# Flowering with 11/13 light cycle?



## stems&seeds (Oct 3, 2007)

Hello all, first post.

A couple of days ago I switched my plants into flowering.   They're on a 11 hour light and 13 hour dark cycle.   I'm just using floro lights, and recently fed them MG bloom booster.

I have one little marijuana bush in a 5 gallon pot, 5 bag seeds, 2-3 weeks old.  Smallest plant is starting on it's 4th pair of leafs, biggest is starting on it's 8th or 9th, alone with a bushy 12' indica that I resued from outdoors. Six plants in all in the bucket.

I have a few questions here..

Anything I should change with flower such small plants?

Also, I read about growers sitching to the 11/13 cycle the last two or three weeks to boost maturiuty, but it effects the total harvest slightly.

How long should I flower them since I'm using the 11/13 cycle?

Most important, _about _how much bud should I expet total?


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## Mutt (Oct 3, 2007)

Well first off you should not have put all the beans in one pot...but too late now. If you end up with a male you can't yank it out becuase the left over roots will rot and hurt the other plants. 
Why not just run 12/12 like 98% of the growers. If it ain't broke why fix it.
You switched to flower a little early, but it will still work.
NO telling what kind of yeild you will get the way you are growing. sorry bro.


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## Homemadegravity (Oct 3, 2007)

1st off Welcome to MP. I would get them their own pot each or your going to run into some big problems ahead. I dont know much about the light cycles I just use 12/12. Its hard to calculate how much bud your plant will produce. Depends on alot of circumstances and we all know nothing about your plants. Also becareful with MG products they can burn MJ plants easily IMO.


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## Homemadegravity (Oct 3, 2007)

Sorry Mutt we must of posted at the same time and basically said the same thing. Id erase mine but I dunno how.


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## stems&seeds (Oct 3, 2007)

bump


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## stems&seeds (Oct 4, 2007)

This is my first time flowering indoors, it's alot different from outdoor flowering..  I don't examine hair color, I just chop before the frost comes.   I grow like a simple man.

I guess with this light cycle and all I should go with ..8 weeks?    Any help on this?


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## mastersativa (Oct 4, 2007)

I have heard of starting the flower cycle with shorter light periods but then switch to 12/12. Not sure of what effect a shorter light cycle will have on a plant for the duration of flowering. As for how long to wait, it all depends on what strain you have got. I would say at the least 8 weeks, but your plant will let you know when if you pay attention to the trichs.


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## Hick (Oct 5, 2007)

> Research has shown (Valle et al. 1978) that twice as much THC is produced under a 12-hour photoperiod than under a 10-hour photoperiod.


...from
MJ Botany


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## stems&seeds (Oct 5, 2007)

Hick said:
			
		

> ...from
> MJ Botany


 
So this means more dark = more THC?

A plant's photoperiod is in the dark, right?


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## Hick (Oct 5, 2007)

.."Nooooooooooooooooo"...more thc is produced under 12 hours of light than under 10
...at least tht is "my" interpretation..


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## Hick (Oct 5, 2007)

..from the very same page..one paragraph below the above quoted text..



> In general, it is considered most important that the plant be healthy for it to produce high THC levels. The genotype of the plant, a result of seed selection, is the primary factor which determines the THC levels. After that, the provision of adequate organic nutrients, water, sunlight, fresh air, growing space, and time for maturation seems to be the key to producing high-THC Cannabis in all circumstances. Stress resulting from inadequacies in the environment limits the true expression of phenotype and cannabinoid potential. Cannabis finds a normal adaptive defense in the production of THC laden resins, and it seems logical that a healthy plant is best able to raise this defense. Forcing plants to produce is a perverse ideal and alien to the principles of organic agriculture. Plants are not machines that can be worked faster and harder to produce more. The life processes of the plant rely on delicate natural balances aimed at the ultimate survival of the plant until it reproduces. The most a Cannabis cultivator or researcher can expect to do is provide all the requisites for healthy growth and guide the plant until it matures.
> 
> Flowering in Cannabis may be forced or accelerated by many different techniques. This does not mean that THC production is forced, only that the time before and during flowering is shortened and flowers are produced rapidly. Most techniques involve the deprivation of light during the long days of summer to promote early floral induction and sexual differentiation. This is sometimes done by moving the plants inside a completely dark structure for 12 hours of each 24-hour day until the floral clusters are mature. This stimulates an autumn light cycle and promotes flowering at any time of the year. In the field, covers may be made to block out the sun for a few hours at sunrise or sunset, and these are used to cover small plants. Photoperiod alteration is most easily accomplished in a greenhouse, where blackout curtains are easily rolled over the plants. Drug Cannabis production requires 11-12 hours of continuous darkness to induce flowering and at least 10 hours of light for adequate THC production (Valle et al. 1978). In a greenhouse, supplemental lighting need be used only to extend daylength, while the sun supplies the energy needed for growth and THC biosynthesis. It is not known why at least 10 hours (and preferably 12 or 13 hours) of light are needed for high THC production. This is not dependent on accumulated solar energy since light responses can be activated and THC production increased with only a 40-watt bulb. A reasonable theory is that a light-sensitive pigment in the plant (possibly phytochrome) acts as a switch, causing the plant to follow the flowering cycle. THC production is probably associated with the induction of flowering resulting from the photoperiod change.


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