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How Long Do You Keep Your Marijuana In The Dark Before Harvest?


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perhaps, but consider this;

 

1)The twelve hours of dark period before the lights come on is "keeping mj in the dark".

2)Terpene profiles show the active compounds in our herb, which work synergistically to heal.

3)Terpene profiles are at their highest detectable levels at lights on, according to lab tests.

4) "Potency", however subjective, must include the levels of the terpenoid compounds present in

the bud flowers, like THC, CBN, CBD, etc. agreed(1-4?)

 

If more of the compounds exist in the finished product at first light compared to levels tested during lights on, the product would be considered having greater

"potency" ?

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I have a grower friend who uses t-12's one in each corner and two on the ceiling in a grow closet/ box, he picks the plant clean and puts it back into veg, he has regrown the same plant for 3 croppings, I have yet to see any difference from the first crop to the 3rd!

 

I have defoiled all of the leaves before and all it realy did was make the bottom buds get a lil better, but the longer I left it the more the top budds loosened up, I like tight cola's and popcorn buds, The last one I defoiled is the last one I will do, but I may try snipping everything off of it and reveging just for poop and giggles!  I have the same strain as my buddy who does that, I have beans and havent popped any yet, I was so impressed with the finish product on the 1st crop I didnt want to grow it untill I have my room and all locked in tight, I want to succede and spread the love when I grow this peticular strain that was made here in MI, and I want to start them not my c.g or any one else, It would be nice to have a strain every one wants, and be able to share the love!

no donations of course!

 

Peace

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  • 6 months later...

This is old but I am going to rehash it (pun intended)........... I have done it both ways myself and can say that my findings show that the plant and buds are  much wetter and appears to be more sticky when left in the dark for longer periods before harvest. That being said, what I cannot conclude is if that wetter and stickier is due to increased resin production, degradation or simply the plant putting the rest of its resources to the leaves and buds hence making it just wetter from water. Any thoughts?

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This is old but I am going to rehash it (pun intended)........... I have done it both ways myself and can say that my findings show that the plant and buds are much wetter and appears to be more sticky when left in the dark for longer periods before harvest. That being said, what I cannot conclude is if that wetter and stickier is due to increased resin production, degradation or simply the plant putting the rest of its resources to the leaves and buds hence making it just wetter from water. Any thoughts?

Our experiments have been conducted in natural light and in cooler climates.

A lot of people reference the Mississippi study but there is a difference here in the north.

Here in Michigan our average daylight for late October early November is 10 hrs.

Also our days are more overcast compared to the southern states and our night time temps are much cooler.

When we shorten the daylight to 8 hrs there is a definite increase in resin production.

That is not the whole of it though.

Our colder temps even into the 40s at night along with high humidity increases bud density and resin production profoundly.

In addition I would add that as was previously posted some degradation of the plant takes place which improves flavor.

We do also reduce watering the last month (depending on the weather) as the plant does not take up as much water at this time/temp and humidity and over watering WILL rot yer bud. This is IMO the most crucial stage and close monitoring is essential.

The Indica dominant strains show the greatest increase.

Weather permitting we will take them into December.

The trichs are huge and oozing. Sweet tasting fruity...nothing like it

 

Overall I agree with the shorter light cycle but dark temps are a larger factor.

 

Mississippi got nothin on Michigan Farmers

Edited by beourbud
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Lovely Grow Goddess, your knowledge cannot be doubted!  However I have seen some say that starches in the plant migrate to the roots at night and back to the plant during the light cycle.  Because of this the best time to harvest is at the end of the dark period.  Still others say that cannabinoids and terpenes are produced at night.  For example, this was on rollitup.  Blasphemy??? :D

 


 

The Stichting Institute of medical Marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmicies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboritories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency.

SIMM's growers seperated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darkness for 72 hours before cutting and drying.

Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen increases of THC of up to 30 %, while the CBD and CBN remained the same.

 

 

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Our experiments have been conducted in natural light and in cooler climates.

A lot of people reference the Mississippi study but there is a difference here in the north.

