24/hour light in veg is it good or should I 18/6?

SweetLeaf88 said:

I've got 12 little sprouts going, and honestly, so far, I see the most growth when I check them in the mornings. I've been doing 18/6, with the lights set to come on just before I wake up, and while I am noticing a lot of growth during the day, the biggest changes seem to be happening with the lights off, so I think the 18/6 is doing just fine for me, as a first-time grower.

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I start vegging with 24/0 and around week 4-5 I switch to 18/6. It may be just habit or routine but I tend to notice changes in my plants when I check on them right after lights on. It could be just a mind thing but I believe the dark period does something that makes it more noticeable to detect plant changes. It was one of these lights on checks that I noticed something going on with one of my 3 flowering plants, later in the day that (male) plant was sprouting big time. "The night time is the right time."

24hrs a day until the third leaf set then 18/6..................Just my way, I believe they need a rest period.
peace B

yes as do i! the dark period allows the plant to complete its photosythisis resulting in more vigorous growth!

Yep. Science and results dont matter. Your all right, go with your gut feelings based on "i need a rest period, so plants must too."

i have no clue as to why u think i think plants need to rest cuz i do....for 1 u have not shown scientific proof u have shown us a growers oppinion...i am not going to retype everything i said but i have stated basic botany i have not said anything to hurt ur character i have just simply stated fact if u disagree than i am truely sorry. but its been proven time and time and there are some exceptions to this and i have also stated that earlier..but neway to each there own.

Would switching from an 18/6 to a 24/0 schedule shock my 3 week old plants? I have yet to get my electric bill so I will decide then whether or not I will shift.

DD420............Science and results are ALL that matter. Thats why I do it "my way".
There is no conclusive scientific evidence that either way is better, thats why this subject is constantly brought up.
I grow "my way" becuase thats how I get the healthiest plants. I know that by giving my plants a dark period they build a better root system and sturdier branches, which simply means an overall healthier plant. Better able to support big buds, fight off disease and resist pests. My grow techniques are based on personal observation of plants I have grown over the last thirty years.......Not my "gut feeling"
You need to remember...just becuase something works, does not mean that its the best.
peace B

Windsblow said:

Would switching from an 18/6 to a 24/0 schedule shock my 3 week old plants? I have yet to get my electric bill so I will decide then whether or not I will shift.

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No you could just extend without any problem, but it would be eaiser on your girls to ramp it up an hour a day.
But here is the other dilemma..........The gain you get from the extended light hours is not enough to justify the cost of the power.
peace B

I start with th 24/0 mainly for the heat factor for my clones or seedlings. Once I know that the heat and humidity has done their job in getting the root system going good I am comfortable with switching to 18/6. We are trying to mimic the natural light cycle, starting with lots of light (sunlight) at the beginning of growing (Spring) to less light closer to harvest (Fall). When you switch back to longer lighting periods you are confusing your plants and they have to readjust, which may cause slower growth during that time. They usually get back on schedule slowly.

abudtokr said:

Plants need sleep, its nature.

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this statement is actually flase! during the lights off period the plant is not sleeping but infact working more than it did wit the lights on!...the only time a plant 'sleeps' is right after it rains and the ground is leached....hence why some of us on here practice the 'making it rain' technique...but just cause the lights are off doesnt mean the plant is sleeping...some ppl like to think of plants to b alike as humans and that is false. the dark period is an active period where the plant uses the energy gained during the lights on period

Maybe marijuana but I know for a fact plants do sleep. They still grow while they sleep as we grow. So im not sure for marijuana but plants in general need sleep time. Your saying only when it rains? So in a desert plants never sleep?

Im guess im going to counter dict what i said but I beleave this to be more true, when the sun goes down it dont just shut off. During the time in between sunset till darkness is when they sleep so I guess im sorry. I just know they dont sleep in the day. So you would think they sleep in one of them times. I am going to try to dim them down b4 lights off to see if there is any difference. Im sure it wont make a difference but its something to try I never read anything about it here so. I will try it.

no what im saying is during this sleepin period u speak of the plants never rest so techniquely they arent really sleeping and im not familiar with desert plants so i cannot answer that question but wen the lights are out marijuana is still hard at work

In the morning...

At night...

