Question for those who 'know'...

[Sleepy]

Ok, here's the question:

When do you start counting days until harvest?

Do you start the clock when you flip the lights to 12 hours on/12 hours off, or when the plants first show sex?

thanks.

 

[Dr. D]

Hey Sleepy i always count from the day i switch 12/12...as far as im concerned this is the rule of thumb...peace

 

[omega7]

Same here. Start from the day it's flipped to 12/12.

 

[Guvnor]

Im with the good doctor on this one- a plant will never be able to harvest unless its put into the flowering cycle.

Guv

 

[hilljack]

breeder flower times are usually based on the time real(not pre) flowers start until maturity

not from 12/12 till maturity

 

[Guest]

not only is hilljack right but what about starting seeds in 12/12...as far as im concerned 12/12 means nothing, i didnt vote because i dont see a place to vote for "when true calyx/hairs start to form/cluster"..

some tropical sativas can be flipped in early veg and not even sex fora couple months more.. they would sex in 24/0 too, and do. this is what i call a reverse auto-flowering mechanism

peace

 

[Guest]

ie: trainwreck,schrom (i think) ,dalat,kona gold to name a few you all should know, wont flower till theyre damn well ready. (from seed only. from mature clone these strains flower normally for the most part.)

 

[Guest]

I have always counted from when first flipped to 12/12, but at the same time I'm growing LifeSaver which is a 7-8 week strain,,, but I let them go 9 weeks.

So either way really.

 

[aeric]

If growing outdoors it might be better to base it on when preflowers appear. Indoors under 18-24 hours of light preflowers can appear, but as in the case of a mother plant it may be years before it is ever flowered, so of course 12/12 is my vote, even 14 hours for indicas (absolute photoperiod determinate). Even though preflowers have been showing for a long time, the plant will still take a standard amount of time to maturity once put in 12/12.

Sativas started at 12 hours are a different ballgame. In fact it is a compromise of what the sativa really needs which is more like 13 hrs. in veg., 10-11 hrs. in flower.

 

[Sleepy]

not only is hilljack right but what about starting seeds in 12/12...as far as im concerned 12/12 means nothing, i didnt vote because i dont see a place to vote for "when true calyx/hairs start to form/cluster"..

some tropical sativas can be flipped in early veg and not even sex fora couple months more.. they would sex in 24/0 too, and do. this is what i call a reverse auto-flowering mechanism

peace

sorry i did not include that option, captainJack!

i was also thinking about plants that DO show during the vegetation period. hmmm...interesting.

i am not trying to 'split hairs' nor do i have any beef with anyone's forecast 'flower time'...i have learned to take claims of whatever # of days to finish with a grain of salt...

i harvest when the trichomes reach my desired ripeness...no hurry/no worry.

thanks for all the replys. :kitty: <wow, a new smilie!

 

[Guest]

Stop counting days, watch your plants for harvest ques.

Tex

 

[sunnyside]

Stop counting days, watch your plants for harvest ques.

Tex

exactly



not my pic...

 

[aeric]

even if seedbanks are wrong on harvest times due to variables beyond thier control, isn't it helpful to log days to harvest to then have a rough idea of how long they will take in the future? Obviously there are variables that can quicken or slow a crop, but it is still helpful to know *roughly* when it is supposed to be done. What if in-laws are coming in a month? What if you just got that elite and have no room to flower until the current is done? Saying "Stop counting days" is unproffesional, nothing personal.

 

[junit]

Unprofessional?.....Waiting it out seem the most professional to me .....You shouldn't need to document anything unless you have ungodly amounts of strains... and intend on growing them forever.Try using your memory..... I bet it still works. .....

If i couldn't set aside 2 full 30 day months for flowering... I wouldn't flower. Period!


Oh... and count from the first clusters of pistills... usually 5-7 days after the switch...if you must. But if you want to be professional..... Watch the trics

 

[aeric]

I didn't say not to wait until they are done or not to look at the trichs??? I would fit the too many strains to remember option, due to breeding and needing to keep track of things, there is no way I could expect to accurately remember the subtle differences of every pheno of that one strain I did 3 years ago, so to speak. Finish time is one of those details, and is important, but not because I'm trying to win a race in the special olympics, which is alot like arguing on the internet.

 

[JLP]

I've always counted from the day I started the 12/12 light cycle.When I put my plants into flower I repot them at the same time so I write the strain and day on every pot.
Like other have said though it really varies a lot when it comes to harvesting.Seed variation,growing conditions,and personal taste will really determine how long it takes.
And I'm sure I'm not the only one who's harvested one just a little early because I needed the space or the herb.

JLP

 

[glasspackedbowl]

for real. Also a note if you use any kind of salt leach it can make the flowering time go a little longer. I wait it out and see when it stops growing and wont flower any more then its done. That can make for some pretty heavy "couchlock" kinda high.

 

[Dr.Feelgood]

12/12

 

[TNTBudSticker]

Usually count the days when preflower starts..

but for other plants like the diesels...I have passed 2 weeks once before when preflowers showed up and THEN it kept growing but no flowers but just the same preflowers and then it stopped growing then starting more preflowers then to flowering..took 2 weeks

I start my seeds always at 12/12 ..room stays cooler,more females,saves electricity,,so I choose when preflowers start

 

[Verite]

Kinda funny all the replies but when you look at it from the farmers perspective it makes a bit more sense. Most farmers wont pick a crop before its time unless they are sure the weather is going to turn on them reducing their potential yield. But they also count on the time the breeder says their seed will fruit when planted around a specific time of the season in a particular region of the country. If they didnt adopt those kinds of standards the farming industry would fall flat on its ass.

Much for the same reason weed has to have some sort of standard in which to market its differences. Since the variable of when a plant shows has no fixed point and is so widely different between the strains its makes it extremely poor to use as a fixed point in which to start a fruit ready countdown. There are also many factors that may delay the onset of budding preflowers like temp, light leaks, recent transplanting, etc. This extends the inaccuracy of the wait and see method.

This leaves the 12/12 switch period as what may be not ideal to some but serves as a universal focal point that is understood by all and has little or no variables that effect its results. If you use unorthidox methods in which to grow [ like 12/12 from seedling ] then you should also factor that into your calculations when figuring out anticipated finishing dates.

Lastly remember those dates arent written in stone and are more or less what the breeder has experienced using their own methods and hopefully those of some testers.

Its my opinion that breeders would use the same timeframe that used by the majority as doing it the minority way would only cause problems when people reported back that the strains took 2-3 weeks longer to flower than what was listed.