1 Day till Harvest, Questions for the pros!

Even though this question was for an indoor grow, it's basically the same outside. Decreasing daylight brings flowers to their ripest, it's the same inside. Some fall days have very little sunshine, but it sure isn't harming the plants. You're creating this unnatural environment indoors. Cannabis isn't a designer plant, it came from outside & you just can't duplicate everything inside. There's so many subtlties we don't even understand yet. I would try to duplicate a natural season, just a speeded-up version.
I think that thc content is usually determined by your strains & how well it's cured, as well as timing your harvest by using your 30x microscope to check trich color. Look to improving other factors like your soil & nutrients, perhaps you can improve your herb that way instead.

I haven't tried giving a dark period...but what we do, is not water the last 3 or 4 days before harvest-- This is something I was told by my employer (Commercial Grower)...that when the plants think they are dying, they will produce resin to help protect the seeds --
I have no "Proof" of this...except that we produce a hell of a lot of very good Kush... gotta love the scissor/finger hash!!

Yea I don't think there is any significance to these traditions people perform before harvest.

When it's done, chop it down and hang it. You should already have all the yellowing and drying leaves removed just through normal maintenance.

I find it easier to manicure after the bud has dried and that it usually produces a tighter manicure than doing it wet. I think this is because the buds contain more water and therefore shrink more than the leaves. So, manicuring them wet means when the bug shrinks it can expose leaf that didn't get fully removed. Where as manicure dry makes it easier to see what you will actually get. It also means you cure your leaf trim by leaving it on the buds longer. Takes slightly longer to cure this way, but I find it to be less work and better cannabutter.

Thats another thing, I'd save EVERYTHING and make cannabutter, all the leaves stems, every little bit helps.


However, no biggie either way. The real thing to keep in mind is to move them to jars sooner than later. If you leave them hanging too long they dry out and lose potency.

Even if the buds got heavier the weight would have to be mostly water retention anyway to happen that fast.

I have left my plants in the dark not for the reasons people have stated above but because I trim by myself and it takes me a week usually....

what I have noticed is that the weed I get to when im close to being done is alot smellier and smoother,...ive never thought it to be more potent or heavier,..just tastier.

I once forgot a trainwreck plant in the corner of my room and it basically dried up on its own,...I think it sat for almost 3-4 weeks,...it was like smoking menthol buds

i just read in an in issue of skunk that letting your plants medium get extremley dry prior to harvest is good because if the plant thinks it is going to dry out it produces extra resin glands because the resin glands provide UV protection from the sun. i have always done it so that the plants are as dry as possible at harvest and so that they do not have unneeded starches etc but i thought this other piece of info was helpfull. It also mentioned the extended dark peroid but said it was unproven and just a pref. of some people. they did say however that harvesting before the lights come on is good to keep unwanted items in the soil.

What about throwing them into dark, with NO water for 72 hours!?!?!?!? MHUAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

great thread!
(just what I needed)
Gotta love that empirical evidence.

24 hour dark period before harvest. Anyone use this? Searched the forums and saw that some people even said 72 hours of all darkness and then cut it down. Reason - nutes climb into all of the branches/stalks durning the sunlight hours, and go into the soil and the roots at the night time hours, so less nutes in ur bud = tastier bud? Also someone said the plant knows it is going to die and just produces huge amounts of resin as a last dieing effort to catch pollen.

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I use a 48 hour dark period. I grow identical clones so the variables are nil. 48 hour dark before harvest= smother smoke. I haven't tried 72 hours. This supposedly causes the plant to send excess starches and sugars to roots. Personal experience tells me this is worthwhile.

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Trimming all of the major fan leaves and as much leaf off the bud as possible, and leave just the bud still growing on your stems for just 1 more 12 hour period and then harvesting. So in this way you would basically trim as much leaf as you can from the plant, leaving all of the bud sites, supposedly transfers all remaining energy to the bud and they swell in size??

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HAHAHAHHHAHHAHAHAHHA!!!!!HAHAHHAHHHA!!! hehehehhehehhehehhHEHEHEHHEHHEHEHTEEEHHEEHEETEEEHEEEETEEEHEEE....Morons, you've got to love them..

The best thing to do is to trim all your fan leafs in the shape of a triangle 24 hours before harvest then stop watering the plant until the leafs droop down and sort of form the shape of a pyramid. The ancient energies produced will drive out the bad chemicals from the plants into the roots and out to the reservoir (possibly back into your nutrient bottles) they will then begin to multiply the trichomes by a factor of 10.

smokeymacpot said:

i agree, i cant see anyones buds getting more weight or bigger or stronger with a cpl of days darkness.

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I cant remeber who did the thread on it, but this was HUGE over there on OG for long time. Personally, whoever created the thread made a believer out of me and I have been implementing this technique for well over 3 years without fault.

I believe it had something to do with not watering the plants the last 72 hours and keeping it in absolute darkness (cannot be exposed to light at all!), thus creating an enviorment in which the plant must strive to survive (and NO we are not "stressing" the plant). Basically, resin production is put into overdrive in attempt to cover the plant from severe conditons (i.e. multiple nights, cold weather, etc..) and to conserve as much hydration as possible so that it will not die.

Personally, it could be some dumbfounded theory with no holds of truth. However, I have only had success without any diminished results.

