[Dignan]

16/8 indoors is a safe bet for 80% of us.

Dig

[DimeBag65]

this is very important to have your plants ready for the light regiment they will be getting outdoors. an early flower can cost you months of wasted veg time and frustration.

id say 16/8 after roots like dignan said is a pretty safe bet.

[Fast_Pine]

Yo dime...I agree!,,Exactly why I petitioned to have this made a sticky..

Hey dig's..

Say, Why 16/8?....If that isnt the natural light cycle on transplant day, typicaly 15/9 is closer to the native photoperiod(late May, early June)...

Why add the extra hour...

If yer strains are sensitive enough, that extra hour will trigger them to bloom once they go outside, you might as well have used 24/0...

The key is to match the natural light cycle to the day of transplant..Which is why 18/6 doesent work..

[Dignan]

Hey FP! Haven't run into you much recently. Hope all is well.

In my experience, I can use either 16/8 or 15/9 with no difference at all, except for those differences caused by extremely early strains. I think I mentioned earlier in this thread that I match my indoor photoperiod to the outdoor actual daylight hours, which are Sunrise/Sunset +/- 60-90 minutes. That's an old school outdoor growers' rule of thumb... and notice that it accounts for a "fudge factor" of one hour.

Note that I don't do extremely early strains, for the most part, so my advice is re: normal cannabis strains. Might try one or two here and there, but I have yet to come across a strain finished by mid-Sept that compares to strains that finish in October in yield or potency (but esp. yield). So I have to admit to not having much experience with the autos and semi-autos.

Gotta run

Dig

[Bennythejet]

get a mom outside?

[The Iceman]

Great info everyone but we still dont have a definitive answer. I think we all will be extremely more informed after this outdoor season and we can see what worked and what didnt with different strains. I hope everyone documents their experiences. Other then mold, deer, rippers, ect early flowering is the outdoor growers worst enemy. I'm gonna try the 15/9 thing myself as so far it seems the best plan.

[Dignan]

A few of us have been matching photoperiod to actual daylight hours for a few years now and for me the answer is definitive, actually. Sunrise/Sunset times... subtract 60 minutes from the sunrise time and add 60 to the sunset to get actual daylight hours on the date you plan to put them out... match those hours indoors from seed.

Dignan

YES!!!

Dignan has provided us with the key to this door.. I too attempt to match or fit into actual daylight levels and the results are clear - never any flowers, hermies , growth delays or any other problems. The weight of Dignan's recommendation should be trippled when femmed seeds are used. Stability and a consistent continueum of daylength = stable, reproductively healthy plants.

Dignan, Im curious as to your reasoning and the basis for subtracting 60 minutes from the top and bottom. I use the principle of " how much light will effect the plant" philosophy, but I only deduct 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening. Reasoning: A full moon is bright enough to cast a decent shadow but doesnt affect the plants reproductive stability. How much more light than a full moon puts out, does it take to affect the plant in that way? I use that baseline for determining how much dawn or twilight is required before the plants respond to the light. I believe that to be about 15. When the sun has been up over the horizon for 15 min, or 15 minutes before dark is when the light reaches that point of just exceeding the light of a full moon. This is all conjecture however and I could be wrong , how did you arrive at your time? So few take this approach so Im interested in your thoughts.

sb

[Fast_Pine]

Originally Posted by Dignan

A few of us have been matching photoperiod to actual daylight hours for a few years now and for me the answer is definitive

Yep...If any one wants see this in action(15/9), click the link in my signature. Its my grow journal where I did clones put out early June, on 15/9, with some pretty photosensitive genetics. Everything made a smooth transition into the native light cycle, and continued to veg out....





Note: To any of you who have never had this problem, and are wondering what the hell were talking about,,,,,,Chances are good yer working with strains that are a little more sativa dominant, and a little less photo sensitive.
Every sativa dominant clone ive ever transplanted out on 24/0 never Got confused, they would allways take off and be huge monsters...So remember,,,,not every clone variety is gonna prematurely start blooming after the transplant...

[Fast_Pine]

Originally Posted by NickMode

i just checked my local weather site and the sunrise to sunset times are 13.5 hours

so i think ill veg under 14/10

U sure?...Thirteen an a half hours of daylight on transplant day......I think yer planting a lil bit too early..

I always plant after May 20th, because the days have gotten long enough to sustain a natural veg...If you plant too early(with clones, doesent apply to seeds), even with yer clones on 15/9, they could still prematurely bloom..

IMHO, the key too finding the right light cycle to keep yer mothers on, is to get on the internet an look up the sun rise and sun set times for yer exact area for the day you are gonna be transplanting...Set yer timer for that ..Round here its something like 6am to 8:30pm...On May, 20th..

Maby do like silverback and dig's,allow for 15 extra minutes of twilight...

Say, dig's..

Youve known about this for a wile now?......Did ya use 15/9 on yer K dragons and such last year?......