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mikeytro said:
because mine is producing pistils and definitely looks female...yet I haven't changed the light cycle at all

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its on 24 hours a day, I was under the assumption that you cant tell either way until you induce flowering

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Nope, wrong assumption.

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also - the plant is about 3 feet high

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How old is the plant? It sounds like you've got a sativa. Hopefully height in your grow-room isn't a concern, because when you switch the lights that thing will stretch two to three times its size, quite possibly. You should definitely look into some training techniques for the plant, maybe taking the top and bending it down might be good once you flip the lights and it begins to stretch, because giving the plant enough light all over will become more difficult with the taller that it gets. At any rate, it definitely sounds like its time to start flowering.

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is it possibly because the roots are running out of room in the pot?

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mikeytro said:
just wondering you are supposed to switch lights during flowering? I thought just more dark time...isn't a decent hps set up sufficient for the whole grow?

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Yes, a decent HPS setup will work well for the whole grow, but some people will use fluorescent/CFL's/metal halide for vegetative state because it has a better light spectrum for vegetative growth, and then switch to HPS for flowering to get a better spectrum for that, which is probably what you are asking about switching lights for flowering. That would be preferable, but to actually induce flowering you need to take your lights to twelve hours on/twelve hours off, or at least twelve hours off a day.

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why would I need to switch pots before flowering?
at the moment it is in a probably one foot diameter and 1.5 foot depth size pot

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Well, you were talking about the possibility of the roots having out-grown the pot, and there will be a lot more growth when you switch to flowering before it calms down and starts concentrating on bud production, and you want to make sure you've got some new room for the roots to grow for that. Of course, if they still have plenty of room in that pot, it won't be necessary. That sounds like a big pot so I would guess its not necessary, but the only real way to know is to take a peek.

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so since I'm not there I cant really change the light cycle...its gunna have to wait until july or some time around then

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Have her get a cheap light timer and plug the lights into that, then the switch will be automatic. With a three foot tall plant, you might want to switch it to flowering sooner than later. Also, I'd consider having her get some CFL bulbs and finding a way of positioning them around the plant, you could use some more light for that I think. They are cheap and don't produce much heat. Get the "soft white" ones, with the color temperature of 2700k, which is better for flowering. Get ones at or above 26watts, most bulbs should list lumens produced and you're going to want ones that are at least around 2000 lumens a bulb.

It shouldn't be hard for her to get the light timer and the CFL's setup. They have those little light fixtures to put the bulb in that just plug into a powerstrip, which would be the easiest way to set them up. It'll definitely make all the difference in the world for your plant to have her set that stuff up.

By the way, what kind of soil are you growing with? Any nutrients?

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Have her get a cheap light timer and plug the lights into that, then the switch will be automatic.

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be careful with those words, cheap timers are a bad idea   That piece of your equipment is an important part of your grow.  If it fails and your light cycle gets fucked, your whole grow will suffer.  It's always best to invest the 20 or so bucks in a digital timer that have a backup battery in them.  This way if the power goes out it keeps the time perfectly and will operate as normal.

My first grow i used a cheapo analog timer that malfunctioned 3 weeks into flowering.  Came home a few times to see the lights on/off when they shouldn't have been.  However, it was a great way to seed my whole grow   I think i still have some too.

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coda said:
be careful with those words, cheap timers are a bad idea   That piece of your equipment is an important part of your grow.  If it fails and your light cycle gets fucked, your whole grow will suffer.  It's always best to invest the 20 or so bucks in a digital timer that have a backup battery in them.  This way if the power goes out it keeps the time perfectly and will operate as normal.

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Sage advice. $20 was my idea of cheap though.

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mikeytro said:

with insufficient light when flowering does the quality of the bud suffer or the size....or both?

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mikeytro said:
with insufficient light when flowering does the quality of the bud suffer or the size....or both?

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I will try and buy a timer and cfl lights when I get my next paycheck

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at the moment it is in mgmc soil with some random root nutrient solution diluted in water
its probably not whats best but its all I got...its got the basic npk

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I'm sure it'll work!

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stroph said:
The potency of the bud has nothing to do with the lighting. Potency is strain related. If you gave me a NYCD seed and gave the same seed to a professional grower, the THC content would be the same. The professional grower will have bigger, thicker, and prettier buds, but the high would be exactly the same.

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Genetics might provide a limiting factor in the degree to which plants can be potent, but you can't just grow the same strain in a variety of conditions and expect that the same strain will be exactly as potent in every single one. This simply doesn't make any sense. Genetics sets the potential for potency, but it doesn't set the actual potency that results. Environment and environment alone determines how genetics end up being expressed. If what you have stated was actually in a book somewhere, it was wrong. It'd be great, of course, for you to provide the source on that.

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Sirius said:

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stroph said:
The potency of the bud has nothing to do with the lighting. Potency is strain related. If you gave me a NYCD seed and gave the same seed to a professional grower, the THC content would be the same. The professional grower will have bigger, thicker, and prettier buds, but the high would be exactly the same.

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Genetics might provide a limiting factor in the degree to which plants can be potent, but you can't just grow the same strain in a variety of conditions and expect that the same strain will be exactly as potent in every single one. This simply doesn't make any sense. Genetics sets the potential for potency, but it doesn't set the actual potency that results. Environment and environment alone determines how genetics end up being expressed. If what you have stated was actually in a book somewhere, it was wrong. It'd be great, of course, for you to provide the source on that.

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