Interrupted 12/12

[Glowy]

Hi,

Just needed to tap you guys and gals up for some info on lighting during flowering times. They are growing in an old outside toilet on the back of the house which opens onto the garden. I will be switching to 12/12 in the next week or so, but while I am at work during the day I can't get to my babies until the evening. I need to plan when I am going to have my dark period.

What I need to know is that if I have my dark period from say 7pm to 7am, I would need to do my maintenance after lights out, I only take about 10 mins to check PH and do what I have to do, and it would be dark outside, although I would be using a torch. Would it harm the plants to interrupt their dark period for 10 mins with a torch, or would it be better to do it with the lights on (with glow coming out of the door?)

Thanks

Glowy

[JollyGoodSmoke]

hi glowy

i wouldn't think ten minutes of torch light wouldn't do any harm to your plants

but i know some peeps would be dead set against that idea :o

i've gone in my growroom some nights to get things i've left in there and no harm has ever come to mine

all the best jgs

[Glowy]

It won't be constant light either, I will only flick the torch on to check the ph then off again, adjust if need be and then flick it on again to read the PH pen. Changing the water etc I can do without the torch and while the water is draining from the tank I will just shut the door again so it's dark. I mix the nutes in the kitchen and then pour into the tank so that takes minimal time also.

The only problem is when I need to look at the plants properly for problems and tie back leaves etc to get light to the buds, that will take a bit longer and may need some torch light then.

[OMH]

hmmm, I do not recommend it really.

Doing that once or twice is not too bad, but you are on about doing that on a daily basis.

Cannabis goes into flowering when a hormone it produces in darkness reaches a critical level. This hormone is destroyed by light, even small amounts.

The effects can be stretching, the plants going back into veg (unlikely but possible), and turning the plants hermie though stress (quite likely).

The other thing u have to worry about is that if you only see your plants in the dark, then you are likely to miss things. Its not the best way of doing things really.

Why are you having your lights on during the day? It would seem to make more sense to have them on at night, because not only can you then see what you are doing when you work on them, but the heat from the lights will help to balance out the cold temperatures at night. The only reason to have them off at night is to prevent light leakage that others might see. Is that a problem?

Maybe you could have the lights on from 9am to 9pm or something, so you have some time to get in, do whatever and get out again if light leakage is an issue.

Another idea, but one I cannot vouch for is this. Someone once told me that if you use a low wattage GREEN light bulb in the growroom, then you can get away with it, as the plants reflect green light and so it does not affect them as badly. Anyone else tried this? The theory seems sound, but I have not tried it myself.

Every grower I know has always kept the dark period sacred mate. None of them have gone into their rooms when the lights are off if they could avoid it. Obviously, you will have to do something about it if the room lights up your garden like a floodlight every time u open the door, but try and keep the light pollution to a minimum.

[Wilbur Nutsack]

Here is a link about using green light bulbs.

And here is a link if it doesnt work

Wilbur

[Glowy]

I'm going to need to go in there pretty much on a daily basis and I don't want to ruin them.

Hardly any light gets out to the garden at all, I am running the lights 24/0 at the moment and have had no probs, mabe a tiny bit gets out, but not much. I was a little worried that some light might get in during the day time, but it is unlikely as they are kept in a box I made inside the toilet, and there is a Mylar sheet that covers the door frame and an old wooden door that is for the toilet itself.

Looks like I will run the lights from 7pm to 7am then, and will have to do my maintenance with the light on, and be quick. If people are not taking much notice it would just look like a security light coming on.

G

[Glowy]

Nice one Wilbur!

But glowing lights for a toilet then me plodding around in night vision goggles is just not quite normal!!.

ha ha!! ::

Glowy

[chip]

Hi Glowy

This is an area of particular interest to me, (yawn...here goes chip on his light pollution trip again)

I went off and did some research on this a while ago, there is a post where i got all the data together

light pollution

so click on that and have a read.

IMO, do not interupt the light cycle, especially not with a torch. As OMH says above, the light cycle is sacred. If you dont keep it 12/12, slight interuptions can ever so slightly affect the quality of your bud. Some growers can go years with this sort of problem without knowing about it. when they sort it out, it all comes together. Denser buds, more potent etc.

Hope that helps

Chip

[NPK]

As wilbur points out, get a green light. You should try to find one from a nursey supply place that is 100% green spectrum

Any interuption will at best either delay / prevent flowering, or at worst turn your ladies hermie.

If it was only once or twice it wouldn't be a problem probably, but every day would, I think, be asking for trouble.

npk

[Glowy]

Hi,

Cheers for the help people. I tried doing my maintenance with the light on over the weekend and it wasn't too bad when it was dark, it doesn't really light up the garden that much, and it just looks like a security light coming on.

G

[Bish]

Hi all,

Rather than post a new topic, i thought i'd post here.....I had to put my girls under 24/0 from 18/6 cos it was so cold during lights off. Would it be ok to change back to 18/6 at any time without fuckin' things up?

Cheers

[Jessiedog]

Hi Bish,

My understanding is that this should be no problem. That said, don't take my word for it, you know what kind of an "expert" I am .

Really, I just wanted to bump this for two reasons:

1) So someone else can give you a definitive answer.

2) So everyone else can laugh at your quadruple post....Is that a record?? ::

Woof

[Jessiedog]

Shameless bump!

Woof

[oldtimer1]

It will cause no probs MrB.

Get yourself a small thermostatically controlled heater for the dark periods, Don’t let the temp get lower than 15c.

[Bish]

Don’t let the temp get lower than 15c

OMG!

I'm getting an average temp of about 25 deg C with lights on...with the cold weather & going into flower on 1st Jan, the lights out temp is gunna be well below 15!

Looks like rigging up a heater for def.

Any cheap recommendations for a cheapo/decent/energy/money saving heater?

Otherwise i can't flower & i'm 'fubar'