Outdoor Grow - Tropical

[Uncle Ron]

It won't happen while using a 24/0 light cycle, don't know why you keep thinking it will.

It's the hopeless optimist in me.
'Clarice' will have to go outside in a couple of weeks as I will be away for a while. Is there any benefit in gradually reducing the light period before putting her outside (to reduce the shock of going to 12/12), or should I just keep her on 24/0? Thanks.

Some people advocate having a dark period of 24 hours between veg and flower to reduce the shock of the light change.

Jorge Cervantes also recommends a dark period, even up to a 72hrs, which I think is a bit much, but what do I know when compared to him? Nada!!!
I've tried the 72hr dark period and when I opened the tent, all of the plants looked really pathetic. All of the fan leaves had drooped to a near down vertical position, and the branches had drooped severely as well.
Although the plants recovered, I don't think I'll do again. 24hrs ok, but 72hrs is not for me.
Redeyesman, what are you on about with that timetable of yours?
I still can't figure out why you would want to do that, doesn't make any sense to me, but then again not much does.
I'm not sure if there are any benefits to gradually reducing the light cycle as described. My opinion is that it unnecessarily lengthens the grow time by several weeks.
As I've stated above, and many times throughout the Forum - what do I know!?
Just my opinion, others may and will vary.
Happy farming...

[redeyezman]

That time table was just my attempt at an educated guess on how to prevent shock during transplant. If 24-72 dark period works best then clearly i should research before I post, but then again its not my plant so i have little incentive.

Just get the damn plant on a different cycle than 24/0 was really my main point. Tried to soften the blow is all.

[Uncle Ron]

That time table was just my attempt at an educated guess on how to prevent shock during transplant. If 24-72 dark period works best then clearly i should research before I post, but then again its not my plant so i have little incentive.
Just get the damn plant on a different cycle than 24/0 was really my main point. Tried to soften the blow is all.

From the little that I know about transplanting, shock has more to do with handling of the plant, ie... root abuse.
Next would be the condition of the receiving medium. When I used soil, I prepared it with a solution of water, fertilizer, and nutrients, pH at 6.3, EC at 1.22 (approx.).
I didn't worry about transplant shock because the seeds were started either in a jiffy pellet or directly in the 7 or 10 liter container.
Since switching to hydro, I've used rock wool cubes exclusively and haven't had any transplant problems, yet.
As for easing the transition (shock?) from 24/0 to 12/12, I've done it several ways - no dark period and 24/48/72hr dark periods. As I commented before, the 72hr dark period did a real number on the plants. When comparing notes of my various grows, I have no basis to which I can state that any method is better than another.
May I suggest some light reading, The Growers Bible, and other materials as well (see the bottom of the linked page).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cannabi ... 1100239859
Happy farming...

[Chantra]

Day 60

'Clarice' is now a balcony grow, back on 12/12. The breeze can be strong on the balcony, and the plant was being blown almost horizontal, so I drilled thee holes just below the rim of the pot, wrapped the plant stem in coco to protect it and used twist ties to hold it steady. I tried a 'teepee' support using three sticks (as suggested by I think Cal X in ZBeebs epic first grow thread), but it started to chaff the stem.

Anyway, here's how 'she' looks today:

[Uncle Ron]

Looking good, however...
... i think at some point you may have to use vertical support. In the pic I think the nodal spacing is equal to or greater than 10cm, correct?
If so, prepare yourself for a TALL plant that will need support. To start with, a 1m length of bamboo wedged between the container and grow medium.
You might even want to think about a trellis.
Happy farming...

[Chantra]

The nodal spacing is in the 5 - 6 cm range, but it's top heavy for sure. A trellis might be the answer. Thanks, Ron.

[Uncle Ron]

Hey,
5-6cm eh? My eyes need calibrating every now and then, happens to many at my age...
So, what's the plan, leave it out to flower?
Any thoughts on insect/pest control and damage prevention?
Happy farming...

[Chantra]

So, what's the plan, leave it out to flower?

Yep.

Any thoughts on insect/pest control and damage prevention?

Should be OK on the balcony. The main pests in the garden are caterpillars and leaf borers. I've had some romaine lettuces growing for the past few months with no pest activity apart from leaf borers.

[Slip & Sal]

What do you think leaf borers are?

[treetop]

So, what's the plan, leave it out to flower?

Yep.

Any thoughts on insect/pest control and damage prevention?

[Chantra]

Had to go abroad for a couple of weeks, so put the plant outside at the mercy of the elements and hoped for the best. It grew 0.4m (15 inches) while I was away and now stands at 1.2 metres. Looks like it stretched quite a bit as the new-growth internode spaces are now 8 cm (as opposed to 6 cm previously).

Also, some more leaf borer damage on some fingers of the fan leaves (I removed the fingers). The plant is now back on the balcony, away from pests.



As the height of the plant makes it a security risk, I've used twist tie to lightly bend it, protecting the stem with coco coir. There is no pressure on the stem as there is some slack in the twist tie.



Hope that was the right thing to do.

[treetop]

Hol

[Chantra]

Thanks, treetop. I thought about topping it, but couldn't bring myself to cut it, so tying down seemed to be the best way forward. Growing it vertically is not realistic now (and it still appears to be still vegging).

[Cisco]

I think you should start forcing the bitch throw her in the cupboard for 12hrs a day , she will soon start flowering

[redeyezman]

I think you should start forcing the bitch throw her in the cupboard for 12hrs a day , she will soon start flowering

+1 Try something! Looks to big to not be flowering. Found a 12 foot hermi once...super healthy, green with "red hairs" it sucked...hemp basically...

Using seeds liberated from some Laos brick.

Trash it start new? You learned a lot. Learn to get her to flower sooner not later for YOU seems like a master plan.