I have not had the time, nor energy for a side-by-side test, but I would like to see one done so we can end this debate.

10ft ganja

Basically, resin production is put into overdrive in attempt to cover the plant from severe conditons (i.e. multiple nights, cold weather, etc..) and to conserve as much hydration as possible so that it will not die.

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As far as I know plants produce trichomes to prevent insects from eating the leafs and buds. I think that you should do a side by side.

BlindD I think you are right... it is the only way to show all of us, the ones who believe and the ones who do not. I personally can see how this could work, but I have yet to actually see so.
BD, I think that Trichomes are the plants defense system against all aspects of nature, not just insects. Trics keep heat close to the plant when cold, and act as a heatsink when hot.

has everybody forgotten about BOG? after seeing pics of this mans nugs. the dark period will make a believer out of you. it is still recommended in med magazines by him. his theory is giving 48-72 hours of dark will put the plant into survival mode because its about to die. its starts producing more resin in a last ditch effort to survive. dont know if its true but after seeing his results, i do it.

Flush the plant and do... 48-72 hours of darkness =D
I totally agree with swampdank..

I definitely am not doubting you, any of you... I still think the only way anybody is going to see a difference though, is to do a side by side with exact climate. As I said before, when thinking about it, it makes sense... The whole idea brings up many a question though... Why not a 96 hour dark? Is there an optimum point where darkness offsets resin production? Do trichomes still mature in the dark?
Swampdank, sorry but I do not remember BOG, or his results. Does anybody have any of these saved? If not, does anybody recall much of what he said/where he can be located lol.

BOG is underground now. only a few have sure contact with him. i have an article written by him from a medical marijuana magazine aptly named "treating yourself" in the fall 2007 issue, BOG(which stands for bushy old grower) wrote an article for them. its called BOG speaks. in this article he explains a few "tips" for new growers trying to grow thier own meds. tip 1) soil mix and double potting tip 2) 48 hours in the dark..... this is what he says... "this tip will help you get the most out of your plants just before harvesting. any strain produces the most resin at the end of its life cycle. my advice is that when you think your plant is done and ready for harvest,try this. place the plant far away from the lights or even in total darkness for 48 or even 72 hours. water one last time when you do this,then leave the plant alone. this period of darkness is a time when the plant will continue to pile on resins in an effort to survive. many have found this to be well worth the time considering the fact the plant is no longer taking up space in your garden. i believe it is worth your time."

thats it. not the entire article,but the topic at hand. hope this helps. i do it now and it sure hasnt hurt anything. think like this. when the plant is done. when you chop it, it stops growing.why not put it in the dark if it helps potency? yield will be the same as if you chopped it when you had those scissors in your hand. try it. i ould love to see a side by side comparison.

Thank you SwampD! I am going to be trying this... eventually.

i think im going to try flushing and then giving it 72hours without water and light and then chop

Blind date:
"The best thing to do is to trim all your fan leafs in the shape of a triangle 24 hours before harvest then stop watering the plant until the leafs droop down and sort of form the shape of a pyramid. The ancient energies produced will drive out the bad chemicals from the plants into the roots and out to the reservoir (possibly back into your nutrient bottles) they will then begin to multiply the trichomes by a factor of 10."


Wait, this is all true, its actually a factor of five though, duh, five sides to the pyramid...historians argue on this some say that there is a multiplicity factor of two due to the pyramids intrinsic shape...and the bad chemicals are actually sent to the sun itself...so that they may burn up in its' atmosphere causing "solar warming". So don't use this method unless, you are very experienced.
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Octodeim is correct about the loss of chlorophyll during the 48 hr darkness period, this is why some g's employ this method.

When plants do not receive light the chlorophyll begins to break down.
The starch content decreases rapidly, too.
There is a temperature relation in their somewhere, I'm sure of it...more research needed. Also, there will be Sativa/Indica differences.
Strain dependent?....genetic markers for coloration during periods of dark and cold... more info search: dj short articles on icmag

The smoke can be considered smoother by some... for some this method may be more of a hassle. It could possibly be argued that a good cure could do similar things...there is a break down of chlorophyll in the budz, this is why we cure for long periods of time.

On the other hand, 48 hrs of darkness, plus a cure may be superior....or it could shorten the cure period.

Here, it has been tried, and we [the dopaminergenic pathways and I] find that it does produce a smoother smoke...while at the same time being a possible waste of time and a pain in the arse..depending on what you're into.

Wet/ dry conceptualization an issue, as is relative temperature.

< http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110003719320/en/ >

< http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/chlorophyll/chlorophyll_h.htm >


Just a little interesting note on the side regarding growth found while surfing:

"Seeds of Picea abies were germinated and grown in either darkness or constant light. The chlorophyll content and photosynthetic carbon dioxide uptake of developing seedlings of different ages was determined. Ten-day-old dark grown seedlings showed an instant ability for photosynthetic carbon dioxide uptake and also formed further chlorophyll most rapidly upon subsequent illumination. These activities progressively diminished when the dark growth period was extended. Light grown seedlings reached a maximum chlorophyll level after 15 days growth, and this preceded maximal photosynthetic development."

< http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1399-3054.1980.tb03337.x >

The Accumbens