Growing with both sun and lights?

[Ninjadogma]

Funny with all of the growing going on that people share, they talk about their outdoor plants or their indoor plants. But do any of you have experience combining these light sources for an impressive harvest?

Now that we are on the short days side of the Equinox and with Southern California nights moving into the time when we get overnight frost, I have two late auto clones I took (still revegging the two plantlings as they were starting to flip when I cut) in the hope of keeping these genetics going. So I have set up my garden shed with a decent light. The plants get natural daylight in the shade (we've been having a heat wave) and then they get put in the shed at dusk. They get light for a couple hours in the evening and then it comes on a couple hours before dawn.

Any of you have success growing this way, and are there any particular problems to look out for? We know the sun has the right lighting we need but temperatures, weather and pestilence pose unwelcome challenges, and so im looking at it with an approach to mitigate those undesirable conditions and use all the free energy nature can provide my plants.

I did learn with my current crop that in Ventura County, moths are absolute assholes. So I'm going to be building a "screen house" to give them some protection from pests when they're sunning.

 

[Deadstill]

I have two late auto clones I took (still revegging the two plantlings as they were starting to flip when I cut) in the hope of keeping these genetics going.

If I haven't said it before - Howdy, and welcome to the Farm!

So, just trying to clarify, you're trying to clone autoflowers?

 

[Ninjadogma]

If I haven't said it before - Howdy, and welcome to the Farm!

So, just trying to clarify, you're trying to clone autoflowers?

Haha, yes. Timeline explanation. Put purchased clone babies in the dirt and a month later I clipped and cloned the tops of each. I let those grow for a month and then clipped and cloned the tops of them.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Haha, yes. I cloned them once already and then took clones from the clones, but they were beginning to flip without showing yet when I took the last clippings. They took 7 agonizing weeks to root and grew buds before they grew roots. I'm optimistic because they really only grew some hairs and I'm seeing some non serrated leaves starting to show in the tops. While I'm 100% confident they have Ruderalis genetics, it appears to be a low percentage. Doing an outdoor grow that began on the Summer Solstice, they flipped at about 8 weeks and are in their 10th week flowering. I'm finally harvesting this weekend (woohoo!).

 

[TheGoldenRoad]

I guess I have a sort of hybrid situation like you're describing. I grow using a Tuff Shed for the grow space and I have an eastern-facing window. Sunlight comes in that window in the mornings and hits the plants, but the lights have been on at that point for almost an hour. They have this dual light situation for about 45 minutes each day and the plants seem to love the California sun as much as the led panels. It's nice to have complete darkness at night up here in the Sierra's so I don't have to button that window up whatsoever.

 

[Oldchucky]

Haha, yes. I cloned them once already and then took clones from the clones, but they were beginning to flip without showing yet when I took the last clippings. They took 7 agonizing weeks to root and grew buds before they grew roots. I'm optimistic because they really only grew some hairs and I'm seeing some non serrated leaves starting to show in the tops. While I'm 100% confident they have Ruderalis genetics, it appears to be a low percentage. Doing an outdoor grow that began on the Summer Solstice, they flipped at about 8 weeks and are in their 10th week flowering. I'm finally harvesting this weekend (woohoo!).

How About some pictures? Bugs are the only drawback I can think of! I’d kind of like to see what a cloned auto looks like at 16 or 17 weeks! Or I guess maybe that’s the mother!

 

[Galgrows]

Gotta agree with @Oldchucky i got my doubts by the the looks of the pistols

 

[TheGoldenRoad]

Autos can reveg, but it's not what you would think. Autos are finite and once they start flower production, they don't stop and won't reveg in the traditional sense.

This will help clarify how to "reveg" an auto and what can be done: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRN6iQKT68

 

[Ninjadogma]

Yeah to the best of my knowledge they hadn't fully changed metabolism which is probably the only reason theyre doing what theyre doing right now, and probably the only reason I was able to get them to root in the first place after a month and a half. Not sure I mentioned, one is Durban Poison and the other is Ice Cream Cake, with a rather long grow cycle for autos.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Okay picture time. The shot of the full garden is the 2 auto clippings I picked up from a dispensary in the valley along with the 2 clones I took from them. The originals are in the back and their clones are the one in the front and the one with a support stick (buds are so heavy it was tipping the whole main stalk). Then shots of the last clones I took that started to bud before they started to root. Hand included for scale. As you can see, there are hairs but also some funky non serrated leaves that are the new growth since I potted them and put them under lights. I should note during rooting they were only getting natural daylight during August and September and have been under 18/6 for a week since they went into dirt. Did I mention it took over 7 weeks to root them? They weren't growing but they also weren't dying so I just kept misting them every day. The avocado clippings I was trying to root during that same time period were an abject failure.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Woops forgot the pictures!