# How Long before i induce flowering?



## Nucy (Apr 4, 2011)

Hey everyone, I started my first grow about 6 weeks ago, it's one plant of Acapulco Gold (Barney's Farm) i have a 150 watt HPS lamp plus a cool flourescent tube light, everything is going good so far but my question is approximately how long should i wait before i induce flowering? I have searched google and these forums for a while and can't really find an answer... is it just down to space constraints or personal preferance. any help would be appreciated.


-Nucy


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## v35b (Apr 4, 2011)

Most will tell u to wait till u see alternating branches coming off the main stem. At that point they are sexually mature..Look for preflowers.


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## dman1234 (Apr 4, 2011)

got a pic?

do you know if its a female or male yet?

its probably ready to flip now.


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## Locked (Apr 4, 2011)

6 weeks? I wld check it over thoroughly for pre flowers, top it if it is a she and flip it a Cpl days after topping it.  Jmo. 

Alternating nodes indicate the plantnis sexually mature.


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## Nucy (Apr 4, 2011)

Wow thanks for all the help so quick, i have a picture here... had to trim it down to fit with the sites standards. I also have more pictures should there bea need.

ps From soil to top of plant is about 9 inches


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## pcduck (Apr 4, 2011)

> everything is going good so far but my question is approximately how long should i wait before i induce flowering? I have searched google and these forums for a while and can't really find an answer... is it just down to space constraints or personal preferance



I think you answered your own question.

Just remember most plants will double or triple in size once the light is flipped to 12/12


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## dman1234 (Apr 4, 2011)

its prob not ready now that we see it, i would let it go a bit more and top it like HL said, you need some side branching, imo


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 4, 2011)

Your plant does not have alternating nodes yet, so IMO is not ready to put into 12/12.  What light schedule is it under now?  What light(s) are you using in how much space?  I would keep under vegging light until it has alternating nodes.


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## Nucy (Apr 4, 2011)

Yea it seemed a bit thin in the leaf department, plus i want to clip some clones... And I'm using 16/8 light schedule its about a 3 by 1 1/2 foot room the light is a 150 watt high pressure sodium and about 9 inches or more from the top of my plant.


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## pcduck (Apr 4, 2011)

I like running my lights 24/7 when in veg, they seem to like it a lot


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 4, 2011)

Nucy said:
			
		

> Yea it seemed a bit thin in the leaf department, plus i want to clip some clones... And I'm using 16/8 light schedule its about a 3 by 1 1/2 foot room the light is a 150 watt high pressure sodium and about 9 inches or more from the top of my plant.



Not enough hours of light--I would recommend running your lights 24/7.  I would also recommend trying to make your space smaller as you do not need that much space for one small plant.  The more light a plant has the better.  With a 4.5 sq ft room, you have the light disbursing out everywhere.  If you could get a reflective enclosure around your plant, it would benefit it.  IMO, your light schedule is probably the reason that your plant is small with few internodes.  I would top it now and plan on at least another 4 weeks of veg.  

Do you have any ventilation in the room?


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## Locked (Apr 4, 2011)

Another vote for 24-7....The only time I wld veg differently is if it was summer and I was trying to beat the heat...but I don't grow innthe summer anymore.
MJ will grow 24-7  so keep your lights on and make your space smaller if you can like THG said...the more lumens per sqr foot the better so long as you have proper ventilation.  Jmo


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## zem (Apr 4, 2011)

thats a nice plant, hope it's a female  how far is the light away from it? i'd top it when it shows sex and grow side branches make good use of that light with an even canopy


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## Nucy (Apr 4, 2011)

My light is about 10 to 12 inches from the top of my plant... i can feel the warmth of the light on my hand but its not hot, as for needing more light when you say 24/7 do you mean on for 24 than off for 7 or on 24hrs 7 days?

