24 hr VEG? or 18 hr VEG?

[Plant n Prosper]

Title says it all here -

If cost isn't an issue, what method is most effective for plants in veg?


18 hrs?

or

24 hrs?



& why???

 

[LiLWaynE]

24 hours is what I always have done....... why? because its just easy

 

[Azeotrope]

I like to be different and currently have 17/7 set-up for fun...... 19/5 works.... Can be really strain dpendent for me due to low ceiling.

 

[mpd]

More light creates more plant energy. If I am lying I am dying.

 

[Friend]

I always do 18/6... In my experience, my plants have always seemed happiest when they had a dark period during veg. One of these days i will try 16/8 and see how that goes.

 

[Plant n Prosper]

[QUOTE=mp

 

[hobb3s93]

i was thinking bout that the other day. 24 is cool if its a room where u got other shit going on, but dont plants need a dark period to photosynthesize ? isnt that why some people suggest harvesting before lights on?

i always notice my plants droop a lil before they go to bed. i have always given them 6 hours dark to combat heat aswell, but have done 24 n they didnt react negetivly

 

[Plant n Prosper]

Yeah i can

 

[hobb3s93]

lol ya of course but if ur looking to throw them outside i think u should cut them back to 18 to 16 so they can get ready for outside n dont flower erly. im sure someone experienced in outdoors can straighten it out.n btw i think photosynthesis still happens in veg just to let u no

 

[BudToker]

24 hours

Good Luck,

-BT

 

[LEX-UK]

18 because I read many times that the plants can only make use of up to 18 hr of light a day and its the dark period when they rest and build up energy.. Clones seeds 24 yes but soon as your vegging try 18 hrs plus u save 6 hr a day in power bills

 

[Canniwhatsis]

Only thing I've noticed, and take it with a grain of salt, is that 24/0 grows tighter internodes, but seems to stretch more when flipped.

I say take that with a grain of salt because that's just an observation of other growers documented grows,.... and of course my methods vary,.... greatly.

I've only STARTED one grow under 24/0, and it looked pretty much like I expected based on the reading I've done,.... sadly I had to abort due to a complete chop down and clean out long before flower.


Backstory out of the way, I personally feel that 18/6 is pretty much the best for vege because it gives the plants time to rest and respirate.

Haven't read much on terrestrial plants doing this, but read my sig line,...... In my Aquariums anyway, plants actually USE oxygen during lights off, and with as fast as some aquatic plants grow,.... I've actually noticed a difference between the 2 cycles of light. Having the dark period seems to help accelerate growth. I would imagine because they're using energy to uptake nutrients from the substrate, thus USING O2,.... And or growing stronger ROOTS.




I've heard that our beloved plant grows roots in lights off, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that strong roots make for a healthy plant...... So I've always cycled with 6 off in vege with great results.





Of course I'm NOT an outdoor grower, and you wanna do clones for outdoors,... so take THAT with a grain of salt!

 

[Plant n Prosper]

[QU

 

[siftedunity]

Haven't read much on terrestrial plants doing this, but read my sig line,...... In my Aquariums anyway, plants actually USE oxygen during lights off, and with as fast as some aquatic plants grow,.... I've actually noticed a difference between the 2 cycles of light. Having the dark period seems to help accelerate growth. I would imagine because they're using energy to uptake nutrients from the substrate, thus USING O2,.... And or growing stronger ROOTS.




I've heard that our beloved plant grows roots in lights off, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that strong roots make for a healthy plant...... So I've always cycled with 6 off in vege with great results.

got to point out a couple of things. plants dont use any energy taking up nutrients, and if plants only grow roots at night, then everyone who vegs 24/7 would have bad root systems.

i veg 24/7 for the most part. but about twice a week i switch the lights off for about 6 to 8 hours. im not sure if this really helps them out or not but i definately get constant growth if they are in veg 24/7.

 

[LEX-UK]

I imagine a lot of folk run 24 coz its easier to keep even temps but I've found my plants are happier when getting the lights out period.. But there's never one way to get her done lol find what works for you and preach to everyone how its the best n only way.. Jk don't do that

 

[C+W]

We go with 24 hours since we used to run an NL that had some autoflower tendancies. Under 18 hours she would start to put out flowers, really stunting her growth in veg and making her ridiculously hard to clone.

-C

 

[medicalmj]

I notice that most of my plants will "relax" (not pointing up) their leaves towards the end of an 18 hour cycle. So the question becomes, do the plants "know" the light is switching off in a few minutes and react, or is 18 hours the longest they really want to soak up light energy and so they "relax" leaves at around 18 hours as a result. I am leaning toward the latter so I time at 18/6.

 

[Plant n Prosper]

em

 

[HughGhasso]

I run 18-6 because I too think the plant likes a rest period but also my lights off period is during the hottest part of the day and PG&E's peak hours.

 

[LyryC]

18/6 or 16/8.

Save money on electricity.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean its good.

Roots grow when lights are off, not saying they don't while lights are on, but expansive root growth normally takes place during lights off/night when the focus of the plant isn't photosynthesis and creating food/energy.

The nutrients do require energy to be transported throughout the plant, not on the initial uptake. Plant roots store nutrients at night, so when lights go off, everything goes down into the roots while as mentioned before the plant gives of Co2 (respirate).

Sure the plant will grow with 24 hour light, but you aren't gaining advantage or a huge difference between 18 or 16 hours a day.

Whats more important is that you have your environment dialed in and good food for the plants.

Also you alter the plants genetic code with 24 hours of light too long. The hormones within the plant have clocks. When keeping plants under 24 hours their hormones change drastically due to unnatural conditions which can cause problems later. But I think this issue begins after 3 months of straight 24 hour veg. Or maybe the hormone clock is 3 months, I don't recall at this time.

18/6 for optimum results.

Then when you know you are going to flower, start working your timer down.

So you are on 18/6, then the next week you switch it to 16/8. Next week you switch to 14/10 and then the following week you finally make your 12/12 flip. This is as close to duplicating the late summer sun inside as you can get without actually following sunrise/set patterns. Doesn't stress them unless you do it in day increments, like 18/6 one day to 16/8 next etc...

Hope I helped a bit