My plant is starting to grow preflowers. Is it time to shift into 12/12 light schedule?
Only if you want to , but they are now "mature" .
I would say more like the onset of puberty.
For a better crop, wait 'til a good root ball develops.
Another sign of readiness is that the phyllotaxy shifts to alternate.
How long should it take until preflowers start to grow more calixes/bud sites? I'm one week into flowering and got a few preflowers but no budding clusters yet.
it is strain and plant dependent, but a week in is early for almost all strains IMO. What strains are you growing?
Fair enough. I have all summer to wait...
I'm growing probably something like m39 or kush but i don't know the origin of the seed.
The first few weeks of flower the flower sites continue to grow and develop but by week 3 or 4 into flower you should start seeing the flower clusters start to bulk up.
OK, so you are outdoors? If so you likely won't get real flower formation during the "high days of summer". in a few weeks the days will start to get shorter and that is what signals the plant to start flowering. Preflowers only mean it's "ready" to flower, not that it is flowering. Your latitude is going to play a large role outdoors. .
Actually I grow outdoor during the day and move them indoor during the nights, to avoid rainfall, cold, and pest. The temperature in my basement is at a steady 21C so I guess this is helping her. I switched to 12/12 light cycle about 1 week ago by bringing them outside from 6h00am until 18h00pm.
best wishes. I did it your way for close to ten years. Forced flowering outdoors. I used to do 10-15 plants per run. Only 2 runs per year. Any pics?
I used a shed every day at 7 a.m. I took em out every day at 7 p.m.they went back in. Lots of work but well worth the efforts. Key getting lightweight soil lol.