Time to harvest, 12/12 or first flowers, data

Anyone have any real data that shows when the recommended harvest schedule starts? I've read many people state it starts when you switch to 12/12 and many state it starts with the first sign of flowers. Obviously the best way to know when it's time is to read your plant but let's move beyond that for the moment. There has to be some scientific data to support one belief or the other but I can't find it.

Perhaps that's why the breeder gives a 2 week span for finishing time. Some people start at the switch and some people start with the flowers. By giving a 2 week span for harvest it allows both those who do it be switch and thise who do it by flower to be in a general window of viability?

I know it really doesn't matter once you realize how to really read a plant but scientifically it interests me.

Wouldn't your tricome maturity be the scientific knowledge you're seeking during the two week window ???

That's anecdotal evidence then anything else really about when a plant is ready and not at all about my question which is when does flowering period start and what evidence is there of this belief.

I know we've talked about this so I'm gonna keep this simple since you generally know where I stand.

I believe the phase change is considered to biologically take place once the plant reaches the threshold of the correct hormones to alter it's growth to begin flowering.

You are asking a question about indoor growing assuming it's different then outdoors because you can switch the lights yourself.

However the plants are going through the same changes in both cases, in one case you just get to start the transition.

If you grow out a plant outdoors you would not say it was flowering until you saw signs of flower formation. The beginning of flower formation is the indication the plant has reached that hormonal threshold and has began to flower.

Also breeder time frames are mostly nonsense for 2 reasons, phenotype and environmental differences!

I'd love to know the same for indoors...ime I'd go by preflowers based off of maturation of the plant during flowering.
Edit:
Well thank you thundercat literally as I posted you posted seconds prior. I had thought that it would be a more case by case thing

I see the reasoning and submit to your greater range of experience and information but I have a question.

Wouldn't the reason you consider a plant to begin flowering outdoors when flowers show because there is no other way to know since the amount of light per day changes slowely?

I'm not saying your wrong because I but your reasoning but just thinking outloud. Damn dyslexic sentence structure!

Thanks by the way pussycat!

if we all look at the breeders time frames everyone is always upset saying they are too short! now add the 14 days it takes for most ppl to see flowers forming!.. then go back to the breeders info and its pretty spot on! 8 week strains take 10 and so on!

The only other way I can think of to accurately judge would maybe doing daily hormone testing if you knew which to look for and how high it needed to be for that specific strain/phenotype to begin forming flower.

Considering the harvest date is totally subjective in the first place....and every strain/pheno/grow will take a different amount if time....

I really don't think there is a more accurate way to determine when flowering begins then to look at the plant and see flowers.

Simply saying "it begins at 12/12 switch" is wildly inaccurate because it doesn't take ANY of the variables into account. It's totally arbitrary.

However once I see signs of flowers forming(and I don't mean preflowers, that's just a sign of genetic maturity), then I know that plant is flowering! It's that simple and you starting the transition doesn't control how long it takes for the transition to happen.

Being in doors does not make you god, it makes you the caretaker of your plants. You switching the lights rather then a gradual natural shift happening will usually make flowering happen faster because it cuts out the gradual part . But it still takes "X" amount of time for the plant to build up the right levels of hormones to switch.

Would god really be much different then a gardener and a field to plow?

Sorry! Just had to go there.

shawnery said:

Anyone have any real data that shows when the recommended harvest schedule starts? I've read many people state it starts when you switch to 12/12 and many state it starts with the first sign of flowers. Obviously the best way to know when it's time is to read your plant but let's move beyond that for the moment. There has to be some scientific data to support one belief or the other but I can't find it.

Perhaps that's why the breeder gives a 2 week span for finishing time. Some people start at the switch and some people start with the flowers. By giving a 2 week span for harvest it allows both those who do it be switch and thise who do it by flower to be in a general window of viability?

I know it really doesn't matter once you realize how to really read a plant but scientifically it interests me.

Click to expand...

you got pre flower were u see pistils then u got about 2 weeks of stretch then u will notice smlight bud formation comimg from the tips thats when i count by week 8 or 9 amber everytime

Thundercat with the good knowledge! Preflowers are only a sign of genetic maturation go by actual formation of flowers...the more you know

shawnery said:

Would god really be much different then a gardener and a field to plow?

Sorry! Just had to go there.

Click to expand...

Totally different god would be more like a organic chemist/ botanist/ geologist/ magic/ gardener. God would snap his fingers and have perfect pounds every grow .

How long do you think the original breeder would flower his own pheno in a room with high light levels,dead on feedings & higher c02?

I've honestly always considered this to be the reason why they can do it a week or two faster than most of us.

SPLFreak808 said:

How long do you think the original breeder would flower his own pheno in a room with high light levels,dead on feedings & higher c02?

I've honestly always considered this to be the reason why they can do it a week or two faster than most of us.

Click to expand...

Under those ideal conditions the breeder would flower each plant/phenotype for exactly how long they needed to flower for depending on the plant......

That's the thing there is no single magic number where if you don't harvest on that day then your crop is crap. When you harvest is very relative to lots of variables.

Thundercat said:

I know we've talked about this so I'm gonna keep this simple since you generally know where I stand.

I believe the phase change is considered to biologically take place once the plant reaches the threshold of the correct hormones to alter it's growth to begin flowering.

You are asking a question about indoor growing assuming it's different then outdoors because you can switch the lights yourself.

However the plants are going through the same changes in both cases, in one case you just get to start the transition.

If you grow out a plant outdoors you would not say it was flowering until you saw signs of flower formation. The beginning of flower formation is the indication the plant has reached that hormonal threshold and has began to flower.

Also breeder time frames are mostly nonsense for 2 reasons, phenotype and environmental differences!

Click to expand...

Well said.

Edit - Not sure how to multi qoute but all great info from Thundercat.

TheHarvester said:

Well said.

Edit - Not sure how to multi qoute but all great info from Thundercat.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I try.