AF light cycle for starting indoors and then moving outdoors

I'll be starting 9 plants in my small grow closet.
Whatever is left (females) are going outside (if it is over 4 plants) and the others are staying in the closet.

I know this isn't the ideal situation but I am thinking an 18/6 cycle would be best of both worlds as the "extra" plants would not be so shocked with the move outside. They would be use to a dark period rather than if I ran continuous light. The 4 remaining could stay on an 18/6 until finished.

Ideas? Thanks


3x3x5 closet with Mars Hydro II 900W LED.
3 gal fabric pots - soil

TedeBoy said:

I'll be starting 9 plants in my small grow closet.
Whatever is left (females) are going outside (if it is over 4 plants) and the others are staying in the closet.

I know this isn't the ideal situation but I am thinking an 18/6 cycle would be best of both worlds as the "extra" plants would not be so shocked with the move outside. They would be use to a dark period rather than if I ran continuous light. The 4 remaining could stay on an 18/6 until finished.

Ideas? Thanks


3x3x5 closet with Mars Hydro II 900W LED.
3 gal fabric pots - soil

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auto plants are not that picky...............if u want u can run the plants on a 24/0 then move them outside and let the natural cycle take over ......it will not have a effect negative effect on the plant

I'm growing AF this year for first time. They seem to grow just fine with 18/6. I have read that the dark cycle helps and conserves energy. Hopefully they will fill the greenhouse because they are hardy and fast growing. Other plants I have grown do well with the light and transporting on a dark day.

justugh said:

auto plants are not that picky...............if u want u can run the plants on a 24/0 then move them outside and let the natural cycle take over ......it will not have a effect negative effect on the plant

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^^ This. Autos are not finicky about light; I will say that people tend to see better results when they get 18-20 hours a day of light. You might consider limiting your grows to keep them all inside, or run a few photos concurrently to see best results.

StonedAgeTimeTraveler said:

^^ This. Autos are not finicky about light; I will say that people tend to see better results when they get 18-20 hours a day of light. You might consider limiting your grows to keep them all inside, or run a few photos concurrently to see best results.

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i thought so too with a 20/4 time table .........what i ran my HIDs on

but oil test does not lie ........1 oz of stuff off a 20/4 time 3.5 avg grams best was 4.2 ..........just ran some under the new 24/0 off a sick plant 4.0 grams even
same variables or then the time table and light ......soil seed and feed plan ...same filter size and amount of 5x 2 cans per OZ

given my lights do dim part of the time but never off ...the matrix s led light ........been fun playing with it UV mode is strong

Really? That's interesting to hear. There's much debate among AF growers about if they need darkness. Some insist they get best results with 24/0, others insist even a few hours of dark are needed for the plant to rest, recuperate, and have the highest yield. I don't think there's been much science behind it, though. So if you've noticed tangible, real proof they do best under 24/0 I'll defer to you on that.

StonedAgeTimeTraveler said:

Really? That's interesting to hear. There's much debate among AF growers about if they need darkness. Some insist they get best results with 24/0, others insist even a few hours of dark are needed for the plant to rest, recuperate, and have the highest yield. I don't think there's been much science behind it, though. So if you've noticed tangible, real proof they do best under 24/0 I'll defer to you on that.

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it is why i started running this

buddy said he had some better stuff and i called bullshit on him ...so we did a oz blow 3.8 for me 3.2 for him ....after that little thing i got thinking this would be a good way to test my resin production and i tried to get a avg bench mark to know what the pros do (currently i am on the low end of acceptable ) avg i was hearing is near 5 grams from 1 oz of buds ....one guy got 8 grams of a oz of girl scout cookie

so feed tweaks and UV/12k light added in slowly improving ....once i get it to max i will try changing back to a 20/4 and see if it goes down or up off the same light strain and feed plan/soil

the only time i exposed it to darkness was the 48/72 hours of dark right before cut and then the 7 days of drying in dark place