Man at Arms
Active member
So I am just about at that time. (Happy Happy Joy Joy). What is the recommended hours of darkness to give before the chop? 24 hours? Also should my soil be wet or dry when I do chop. Thank you all for any help!
Dark Period and Watering Right Before Harvest?
- Thread starter Man at Arms
- Start date
G
Guest
I agree. It’s my belief that sometimes people mentally masturbate over the minutia. But for those that do it’s all good.
St. Phatty
Active member
Do you have weed for your own personal needs ?
The picture on the right has more of a "fall colors" look than the other 2 pics.
I think the main thing is to be patient and let the plant pack on the trichomes.
If you're growing indoors and there's a crop of clones or seedlings that "want the space", one option is to move the almost finished plants to the side, where they might get 20 watts per square foot instead of 60.
I think this relates to "what is the purpose of the trichomes", but that is sort of a subject for another thread.
Man at Arms
Active member
Thanks for info. I’m not looking of “when” to chop. I have my scope and have been checking the trichs daily. I’m more so looking for info on how long the dark period should be before the chop. I am planning to chop sometime after the weekend.
I haven’t tried the 24 hours of darkness before harvest ever... I’ve always been curious though...!!!...
I just make sure the soil is not wet or moist and I’ll chop...
Kinda like what bmac1 said, they were most likely watered the day before... I usually water every other day...
I just don’t like the plant or soil to be really dried out before harvest... the soil doesn’t matter as much, as I feel the buds... I’ll give them a squeeze and make sure that their still hard... just something I do...!!!...
I just make sure the soil is not wet or moist and I’ll chop...
Kinda like what bmac1 said, they were most likely watered the day before... I usually water every other day...
I just don’t like the plant or soil to be really dried out before harvest... the soil doesn’t matter as much, as I feel the buds... I’ll give them a squeeze and make sure that their still hard... just something I do...!!!...
Hookahhead
Active member
I give my plants a dark period, but not because I think it increases potency. Instead I base it on a common experiment done in any college level introductory biology course. I hope to be able to document this in actual cannabis leaf in a future post instead of the germanium leaves I used way back when...
https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/test-for-starch-photosynthesis/
The experiment plays out like this.. you take a germanium plant and cover 1 leaf fully with an index card (no light) and cover only half of another leaf (half light), finally leave one completely uncovered (full light). After 24 hours of light you place the 3 leaves in boiling alcohol. The alcohol removes any chlorophyll, effectively bleaching the leaf. Next we dip the leaf in an iodine solution. The iodine will stain any starch blue/black; the starch is not soluble in alcohol and therefore not washed out. When you compare the leaves... the one in full light will be solid blue, only the half exposed to light will be blue on the half covered leaf, and the completely covered leaf will be a light brown.
The takeaway from this experiment is to show that during periods of light, the leaf is creating sugars which are immediately stored as starch. However, during a dark period the leaf converts the starch back to sugar to use in the leaf or transports it to other areas to carry out vital functions.
If we give the plants a long dark period, we ensure they are using up the sugars stored in the leaf. Less sugar will lead to a cleaner, less harsh smoke. This only really matters if you’re planning to combust the plant material.
https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/test-for-starch-photosynthesis/
The experiment plays out like this.. you take a germanium plant and cover 1 leaf fully with an index card (no light) and cover only half of another leaf (half light), finally leave one completely uncovered (full light). After 24 hours of light you place the 3 leaves in boiling alcohol. The alcohol removes any chlorophyll, effectively bleaching the leaf. Next we dip the leaf in an iodine solution. The iodine will stain any starch blue/black; the starch is not soluble in alcohol and therefore not washed out. When you compare the leaves... the one in full light will be solid blue, only the half exposed to light will be blue on the half covered leaf, and the completely covered leaf will be a light brown.
The takeaway from this experiment is to show that during periods of light, the leaf is creating sugars which are immediately stored as starch. However, during a dark period the leaf converts the starch back to sugar to use in the leaf or transports it to other areas to carry out vital functions.
If we give the plants a long dark period, we ensure they are using up the sugars stored in the leaf. Less sugar will lead to a cleaner, less harsh smoke. This only really matters if you’re planning to combust the plant material.
MedFaced
Active member
Have you ever smoked cannabis before and felt it tasted bad because there wasn’t a long enough dark period?
Hookahhead
Active member
I haven’t ever done a strict side by side, but maybe sometime in the future I can give it a shot, I have a bunch of the same clones that will be run together soon.
I have smelled and tasted burnt sugar before, and know it’s not pleasant. I imagine reducing the sugar content in the leaves would also aid to inhibit any fungi or bacteria that want to feed on those extra goodies.
I do not know all of the complex chemical changes that take place during curing, but I think that it’s commonly held that plant sugars are reduced during the process? Therefore you may not ever notice a difference in properly cured herb.
Drewsif
Member
I'd assume this is when fatty acids are transported too https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28596307/
Water + light = photosynthesis, unless you sell liquid nutes for a living, photosynthesis at harvest is counter intuitive. 24 hrs is a good place to start experimenting. Its all grow-dependent. Whether you feed sugars to the soil, whether your bacteria are feeding lipids straight to your myco, too many factors to stick with a single blanket method for everyone but I'm pretty sure most crops could be left rooted, dried out and ignored for days in the dark and turn out great. No water no light no uptake, youve got the best jump on a good slow cure as possible.
It's amazing how so many people speed dry, simply because growstores sell specially mesh drying racks. Mersh racks I call them. They've got to be doing it right, ruining their bud with legit grow equipment! My plants come with their own drying racks, called branches!
Man at Arms
Active member
Thanks everyone for the info. I’m going to give them one last watering tonight when lights come back on. The plan is have 36 hours dark starting on Tuesday and then chop on Wednesday to hang and dry in the tent. I’ve got 0 interest in a drying rack.
Hookahhead
Active member
Just make sure you keep your fans and other environmental controls running. In other words don’t just pull the plug.
Man at Arms
Active member
I’m aware. Thanks Hookah! I’m going to leave the exhaust fan on so air still going through scrubber. I will also have a fan on the tent floor circulating air(not blowing directly on drying flowers. I’m aiming for about 55-60% RH and a temp of about 65-70 degrees. I’m trying to let these girls take as long as possible to dry.
