How to tell if they are finished and ready to be chopped

GoldenGanja13 said:

Most "myths" can be safely tested in your own garden and some "myths" are just rubbish and one should be smarter than that ie, P ing in plant soil, etc.

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so did you do a "controlled test" with two groups of identical plants? half the plants getting extended dark periods and half them not? under the exact same conditions. ie: lighting, temps, humidity, stress, ...... all these things are factors, aren't they?

or are you simply saying it works because in three days time more resin was produced. resin that would have been produced anyways. and because everyone else is doing it? and because mythologically it works?

zigzag6 said:

aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh coooolllll.... So the 24 - 48 hr darkness myth work ?

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yep=)! the plant goes into a fight for survival and gets scared=0! so by those standards, the plant will produce more thc content and resin=)! good luck with your grow=)!

fdd2blk said:

my outdoor plants LOVE when i give them 3 days of dark.

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I am sure they do, but how do you cover those massive plants you grow?

Do yours often turn a nice bluish-purple color like so many strains I have grown and given 72-hours of darkness to have, including strains not often mentioned as ones that turn color like that ... or have I just been really lucky?

I left 2 in where they where and took two out ( all clones from one mother) and sat them in the dark, temps and humidity could not be same being I can adjust to the lights being on and having more heat than in the dark. After 24 hrs I saw some noticeable difference but was not impressed just yet, after 48hrs I was impressed enough to see what 72 hrs would look like. What I found was the 2 in the 12/12 still did not put on much more trichs nor did the trichs ripen all that much more, and the 2 in 72 hrs dark had many more trichs (frosted up) and the few clear went cloudy and the lots of the cloudy went amber.

fdd2blk said:

so did you do a "controlled test" with two groups of identical plants? half the plants getting extended dark periods and half them not? under the exact same conditions. ie: lighting, temps, humidity, stress, ...... all these things are factors, aren't they?

or are you simply saying it works because in three days time more resin was produced. resin that would have been produced anyways. and because everyone else is doing it? and because mythologically it works?

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LOL I may try a few "myths" being one never knows until you see for yourself, but seeing for yourself is believing and that makes me one happy gardener. I did not try this because the band wagon jumped on it , I tried this because I noticed the buds that where furthest from the light where much more frosted and smelled so strong. So I also practice raising my lights the last 2 weeks of 12/12.

GoldenGanja13 said:

I left 2 in where they where and took two out ( all clones from one mother) and sat them in the dark, temps and humidity could not be same being I can adjust to the lights being on and having more heat than in the dark. After 24 hrs I saw some noticeable difference but was not impressed just yet, after 48hrs I was impressed enough to see what 72 hrs would look like. What I found was the 2 in the 12/12 still did not put on much more trichs nor did the trichs ripen all that much more, and the 2 in 72 hrs dark had many more trichs (frosted up) and the few clear went cloudy and the lots of the cloudy went amber.

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got any pics? side-by-sides? i've been waiting years to see this.

Go and buy a $10 microscope and look at the trichomes. You can find them at hydro stores, radio shack, on-line. Do this or you are guessing and really don't care enough about your final product to do it the right way. I doubt that you want to leave it to chance so go and buy a scope...

What if the plant id ready , and i leave is that bad ?

It is a proven fact that light rays break down THC. It is also a proven fact that most THC is produced during hours of darkness. When in periods of light plants allocate differing amounts of energy to different plant functions. Having limited energy to perform all the daylight functions certain functions receive lesser amounts of energy than others. THC production and growth are two that receive less energy than many others. During hours of darkness the stored energy is allocated so the highest priority functions receive the most energy and growth and THC production then receive greater amounts of energy, others are greatly slowed down or stopped.

Plants will not die the moment they go beyond 12 hours of darkness so if left in darkness they will continue to perform their normal functions for periods of darkness. That means continued increased amounts of energy for THC production.

When you combine increased levels of THC production without the daily loss of THC as it degrades as it performs one of its plant functions, working as ‘sunscreen’ for the delicate inner workings of trichome heads, the result is an increase over what would or even could be accumulated in the same period of time if left in a normal light schedule or just harvested. When you add THC without the normal daily loss of THC through light degradation THC levels will increase over that of what they would be or could be if light were allowed to degrade THC during the same period of time.

