Light question

In the past I have read that cutting the light cycle by about 1/2 hour to 1 hour can bring the plants to harvest quicker and make them stronger. Has anyone tried this and does it work? I've been growing for years but never tried this.

I doubt the plants would take notice until 12 hours of UNINTERUPTED darkness when you want to flower and I don't trust the green lamp thing for flower access anymore, stay out
I slowly reduce my veg from 24/24 (to prevent stretch first few weeks) then shorten by a couple hours every few days (to save money) timing it to hit 12/12 when I want to flower.

Thanks for your feedback. I do almost the same but it seems to be taking a long time for the trichomes to turn amber and I have read that shortening the light cycle can make them turn faster. My plants have been flowering for 93 days now but after looking at them this morning I am starting to see more amber colors. I imagine I will harvest in about 2 more weeks.

ostpicsworthless:

There is no real way to hasten flowering. Over the years, I have read about numerous different light schedules that someone tries and then discards. I would guess that probably all conceivable hours and combination of light and dark periods have been tried. If something better than 12/12 IS discovered, it would be a huge thing and everyone would be doing it. However, the 12/12 thing is part of the biology of the plant and will not be changed easy. I can say in thmy many years of growing and being on forums, I have never seen a flower faster idea that worked.

In addition, Clarke in his disseration showed that plants flowered on a 10/14 on off schedule produced up to 50% less bud than those flowered on a 12/12 schedule.

franco3420 said:

Thanks for your feedback. I do almost the same but it seems to be taking a long time for the trichomes to turn amber and I have read that shortening the light cycle can make them turn faster. My plants have been flowering for 93 days now but after looking at them this morning I am starting to see more amber colors. I imagine I will harvest in about 2 more weeks.

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If you see amber now, 2 weeks is too long. If there aren't a huge amount of clear ones, I'd harvest now. Also harvest now if yer a sativa guy.
aaaand don't rush your cure, that is a big mistake, buy some before digging in if you must

Great info, Thank you all!

Sopappy,
How long do you cure your weed? Also, what is your method, I use mason jars, popping them open a few times a day.
Thanking you in advance.

franco3420 said:

Sopappy,
How long do you cure your weed? Also, what is your method, I use mason jars, popping them open a few times a day.
Thanking you in advance.

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I rarely get it right but I get close. It's a goldilocks thing, you don't want them drying out too fast. I TRY not to touch them for AT LEAST 2 weeks.
Threy're ready when you squeeze a bud and it returns to original size.

First go is hanging branches in cardboard box coathanger rails couple days,
(I don't think your circulation is good enough in the jars with just the lid off) I check for dampness, it's obvious when outer area gets dryish,
then I cut off all the buds into one layer in those glass casserole pans with the looseish plastic lids (I fear mold like crazy, it'll ruin your day)

I check outer feel of buds early on 3 or more times a day, if crsipsih, lid stays on, if dampish, lid off. (always in darkness, light destroys THC)
((there are guideline times on the net I'm sure but I find I am now trying to base my entire grow on visual cues (or tactile haha, i touch 'em)
When they don't seem to get damp anymore, they go in to the mason jars.

I stopped using those Boveda packets, only when one gets away on me, bone dry :-(, read something about the packets, can't recall.

Here's some pictures, WH. I am embarrassed with this plant, nothing worse than trimming popcorn so I took picture top down so you can't see how skinny the colas are.
...from hanging to the dishes to the jars
see those scissors ? last pair you'll ever buy
see that eyeloupe ? last one you'll ever buy
see popcorn buds in that shake ? I just can't grow is all, I'm good at the other ****.

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Drying and curing are 2 distinctive stages that are both equally important. Drying must happen before cure can begin. Drying is the removal of excess moisture from the buds but curing is where the magic happens. I found for me personally, drying in a controlled air mass works best. The reason is that you want to remove the moisture as quick as possible to prevent the opportunity for mildew to take hold. However, you can dry too fast. This causes the outside of the buds to become too dry to equalize with the insides of the buds, and that traps too much moisture inside the centers of the buds, which gives opportunity for bud rot. Drying typically takes about 3-7 days depending on how much bud you have and the type of drying method you use.
Using a controlled air space allows you to draw smaller amounts of moisture out but once the air is saturated, the buds have time to equalize the moisture within to the outsides as the outside is kept moist enough by the saturated air. Then that air is removed and replaced with dry air and the drying process begins again. This constant cycling of gradual moisture removal allows a more even drying.

Then when my buds feel almost too dry, I move them to the jars and the curing process begins. This is the slow breakdown of the green material within the buds on a chemical level as the moisture and other gasses get released during the cure. I will generally find that the almost too dry buds will moisten up slightly during the first few days of cure. If I find moisture in my jars during this time, I will dump out the buds and air dry them a little and then put them back in the jars. I will open and "air out" my jars 2x a day for the first few days to make sure excess moisture isn't building up in the jars, then I move to once a day for a few days, then I go to opening and airing them every other day for about a week then move to airing them every 3-4 days for a couple weeks, then once a week from that point forward.

I try to cure mine for at least a month to get the best flavors. This method works great but it takes some experimentation to get it just right. The dry/cure process is nearly an art that takes time to master so don't be too hard on yourself if you fail to get it right the first few times. I've smoked some mighty "grassy/hay" smelling and tasting bud before getting the method right. It takes lots of practice and patience to get all the methods down to get top quality smoking materials

Thank you guys for such useful info. I'm still learning so everything helps!!