Is sunlight better than artificial light?

[Bib4tuna]

I recently started a grow indoors which is my 2nd indoor grow ever under a 250w hps light. I have 2 hindu kush & 2 girl scout cookies in 3 gal.smart pots. They are currently on day 35 of flowering so probably have about 3 wks maybe 4 wks left tops. Needless to say being my 2nd indoor grow ever everything that could go wrong has. 2 of the four plants went hermie on me so I stuck them outside but after pulling the male flowers with tweezers & checking everyday the pollen sacs haven't came back. What I have noticed tho after only being outside for a short time is the ones outsides flowers are already much larger than the ones under the hps light. Is the better & should I move the ones indoor to outdoor also?

 

[redshift75]

Depends if we just say sunlight vs artificial light with no other factors or components. Then id say sunlight wins every time. pretty much given most circumstances the light from outdoors is always going to win. But in the realm of possibility there are people who do some pretty amazing stuff. You arent really comparing sunlight vs artificial light. you are comparing your 250w hps vs the SUN! The sun win thats bet.

i would say there are environmental factors unrelated to lighting that in some places would make it more ideal to grow indoors vs outdoors. but its not based on the light argument but the environmental factors including the lights. But then green house could potentially be better option for the sunlight aspect. In a purely hypothetical.

 

[mysticepipedon]

When I lived in the Carolinas, the sun was always better. Plants matured faster, buds were bigger and harder, buds at the bottom of the plant were as good as the ones on top...

But then there were these caterpillars that liked to bore through buds. I didn't get those indoors.

 

[Bib4tuna]

Depends if we just say sunlight vs artificial light with no other factors or components. Then id say sunlight wins every time. pretty much given most circumstances the light from outdoors is always going to win. But in the realm of possibility there are people who do some pretty amazing stuff. You arent really comparing sunlight vs artificial light. you are comparing your 250w hps vs the SUN! The sun win thats bet.

i would say there are environmental factors unrelated to lighting that in some places would make it more ideal to grow indoors vs outdoors. but its not based on the light argument but the environmental factors including the lights. But then green house could potentially be better option for the sunlight aspect. In a purely hypothetical.

Ok Gotcha. Theres been alot of factors that have probably contributed to my plants not doing so good,as I said I haven't done the greatest job. I tried buying everything I could to make them great. I started them off in rapid rooters with 100% germination rate. Bought the smart pots & fox farm ocean forest mix soil which I heard was best soil. I ordered GH floraduo 2part nutes system. I did LST training to maximize light to all areas & lateral growth. I didnt have soil test kit tho so only dosed plants during every other 3 waterings. I've also been contending with cold temps since I live in northeastern US & tho plants are technically indoor they're in my garage which isnt really weather proofed so its only 10° warmer than outside & we've been getting lows of 40 & sometimes mid 30s so plants have experienced alot of stress which is probably what caused them to go hermie. I have been moving in the house when it gets real cold at night tho sometimes & back out in morning. I was thinking since outdoor plants seem to be doing better from sun tho that at night I could move all plants indoor than at 7am move plants under light in garage under hps tile around 10 am when temps move around 60°,then put them all outside in sun then repeat process. I know that seems like alot of work but only have about 3ks left & the difference in sun & hps light seems to be world of difference only at night til 10 am they seem to be suffering from cold temps. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

[Bib4tuna]

Ok Gotcha. Theres been alot of factors that have probably contributed to my plants not doing so good,as I said I haven't done the greatest job. I tried buying everything I could to make them great. I started them off in rapid rooters with 100% germination rate. Bought the smart pots & fox farm ocean forest mix soil which I heard was best soil. I ordered GH floraduo 2part nutes system. I did LST training to maximize light to all areas & lateral growth. I didnt have soil test kit tho so only dosed plants during every other 3 waterings. I've also been contending with cold temps since I live in northeastern US & tho plants are technically indoor they're in my garage which isnt really weather proofed so its only 10° warmer than outside & we've been getting lows of 40 & sometimes mid 30s so plants have experienced alot of stress which is probably what caused them to go hermie. I have been moving in the house when it gets real cold at night tho sometimes & back out in morning. I was thinking since outdoor plants seem to be doing better from sun tho that at night I could move all plants indoor than at 7am move plants under light in garage under hps tile around 10 am when temps move around 60°,then put them all outside in sun then repeat process. I know that seems like alot of work but only have about 3ks left & the difference in sun & hps light seems to be world of difference only at night til 10 am they seem to be suffering from cold temps. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Also I should add the reason I only bring in house at night & dont set up light in house is because I dont have the height in house to hang light,only room in garage.