By the way i believe it is a female, they were feminised seeds plus they have "pistels"? sticking out where the new nodes are starting to grow, and to Goddess for ventilation i have an oscillating fan doing its thing infront of them as well as i have a window cracked for fresh air... i also have a thermometer in the room which reads around 20 to 28 degrees C (not sure bout farenheit maybe 70 to 80?) but ya i will try to pick up some mylar or something to reflect more back into the plant. and i just actually put in another Acapulco Gold plant, about a week younger.

This picture only shows my one plant plus the fan is actually in front of the closet facing in. not on the shelf above


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## v35b (Apr 4, 2011)

Nucy said:
			
		

> My light is about 10 to 12 inches from the top of my plant... i can feel the warmth of the light on my hand but its not hot, as for needing more light when you say 24/7 do you mean on for 24 than off for 7 or on 24hrs 7 days?



Lets make it simple...Just leave the light on all day and night...24/0


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## Nucy (Apr 4, 2011)

v35b said:
			
		

> Lets make it simple...Just leave the light on all day and night...24/0




Perfect thanks


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes, 24/7 is 24 hours of light 7 days a week--in other words as v35b said, all the time.  

You do not have alternating nodes--I doubt that you are seeing pistils.  Many new growers mistake new growth for pistils.  I think you need some more time to sex.  

Just keeping a window open generally does not supply enough fresh air.  You really need an exhaust fan of some kind that removes CO2 depleted air and replaces it with fresh air.

I think I would lower the light some.  Your temps are good.


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 5, 2011)

That hps fixture looks like yu can use either hps bulb or MH bulb (I'm not sure) but if yu can I would get a MH bulb to put in for veg and use the hps when yu switch to flowering. Or get another fixture for the Metal Halide, maybe 250w or 400w, especially if yu end up poping clones and filling up that space with plant babies. As THG said tho, the next most important thing is to get those girls a fresh source of air.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 5, 2011)

I personally am not a big fan of MH lighting and do not use it at all for vegging any more.  I have found that T5 fluoro tubes can do just as good a job, usually with less wattage and less heat.


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## Locked (Apr 5, 2011)

I became a T5 vegger myself and have not looked back....love it. No heat issues and nice tight growth.


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## PencilHead (Apr 5, 2011)

I'd be shocked if that fixture was switchable--it looks like the internal-ballast kind.  If you should ever buy another enclosed fixture, make sure it has round holes in the ends.


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## Mountain209man (Apr 5, 2011)

i would put maybe 1 or 2 small clones in right when u flip the schedule over so u can have more 2harvest. thats just me good luck


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## Nucy (Apr 5, 2011)

Thanks again for all the help everyone... i will move the light closer as soon as i am home as for it capability for metal halide, it is an enclosed ballast type which i dont think has interchangable bulbs. as for topping it, i'm trusting you guys on this one, i am litterally about to de-capitate the poor girl.


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 6, 2011)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> I personally am not a big fan of MH lighting and do not use it at all for vegging any more.  I have found that T5 fluoro tubes can do just as good a job, usually with less wattage and less heat.



I was actually considering that and am in the process of setting up one of my rooms with 6 3' T5HO encircling the 600w hps to see what it would do. Do yu run the T5s into flowering or switch to hps entirely?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 6, 2011)

I wouldn't use the T5s with the HPS.  The T5s need to be really close to be effective.  The 600W HPS is going to need to be a ways away.  For the T5s to be effective, they would have to be very close and would most likely cut off light from the 600.  I use T5s exclusively for vegging and HPS exclusively for flowering.

If you have more than one room, setting up a vegging space with the T5s and a separate flowering space with the HPS would probably be the best use of your lights.


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## Roddy (Apr 6, 2011)

If not placed in front of the HPS, but encircled as you said, it won't block light, but won't do much either! A better choice would be to encircle the room at plant height, but again, the help would be minimal!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 6, 2011)

Since the T5s would have to be so much lower than the HPS and the light from the 600 spreads, I don't see how you could avoid having the light from the 600 not strike the top of the T5 fixtures rather than reflecting off the walls and being reflected back to the plants.  My T5s are kept withing a couple of inches from the top of the plants.


