What is the ideal grow lights schedule when growing cannabis indoors?
Natural Sunlight Cycle
In nature, the cannabis plant's life cycle is one year long (annual). A seed planted in the spring will grow strong and tall throughout the Summer, and will flower in the Fall. The annual cycle will then start all over again when the seeds sprout the following year.
LED Grow Lights
LED’s are the new kids on the block. The technology has come very far in a short amount of time. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have even talked about LED grow lights but now it’s all that I use.
LED suppliers have claimed for a long time that their LED systems provided bigger better buds and yields while using half the electricity of HPS grow light.
Fine Tuning The Spectrum
You'll likely be aware that different led grow lights for marijuana deliver different spectrums of light. Some have a fixed spectrum designed to be used for the whole grow cycle. However, these don’t allow for much fine tuning.
Most led grow lights for indoor plants of better quality have more than one setting. They can deliver a veg or grow spectrum and a flower or bloom spectrum. Some can also be dimmed, which is an alternative to lowering and raising the light. (Did you ever think you would need to know how to hang the lights? That’s just one small detail among many that we discuss here.) . And right at the top end, you’ve got highly programmable lights that let you fine tune not only the spectrum but also the timings to even better simulate the sun. You can pretty much automate the whole grow cycle.
Vegetative Stage
Being able to manipulate a plant’s light schedule makes it possible to achieve higher yields when it comes time to harvest. When plants are in the vegetative stage, the more light they receive the larger they will grow.
Marijuana plants in the vegetative stageEven when growing outdoors, many growers will start their plants inside to ensure they can grow as large as possible. When in veg, plants should be kept under grow lights for a minimum of 18 hours (commonly known as 18/6). Some growers will keep plants under 24 hours of light during this time (known as 24/0) to allow their plants to grow as big as possible.
Flowering Stage
Indoors most growers put their plants on a 12-12 schedule to initiate flowering. Outdoors the plant will naturally start budding in late summer when nights are growing longer and longer as winter approaches. Just make sure plants aren't exposed to light during their dark period!
The indoor grower will need to artificially induce flowering/budding in plants by changing the light schedule so the plant receives only 12 hours of light a day, and 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness.
In nature, the cannabis plant's life cycle is one year long (annual). A seed planted in the spring will grow strong and tall throughout the Summer, and will flower in the Fall. The annual cycle will then start all over again when the seeds sprout the following year.
LED Grow Lights
LED’s are the new kids on the block. The technology has come very far in a short amount of time. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have even talked about LED grow lights but now it’s all that I use.
LED suppliers have claimed for a long time that their LED systems provided bigger better buds and yields while using half the electricity of HPS grow light.
Fine Tuning The Spectrum
You'll likely be aware that different led grow lights for marijuana deliver different spectrums of light. Some have a fixed spectrum designed to be used for the whole grow cycle. However, these don’t allow for much fine tuning.
Most led grow lights for indoor plants of better quality have more than one setting. They can deliver a veg or grow spectrum and a flower or bloom spectrum. Some can also be dimmed, which is an alternative to lowering and raising the light. (Did you ever think you would need to know how to hang the lights? That’s just one small detail among many that we discuss here.) . And right at the top end, you’ve got highly programmable lights that let you fine tune not only the spectrum but also the timings to even better simulate the sun. You can pretty much automate the whole grow cycle.
Vegetative Stage
Being able to manipulate a plant’s light schedule makes it possible to achieve higher yields when it comes time to harvest. When plants are in the vegetative stage, the more light they receive the larger they will grow.
Marijuana plants in the vegetative stageEven when growing outdoors, many growers will start their plants inside to ensure they can grow as large as possible. When in veg, plants should be kept under grow lights for a minimum of 18 hours (commonly known as 18/6). Some growers will keep plants under 24 hours of light during this time (known as 24/0) to allow their plants to grow as big as possible.
Flowering Stage
Indoors most growers put their plants on a 12-12 schedule to initiate flowering. Outdoors the plant will naturally start budding in late summer when nights are growing longer and longer as winter approaches. Just make sure plants aren't exposed to light during their dark period!
The indoor grower will need to artificially induce flowering/budding in plants by changing the light schedule so the plant receives only 12 hours of light a day, and 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness.
Scheduling Your Light Cycles for Maximum Yield
If you are growing your cannabis plant indoors and you do not have any issue with room height or space, then you should allow your plant to remain under 24/0 or 18/6 light schedule during the vegetative stage. This should last for 60 days, which is the best time to grow more flowers.
On the other hand, if you plan to grow outdoor, your light cycle for flowering cannabis should also be scheduled for 18/6 or 24/0, but you will want to first keep them inside until all unfavorable conditions like freezing temperatures and frost have passed. After that, you can safely bring them out and allow them to grow and flourish naturally under the open atmosphere, relying on the sun’s natural light cycle.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
There are dozens of little tricks to boost yields and save on productions costs. From training, stressing, environmental manipulation, and of course, lighting. But there are no silver bullets.
Remember that what works for one person may be a complete flop for the next. Experiment slowly and gradually introduce the next features—never make rash decisions. This way, you will be able to judge what works and what doesn’t for your operation. Also, be sure to take notes and pictures so you can track your progress.
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