Trouble reading today's article? Click here: Issue #321 - Sunday, June 10, 2018
Dear
Fellow Grower,
In today's issue... - I'm covering a technique known as "12-12 from seed" and answering whether it's worth it...or not!
- Check out how you can use
auto-flowering strains to get the benefits of "12-12 from seed" without the downsides!
- We asked for trophy pics and boy did you all deliver! We got so many, we're doubling up this week with trophy pics from two different growers!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of
GrowWeedEasy.com) "One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning." ~James Russell
Lowell
Is "12/12 From Seed" Worth It? by Nebula Haze |
Is 12/12 from seed worth it? Is it a good way to get big yields as quickly as possible? In a word, no… but there is truth to the idea behind initiating the flowering stage as soon as possible! When modified slightly, the same basic technique will give you much bigger yields while adding little to no extra time before harvest.
A "12 /12" light schedule means giving your plant 12 hours light & 12 hours darkness each day (this initiates the cannabis flowering stage)
If you haven't heard this term before, "12/12 from seed" means giving your cannabis seedling 12 hours of light, and 12 hours of dark each day from the moment of germination. Providing a 12/12 light schedule initiates the flowering stage and causes cannabis plants to start making buds. The idea is to get a new seedling to start flowering as quickly as possible, so it takes less time to harvest.
There's just one major problem… 12/12 from seed causes stunted growth and small yields. This
results in yields that are often less than 1 ounce per plant, even under strong grow lights.
This seedling took 4 months from seed to harvest, and yielded only 1/2 of an ounce. I think it looks kind of cool, but 1/2 ounces is not a good harvest after waiting so long. You can double or triple your total yields per plant by tweaking the light schedule a little during the first few weeks
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The problem is that seedlings can't start flowering until they're 3-4 weeks old no matter what light schedule you give them, so there's no point in starting right at 12/12 when they're under 3 weeks old. When you give the plant 3-4
weeks of 18/6, THEN switch to 12/12, you will get far better results because the plant will get more light in those crucial first few weeks and end up much bigger by the time it's ready to make the switch.
These plants are 3-4 weeks old and have been under a 18/6 light schedule from seed
A 12/12 light schedule was initiated right after the above picture. Here are those same plants a little over a month later, after they've started making buds (plants will double or triple in height after the switch to 12/12, especially young plants). As you can see, they are already far bigger plants than the first example, and bigger plants can support bigger buds. This is how you achieve plants that look like the one below at harvest (why was this
plant defoliated?). Because the plant was allowed to get bigger before it started flowering, it yielded 3-4 times as much as the plant given 12/12 from seed. By giving plants just a little more time to grow before initiating 12/12, you will be rewarded at harvest time. If you give your plant a solid 4 weeks of 18/6 first, your plant will be ready to harvest around the same time as a plant given 12/12
from seed (~4 months, maybe a few days later), but you will get far bigger yields.
What is "Sea of Green" (SoG)?
"Sea
of green" is the idea of growing many small plants instead of just a few bigger plants. The advantage is that you are able to get to harvest more quickly because each plant doesn't have to grow as big to support the same number of bud sites.
For this grow style, growers usually switch to flowering when plants are around 4-6 weeks old (unless they're growing auto-flowering plants, in which case they do nothing but wait). Photoperiod plants switched sooner than 4 weeks may not have enough time to really
get the most out of a SoG setup. Adding an extra week or two of veg can make a pretty big difference on yields though, so it's about finding that balance between getting to harvest as quickly as possible versus harvesting a lot of bud.
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Auto-Flowering Strains – When Time is of the Essence!
Is time really of the essence for you? If so, one of the best ways to maximize yields in as little time as possible is to grow an auto-flowering strain. Autos get 18 hours of light a day their whole life, which allows their buds to get bigger in less time than buds grown under 12/12. Auto-flowering plants on average are ready to harvest in just 3 months from seed (which is less time than almost any photoperiod plant will be ready to harvest, no matter what
light schedule you provide) and generally yield 1-2 ounces per plant. Autos can also be a great choice for a Sea of Green setup!
When growing multiple plants together,
just make sure to pick strains that somewhat match as far as expected height and time-to-harvest. Believe me, growing very different strains together can cause a few unexpected challenges! |
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Hello,
I just want to say that your site is AWESOME! This is my first time growing and I have read the entire site and pretty much done everything as you have suggested, and the results so far are the best that I could have possibly hoped for. Any problems I run into, I just come back k here, do a quick review and I'm back on track. So thank you for putting this
site out there. Packed full of good info that has made my first grow pretty easy and super fun. So again thanks.
Donnie |
Trophy Picture of the Week! |
Wow, you have sent us so many pictures this week it's been hard to choose! In fact, it so was so hard to choose that I picked a couple! |
"Hey folks, my second indoor grow. I used borderliner xtream from AMS seeds with advanced nutrients. Grew in fox farm strawberry fields. Used viraspectra 700 watt led along with king 1000 watt led along with 40 watt edge lighting. Ran into
fungus gnats and lady bugs took care of that rather quickly. Your information is spot on and a real life saver. I refer to your site on a daily basis. Keep up the great work! I can't wait to learn more from you both. Thank you..."
Bentini
"This is my 4th grow. Everything I have been able to accomplish is all thanks to growweedeasy.com.
Here we have Laughing Buddah in her 9th of hopefully just 16 weeks of flowering. I have
used a different method of growing everytime to see what works best for me and here I have attempted SCROG with a coco coir grow medium."
Chachie
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Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
I'll be honest with you, when I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to
make it easier for new growers to get started as well as help advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We are updating and adding articles every single week and our goal is to eventually build a comprehensive growing resource so anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! If we all share the knowledge there's more buds in the world for everyone :) |
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Learn which seed sources are personally recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis can be a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water
doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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banks including what type of payment they accept and where they ship in the world!
List of trusted seed sources:
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