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## Roddy (Apr 6, 2011)

Bolted on wall facing inward to plants....not hung under HPS light. Again, wouldn't be of much benefit since the T5 doesn't throw much light!


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## Locked (Apr 6, 2011)

Yeah T5's need to be pretty close to work...I don't see them being worth the trouble for side lighting...


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## Oldtyme (Apr 6, 2011)

Sad to say , but I posted they DID have a 150w MH conversion bulb available for the 150w Sun System, only to find out that they do not. 

I have grown 3 "harvests" (1 plant) from veg to flower with that type of light. I had no problems.   It's not until I switched to a 400w that I noticed how much better / fuller they grow. 

Like Mountain said, just remember to get about 2-3 clones off that to keep the cycle going : )


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## Nucy (Apr 6, 2011)

Yea for sure with the clones, a buddy of mine that is renting my basement is axtually just going to buy some T5's and we will build a veg and clone closet than go upstairs to my HPS for flowering


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 7, 2011)

very interesting info. I do have my T5s attached to the walls of a 3'8"x3'8" room at about 18" from the tops of the planters, while the HPS is hung on the commercial pullies that can be raised n lowered. Given what yu guys are saying I am going to build a rack 4 my T5s so that they can also be raised n lowered above my plants. With my setup, I don't like the idea fo moving them and disturbing them if I can accomodate the necessary changes within the room. I am very mechanical and can do all of my "engineering" to save money on commercial purchases.


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 7, 2011)

I just had a brain storm (or brain fart, idk). I am going to build a rack that will attach my T5s to my hps fixture (lumenAir6 reflector) so that 3 T5s will stand off either side of the fixture and will be able to be raised n lowered directly over the plants (but not run the hps at the same time) then when they r ready to switch to 12/12 I can adjust the height and turn the hps on. I am curious to see if leaving the 6500K light with the sodium a few weeks into flower will affect the yeild or time frame. I love to experiment to see what works better, and I have multiple rooms to try different things.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 7, 2011)

If you have multiple rooms, you would be far better off setting up separate vegging and flowering rooms.  Moving the plants from one room to the other is nothing compared to trying to change the lighting and ventilation....


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## Roddy (Apr 7, 2011)

I agree with THG, set the rooms up separate and tune them in perfectly! Less worries about breaking bulbs or having mistakes over the gals with moving lights and such!


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 7, 2011)

Yeah, some very good points. I originally wanted to do just that so that I could litterally stage the grows back to back and have a continual harvest of sorts. my prob is a partner with ADHD who thinks he is a master grower. Gettin him to do certain things is quite challenging. He doesn't like moving plants at all and now we have ourselves locked into a system that makes moving plants that r late in veg quite difficult. This is partly due to the architecture of our lab, and partly due to our learning curve.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 7, 2011)

Unless you have some kind of hydro setup where multiple plants are grown in large trays, I do not understand the problem.  You take a big chance on damaging your plants moving lights and such.  

I find that partnerships rarely work.....


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 7, 2011)

So far we have found it easier to not move the plants. really the only light movement tho is raising them on pulleys as the plants grow. in two of the rooms, we have had 2 light fixtures setting side by side. One with the 400w MH and the other with 600wHPS. They are connected on a special made bracket that turns the fixtures on a 12degree angle inward so that they shine across each other. the bracket is on pullies to be raised n lowered as needed. With this grow, we have only run the MH in veg then both during flower, then for the last few weeks we turn off the MH. we really haven't had any trouble where the lights r concerned other than when we have a flex hose tear. Like I said, we have certainly been riding a long learning curve. we keep morphing our setups and supplies as we find out new things.
I am certainly finding the partnership thing challenging


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## Nucy (Apr 7, 2011)

i think i will only find the partner thing challenging come harvest time, because i dont smoke... this is just to make some cash and a cool hobby, however my buddy that im doing it with does infact consume himself the old cannabis plant... only time will tell the headaches we encounter.


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