The DARK: How many days of dark before crop

WHATFG said:

I don't get the whole dark thing...it's a plant that grows outdoors, where there is a moon that shines very fucking brightly sometimes...even a moonless night is not complete darkness....

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Moonlight is a reflection only and measures at 1 candlepower or so.

What human eyes see is very different from plants. We have super sensitive eyes. Even for the animal world.

Exactly. I think you can get away with a dim light while working during the dark periods. Could be green, red or whatever. I just mentioned the green colored light bulb thing because their seems to be a common misconception there.

Farmer.J said:

I did not know this. I was told if you want to observe the plants during the dark cycle to use green bulb. The way you just explained it above makes total sense and I feel foolish for taking the advice without thinking about it.
I was told to open a bag of ice each day and pour it in the res for the 72 hours of dark, so I bought a green flood light so I could see what I was doing without disturbing them. Now it seems that the whole 72 hours was a waste of time because I in fact was interrupting them and got mould because of humidity. Totally not worth it IMO.
Thanks for setting me straight.

Ps: What color temperature is the green light spectrum?

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Don't feel foolish, you can get away with a little bit of light while working in the dark(can be green, red, normal or whatever). Try to keep it to a minimum though and don't keep it on when you're not actually working in there.

answer :
none

I usually just use one of those led headband lights(mines white and bought it from the dollar store) when working in the dark. They work great and my plants were never worse for wear.

trippingballs said:

I have heard about shutting the lights off a few days before harvest. Anyone done this and how many days before the chop?

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i just heard my girls brother explaining to me why the few days of dark before hanging. He said that it tricks the trichomes into doing something and it makes the potency much better! I was way too high to understand what he was saying. I just harvested my mangolicious this morning. I didn't try this method because all of my tents are full and I have no where for complete darkness

The next batch of ladies that will be done are some hefty ak47's with colas longer than your hang longways. They are going to be in complete darkness for 2 or 3 days to test this method out. Im sure this has been done before but it's all good all results will vary.

twistedvinesofbud said:

i just heard my girls brother explaining to me why the few days of dark before hanging. He said that it tricks the trichomes into doing something and it makes the potency much better! I was way too high to understand what he was saying. I just harvested my mangolicious this morning. I didn't try this method because all of my tents are full and I have no where for complete darkness

The next batch of ladies that will be done are some hefty ak47's with colas longer than your hang longways. They are going to be in complete darkness for 2 or 3 days to test this method out. Im sure this has been done before but it's all good all results will vary.

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I would harvest half normal/half with the dark method. That way you can tell a difference if there is one.

twistedvinesofbud said:

i just heard my girls brother explaining to me why the few days of dark before hanging. He said that it tricks the trichomes into doing something and it makes the potency much better! I was way too high to understand what he was saying. I just harvested my mangolicious this morning. I didn't try this method because all of my tents are full and I have no where for complete darkness

The next batch of ladies that will be done are some hefty ak47's with colas longer than your hang longways. They are going to be in complete darkness for 2 or 3 days to test this method out. Im sure this has been done before but it's all good all results will vary.

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if they truly are ready..be watchful for mold after thee days darkness.

I like the idea of 50/50 but...... I have 4 plants that will be harvested. I am willing to sacrifice the runt to test this method. So we are going with 75/25

I read a little about the luminati super green LED light to be used as a night light in a previous post. Interesting, I wonder if you flip the light to shine on the ceiling to give a indirect light. These lights still have to have some sort of lumens/spectrum to them. The amount of lumens that they would put out should be minimal.

Farmer.J said:

"The only things I think it proves is that 315 watts of cmh cannot match 600 watts of hps (Hortilux) in growth, yield, potency, coverage area or lower plant development. "

That makes sense. Would a 600w MH would out perform a 400w HPS? Not by a lot but still higher yield/potency? My guess is the 600w HPS should beat a 400w MH and the difference would be greater than the other way around. I just think more watts will promote stronger growth. Watt for watt, the more appropriate spectrum will have better results than anything inferior.

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Hello @Farmer.J, thank you for your reply. I have a question for you though. It is a little off topic but what is this about "New prohibition starts June 30th, 2018" ?

twistedvinesofbud said:

I like the idea of 50/50 but...... I have 4 plants that will be harvested. I am willing to sacrifice the runt to test this method. So we are going with 75/25

I read a little about the luminati super green LED light to be used as a night light in a previous post. Interesting, I wonder if you flip the light to shine on the ceiling to give a indirect light. These lights still have to have some sort of lumens/spectrum to them. The amount of lumens that they would put out should be minimal.

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Be sure to let us know your findings on this. I've heard of doing this and always wrote it off. I like a good experiment so I will definitely be waiting on your results.

Wow. Every thread ends in still wanting to prove silly myths that go against plant science.

How can a c3 type plant produce anything new in the dark?

The original 24 to 48 hrs of darkness method is sound. It allows the carbohydrates in the plant to go back down to the roots resulting in possibly smoother smoke and maybe whiter ash.

The downside is the practice can bring mold.

Everyone should read Rosenthal and Clark instead of listen to the bullshit here.

Here is a list of free pot books. All the answers are in here. Especially clarks marijuana botany.

http://catnews.org/FREE Pot Books/

twistedvinesofbud said:

Hello @Farmer.J, thank you for your reply. I have a question for you though. It is a little off topic but what is this about "New prohibition starts June 30th, 2018" ?

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it's a joke, much like the government's plans for legalization

Yeah, I don't see that happening just yet either. To many crooked politicans.

I’m reviving this thread because I have a specific question.

I have four strains in my current (and first) grow. Some will undoubtedly be ready before others and I had planned to use my grow tent as my drying tent.

So I just thought of an idea: chop the early finishers and hang to dry in the same tent as the ones that are still in their pots, kick off the lights, then chop the others 3 days later. Assuming I think the difference in harvest time can be as close as 3 days. (What would happen if the late finishers sat in their pots in darkness for longer than 3 days??)

If not, I guess I’ll try and set up another closet for the early finishers, but I’m a stickler for climate control and my tent has everything needed to create perfect conditions.

Any thoughts?

I did a few plants in the dark in their pots for 2 days and saw no noticeable difference from the other plants that I hung right after chopping. YMMV.

ClassicT said:

So I just thought of an idea: chop the early finishers and hang to dry in the same tent as the ones that are still in their pots, kick off the lights, then chop the others 3 days later. Assuming I think the difference in harvest time can be as close as 3 days. (What would happen if the late finishers sat in their pots in darkness for longer than 3 days...

Any thoughts?

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Watch out for mold, keep humidity under control.

zoic said:

I did a few plants in the dark in their pots for 2 days and saw no noticeable difference from the other plants that I hung right after chopping. YMMV.

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I hear you. My goal is to cut down some earlier than others and leave them all in the dark so I don’t have to create a new space for drying.

If I had separate drying and growing areas I wouldn’t bother with the dark period for the unharvested plants.

Make sense?

Farmer.J said:

Watch out for mold, keep humidity under control.

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Yeah, I guess humidity is the one concern. The potted ones would be at 30-40% and the chopped ones need 50-60. Shit.

Any other ideas for strains that are finishing several days, even a week or two, apart?

ClassicT said:

I hear you. My goal is to cut down some earlier than others and leave them all in the dark so I don’t have to create a new space for drying.

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Well the humidity at my place was 15% this winter in the basement. I hung two plants and they were crisp in 3 days. I wish I had left them in the tent. You could put them in a closet or something, but it will smell. I hope you find a suitable spot.