Left the lights on!

[kikitastrophe]

With the shorter light duration (12 hours) and my work schedule (horrible) I sometimes get home after the lights have gone out. I might turn them back on when I finally get home to see what the orchids are up to. Well, last night I forgot to turn the lights back off when I went to bed!

Should I leave the lights off all day so the orchids get a dark period, or is it no big deal?

Thanks!

[billc]

If it was me I would leave them off until the next cycle. I don't think it is a big deal either way. They would probably appreciate the rest.

Bill

[Nexogen]

You can buy a programmable timer from Home Depot, Amazon.com or any electrical stores.

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Timer-.../dp/B0026PZQHY

[katrina]

It's not a big deal...just don't do it every night.

I have all of my light zones on timers so I never have to think about it.

[My Green Pets]

I'd think they appreciate a bit of a dark period. Wouldn't push them much past an 18/6 on/off cycle.

[Leafmite]

You could always get a really complicated timer so that you are not tempted to mess with the lights. I can recommend one....

[kikitastrophe]

Well, I didn't do anything, just let the timer (hence how it is always dark when I get home!) do it's thing. Hopefully no harm done!

[Paphluvr]

Don't fret the small stuff. Leaving the lights on overnight is no big deal on an occasional basis. I grew under lights for many years and speak from experience. I'm assuming that your lights are on a timer and you overrode it to look at the plants and then forgot to turn it back off. Been there, done that. No harm done.

[Amateur_expert]

From my understanding (anyonecorrect me if I'm wrong), plants go into a night time cycle where they absorb different items from the air. I believe it is that the O2 gets reversed....O2 is taken in at night v CO2 in the day. So if you leave the lights on over night, I would venture to say keep them on until the next night period. Remember, LUSH plants grow in Alaska with daylight 19hrs a day and light twilight for th other 5 hours.

That said, the crisis has passed already. I'm sure no harm done. I would keep the lights on if I forgot them on. But then again, I don't turn the plant light on, just the room light. My big light (1000W DE) I don't mess with b/c it's a 5min warm up period and its a whle process that I don't want to deal with.

I'm rambling.