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Whether you call it blooming, flowering, flower forcing, or photo-period manipulation it is all the same thing. Some plants measure the dark periods and light periods of each day and change their growth patterns based on that information.
Taking Advantage
The biggest example is how plants will put their full energy into a reproductive effort in preparation for the coming winter. The plants know when to do this by measuring the amount of darkness in each day.
The nights get longer and longer in late summer and heading into fall. At some point the plants instinctively know to begin their reproductive efforts. It is exactly this response to the dark period that will give you control over flower forcing.
Some plants are very particular, but most plants will begin flowering when they begin getting 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night, and always at the same time each night.
Duplicating Mother Nature
In order to do this, you need an area that you can keep pitch dark. If the plants were measuring the dark period with an hourglass, an interruption in the dark period would be like starting the hourglass over.
Also, you will need a timer for your grow light. It is unlikely that you can duplicate the precise timing and regularity of the heavenly bodies of the universe every night and morning, everyday, for eight or ten weeks without a timer.
Plants have evolved to be highly in tune with these cosmic callendars. Giving your plants anything less than universal regularity will have bad effects on the plants.
Flower Forcing Tip
...personally, I would recommend a digital timer. They are more reliable. They don't have little pegs that physically turn your timer on and off, eventually wearing out and failing to turn your lights off. They are also more precise. You timer should be grounded (three prong) where you plug your light in at AND where the timer plugs into the wall.
Flower Forcing Goals
Place your light in the area you choose. Set the timer to turn the lights off for 12 hours, and than on for 12 hours. The light schedule you choose should be convenient for you, but also should help you with your goals in the garden. Namely...
- keeping light out during the dark period
- keeping the temperature down during the light period
Using a Thermometer to Fine Tune
It may be a little tricky at first trying to balance these two things, but a thermometer is a very useful tool that will help you figure it out.
I use this kind here. It measures the air temp in the room wherever I place it, and it has a remote probe that I put in the hot spot in my garden. It also remembers the minimum and maximum temperatures, which I check and reset every night to keep track of things.
Once you have balance between these two things, It is just a matter of waiting out the flowering period of the plants you choose to grow....and feeding them of course!
Learn more about the Flowering Stage
Leave the flower forcing page and
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