yes you guys veg for a long time over that side, in the EU, most people veg for max 4 weeks, there are some who grow singles under 1m2 for example that do longer, but as a rule, my side, if it goes past 2 weeks I would be surprised. I like Sativa, longer bloom, but I run a far shorter veg. They tend to grow big anyway and I have a set size in my mind before I start really, unless its a totally new plant with no data. i know how much space I have is what I mean, and i have an idea of what makes an efficient indoor plant size wise for my style of growing. None of my plants fail to reach genetic potential I feel. If the packet says its 100 or 160, they tend to be about that when they finish, unless the marketing is sci fi.
i dont like 18 hours of my money going to the fat cat energy shits, so I try to limit my exposure. We are currently vegging under a 12/12 and blooming under a 6/18. Someone here made me think hard about what that means, so I am seeing if I am really giving my plants what they want.
In theory, any plant in full sun is 6 hours, so by this definition, we can assume plants get all the energy they need in 6 hours of high quality sun light, and where other environmental factors are also in tune of course.
So if my environment is right, I should be able to give my plants adequate energy, eg as much as they can handle in a day, with only 6 hours of high cost input energy.
I will let you know how this goes. Its not as simple as dropping the hours. You simply must have an ideal RH%, CO2 range and perfect media/ plant balance. Plants grown under 12 hours of light collect the same energy but slower and with a wider potential for resilience.
