What are light cycles and how do I use them?

PAWS said:
12 hours on
5.5 hours off
1 hour on
5.5 hours off
repeat.
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This is called the gas lantern routine (GLR) not to be confused with (DLR) Diminishing light routine.
it is a tried and tested growing method that works well.
GLR is used in vegative state and DLR is used during flowering, both are intended to be the best 'bud to electric' ratio we can get.
 
I am a newbie my self, I was wondering at what point should I start cutting back light cycles. I also would like to know, is there a cycle that works best. or is it just a mater of opinion? thanks
 
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I grow indoors and outside depending on the weather. so I set my timer to sept. and oct (daylight time) for the last 3 weeks of budding. right now its set at 16/8. this way I can leave my plants outside and still have the same lighting cycle as indoors. I got 3 whiterhino, 2 snow white's, 2 jock horror, and 2 el president's.
I set my timer to daytime starting in april. still in veg. this is a 6-7 month grow. ill start flowering in aug.
 
Not quite sure where you acquired that info, however the cannabis plant doesn't actually need any down time. When the plant is in the dark it actually does the plant no good. That's why people run a 24hr cycle, however when you decide to flower the plant this will produce a lot more stress for your plant. A plant going from an 18/6 to a 12/12 will be much less likely to have its growth stunted, or hermaf. So it really become a choice of how much stress do you want to make for the plant and how close to the potential do you want? 24hr =100% 18/6 75% ; you can reduce your potential income for a more comfortable plant environment. once more this plant doesn't need any down time , it can only produce its sugar when its under light. Normal plants might need it but the cannabis plant is a certain kind of plant that doesn't need any down time. There's a name for this type of plant that has slipped my mind unfortunately.
 
some growers like to put their plants in total darkness for 24 to 72 hrs. than start flowering to stop stretch in longer to flower strains like the chem family which take 3 to four weeks of 12/12 to flower while getting tall.
 
Dennise said:
@The303Stoner Thank you for the info and that is what I am going to do. Keep your fingers crossed for me as this is my first grow and if I could 1 more question??? When the babies are at the required height I can at my discretion put them in flowering stage or do they tell some how it is time??? :adore:
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what strain do want to grow and what size blubs will you use.
 
Well, this is what I am doing. I have (3) Afgan Kush x white widow, (1) Northern light x Big bud and (1) Sugar black rose but since I have never done this before I had 6 bag seeds so I thought I would rather mess them up than the ones I had to buy. It is from some killer smoke but I have no idea what it was and most likely would be called commercial. All 6 of the seeds germinated and were put in soil on the 1st of Nov. I have them under led,s ((4) 1400 lumen 5000K (2) 1400 lumen 6000K and 4 cfl's 6500K). I plan to use (4) 1400 lumen 2700k led's and 4 cfl 2700K for flowering. If I can get these to do what they are supposed to do I will start with the good seed. I am using a small closet and have the things I need to build a box but I can't see the closet doing more than 4 to full growth and the box will only do 2 probably. I have not been able to sex them yet of course but they are filling out beautifully. I figure at least 2 if not more will be males (no signs yet) so I am thinking about going ahead and germinating 1 of the AK xWW and the sugar black rose. Any advice??? :idea:
 
you flower at a time that will allow the plant to grow to the size of your grow space. some plants don't stretch much and some 3x the size. Pot size also helps control the size the plant as well as grow style.
 
SmokeyMacPot said:
The amount of time your garden should be exposed to lighting depends on what 'cycle' your garden is in:

The 'Vegetative Cycle' of your garden starts with the sprout of the seedlings and can be continued indefinitely. In the veg cycle your garden will require a minimum of 16-18 hours of light and 6-8 hours of darkness daily. Since a given amount of light can only do so much, equal production can be realized in a smaller space with less plants, where the light is concentrated and the plants can grow more efficiently. Using more light helps additional co2 uptake.

Since a plant can be kept in the 'Veg cycle' indefinately, many growers cultivate 'Mother' plants. This plant is used for clone starts and never produces buds, only new growth.

The 'Flower Cycle' or 'Bud cycle' is typically equal amounts of light and dark, 12 hours on, 12 hours off or 12/12. This produces a change in the plants metabolism simulating Fall, shorter days....less light.

This is the cycle that the plants will show their sex. Usually, you'll be able to determine the sex within the first 2 weeks of 12/12. By the 3rd week most plants have developed healthy bud sites or pollen sacks.
The plants will continue on the 12/12 cycle until harvest.

When someone 'Re-vegges' a plant that has been in the flower cycle, they're switching the light cycle back to 18/6 to stimulate new vegetative growth.

Author: Mr.Zog
Click to expand...

Thank you for the Great article Mr.Zog and all who contributed to this.

It is very useful for novice growers like my self. However, i'd like to know how do i know how much time on the 16-8 vegetative cycle
those plants are going to be for ( weeks, days, etc ) until they are moved to the Flowering cycle 12-12. I suppose i am trying to find the cycle's times or tell tells that my ladies are ready to move up to the next stage.

Also, any tips for any of those stages.

Help me please. :/
 
Welcome RodMo :welcome: It is kinda hard to give you exact times because each strand of MJ has different timing. Can you give us more info? What are you growing? How long have you been in veg? did you start with seed or clone? In my ever be it so humble opinion you should veg for ~ 6 weeks under 6500K lighting for 16/8 then flip to 12/12 with 2700K lighting. Some plants will stretch 3 x their height in bloom so make sure you allow space for the stretch. From what I understand you can basically veg as long as you like but the longer you veg the more mature your plant hence better flowering. Let me see if I can find someone that really knows what they are talking about to help you out cause this is all I got. Hope it helps some...:circle-of-love:
 
Hi Dennisse,

Thank you for the in-depth answer.

I Have a SuperStar Locker where i'm germinating and vegetating, ( more info here LED Stealth Grow Boxes | LED Stealth Grow Box | LED Stealth Grow ) then moving my ladies to the 5x5 tent with 600w Dimmable Lighting. Planning to grow AK47, AK48 (to see and taste the differences) as well as White Russian to start and OG Kush; needless to say they are all feminized.
This will be my very first grow so i'm trying to get all the info necessary to get it right.

Given the Strains im growing, how much time should i give them when they are on the Locker Vegetating until they get moved to the Flowering Stage and inside there, how long is appropriate for good yields and better taste.

What is the lowest Vegging time?

P.S. Did not know that a longer vegetative state resulted in more maturing of the plants, Ty for that. :hmmmm::Namaste:
 

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