It is so interesting, I was in the kitchen washing dishes when I noticed our seedlings folded up all their leaves. Are they sleeping? Yes, plants do sleep at night. They can not make food, so they shut down by closing their stomata.
Let me talk a little bit of science here:
Green plants are the only plants that produce oxygen and make food, which is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis means "putting together with light." This takes place in sunlight. From sunlight, green plants combine carbon dioxide and water to make sugar and oxygen. Green plants use sugar to make starch, fats, and proteins. there are tiny pores called stomata. Oxygen and carbon dioxide enter and leave through the stomata.

and scientifically, plants at night are working to complete the photosythisis process and my leaves never change from day or night....as u can see the 3 bigger plants are still showing perky leaves as if the lights wur still on


definition of sleeping is:
A state of inactivity resembling or suggesting sleep; unconsciousness, dormancy, hibernation, or death

the reason as to why the leaves arent as erect is becuase of the absensce of light. this does not mean they are sleeping, plants are not dormant wen in the night period hence the reason as to why wen the light comes on the wur bigger than the last light period because they are using the energy and food gained in the lights on period to flourish at night

Do you still grow when you sleep?

The energy harvested via the light reaction is stored by forming a chemical called ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a compound used by cells for energy storage. This chemical is made of the nucleotide adenine bonded to a ribose sugar, and that is bonded to three phosphate groups. This molecule is very similar to the building blocks for our DNA.

The dark reaction takes place in the stroma within the chloroplast, and converts CO2 to sugar. This reaction doesn't directly need light in order to occur, but it does need the products of the light reaction (ATP and another chemical called NADPH). The dark reaction involves a cycle called the Calvin cycle in which CO2 and energy from ATP are used to form sugar. Actually, notice that the first product of photosynthesis is a three-carbon compound called glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Almost immediately, two of these join to form a glucose molecule.


and to answer ur desert plant question....
There is yet another strategy to cope with very hot, dry, desert weather and conserve water. Some plants (for example, cacti and pineapple) that live in extremely hot, dry areas like deserts, can only safely open their stomates at night when the weather is cool. Thus, there is no chance for them to get the CO2 needed for the dark reaction during the daytime. At night when they can open their stomates and take in CO2, these plants incorporate the CO2 into various organic compounds to store it. In the daytime, when the light reaction is occurring and ATP is available (but the stomates must remain closed), they take the CO2 from these organic compounds and put it into the Calvin cycle. These plants are called CAM plants, which stands for crassulacean acid metabolism after the plant family, Crassulaceae (which includes the garden plant Sedum) where this process was first discovered.


dark period=Calvin Cycle
Calvin Cycle= The Calvin cycle or Calvin-Benson cycle or Dark Reaction is a series of biochemical reactions that take place in the stroma of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms
and also:
The second of the two major steps of photosynthesis (the other being the light reactions). The cycle fixes CO2 and produces carbohydrates


so do plants sleep at night? Nope!

I had my plants on 24/0 for 2 1/2 weeks then had to change to 20/4 cus the heat in there was gettin silly and i think causing heat stress, the last 3 days since the change in light cycle they have grew 3 inch and looking in better condition

abudtokr said:

Do you still grow when you sleep?

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why must u compare our biology to plants? i do grow wen i sleep, i also eat food, i also shit, i dont need light to grow! my body doesnt create photosythisis, i dont bud, i dont only 'eat' during the day, and only use the 'food' i gained from the light at night time... it is fun to compare and look for similarities but plain out and simple a plant is a plant and we are humans. i think i have stated enough scientific proof that plants do not sit dormant or unconscious during the dark period but infact work just as hard as the light period.


also searching for information on google, clicking on another site forum, and copy and pasting what is pure oppinon and nowhere near close to fact is the type of misinformation i was talkin about at the beginning of this thread~!

you CANNOT use someone elses oppinion to prove that your oppinion is fact.................

Im not going to even read what you posted for real. Grow your shit how you want. It wont make a bit of difference. But PLANTS do sleep! Google it. I will let you have the last word becasue im not going to argue about if a plant sleeps or not its crystal clear to me that plants sleep. They are still growing yes and still hard at work, BUT there sleeping!

Dude yer silly.
24/7