12/1 lighting--Any truth or banana in the tail pipe?

[Stradel]

Do you know why ?just to go faster in flower or..?if its just to flower them faster i would like to take them easy ,i have unlimited patience.Pls keep up us updated did you start a thread?

 

[Miraculous Meds]

11/13 is more like the natural flower cycle in the sweet spot locations that grow really good ganja. Also can bring out some different physical expressions that u might not see in the 12/12 cycle.

Yield has been pretty equal to 12/12 runs compared to 11/13. Quite a few people have reported very reduced yields by reducing the flowering hours to 9 hours lights on.

I wouldn't bank on in taking weeks off the cycle. days is a more realistic expectation.

In general, they probably stretch less cause they have some flowering hormones from the reduced veg cycle.

 

[Stradel]

The reason of low yeald may be because the qiuck drop thats why i want to start from 12/12 and get to 9/15 yeald its not so important for me but i did some reading and geting to 9/15 may be helpin' in quality.Pretty wierd that very few people are tryn' this.(again sorry for the bad english)

 

[Mick]

Do you know why ?just to go faster in flower or..?if its just to flower them faster i would like to take them easy ,i have unlimited patience.Pls keep up us updated did you start a thread?

Hey Stradel, finishing faster in veg and flower is a plus, especially as the herb seems to smoke the same. Then there's the electricity saving. It also produces the frostiest buds I've grown. And for me it helps tame the wild stretch on the plant I like to grow.
Cheers

 

[Mick]

I wouldn't bank on in taking weeks off the cycle. days is a more realistic expectation.

In general, they probably stretch less cause they have some flowering hormones from the reduced veg cycle.

It depends on the plant. My guess is that short flowering indica type plants may indeed only save days. I was reading of a guy on IC who grows a pure sativa that takes about 5 weeks just to preflower. A plant like that might give you a 3 week saving or more if vegged under 12/1. It seems to be about the preflower. If you veg under 12/1 it somehow makes the plant respond faster when flowered. My plant vegged under 18/6 will take at least 3 weeks to preflower, but with 12/1 it shows preflowers at about 5 days when flowered. That's a saving of a little over 2 weeks, and in theory that's 2 weeks or so off your stretch, but in reality it cuts the stretch by a bit over a week for me, which is still significant.
The thing I wonder about if flowering a pure sativa, is if 12/1 will mess with the clean, clear, energetic head high.
I'm still fairly new to this way of growing so some of what I say is conjecture.
Cheers

 

[CannabaPitbull]

What do yall guys think about going from 9/15 to 12/12?i think it will flower faster and ad more buds because of that, dont think it will reveg if you dont give it more then 12h light what do yall think?

 

[Mick]

I've done a few runs now of 12/1, using clones from clones, and I'm starting to notice a decline in yield. It does work but I think you may need a dedicated mother plant sitting under 18/6, instead of continually taking clones from clones that have all been grown under 12/1. I've only tested this on 1 plant btw.
I've put a cutting out in the garden to freshen up. I'm hoping that having her roots in the earth and the breeze in her leaves will restore her to her former glory.
Cheers

 

[MoPho]

Got this from another thread:


Quote:
Originally Posted by FlowerFarmer View Post
I have heard theories that a plant really only need about 6 hours of intense light a day for quality results.

I've heard the same, so I was wondering what about 9on 3off 9on 3off? Still give the 18/6 that a lot of people swear by, but yet it gives the plants some rest. I've noticed that the plants are real perky just before the lights come on and then by midday they start to droop. With this 8/3 cycle maybe it can help with the "midday depression"?

 

[little-soldier]

Plants stretch during the night so the 12/1 cycle will stretch internodal spacing between bud sites. I would strongly stay away from this technique if you are growing a sativa leaning hybrid because you will end up with lanky plants. BUT if you are growing an indica/short bushy plant then my guess is it might increase the yield.

 

[OpenPollenSeeds]

Plants stretch during the night so the 12/1 cycle will stretch internodal spacing between bud sites. I would strongly stay away from this technique if you are growing a sativa leaning hybrid because you will end up with lanky plants. BUT if you are growing an indica/short bushy plant then my guess is it might increase the yield.

did you use HPS or LED

 

[WingzHauser]

What about doing the opposite, give flowering plants 1hr breaks throughout the day? Increase yield, save energy?


It's always sounded like a free energy device to me. Where's the batteries Joe

 

[little-soldier]

Guys anytime you think you will save energy by turning off all the lights, the plant will stretch. Now you can try controling the temperature at night and make it identical to the day but it's a hassle and I have never tried it and don't believe anything on the internet unless I have tried it because people people talk too much on this planet.

did you use HPS or LED

HPS but it doesnt matter the lighting buddy, the lights are OFF

 

[OpenPollenSeeds]

Guys anytime you think you will save energy by turning off all the lights, the plant will stretch. Now you can try controling the temperature at night and make it identical to the day but it's a hassle and I have never tried it and don't believe anything on the internet unless I have tried it because people people talk too much on this planet.

HPS but it doesnt matter the lighting buddy, the lights are OFF

it definitly does matter

9+4 schedule is great for veg

 

[Asentrouw]

Tried 12/1 in the past. It works the same as normal light schedules (a bit dependent on strain), but it does reduce the growth rate. So as you veg longer, you probably use the same ammount of electricity per gram in the end.

