My Amnesia Haze, Bruce Banner and Northern Lightsights are in week 9 from seed. They look like they’re ready for harvest. I never asked, but it’s 48 hours of darkness really necessary for a successful harvest? I only ask because I don’t have any space so I don’t know what to do…
From what I’ve read on the forum It’s a catch 22 some say yes some say no. I have done 48 hrs, 24 hrs and straight to chop. I have not noticed any difference in taste or flavor. I guess It’s up to the grower now they want to do it. Hope this helps.
Same. I haven’t notice any difference between chopping with lights on or giving 3 days of dark. Only reason I give a dark period now is because the plant is ready but the dry tent isn’t
This is the only thing I’ve been able to find in writing about this…
Cultivating Cannabis ", published in 2010 and written by C.K. Watson, you will find this statement on page 238 :
"There’s a rumor going around that when you put your plants in darkness for 36 to 48 hours before the harvest, this will result in a higher concentration of trichomes. The myth is further enhanced by growers saying it has worked for them. This has been tried on 30 different strains, with the result that only 4 out of 30 strains showed a marked higher concentration of trichomes, while the other 26 strains began to hermaphrodite and the buds looked malformed
I’ve done both. Didn’t see any noticeable difference.
Darkness is not meant to increase trichome production. It is done to use the plant’s nutrient transport to sequester salts in the root mass which is then cut away from the canopy. The idea is it supposedly helps produce a smooth smoke.
Blind studies have shown no difference but in my case I have been 100% blind testing cannabis harvested from darkness vs not. @Not2SureYet provided the samples.
@ConcreteBudz just in case you’re still looking for info
Ive done it both ways with no discernible difference. Dr. Bugbee from USU says that they’ve seen no advantage from dark periods before harvest. But lower temps may encourage bud maturity. He also has found no advantage in flushing unless you’ve over fertilized. Plenty of USU info from Dr bugbee re cannabis on YouTube.
You might want to get second opinion over on whether your plants are done. 9 weeks from seed for all three strains sounds improbable.
Haha wow how convenient!
Or ironic i should say
Thank you all for your help. After research I haven’t done anything to my plants. I’ve decided to leave them alone for now.
Yes 9weeks? I’ve had some go 13+ in flower. You may be in for some anxious high. The first sign of a few amber trichomes on the BUDS not the leaves is when you have max potency. After that, more amber = more couch lock.
my amnesia haze autos ran 117 - 123 days. It is a heavy sativa hybrid and sativas are generally longer to maturity
This 48 hours of darkness doesnt work it has been proven to a load of bro science the plant doesnt produce any more trichomes or terpenes all the terpene and trichome production is done when ur lights are on if anything you want ur lights on for longer at the end before harvest ,there is a video about this with mr grow it and dr bruce bugbee and bugbee clearly says that its a waist of time ur actually losing terpenes in complete darkness ,go and have a look at mr grow it YouTube channel and see for ur self
I was planning to skip it my last round, because I was growing with live worms and I didn’t want them to dry out and die. Then I saw that podcast with Dr Bugbee and that locked it in for me.
Do you have pictures
9 weeks seems early to me
There’s a lot of bro science on this, and other methods. Like watering with ice before harvest. I personally don’t think any of them make any difference, so don’t over think it.
I have to agree, lots of “bro science” floating around…everywhere! But, if as Dr Bugbee says, colder temps can encourage bud maturity I can see how ice watering may just cool things down enough to cause that. Like squash and Northern Spy apples are better, riper after the first frost. No?
I harvest my outdoor plants during daylight Usually around 5 or 6 o’clock in the evening Mainly because I work all day I usually get home around 5 or 6 o’clock. Ive split the main trunk and some main branches. Dont know if that did anything. Theres no real way to prove that 48hrs of darkness increases potency. Some people think that harvesting in the dark will give you better quality weed but there’s no way to prove that. I understand their thinking. The plant transfers nutrients back down into the root zone. Ive harvested at night and mid day. I was absolutely unable to tell any difference after drying, then curing for 2-3 months. I have found that when harvesting during the day the plant has more water content making it take a “little” longer to dry, like maybe a day longer, if that.
That’s how you count an autos age by days total. This counting weeks is bs and all the way confusing. Like week 9 from sprout or flowering? I had to do multiplication on my day 65 WW auto. That’s week 9 and no where close to done