LED Grow Light Forum

Hi

Was curious to see if anybody has switched over to 12/12 but did not switch the unit over to bloom mode?

My theory is if you kept it in veg mode for the first 2 weeks of 12/12, will that help reduce stretch???

Anybody have any ideas or input.
Thanks,RKY

RKY,
What lead to your conclusion about the lighting period?

Stretch if a function of genetics, height of light and length of veg time, IMO, nothing to really back that up. I do believe that I have vegged to long and that my two mainlines are root bound. Not sure about transplanting during the flower cycle.

I am curious as to what you come up with.

I am going to leave my light off for 36 hrs prior to starting the 12/12 cycle. So that means tonight at 7 begins the 36 hr cycle then I will go 12/12 at 7AM Wed. morning.

GR

Hey GR,

My thinking was that the Veg mode has more blue light which I believe helps reduce internode spacing

I know that genetics are important too. Also, i think The plant wants to get as big as it can to produce either as many flowers or seeds(a male plant) as it can before the end of its life.

Hey Rocky!

Hope you are doing well. You pose an interesting question, one I am eager to learn from, as my girls stretched from 12-14" all the way to 32-36" in just 5 weeks when I flipped them.

My 2 cents here...my understanding is that the plants stretch during the dark phase in search of light, so the type of light available during the light phase may not effect that stretching too much, IMHO.

Again, just my thought based on biology classes decades ago and from what I have read recently...look forward to other's thoughts!

ICB

ICB, mine flipped at 5-5.25", 3.5 weeks ago...today I have mostly 30-32"...aim was to finish about 20-24"!

I still have several weeks yet to go on this grow, but I would be willing to try anything to reduce stretching next go....if you come up with something Rky. But I am thinking my next round will be after the 1st of the year...

Wouldn't we see some difference in the first week to 10 days, one way or the other??

Happy

Hey Happy,

Wow, that's a heck of a stretch there..damn! I remember reading you flipped when they were so short, and was wondering where you would end up. I also wonder about Indica vs. Sativa...I have always read that Indica is supposed to be shorter and squatter...but my girls are 4 separate strains of Indica, and they all stretched a lot ...although my White Rhino stretched the least @ 12" - 30"....

Guys, I've been thinking about this a little bit more...what do you think about putting the light 12" above the canopy when you flip...and keep moving it during the stretching period to maintain the 12" distance?? Maybe the plants learn they don't need to stretch to reach the light, as the light stays at a constant distance away?

Just another thought!

ICB

Hey Happy

Damn bubba! They stretched that much? I flipped mine at 10 to 12 and ended up around 32". I thought for sure you'd be around 24".

Hey ICB,
Hope all is good with you too! Just waiting for the curing to be done. Still have some left from my last dispensary visit so not in too big a rush. But it's like presents under the Xmas tree: you can't wait to open em up!

Good idea on the light height. I did kinda try it: I was at 18" and I would keep it at that height as they stretched. Maybe the greater intensity of only 12" away would be better?

I'm not sure if anything works. I if I could get it to just double and not triple I'd be happy. I don't think these lights can handle that much penetration in a 3 foot tall plant.

Too bad SME had to boot those 2 guys recently. They seemed to be smarter than all of us combined. LOL! Maybe they could give us the right answer.

Keep brainstorming! You'd be surprised what stoner's can come up with!

RKY

As you might have read, I've been meaning to devote more time to research and experiment on the stretch situation. There are a number of factors that are believed or proven to influence stretching. Light Spectra, light cycle, nutrients and genetics may all play a part. There may be other factors that I'm not remembering, right now, but I've had some sort of flu-bug for a few weeks and I'm still not quite over it.

Will more blue during early flower help? Yes, I believe so, depending on the wavelength of the blue. IIRC.

Will putting the light closer help? I doubt it but more light can help keep the internodes tighter so maybe. If the plants aren't overcrowded.

Overcrowding can mean more stretch.

Temps with wide day/night differences can make for more stretching.

Lowering Nitrogen and increasing Phosphorus during the transition might help but beware of deficiencies.

Some people say that gradually reducing the number of dark hours before getting to 12/12 helps but I think that could be just trading a gradual stretch for a sudden one. More research and experimentation is needed.

I've heard that some small amount of IR at specific times might help by getting the plants to recognize they need to flower sooner. As above, I'm not sure but it sounds like it might be reasonable and worth trying if we had the right details.

Genetics are genetics and there's not much that can be done except trying different genetics if you don't like how another strain grows for your style. Typically (not always), sativas stretch more than indicas and hybrids could go either way.

Too bad Brandon from CLW isn't around to chime in here, he's pretty smart when it comes to the botany stuff.

I don't know, if those "other guys" were *that* smart, you'd think they could have avoided getting themselves banned.

I already tried the 12" distance....and letting them grow to within about 7-8" before raising it...it didn't minimize any stretch for me. But a couple leaves did get bleached, so I know it couldn't get closer....

Maybe the blue alone for a week or two??

Is anyone getting ready to flip any, who is willing to test this?? I have my little sprouts that I will have to sex in a few more weeks...hopefully. Smallest is only on 2nd set of leaves.

Happy

Try it and see...