It is how plants work. If not why has it been common knowledge for ages to harvest plants by first light or to switch off lights after the last light cycle before harvest so light does not strike the plants before someone can harvest it resulting in lost/degraded THC? It is because THC levels are their highest at that point. Adding hours of darkness will increase that to some degree depending on the strain.

Research has shown THC levels do increase and it has also shown that it is does not occur equally in all strains, but if someone just waited 8 to 12 or more weeks while flowering what would be so absurd in waiting an additional 72-hours if an increase in levels of THC can be as great as 30%?

When it comes to the test results I have posted I would have preferred that both test groups were left to grow the same period of time rather than one harvested and one given 72- hours more of darkness before harvesting because that would tell the difference in a way that would be more acceptable to some.

What would have been best is if there had been three test groups where one was harvested and one allowed to grow another 72-hours in a normal light schedule and one given 72-hours of darkness. That would give a baseline, the group harvested, and then the difference in the other two groups would show the difference between the two different test groups left in light or darkness and the baseline.

Had that been done the results may have been the test group left in darkness that had up to a 30% increase over the harvested group might possibly been something like a 12% or 18% or 23% increase in THC levels in the test group left in darkness over the test group left in a normal light cycle rather than up to a 30% increase.

It is impossible to speculate with any acceptable degree of accuracy what amount of increase might have been found had the testing been done in that manner, just as no one can look at their plants and simply decide if there is or is not an increase. It cannot be proven or disproved by someone posting pictures and saying 'see,' it happened' or 'see, it did not happen.' While a picture will say a thousand words not so much as one single one of them will be backed by scientific fact so pictures are proof of nothing whatsoever. The human eye cannot see levels of THC while looking at pictures or plants in person.

Unfortunately the best we have to go on right now could be better but it does show a significant increase in THC levels can occur and even if it would actually be a lower percentage of increase compared to another test group left to live an additional 72-hours in a normal light cycle isn’t any increased level of THC worth finishing plants in 72-hours of darkness?

People use MH lights with HPS lights or add other forms of lighting with increased UV light to increase resin production in the quest for more potency so why would anyone not do something as simple as turning off their light(s) and waiting 72-hours before harvesting?

Virtually nothing will be lost, but there could be a significant gain depending on the strain. Considering all the absurd things people do to their plants in a quest to increase potency it makes no sense to not take advantage of what 72-hours of darkness before harvesting does for plants.

light breaks down THC after is has been harvested. not while it's on the plant.


i learned everything i needed to know about growing long ago. it's all really simple, if you allow it to be.

i'm high right now.

sorry for the quality , but how do they look ?

zigzag6 said:

sorry for the quality , but how do they look ?

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can't tell.

thats what i was afraid of , what would be your best way to tell if their finished , without a scope

zigzag6 said:

thats what i was afraid of , what would be your best way to tell if their finished , without a scope

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clearer pictures.

I mean on my side , what can I do ?

zigzag6 said:

I mean on my side , what can I do ?

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i wait until almost all of my hairs are brown. if there are still new clusters of white hairs then it is still packing on weight. i wait until i think it's done, then i wait 2 more weeks.

thanks cool

fdd2blk said:

light breaks down THC after is has been harvested. not while it's on the plant.

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If you prefer to refuse to accept scientifically proven facts that of course is your prerogative. I would just like to believe that someone who is part of a site for the promotion of cannabis growing knowledge would attempt to further factual knowledge rather than attempt to suppress it simply because they would prefer to not believe it.

i learned everything i needed to know about growing long ago. it's all really simple, if you allow it to be.

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I also learned a great deal a long time ago, starting way, way, WAY back in 1972. The thing is that since then, and likely also since you learned what you think you know, new discoveries have been made. Learning is an ongoing process that does not end once someone believes they know enough.

Growing cannabis plants is indeed as you said "simple", but growing them to their full genetic potential takes skill and true skill is only achieved through actual knowledge and proven fact rather than by what someone simply chooses to believe.

nothing has changed. it's still a plant. i know how to grow plants. plain and simple. it why i'm as successful as i am. you can argue with me all day. meanwhile i'm still growing good pot.