- Joined
- Mar 5, 2012
- Messages
- 2,756
- Reaction score
- 6,044
I have been politely informed by a visitor to my grow journal that i am wrongly counting the days of my flowering plants. Apparently by counting " day 1" as the first day i switch the lighting cycle to 12 hours on/off, my calendar is inaccurate . I paraphrase here, "Your plants didnt show signs of flowering until about 7 to 10 days into the cycle...that should be day 1. When you see sure signs that your plants have ACTUALLY started flowering."
According to this source, i am shortchanging my harvest due to taking down my plants too early. The following are reasons i respectfully disagree and believe i am right in counting the way i do.
1. There needs be an objective way of counting the days your plants are in flower. There can be several reasons for this, the main one i im concerned with would be estimated harvest time projection and nutrient schedules.
2. Counting from "the first signs of flower" is too nebulous and subjective to be useful for predictive projections. One could then possibly further divide this method by a myriad of other subjective criteria; such as when the plants begin to stretch, or when pistil productions become apparent, etc. The main problem with this methodology is the subjective nature of the observer. The observer may not immediately notice the beginning of stretch or pistil production. They may be free to make post hoc observations, thus inaccurately counting by a week or more.
3. I do not make final harvest decisions based on the number of days the plant has been in flower. I use the widely accepted method of trichome quality assessment. I may have to take a plant early if there are signs of hermaphrodites, pests, or complications from a number of different quality reducing stressors.
My conclusion is that the only quantifiable way of counting your flower cycle timing is from the day you have changed photo periods. That is the only non subjective factor in the equation.
Opinions?
According to this source, i am shortchanging my harvest due to taking down my plants too early. The following are reasons i respectfully disagree and believe i am right in counting the way i do.
1. There needs be an objective way of counting the days your plants are in flower. There can be several reasons for this, the main one i im concerned with would be estimated harvest time projection and nutrient schedules.
2. Counting from "the first signs of flower" is too nebulous and subjective to be useful for predictive projections. One could then possibly further divide this method by a myriad of other subjective criteria; such as when the plants begin to stretch, or when pistil productions become apparent, etc. The main problem with this methodology is the subjective nature of the observer. The observer may not immediately notice the beginning of stretch or pistil production. They may be free to make post hoc observations, thus inaccurately counting by a week or more.
3. I do not make final harvest decisions based on the number of days the plant has been in flower. I use the widely accepted method of trichome quality assessment. I may have to take a plant early if there are signs of hermaphrodites, pests, or complications from a number of different quality reducing stressors.
My conclusion is that the only quantifiable way of counting your flower cycle timing is from the day you have changed photo periods. That is the only non subjective factor in the equation.
Opinions?