read an article today where Rosenthal was saying that 24/7 promotes 33% percent more growth, guy doing grow classes at the dispensary said the same thing-helps plants grow 1/3 faster. is this true? i mean, it just doesn't seem natural to me...because it's not that way (at least in most areas) in nature. or is it just that the plant can take it? i've heard a lot of proponents for 18/6, but in your opinion, does 24/7 really work better, does it hurt the plant, can it do it.....what do you prefer and why?
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24 hours of light....
- Thread starter jcochran
- Start date
SmokeyThaBandit
Member
i used to run my veg 24/7.... i switched to 20 hours on 4 off, for two reasons, i've had two different ppl whose opinions i value greatly tell me that it would take a lot of stress off the plant to give it a small break once a day and also 4 hours a day off = 120 less hours per month for my elec bill. i must say i never noticed any "harm" from runnin 24/7 but i feel my plants are much healthier after i switched to 20/4
Gotta take a lot of what Ed says with a grain of salt, Jorge too for that matter. In my experience (41 years non stop over 150 crops), plants will tolerate 24 hours of light, but if stress is generally low, they grow faster (yup, faster) with at least 4 hours of light. My theory is that cannabis culture people (like Ed) who are not really all things horticultural, are causing some uneeded stresses that are being compensated in some way by a longer day. Like say, the watering is so off that the plant can't actually spend the entire light period doing photosythesis, so the extended period compensates for that. Whatever, I don't care. All I know is that I've tried different light schedules countless times and always came back to the same; 16/8-18/6 at most.
darksith
Member
yeah I have done both, and I still do, but I do a 24/0 for my new cut clones simply for heat. I find that the plants are better having a 18/6. It gives them a chance to rest/breath. Photosyn involves 2 stages, a light cycle (actively making energy and requires light) and a dark cycle (transporting that energy, doesn't require dark but I think it prefers it). I go 18/6 for plant health and energy savings.
so average elec bill is ¢15 per KW hour 120hrs per month = $18
total money saved $216, if it were between me producing more or less I would say the saving on the elec bill at the cost of producing less gram's kind of make's it moot and if the elec bill and $18 a month is a serious issue plenty of ways to counter that veg w/CFL's or a T5 or something along those lines would alleviate that to a degree.
darksith
Member
so average elec bill is ¢15 per KW hour 120hrs per month = $18
total money saved $216, if it were between me producing more or less I would say the saving on the elec bill at the cost of producing less gram's kind of make's it moot and if the elec bill and $18 a month is a serious issue plenty of ways to counter that veg w/CFL's or a T5 or something along those lines would alleviate that to a degree.
you pay 15cents a kwh? wow, I pay 6cents in BC. You won't get anymore bud from vegging 24/0 compared to 20/4 or even 18/6. I wish I did, but it never happened.
it was estimated on the high side as a example.
grimweeder
Member
id second that one, but in my experience i do notice a small diff in the plants but they seem to grow a bit less on 24/0 an seem to grow faster with a bit more dark period, or at least stretch an get taller, ive tried it on the same strains a couple of times an noticed a similar thing every time, but its the opposite of wots bein said here, so fuck knows.
got mine on 22/2 at the mo.
I think that, if you're really growing stress free, plants will grow a bit faster with at least 4 hours of darkness. Add some stress and you might not notice a difference in growth. Add a bit more stress (ala Ed or Jorge) and you actually might see faster growth with the 24 hour light cycle. That's my theory.
I'm suggesting Blckbrd, that if you get faster growth with a 24 hour light cycle, it may indicate some unneeded stresses elsewhere in your grow.
S
sallyforthDeleted member 75382
Must be 18/6 for optimum, 20/4 no difference. Reason : hours of darkness changes the way cannabis behaves/grows. Cannabis will put it's energy into developing more and stronger roots in the dark period...basically bigger rootball = bigger yield of bud.
ugmjfarmer
Member
Well.. plants do grow insane rootballs under 24/0 in veg, so I do not see the point. Plants need room to expand in flowering as well with their rootballs otherwise they will not reach their entire potential.
I'm having no problems with 24/0 and I can report that my Hindu Kush girls seem to adapt to 12/12 much quicker this way as well: the first dark period they see is when they are final transplanted and flipped to 12/12. I harvest in 50-55 days and no later.
BLUNToPOTomuss
Member
^^ This is my theory Ive never had to wait longer thn 55 days once flipped to 12's after going 24/0.
I vegged my last grow 28 days of 24/0 and they came out FANTASTIC
I vegged my last grow 28 days of 24/0 and they came out FANTASTIC
i always thought photosynthesis had to do with darkness as well. i think Photosynthesis in plants takes place in chloroplasts. Photosynthesis includes light-dependent reactions and reactions that are not directly energized by light.
meaning, a dark period is needed ^
meaning, a dark period is needed ^
If you're really sensitive to your plants, you'll notice that they actually do grow more at night than during the day. A good way to 'see' this is by using what we kung fu folks call soft focus. By concentrating on your peripheral vision, you can 'see' the entire canopy in one chunk. That vision will show you differences between last night and this morning. Sometimes I think I can actually see the canopy sort of pumping, or breathing.
Chronic777
Member
I did 24 at first, then as soon as i swicted to 18/6 my plant loved it, i could feel her saying thankyou thankyou!
24 just aint natural, everything needs a bit of rest
If you are sensitive & feel your plants then they will tell you they need darkness to rest
Plus all noticible growth happens during darkness from what ive observed
These are entheogenic spiritual plants we are dealing with, not just plain old leaf & bud
Plus, weed doesn't grow in the arctic circle
24 just aint natural, everything needs a bit of rest
If you are sensitive & feel your plants then they will tell you they need darkness to rest
Plus all noticible growth happens during darkness from what ive observed
These are entheogenic spiritual plants we are dealing with, not just plain old leaf & bud
Plus, weed doesn't grow in the arctic circle
