Reducing lighting late in flower ? - Cannabis Growing Questions - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

stewart169 · 01-31-2018, 07:49 PM

Does anyone reduce their lighting a bit in the last week or two of flower to make plants think its more like end of fall ? I kind of thought about it and didnt know.

Nico Farmer · 01-31-2018, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewart169

Does anyone reduce their lighting a bit in the last week or two of flower to make plants think its more like end of fall ? I kind of thought about it and didnt know.

Yeah, I like to reduce lighting in the two last weeks, like the nature circle, Sun is less near to Earth in autumn.
Strongs lights = less oil and terpenes, my two cents.

Big up

2011rex87 · 01-31-2018, 10:07 PM

That depends on a few things I guess. You should test and compare results. You may find that you get higher yield if you maintain your lights at regular output. On the other hand, you may find you have higher quality if you gradually reduce the light hours or even the intensity of light. Some growers swear that leaving their plants in darkness for a day or two before harvest causes their buds to produce extra resin.

I personally do not reduce the light output or hours of light in my gardens. I do understand the reasoning behind doing it though, because in nature you could experience a reduction in overall light hours and intensity towards the end of flower. For example, for most of continental USA, if your plants began flowering around October and finished early December, you would have a diminishing number of day light hours. This does not mean that human intervention cannot produce more yield when growing indoors. What do you think? If you absolutely need the flower/product and cannot afford a reduction in yields, is it worth the gamble? If so, how much will you reduce? 12 down to 11 down to 10?

Nico Farmer · 01-31-2018, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2011rex87

How much will you reduce? 12 down to 11 down to 10?

I don t reduce duration but intensity.
For exemple, I swith 400w to 300 or 250.

stewart169 · 02-01-2018, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nico Farmer

I don t reduce duration but intensity.
For exemple, I swith 400w to 300 or 250.

I was thinking a bit of both. Reducing lighting time 30-40 min a week last two weeks and 5-10% light level as well. Have no experience with doing it.

Weird · 02-01-2018, 12:05 AM

ramp up and down

2011rex87 · 02-01-2018, 12:13 AM

Some growers will use a PAR meter to "ramp up and down" as the previous poster said. You can use whatever method you would like, but the point is.. You want to gradually increase the amount of light intensity your plants get from seed or clone at 200 par to week 2 at 400 par then maybe up again in week 4 to 600 par then again at 6 up to 800 par and maybe dial down from week 7 to 8 to 9 finally ending with perhaps 10 hours of light at only 600 par or less. Also remember that the wavelength of light changes as the Sunlight is filtered through more atmosphere when in fall versus when the Sun is overhead in summer. So that's why summer is blue light and fall is red light. Same as a red or pink sunset.. The sunlight is being filtered through more atmosphere before it hits your eyes/the plants. So if you were tweaking things out to emulate nature inside, you would accommodate these changes. That said, trace your strain back to it's landrace to see where it's grown and what the environment is like there.. You may test that strain with matching patterns in light hours and intensity. For example a strain grown in South America may thrive at different lighting requirements than a strain grown in Asia. Notice that most growers use MH in veg because the light is dominated by blue wavelength and then in flower switch to HPS because that is dominated by yellow and red and orange.

St. Phatty · 02-01-2018, 04:32 PM

I think it works well to move the plants off to the side, so they're further away from the light. Like you said, late in flower.

Patience is important to letting the plant completely do its THC thing (or seed formation thing). But the space right under the light is premium space, especially if you have some plants in veg waiting for 12/12.

From a "production point of view", sometimes you HAVE to move the plants with the best seats off to the side after 7 or 8 weeks.

Shmavis · 02-01-2018, 04:59 PM

I have done it with both duration and intensity, as well as each individually, and I think it’s a good idea if running a homogeneous garden. Otherwise it’s kind of difficult and possibly counterproductive in a multi-strain garden or perpetual flowering room. In those cases it’s best, like St. Phatty says, to move individuals off to the side. Even into a shadowed area.

SoulAnnoyed · 02-04-2018, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weird

ramp up and down

Ride the wave.

01-31-2018, 07:49 PM	#1
stewart169 IC Mag Supporter Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 397	Reducing lighting late in flower ? Does anyone reduce their lighting a bit in the last week or two of flower to make plants think its more like end of fall ? I kind of thought about it and didnt know. __________________ Middle aged new grower aspiring to organic success
	Quote 1 members found this post helpful.

01-31-2018, 10:07 PM	#3
2011rex87 Banned Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 93	That depends on a few things I guess. You should test and compare results. You may find that you get higher yield if you maintain your lights at regular output. On the other hand, you may find you have higher quality if you gradually reduce the light hours or even the intensity of light. Some growers swear that leaving their plants in darkness for a day or two before harvest causes their buds to produce extra resin. I personally do not reduce the light output or hours of light in my gardens. I do understand the reasoning behind doing it though, because in nature you could experience a reduction in overall light hours and intensity towards the end of flower. For example, for most of continental USA, if your plants began flowering around October and finished early December, you would have a diminishing number of day light hours. This does not mean that human intervention cannot produce more yield when growing indoors. What do you think? If you absolutely need the flower/product and cannot afford a reduction in yields, is it worth the gamble? If so, how much will you reduce? 12 down to 11 down to 10?
	Quote 1 members found this post helpful.

02-01-2018, 04:32 PM	#8
St. Phatty Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 2,381	I think it works well to move the plants off to the side, so they're further away from the light. Like you said, late in flower. Patience is important to letting the plant completely do its THC thing (or seed formation thing). But the space right under the light is premium space, especially if you have some plants in veg waiting for 12/12. From a "production point of view", sometimes you HAVE to move the plants with the best seats off to the side after 7 or 8 weeks.
	Quote 1 members found this post helpful.

02-01-2018, 04:59 PM	#9
Shmavis Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: A Phenomenological State Posts: 980	I have done it with both duration and intensity, as well as each individually, and I think it’s a good idea if running a homogeneous garden. Otherwise it’s kind of difficult and possibly counterproductive in a multi-strain garden or perpetual flowering room. In those cases it’s best, like St. Phatty says, to move individuals off to the side. Even into a shadowed area. __________________ §467. I am sitting with a philosopher in the garden; he says again and again “I know that that’s a tree”, pointing to a tree that is near us. Someone else arrives and hears this, and I tell him: “This fellow isn’t insane. We are only doing philosophy.” ― Ludwig Wittgenstein, On Certainty
	Quote 2 members found this post helpful.

02-01-2018, 12:13 AM	#7
2011rex87 Banned Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 93	Some growers will use a PAR meter to "ramp up and down" as the previous poster said. You can use whatever method you would like, but the point is.. You want to gradually increase the amount of light intensity your plants get from seed or clone at 200 par to week 2 at 400 par then maybe up again in week 4 to 600 par then again at 6 up to 800 par and maybe dial down from week 7 to 8 to 9 finally ending with perhaps 10 hours of light at only 600 par or less. Also remember that the wavelength of light changes as the Sunlight is filtered through more atmosphere when in fall versus when the Sun is overhead in summer. So that's why summer is blue light and fall is red light. Same as a red or pink sunset.. The sunlight is being filtered through more atmosphere before it hits your eyes/the plants. So if you were tweaking things out to emulate nature inside, you would accommodate these changes. That said, trace your strain back to it's landrace to see where it's grown and what the environment is like there.. You may test that strain with matching patterns in light hours and intensity. For example a strain grown in South America may thrive at different lighting requirements than a strain grown in Asia. Notice that most growers use MH in veg because the light is dominated by blue wavelength and then in flower switch to HPS because that is dominated by yellow and red and orange.
	Quote