Here in Michigan our average daylight for late October early November is 10 hrs.

Also our days are more overcast compared to the southern states and our night time temps are much cooler.

When we shorten the daylight to 8 hrs there is a definite increase in resin production.

That is not the whole of it though.

Our colder temps even into the 40s at night along with high humidity increases bud density and resin production profoundly.

In addition I would add that as was previously posted some degradation of the plant takes place which improves flavor.

We do also reduce watering the last month (depending on the weather) as the plant does not take up as much water at this time/temp and humidity and over watering WILL rot yer bud. This is IMO the most crucial stage and close monitoring is essential.

The Indica dominant strains show the greatest increase.

Weather permitting we will take them into December.

The trichs are huge and oozing. Sweet tasting fruity...nothing like it

 

Overall I agree with the shorter light cycle but dark temps are a larger factor.

 

Mississippi got nothin on Michigan Farmers

 

 

Thanx for the write up............. but I think you have misinterpreted the thread. We are talking about pulling the plants and putting them in 24 hours or more darkness before being chopped.

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OZZ.....We literally pull( uproot) the entire plant( maintaining the plant count). Then hang her, roots and all in total darkness. because of the time of year( cold) the plant continues to produce resin. The plant does stop growing but does not dry as it would in a warmer /dry environment. Actually we wait as long as weather/humidity permits to uproot. There is obvious degradation of leaves but moisture remains for quite a long time. We have hung plants in this manner for months depending again on the weather/humidity.

Dry air and heat dries the plant to quick for the beneficial degradation to occur. I do not claim to understand the mechanisms at play only wittiness the results. A long cold dark cure does produce more resin and much more flavorful Meds.

Every opp is unique but the principles still apply. Give it a try.

Edited by beourbud
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The SIMM results (with lab confirmation) are most applicable to my situation, because plants can be left intact in flower.  The only change I have to make is when they're flushed and ready to cut, keep them in dark for 3 days. 

Beourbuds method requires maintaining pulled plants intacdt in cold for a long time, and keeping count in them as dead count.

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It dont matter if they are hanging or in the dirt,,,,leo will count them as plants, and you will have to defend your selves for being over your plant count,,,,,,if indeed you are over,,,,,,whether they are in the ground or hanging, they will get counted,,,,,,I know that is not what this thread is about, but dont get popped doing your study's by having to much weight/plants/clones,

 

For you to get your results you will need 5 pts and an extra room to play in, but dont go over your limit!

 

Peace

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  • 2 years later...

I was at a lecture by Danny Danko at the Cannibus Cup a  year or 2 ago when he made the point of resin production increasing after 4 days of  darkness before harvest, and when I deprived my plants of light and water for 4 days before harvest all aspects of the product were improved, especially resin production and intensity of the smell/scent. 

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I would caution folks to be mindful of temp and humidity if your going to try even 24hrs of complete darkness. Simulate nature the best you can indoors and things will fall in line. If you want more darkness in a grow cycle use 11/13 light cycle. With a 60 day strain you gain 2.5 days of darkness vs. 12/12 and save electricity. ;)

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  • 1 year later...

My two cents is to harvest after they've been in the dark for 12-72 hours. In other words, don't cut them at the end of the day cycle. How much dark? Why? I dunno, I just like the results better when they've been in the dark... 

And don't forget to KEEP them in total darkness as much as possible throughout the drying and curing process!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I've heard that leaving in the dark 24 hours or 48 or more (as much as) dark for 2 days only delays your harvest - need to leave town for a few days then sure - go for it when weed is ready to be chopped its ready and no amount of old wives. I try to keep it in the 61-55% range for as long as possible.
 

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  • 5 months later...

I've heard this debate for years and always considered it a myth/fable or if its possibly true, the bump in THC would be hardly worth changing things up for.

 

Recently a local grower and youtuber put out this video  

 

-IDK...There could be more going on here than meets the eye (perhaps a whole lot more than just a bump in resin production and THC) and it might be worth considering a 48 hour period. Nothing conclusive here and more tests are needed but the results were pretty surprising to me.

Edited by Spellbound
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