Metal Halide in flowerig: less stretch?

G

grower62

New member
Hi all!

While using a Metal Halide in veg. I change to Sodium pressure lamp when switching to 12/12.

I read in the forum that some people use a HP lamp up to 5 weeks in early flowering to avoid too much stretch in the beginning of the flower phase. As the height in my grow chamber is restricted (attic) I thought I maybe try to use a MH lamp in early flowering too.

So it would be nice to hear about the experience of the forum members about using a MH lamp in early flowering. How long is it advisable to use an MH lamp in flowering as I read some people use it only for some days in early flowering as others use it up to 5 weeks? Are there cons too? Like later response to 12/12 or less flower development? Is there really less stretch using this method?

Thank you for your time!

grower62
 
you can flower the whole time under a MH I have one in my flower room and them plants don't do bad the HPS does yield more but the mixed spectrum really makes a difference. But if your just trying to control stretch the first 2 weeks should be good a little longer for the hazes of course it really does cut down on the stretch a little bit.
 
Metal Halide in flowering

Thank you bluntmassa for your reply.
I will try to flower with a MH lamp for the first to weeks, then switching to Sodium pressure.

grower62
 
My first experience growing indoors was all the way under Metal Halide.
Mind you,there's a trove of other mistakes that arose...but I still smoked it all and it was delish.
I'd approve your approach to it!
I'll be trying out a similar bulb regimen come this fall:)
 

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I mix my spectrum at the end of flower. I feel like I get some extra crystal production when I add MH. I haven't proven it but I really need to do a test .
 
Less streth using Metal Halide in early flowering!!!

Hi all!

This time I used a MH lamp (600w) in the first two weeks in flowering (for the first time), then switched to Sodium pressure lamp. There was definitely less stretch then in all my indoor grows before!!!! First time that I had no problems with my height restrictions. I even wished there would have been a little more stretch for bigger plants/yield.

So next time I will use the MH lamp for only 7-10 days in the beginning of the flowering phase to get "a little more stretch" and will report about the results.

Thank you for your time!

grower62
 
I used to switch from MH to HPS for flower back in commercial days but have since stopped using HPS. I find MH bulbs to be a great overall light for both veg and flower vs HPS which is a poor veg choice imo. Probably has been over 10 years without any HPS and my harvests and buds are still excellent.
 
Im curious about MH in flower. I use growlux throughout and happy but thinking off adding plain sodium @ 1 to 2 per ratio towards the end of flower for bigger bud growth.
I find if you can get any hps low on your tops stretch is reduced considerably. 1 use heat shields to get lamps close to the tops to arrest the stretch as much as possible- maybe good for Haze's too?

Anyone used just sodium no blue for flower - did on my 1st years back with good results :)

Grow on and keep on keeping on :D
 
Sodium is strictly for commercial (weight) growing...

In my experience MH, used throughout the growth cycle, will retard the stretch in early flowering as well as reduce the amount of vegetative weight after harvest. However, MH does not slow trichome production and may, in fact, increase it slightly due to the UV in the MH spectrum. In the end what you harvest will be a bit more potent because there is no lack of trichome production.
 
MH is fine for the whole process, but if you feel you need more from the red end of the spectrum (because that's how you were raised haha!) , you can always throw in a few red CFL party lights. Warming it up a little does help them ripen a little faster. :) :) :)
 
catbuds said:
you can always throw in a few red CFL party lights. Warming it up a little does help them ripen a little faster. :) :) :)
Click to expand...

Hey Catbuds, I wasn't sure if this was serious advice, are you suggesting adding those coloured cfl's that you can buy or a warm white around 2700k?
 
Question

I'm going to have an HPS and MH bulb stacked on top of each other in vertical cool tubes. Should the HPS be on the bottom or top of the stack?
 
Believe it or not Barnflowers, I actually do mean the red colored cfl party lights. You already have the lumens where you need them, you're just adding a touch of the red specrtum to hasten ripening. In nature late fall & winter sun light has more red spectrum than summer because of the angle of the sun to the outer surface of the atmosphere (forgot the name of that layer),more red can enter at that particular angle that blue, which somewhat gets deflected. Because plants are programed to 'know' when the season is ending, the addition of red light triggers the ripening process to speed up. So it doesn't matter what source the added red spectrum comes from, just as long as the plants sense the increase. You see, I'm the nerdy weirdo who has to know why & how everything works, so every now & then, my useless information actually serves a purpose! LOL! :) :) :)

P.S. been following some of your posts & like what you have to say.


P.P.S. when I do this, I turn off the other light to check placement. When that red glow evenly hits all my girls, I know I have it just right, (it takes several to do this, more or less depending on your space) then I turn all the lights back on. Another thing that's handy, plants can't 'see' green light, its cancelled out because the plants are green, so I have a green party light in the grow incase I have to go in when the light cycle is off. I do a 'cutesy' thing here, I get 'bottle lamp' kits from walmart, but instead of using a bottle, I use inverted clay pots. Nice & bottom heavy so they're nearly impossible to tip over. These kits are only $2.00+ change.
 
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Barnflowers, I've done a little reading on some research at Cornell U. ALL CFL's emit uv light promoting plant growth/health. I've used REVEAL CFL's to side & under light plants under T8 fluorescents for a while, throwing in a few red CFL party lights for flower. But the reveal lights are 2500k, 1200 lumens (20 watt, replaces 75 watt). So taking into consideration cfl's give more uv than any other fluorescent, & the very warm spectrum, I'm considering not using the red parties at all this grow, just throwing in an extra reveal or two. More lumens for the same wattage. Should keep the buds tighter too. I've been using T8 fluorescents + cfls, now I've got a new T5 system. 4' 6tube. T5' s are 15watts higher with a wider range in kelvins going from the warm end to the cool end. But no matter what system you use, cfl side & underlighting is a big boost to your lights! :) :) :)
 
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