Lighting Flavors & Their Uses – High Pressure Sodium
Those of us that are sun worshippers eventually notice that the sun is less intense as the summer wanes into autumn. Pay closer attention and you’ll find that the color of the sun’s light also leans toward a yellow or orange wavelength. Since cannabis is a plant that evolved out of doors, it pays attention to these seasonal changes. It is in your best interests, then, to reflect this change in spectrum in your indoor lighting. The best way to do this is to use a high pressure sodium (HPS) lamp.
Seasoned growers know that exposing your budding cannabis to the right spectrum and timing of your lighting can be the difference between passable buds and couch glue smoke. HPS lamps are the key to a killer harvest. After growing the foliage under an alternate flavor of lamp that has a spectrum closer to the summer sun, it is advised that you switch to an HPS lamp for the budding stage of growth that would occur in the wild in the autumn.
The HPS lamp actually emits the highest level of lumens out of the 7 or so different types of lighting that are currently being used for hydroponic crops. Some growers use an HPS lamp for the entire life cycle of the plant, but this has drawbacks. Plants grown under an HPS lamp are smaller than ones grown under a lamp with lots of blue color to the spectrum. The buds are also smaller in the end. They may be potent but you won’t get much at harvest time.
It is advised that you switch to an HPS lamp when your plant is budding. This length of time varies from strain to strain but is easy to spot. During the green foliage growth stage you keep your timer on an eight hour off, sixteen hour on schedule. Once buds appear you change these times to twelve hours on, twelve hours off. Again, this is because the days are shorter in the wild during autumn.
Once you’ve changed to an HPS lamp and an autumn schedule, after about three days you’ll notice that your buds have already become bigger. What follows is an explosion in growth. Your buds will become large and laced with essential oils. You’ll notice growth on a daily basis. Know a plant that is ready to harvest by pinching a bud. If it bounces back it isn’t ready. If it stays pinched and your fingers are sticky, it’s time to harvest. Smoke a bowl for me.
The HPS lamp actually emits the highest level of lumens out of the 7 or so different types of lighting that are currently being used for hydroponic crops. Some growers use an HPS lamp for the entire life cycle of the plant, but this has drawbacks. Plants grown under an HPS lamp are smaller than ones grown under a lamp with lots of blue color to the spectrum. The buds are also smaller in the end. They may be potent but you won’t get much at harvest time.
It is advised that you switch to an HPS lamp when your plant is budding. This length of time varies from strain to strain but is easy to spot. During the green foliage growth stage you keep your timer on an eight hour off, sixteen hour on schedule. Once buds appear you change these times to twelve hours on, twelve hours off. Again, this is because the days are shorter in the wild during autumn.
Once you’ve changed to an HPS lamp and an autumn schedule, after about three days you’ll notice that your buds have already become bigger. What follows is an explosion in growth. Your buds will become large and laced with essential oils. You’ll notice growth on a daily basis. Know a plant that is ready to harvest by pinching a bud. If it bounces back it isn’t ready. If it stays pinched and your fingers are sticky, it’s time to harvest. Smoke a bowl for me.
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Soft Secrets
