I just need a little help!!!

well this is not my first time but this time i have some expensive seeds growing what would u recomend as a good light cycle for seedlings one is about 7 days old and the other has not broke ground yet i have a 250 hps light but i have a mh conversion bulb in should i continue to use this bulb or is the hps better for now any tips would be great.
 

mcpurple

Well-Known Member
i use 24 hours of light in veg untill flower, you can use 20/4. or 18/6 what ever fits you best, i see fastest growth rates with 24 hours aday though. and MH is for veg so you should use that how ever you can veg under the hps, i did veg under the hps once and i liked it it kept my plants very short and stocky with very close nodes
 

Humboldt14

Well-Known Member
i use 24 hours of light in veg untill flower, you can use 20/4. or 18/6 what ever fits you best, i see fastest growth rates with 24 hours aday though. and MH is for veg so you should use that how ever you can veg under the hps, i did veg under the hps once and i liked it it kept my plants very short and stocky with very close nodes
i was under the impression that MH kept the plant from stretching and the nodes close together thats why its better then a HPS during veg
 

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
keep with the 18/6 ( night time is for the roots) and the MH bulb for veg. Keep the seedling on the side of the light, not directly under. As the days go by you can move them under the light more. The first 2-3 weeks is slow, but then they will kick into gear and GROW. Make sure the soil never goes dry (critical), and don't worry about adding any nutrients until the first set of leafs (cotyledon) go yellow. Those rounded leafs carry there own nutrients for the plant.
 

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
i was under the impression that MH kept the plant from stretching and the nodes close together thats why its better then a HPS during veg
The light spectrum put off from the MH bulb is the same as the summer sun, and the HPS light spectrum is the same as the fall.
 

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
Don't know? It's just a saying. It means there you go. Or now you got it. By the way, nice garden in the background.
 

mcpurple

Well-Known Member
i was under the impression that MH kept the plant from stretching and the nodes close together thats why its better then a HPS during veg
it does but i found a hps keeps them very stocky and very close nodes, i had to veg my plant under the 600 watt hps and the nodes were all with in a 1/4 in of each other. if i had to choose to veg under MH or HPS i would do hps again. but i now veg under a single 200 watt cfl with great results as well as a lower bill
 

mcpurple

Well-Known Member
exactly and thats why MH helps keeps the plant from stretching..
hps doesnt make them stretch either, its the light cysle and flowering that makes them stretch out so much. im not saying its the best to veg with but it works great and IMO better than MH. mabye once i start growing again i will do a comparison in veg with one MH and the other HPS
 
great awesome info guys really apperciate it and i did use my hps for an entire grow with good results i had one plant that was short and stuby and the other grow very tall almost over four feet tall so im not sure on what the plants will look like as in the whole hps mh deal but i did read alot that its better for veg so im gonna give this one a shot. i made the mistake of using mg my first time i made it thorough it but with problems. im using seed cubs from walmart lol them seem ok the n is higher than the p and k which i read is how it should be for seedlings also i have very good soil i bought from my local hydro store its organic very nute rich bat guano worm castings and the list goes on how long before i can stick them in that i used it before but i transplanted two 3 foot tall plants in it so im not sure. thanks again guys
 

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
If you run your plants under 24/0 (since where on the subject) with MH or HPS the nodes will stay close and less stretch, but the roots suffer. Once you go 12/12 that extra 12 of dark cause's the stretch. The after a few weeks the buds start growing enough that the energy goes to them and not the stretch.
 

mcpurple

Well-Known Member
If you run your plants under 24/0 (since where on the subject) with MH or HPS the nodes will stay close and less stretch, but the roots suffer. Once you go 12/12 that extra 12 of dark cause's the stretch. The after a few weeks the buds start growing enough that the energy goes to them and not the stretch.
my roots never sufferd and 24 hour lighting never made my plants strech more then usal after being in 12/12
 

GoldenGanja13

Well-Known Member
my roots never sufferd and 24 hour lighting never made my plants strech more then usal after being in 12/12
* During the day, (Lights ON) the plant is collecting and storing light energy, and is using and storing raw materials. The plant is stockpiling raw material, and is charging it’s batteries… it is ALSO using raw materials and using the energy it is collecting. It’s building itself, literally putting itself together.

During the day however, the plant is not as efficient at building itself, as it is at night (lights OFF.) It can build itself, but not as quickly.

* While the lights are OFF, the plant is using energy and raw materials to build itself…. the plant is more efficiently using the raw materials that it stored during the day. The plant is better at transporting and assembling the raw materials.

The bad news: since there is no light energy, the plant must rely on energy it stored while the lights were ON (its stored energy). (Essentially, the plant is running on batteries, and using raw material from the warehouse.)

There is no light energy to collect. Since the plant needs energy to absorb more raw materials, it is easier for the plant to use raw materials that it stored during the day than it is to absorb raw materials through its roots.

* Although the plant IS capable of “doing it all” with the lights on, (Collect, store and use energy & raw materials) it does a better job of actually doing the work (using the energy and raw material) while the lights are out. During the dark however, it relies solely on its limited supply of stored energy and stored raw material.

One last thing to remember is the fact that a plant will always strive to maintain a balance between the size of its roots and the size of its canopy (Leaf mass.) The roots must be big enough to supply as much raw materials as the canopy can use, and the canopy must be big enough to provide the energy required to store those raw materials….
 
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