Light placement question

kiwipaulie

Well-Known Member
Hi all, quick question. I'm currently vegging horizontally and then will flower vert. Do you hang the bare bulb slightly above the plants so they stretch up towards it or do you try and always just keep it as centred as possible. Hope that all makes sense?
 

dodacky

Well-Known Member
im new to vert aswell. (fellow kiwi aswell btw) .and from what ive read here and other forums you can control stretch to some degree. eg. if u want them to stretch more raise the bulb. if u want them to slow then lower it. hope this helps and someone exp in vert please correct me if im wrong
 

vostok

Well-Known Member
Centered as possible ...from what I understand

in some cases(rare) a mesh screen maybe required to prevent the leaves touching the bulb

this depends on many factors tho...

having that screen or chicken wire lamp shade is a handy bit of kit

see the attached pic for a 135% increase claimed by this method

Verical grow 135% in area.jpg
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
If you place your bulb next to the plant you're now vegging vertically. That would be the ideal.

Lots of things affect stretch; light levels, going from cooler light to warmer, nutrients, temperature, etc. In general, higher Kelvin light sources in bloom will help you control stretch better. It's a fine balancing act, because all that red makes them GROW! And no one wants them to stop growing, right? Lol
 

Craig1969SS

Well-Known Member
The center of the bulb is the meat. You get less light "lumens" coming from the tip than u do the base. The light is stronger in the middle, less from the tip and more from the base. Hang it from the base. Once u have the bulb surrounded put the base height around the top of the plants or a little lower. From there small adjustments up or down can be done by shielding your ojos and observing the light penetration on your plants. In about 5 seconds you'll see what bulb height looks the best. Turn your plants every day. I start introducing the small fry to vertical lights early in veg and wean them off overhead weeks before flipping them. Don't fret over the odd fans that result from vertical growing. Some get big and long, measure 12" or more...don't cut these! This bullshit of oh their covering bud sights let's cut them off! Ugh those fans are supplying the energy to grow and feed those buds and everything attached to them...during flowering. Weeks 4-5-6 can be daunting staring at a vast area of green fan leaves but endeavor to persevere. go stripping the plants of fans and make the plants rely on small leaved bud surface area to take up the energy production and you've just handicapped your plants. Realize the light is shining through to the back of the plants opposite the light, by turning once a day every thing gets its share of light..even the buds. Plants without fans make for great photography but what could have been if you'd just set down the scissors worrying about bud sights. So vertical can be as simple as turning the plants every day and not having to immobilize the whole thing to a cage.
 

kiwipaulie

Well-Known Member
The center of the bulb is the meat. You get less light "lumens" coming from the tip than u do the base. The light is stronger in the middle, less from the tip and more from the base. Hang it from the base. Once u have the bulb surrounded put the base height around the top of the plants or a little lower. From there small adjustments up or down can be done by shielding your ojos and observing the light penetration on your plants. In about 5 seconds you'll see what bulb height looks the best. Turn your plants every day. I start introducing the small fry to vertical lights early in veg and wean them off overhead weeks before flipping them. Don't fret over the odd fans that result from vertical growing. Some get big and long, measure 12" or more...don't cut these! This bullshit of oh their covering bud sights let's cut them off! Ugh those fans are supplying the energy to grow and feed those buds and everything attached to them...during flowering. Weeks 4-5-6 can be daunting staring at a vast area of green fan leaves but endeavor to persevere. go stripping the plants of fans and make the plants rely on small leaved bud surface area to take up the energy production and you've just handicapped your plants. Realize the light is shining through to the back of the plants opposite the light, by turning once a day every thing gets its share of light..even the buds. Plants without fans make for great photography but what could have been if you'd just set down the scissors worrying about bud sights. So vertical can be as simple as turning the plants every day and not having to immobilize the whole thing to a cage.
Cheers bro :) figured this shit out back in Feb. An old thread brought back to life.

Lumens don't really mean too much. It's all about spectrum.

Happy growing!!
 

Craig1969SS

Well-Known Member
My point was intensity...where is most of the energy going, follow the lumens. Not that lumens grow but the energy pattern being measured does. Cheers
 
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