slowly changing flowering hours?

So when I first set up my room, I was basing the hours of light and dark based on the hottest and coldest parts of the day. But now that temperature is not a problem I am trying to move my flowering hours back by an hour. I figure I can accomplish this by shifting it slightly every day. I have been changing 5, and 10 min here and there, but I am only 15 min closer to my goal which is to set it back one hour, so I can get my work done before the lights turn off and still get to bed at a decent hour. If I keep inching my time back by 5 or 10 min each day, can I add this up toward moving my light back a whole hour, without disturbing a flowering cycle. I figure this happens with daylight, but I dont know how the two would relate. Note, I am only shortening the light period by 5 or 10 min a day, the dark period is always a solid 12 hours. Can I continue this venture without issues as long as I do it real gradually? or should I bite the bullet and stick with the schedule I made 4 months ago, since I still have plants that started their flower cycle an hour later than I am trying to move back from.
Thanks for any and all insight on this.

i just change it straight away. started with 12/12 to initiate then after preflowers show i went to 13/11 with no problems yet. imo you don't need those incremental changes just switch the timer to desired times.

I agree. Just change it. You don't have to go by minutes.

I did that last grow, but went from 12/12 lights on in the day, to 12/12 lights on at night. Took 4-5 days to switch. I did 12 on, 18 off, until I hit the time I wanted. Peace!

wow something had me thinking their light cycle was a little more sensitive than that. I still think that even if i jump a whole hour in a day, i should shorten the light cycle, not the dark. from what i understand the dark has to be 12 uninterupted hours. is thet correct?

AfgooCBD: I am especially interested in exactly how you did that, and what the results were. did you notice any sort of stress to the plants, or anything odd at all throughout the rest of your cycle? I'v never heard of anything like that, that is impressive. All I ever seem to hear about is how peoples light cycle got messed up somehow, and how it ruined their whole crop. Someone told me their crop went to seed because of a light leak, is that even possible? most people say itll turn all your hard work into hermaphrodites, if you dont follow a strict 12/12 cycle. but even outdoors light time is always changing. Now its not life or death, im only trying to get an extra hour of sleep at this point, haha, , but I might be able to benefit same situation, but if there is any risk, to doing a full swap, i would rather just adjust my hour and be happy. during the summer i want it dark during the day to control heat. but in the winter I would love to be able to switch that, especially since there are only a few plants left on the old cycle, but they wont be finished i dont think by the time my new ones are ready to induce flowering.

thanks again

jimb0b said:

wow something had me thinking their light cycle was a little more sensitive than that. I still think that even if i jump a whole hour in a day, i should shorten the light cycle, not the dark. from what i understand the dark has to be 12 uninterupted hours. is thet correct?

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Yea just turn your light off an hour earlier and then turn it back on an hour earlier. You'll get one 11 hour light period and your dark period will still be at 12 hours. No problem and you won't notice any lag or negative affect.

jimb0b said:

wow something had me thinking their light cycle was a little more sensitive than that. I still think that even if i jump a whole hour in a day, i should shorten the light cycle, not the dark. from what i understand the dark has to be 12 uninterupted hours. is thet correct?

Click to expand...

If you are in flower, it's the other way around. If you give them more than 12 hours of LIGHT, they could revert back to veg or herm on you. As long as you don't have any light leaks during the 12 hours when the lights are on, I don't think you have to worry about the plants turning herm on you.

jimb0b said:

AfgooCBD: I am especially interested in exactly how you did that, and what the results were.

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Here was my post from my journal about the time-switch: http://rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/change-light-schedule.30364/

jimb0b said:

did you notice any sort of stress to the plants, or anything odd at all throughout the rest of your cycle? I'v never heard of anything like that, that is impressive.

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Thanks! No stress on plants. I was in flower already, so just extended their dark period, but kept lights on for only 12 hours. Worked perfect. Some growers said just go dark a full 24 hours to make the switch. Guess it doesn't matter, but like you said, I was afraid of the plants turning hermie.

jimb0b said:

All I ever seem to hear about is how peoples light cycle got messed up somehow, and how it ruined their whole crop. Someone told me their crop went to seed because of a light leak, is that even possible?

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Yes, once your plant turns hermie, the plant can pollinate itself, and you'll get seeds. When I first got my two-chamber cabinet, I noticed that a little bit of light came through the light trap that separated the two chambers. Similar to a "full moon". So I didn't worry about it. No big deal, and it hasn't affected any of my grows.

jimb0b said:

during the summer i want it dark during the day to control heat. but in the winter I would love to be able to switch that, especially since there are only a few plants left on the old cycle, but they wont be finished i dont think by the time my new ones are ready to induce flowering. thanks again

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Sometimes you are right, you have to switch in the middle of a grow, like me. It was 100f deg in Sept, and then freezing in Nov/Dec. Although I didn't plan ahead. Now I know. They always have historical temps online about the area you live in. Just have to plan ahead is all.

Right now, I'm freaking over drying my recent harvest! So much different than Chemdog. But it's cool. I'd much rather have a really slow dry (as long as I don't get mold) than missing the cure zone! http://rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/week-6-veg-under-t5s-transplant-drying-harvest.30823/

Peace!

AfgooCBD said:

If you are in flower, it's the other way around. If you give them more than 12 hours of LIGHT, they could revert back to veg or herm on you. As long as you don't have any light leaks during the 12 hours when the lights are on, I don't think you have to worry about the plants turning herm on you.

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I think that is what he was saying. If you have to short one of the cycles by an hour it should be the light cycle and NOT the dark cycle.

Btw, what's up afgoo? How's that 150 hps working out for you?

Gary Goodson said:

I think that is what he was saying. If you have to short one of the cycles by an hour it should be the light cycle and NOT the dark cycle. Btw, what's up afgoo? How's that 150 hps working out for you?

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Yeah buddy! I saw your reply, and it reminded me of my most recent purchase! Thanks bro! The new hps did make a difference at the very end. Got a reply that the COLD hurt even the professional growers at this time. My whole plant yellowed out, like all the way yellow. Running two plants this round, so hoping for shorter veg, then hit them both with your advice! 430w of love! 150w coming from hps for the entire flower period! I got a pretty good yield for just one plant, scrogged 2'x2' net. But I would like all those buds to be at least 6" tall each this round! I think I had around 60 bud sites in the scrog (http://rollitup.org/attachments/img_8447-jpg.3302005/). Waiting for the cure right now. Almost there! Still not dry enough. I fear mold, but it's all good. Peace, and Happy New Year!