says, but it is good soil for the price

btw my plants just started showing pre-flowers, so i geuss it was ok to switch em ill post new pics in my journal soon thx everyone