higherandhigher said:

new here so bare with me. i have 2 northern lights autos going there showing white hairs so i guess they are entering flower..i have my vs 1000 on 75 percent about 15 inches up and i've had them on 24 hours a day..should I switch to time off now that they have started to flower ?

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Autos aren’t light dependent to flower. 24 hr light seems harsh to me . I’d go 18:6.

higherandhigher said:

should I switch to time off now that they have started to flower ?

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I wouldn't. I don't change my autos.

This is something I differ on with a lot of people. Especially with newer auto phenos, I tend to cut their light back near the end of the grow. I normally run 20/4 or 18/6. Around halfway through flower I will cut it back to 16/8.

My reason is pretty simplistic. While a small percentage of the genetics are ruderalis which imparted the autoflowering gene, the rest of the plant's attributes come from the photoperiod side of the family. So it's reasonable to think that changing the photoperiod (and other environmental triggers like temperature) would still have some impact on the plant's natural tendencies toward flowering.

The argument I hear against it is "maximizing time photosynthesizing" but I've never seen any actual data to support a number of grams of lost weight due to the light dsifference. I have seen the additional cost drop off my power bill and can tell you, that number definitely makes a good case for cutting back the light schedule when practical.

That's not to say you can't go a whole grow with 18/6 and get awesome results.

Same bud I don’t change light cycles with autos 24/7 from seed to harvest

I’ll leave it at that

BB22 said:

Autos aren’t light dependent to flower. 24 hr light seems harsh to me . I’d go 18:6.

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I’ve been doing 20:4 running an AW200SE on one I’m experimenting with this time around. I started at 50% and have gradually increased to 65%. She’s doing very well.