will less than optimal light during the first days of flower effect yeild or time

[bobman]

i have a large flowering room and would like to shorten flowering time by introducing the 2nd round of plants to the room before the 1st finishes. i was thinking anywhere to a few days to 2 weeks. some plants will get more light than others. i have a 1000 watt centered over a 4x4 area the next batch will be a 4x4 area right next to it. has anyone tried this? will this reduce yield or lengthen flowering time?

 

[Matanuskan Flo]

i am not certain i understand. you have a single lamp over a 4 x 4 area. you want to keep the lamp exactly where it is, about 2ft inside the 4x4 area, i assume. & then add 2 rows to each side of the 4x4 area to make it 4x8?? & still have the light in the middle? or are u saying you want to just add another 4x4 to the right??

i think if u leave light the same it should be a 4 x 6 with 4 more plants on the top & bottom of the 6 or lengthwise side. lemme diagram, bc this is confusing as almighty hell.

**** ----The light would be in the middle obviously. I would not shorten
****** anything. Just add the plants.
******
******
******
****

 

[bobman]

basically i am just adding plants early to flower, outside the main footprint of the light. i want to shorten flowering time turnaround. so instead of getting a crop every 63 days maybe get a crop every 50 days in a continuous grow. i am trying to figure out if the the first couple of days to 2 weeks r that important to flowering. i do not want to take away light from the main area just give less light to newly flowering plants.

 

[bobman]

i could achieve this many ways. just add rows around the main area like i think u r suggesting. the main question would it work without decreasing yield or adding more time onto the back end.

 

[herewego]

good question....id say just add them and go, the more light the better even if its not getting full powered light

 

[freeride high]

how big is your space bob?

 

[bobman]

about 9x13

 

[Matanuskan Flo]

if your main question is whether light is important in the first few weeks of flower, then yes it is very important. I would say the first 20 days are crucial b/c the plant is still vegging/stretching & transitioning into flower. I would think it is one of the most important times, IMO. in fact, i find once that point is reached or passed & the plant is full of white pistils, it is all downhill from there. there is not much you can do to go wrong or mess up at that point in my eyes. even a few light accidents won't hurt ( as long as the accidents are not in a row). I also feel the plant has stored most all the nutrients it needs to flower without even adding any more after 20-30 days of flowers. I have done so myself & starved her just to see. so, in essence, i would not forego any light to the ladies at that stage man.

 

[bobman]

so u think if i go down to 20 watts per square foot(which most believe is the lowest) for the first few days to few weeks of flower then back up to 50 wpsf for rest of flower it will affect yield or timeframe.

 

[bobman]

it might be easier to look at it from a lumen standpoint. so if i go down to 3000 lumens which i believe is the low point.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

. i am trying to figure out if the the first couple of days to 2 weeks r that important to flowering.

Will it affect maturation time? No. Will it affect yeild? Definitely.

 

[Matanuskan Flo]

^ what he said.

 

[bobman]

actually been doing this for a little while and have not noticed that much difference but that was with a shitty producer. done anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. i have ak47 and it is getting under way and do not want to mess up a good producer. may play around with it in the future and test. thanks for the replies.

 

[Researcher]

I wonder if the plants might stretch more in the lower light?

 

[bobman]

stretched less from what i could tell but this strain stretched very little. i just read somewhere that low light has the opposite effect in flower. but i take everything i read with a grain of salt until i can confirm.

 

[rickemery]

i've been wondering about this same question for a while now as well. from what i understand plants light requirements increase as the plant grows, for example according to jorge cervantes's medical marijuana bible, a seedling/clone can use a maxiumum of 375 foot-candles(lumens), a vegging plant uses a max of 2500 foot-candles, and a flowering plant a max of 10,000 foot-candles.
So it appears that a plants light requirements increase as the plant ages.
So possibly a plant can only use upto a maximum amount of lumens, the maximum amount depending on the plants size/age. afterall a plant can only photosynthesize so fast. i wonder what is the maximum amount of light/lumens a plant can absorb at a constant rate during different periods in flowering.

Ive always wondered if we indoor growers are wasting light and electricty by using the same wattage lights for all stages of flowering, rather than slowly increasing them over the flowering period. perhaps not increasing them for the full 8wks of flowering but for say the first month of flowering, than swapping over to full wattage.

bobman i must say this is a really interesting idea on how to shorten flowering periods in a continuous setup, well done

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Ive always wondered if we indoor growers are wasting light and electricty by using the same wattage lights for all stages of flowering, rather than slowly increasing them over the flowering period. perhaps not increasing them for the full 8wks of flowering but for say the first month of flowering, than swapping over to full wattage.

I've always followed Lucas' advice on this one and that's:

Veg under Bloom wattage. It makes a big difference.

My mums I keep under lower wattage and cuttings as well. Once they have a decent root system though... BANG!