Makes more sense to choose a vigorous sativa dominant strain and put it straight on 12/12 or 11/13 and supercrop/lst it, if you want to minimize the cost of electricity. No veg time needed at all. Or just go with 14/10 or 15/11 light schedules, which is sufficient to keep most strains in veg with good growth.

 

[Rhizoma]

Came across Joe's articles in a few places as of late and wanted to get some opinions of what others think, specially if anyone has actually tried it. Seen Joe mention this method in Skunk mag, Treating yourself, and somewhere else. This is a copy and paste from TY, thoughts please?



Grow Bigger and Better,Saving 30-50% on your energy cost!

By Joe Pietri

The biggest innovator in the history of cannabis in my generation is Reinhard Delp. Not only did he invent and holder of the patent for ice water extraction, he has been building flower forcers since 1992. His new solar powered Sun-gate is the leader of the industry. He was the first to feminize seeds and sell them in Europe in the late 90’s. His process was done naturally, without the use of any chemicals.

No one is more copied but seldom matched than Mr. Delp, who to me is the top grower of our generation.

The first time he impressed me he showed me 2 plants, planted next to one another, 1 completely covered in powdery mildew, the other completely clean and beautiful.
He was developing mildew and mold resistant genetics.

In the late 90’s Reinhard brought back the gas lantern routine that you find in any college grade horticulture book, and applied it to cannabis. Cannabis needs only 13 hours to stay in growth state. The 18-6 lighting in growth pattern, actually stress your plants, that never get that much light in one-day outdoors. Cannabis is an outdoor plant. Growing indoors you should copy how it grows outdoors.

No Cannabis growing in Afghanistan gets 18 hours of light in growth pattern. Most strains today have some part Indica in their genetic pool. Even equatorial strains don’t get 18 hours of sun a day.

12-1 lighting is as follows: 12 hours lights on, 5.5 lights off, 1-hour lights on, 5.5 lights off, and repeat schedule. The 1 hour on in between off period fools the plants that stay in growth state!

Your immediate savings is 5 hours in energy costs daily, as well as your bulbs and equipment lasting longer. But how do the plants react to this lighting schedule?

You see immediate growth response from your plants, they are happy from the added rest time. By day 14 the plants tripled in size. The plants are bushy with twice as many bud sites without topping or bending, In fact, when you top and stretch your plants out, you get many more bud sites than you would have had under 18-6 using same procedure of topping and stretching plant, your growing bigger and better and faster.

So you're saving 5 hours daily in energy costs, as well as your accelerated growth pattern which also saves you time and energy and equipment use.

In the growth cycle, never use 12-12, start your flowering period at 11 hours on 13 hours off. When your are growing outdoors each day you get less and less sun light, you should copy the way the sun acts naturally in your indoor grow. So first 2 weeks of flower you go 11 on 13 off, the next 2 weeks you go down to 10.5 on 13.5 off, next 2 weeks 10 on 14 off, next two weeks 9.5 on 14.5 off and the last weeks of flower you should be at 9 hours on and 15 hours off. You’ll get bigger and better buds by copying the way the sun light works on cannabis outdoors.

Cannabis is an outdoor plant and you should copy the way it grows outdoors indoors. The only thing that 18-6, and then 12-12 do is make the energy companies rich as well as the people who sell lights and equipment, the more you use the more you spend. 12-1 is a more natural way to grow indoors and you well have the best results you have ever had and save as much as 50% in energy costs.

Something to think about for sure but would only work if you are doing your flowering plants in batches. Many growers do, so anyone want to try this and get back to us?

Might be good for folks who have smart meters hooked up. Not so likely to flag suspicious energy usage patterns and if it saves a buck so much the better.

Yes definitely very interesting. To try
Could we consider 12-1 for autoflower?

 

[little-soldier]

Yes definitely very interesting. To try
Could we consider 12-1 for autoflower?

doing the 12-1 will only make your plants stretch more which some might consider it growth but I dont. I prefer a compact plant.

 

[Rhizoma]

Thanks....good point which I agree.
Have you tried 12-1 yourself?

 

[Asentrouw]

doing the 12-1 will only make your plants stretch more which some might consider it growth but I dont. I prefer a compact plant.

Ran several times 12-1 in the past to try it out.

The only difference I saw was that vegging takes longer to get to the same size. Less light imput means less growth.

So the grow takes longer, which means in the end you probably use the same energy. So it did not have much use for me.

Never noticed any more stretch then usual. Only that some strains are more sensible as others to stay in veg. Worst case it flowers early, best case you shave of some time as it starts flowering right after shift to 12/12 (or 11/13 whatever).


@Rhizoma Same goes for autoflowers I suppose. They'll run fine, but yield less then higher ammounts of lighthours. Takes away the whole use of it being a autoflower, which you can light 18-24h a day to maximize yields. You can just aswell run it 13 hours straight then.


As said before, just take a purer sativa strain and grow it out 12/12 from the start. This maybe shaves of a week or two. With 12 weeks or more flowering time, it will still grow big enough without veg to have a descent harvest, while saving light hours/energy.

 

[OpenPollenSeeds]

doing the 12-1 will only make your plants stretch more which some might consider it growth but I dont. I prefer a compact plant.

completely the opposite is true