24/48 hour dark period.

[Steptoe]

Hi peeps,

Sorry if this has been posted before or is in the wrong place, but I’ve been reading in a few diaries about giving plants a 24/48 hour dark period prior to chopping them down to boost trichome production.

I’m curious to know for example: if you had any plants that were about to finish say with 7-10 days to go, could you not do this for the said 24/48 hours at the beginning of these final few days, then put the lights back on for 5 or 6 days and repeat it at the end of this time, thus giving it another dark period to boost production even further? Or would this simply create too much stress on the plants?

[Dredlock]

I would say stick to giving them 48 hours dark at end of grow, messing with lights during grow can lead to hermies and honestly, for the ammount of difference it will make not worth the trouble, Happy growing matey :)

[Steptoe]

Thank you for your response dred, I just thought it was an interesting point to raise being a novice grower myself, i'm sure that there may have been others new to growing out there thinking the same thing possibly?

[Monty Bong]

I don't really agree with the 48 hours of darkness at the end of flower idea.

If the plant was to produce an abundance of trichomes due to a 48 hour dark period (and I'm not convinced it does), the trichomes it produces within this period will be clear and will not have had time to cloud let alone amber.

[Steptoe]

exactly what I thought monty, but that was why I mentioned about putting the lights back on for several days, I guess I will never know as I don't wish to mess up any of the plants that I try to grow. Thanks for your input, bruv.

[syanlar]

I don't really agree with the 48 hours of darkness at the end of flower idea.

If the plant was to produce an abundance of trichomes due to a 48 hour dark period (and I'm not convinced it does), the trichomes it produces within this period will be clear and will not have had time to cloud let alone amber.

Doh! You always make such sense monty. That's the 48hr darkness argument done and dusted then.

[bonsaiman]

I thought darkness is when THC is produced, didn't think it necessarily meant new trichs. Sorry, just doing a bit of dusting. Bm.

[Steptoe]

I thought darkness is when THC is produced, didn't think it necessarily meant new trichs. Sorry, just doing a bit of dusting. Bm.

Hi Bonsai,

Sorry a little confused there, your right that's what I meant too (I'm still a novice).

[bonsaiman]

I don't actually know what produces the trichs, it might be darkness too, but even if trichs were produced, surely it would mean existing trichs produce that extra bit of THC. I'd agree with Dred too though, messing round with the lights would risk hermieing them and even though there wouldn't be enough time to pollinate, the plant would waste valuable energy growing balls instead of whatever extra THC you might get from the dark period. Bm.

[vdubber]

Surely the 48hours darkness before chop, is just to let the plant use up chloriphil or whatever. I don't think its got anything to do with producing extra trichs.

[Monty Bong]

Surely the 48hours darkness before chop, is just to let the plant use up chloriphil or whatever. I don't think its got anything to do with producing extra trichs.

The theory is, as trichomes are one of the plants defences by giving an extended dark period at the end of flower the plant stressed and this triggers it to produce more trichomes than it usualy would.

Slow drying and curing get rid of the chlorophyll.

[Dredlock]

It doesnt produce MORE!!!! just sweals the exsisting trics through shock of darkness.... Any kind of shock to the plants adds to a + or - effect during its life cycle!!!

[Monty Bong]

It doesnt produce MORE!!!! just sweals the exsisting trics through shock of darkness....

That's contrary to the theorys I have read about an extended dark finnish. They say, because trichomes are one of the plants defence mechanisms, when stressed by darkness the plant will be triggered in to producing more trichomes, not swell the existing ones.

Either way, I'm not convinced that it works, I've tried it on a couple of grows. Clones taken from the same mother and grown in exactly the same conditions, some given 48hrs and some were chopped just after their usual 12 hours, I didn't see any major difference tbh.

[Dredlock]

That's contrary to the theorys I have read about an extended dark finnish. They say, because trichomes are one of the plants defence mechanisms, when stressed by darkness the plant will be triggered in to producing more trichomes, not swell the existing ones.

Either way, I'm not convinced that it works, I've tried it on a couple of grows. Clones taken from the same mother and grown in exactly the same conditions, some given 48hrs and some were chopped just after their usual 12 hours, I didn't see any major difference tbh.

I agree I have also read the same many times before, however I also grew some cheese a while back and decided to give one 48 hours of extra darkness, while the other no extra, all I found looking through the old eyeclopse was that the trics had swollen around 1/3 more over the top half of the plant in darkness, the rest stayed the same....

who knows it could have been a number of different reasons this happened....
Happy growing :)

[Monty Bong]

I agree I have also read the same many times before, however I also grew some cheese a while back and decided to give one 48 hours of extra darkness, while the other no extra, all I found looking through the old eyeclopse was that the trics had swollen around 1/3 more over the top half of the plant in darkness, the rest stayed the same....

who knows it could have been a number of different reasons this happened....
Happy growing :)


Interesting, I have to admit with the loupe I have it would be difficult to see if some trichome heads were more swollen than others. Was there a noticable difference in the stone?

[Dredlock]

Interesting, I have to admit with the loupe I have it would be difficult to see if some trichome heads were more swollen than others. Was there a noticable difference in the stone?



LoL now you hit a whole different situation.......

~Yeah~ in the short if it i'll explain in a sec.....However I find that with my cheese!! chopping her a couple a weeks early will give me a head buzz, leaving her longer will creat more of a couch lock effect, and flavour is completly different. giving her the extra couple a weeks gives me the heavy coffee, earthy taste alot more cheesy, where as chopping early certainly shows more of the fruity characteristics.

Ok yes it did make a difference making the stone alot more like leaving her for the longer period alot more of a couch lock, but again could have been a number of explanations really.

I find that chopping my bud at different time spans makes the biggest difference in taste and stone!!!


sorry got a little off topic!!!!