 

[redshift75]

Also I should add the reason I only bring in house at night & dont set up light in house is because I dont have the height in house to hang light,only room in garage.

its perfectly fine to move them inside and outside daily. Its in my opinion safer and smarter in most locations. sometimes they hit the point you cant move them any more that's when it becomes an issue ;) i would say the biggest factor is the sun. But you should see a difference between your outdoor buds and indoor buds. There is always a difference. Maybe given the strain or genetics you are seeing this feature more prominent between the two. There are some interesting things that occur between same strain with changes like that. Can make for great smoke/experience.

 

[Bib4tuna]

When I lived in the Carolinas, the sun was always better. Plants matured faster, buds were bigger and harder, buds at the bottom of the plant were as good as the ones on top...

But then there were these caterpillars that liked to bore through buds. I didn't get those indoors.

I agree with you about bugs too. It's nice to be able to control environment. It's just that being 35 days into flowering the plants indoors flowers dont seem to be nearly as big as they should be. Especially when compared to the ones I stuck outdoor & they've only been outdoor a wk now & look much bigger than ones in garage. Maybe light is too far away or who knows but its amazing the difference. Here's some pics,the two on top are the ones that have been indoor & the two pics on bottom are the two I moved outside a wk.ago which seem to have more developed flowers after only being outside a wk.

 

[Bib4tuna]

its perfectly fine to move them inside and outside daily. Its in my opinion safer and smarter in most locations. sometimes they hit the point you cant move them any more that's when it becomes an issue ;) i would say the biggest factor is the sun. But you should see a difference between your outdoor buds and indoor buds. There is always a difference. Maybe given the strain or genetics you are seeing this feature more prominent between the two. There are some interesting things that occur between same strain with changes like that. Can make for great smoke/experience.

True,it could be genes. Tho both are predominantly indica the hindu kush is 100% landrace indica & the girl scout cookies is mostly indica being a Durban poison/of kush mix I believe. So maybe the landrace indica does better with the sun. I was just blown away how much the buds filled in only being outside a wk,lol.

 

[Bib4tuna]

True,it could be genes. Tho both are predominantly indica the hindu kush is 100% landrace indica & the girl scout cookies is mostly indica being a Durban poison/of kush mix I believe. So maybe the landrace indica does better with the sun. I was just blown away how much the buds filled in only being outside a wk,lol.

If anyone's wondering what the ceramic plates leaning on the pots are for,cops been driving up & down the gas well road next to my house & the black pots stick out like sore thumb but I think it looks a lil better like that but maybe not,lol. I am a burnout so who knows.

 

[Madbud]

I agree with you about bugs too. It's nice to be able to control environment. It's just that being 35 days into flowering the plants indoors flowers dont seem to be nearly as big as they should be. Especially when compared to the ones I stuck outdoor & they've only been outdoor a wk now & look much bigger than ones in garage. Maybe light is too far away or who knows but its amazing the difference. Here's some pics,the two on top are the ones that have been indoor & the two pics on bottom are the two I moved outside a wk.ago which seem to have more developed flowers after only being outside a wk.

And you’re asking which light is better?! Outdoor temps in the high 30’s, even light frost won’t hurt healthy plants. Just watch for any grey spots that pull off easily(caterpillar) and try to keep them dry if they don’t get a lot of wind. My part of the new england has been cloudless lately and the trichs are lovin’ it!

 

[Bib4tuna]

And you’re asking which light is better?! Outdoor temps in the high 30’s, even light frost won’t hurt healthy plants. Just watch for any grey spots that pull off easily(caterpillar) and try to keep them dry if they don’t get a lot of wind. My part of the new england has been cloudless lately and the trichs are lovin’ it!

Lowest temps we've been having have been lows in the mid 30s but we've surprisingly been having warm temps for October with lows in the 40s & 50s but the consistent temps being no higher than 50s seem to be affecting plants so that's why I was bringing in house at night. But as I said it seems the upside of plants getting sun is the noticable difference in bud size.