Leaving in darkness last wk before harvest.

[rebel]

Now im reading from some sites that leaving in complete darkness the last wk or so, makes the plant give up its last energy and increases the buds
any experience anyone ?

 

[Hackerman]

I have heard a couple days but never as long as a week. I have also heard that harvesting in the dark hours is better.

I can see the chemistry behind both theories but I doubt it really makes that much difference in the end product.

I'm sure someone in the know will chime in.

 

[Rosebud]

Why would you leave your plant in darkness when she is putting on her last growth spurt.... It doesn't make any sense... lots of weird theories.

 

[rebel]

i agree Rose, if u notice some seed ads are stating this.

 

[rebel]

this is what dinafems site on ww says - It is advisable to leave them in complete darkness for the last 5 days, to increase resin production as much as possible.

 

[Rosebud]

I don't believe them...lol

 

[Locked]

No way would I do this. Like Rose said, it makes no sense. They want you to believe that a week without light will make them put on size? I call Bravo Sierra.

 

[P Jammers]

this is what dinafems site on ww says - It is advisable to leave them in complete darkness for the last 5 days, to increase resin production as much as possible.

I'd suggest a good book like marijuana botany by Clark. Once you understand how trics are actually produced you can roll you eyes when people make claims like this.

2cents

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

:yeahthat:

I agree. Unless someone can show me scientifically or through controlled studies that weird things like this are true, I pay them no heed. We used to be told it was good for the plant to drive a spike or nail through the stem.....

 

[Hackerman]

:yeahthat:

We used to be told it was good for the plant to drive a spike or nail through the stem.....

I remember that. LOL And another story told how in the Far East the Palace slaves went through the fields with canes, slashing and beating the plants to stress them before picking them for the Royalty.

I have tried a lot of stuff over the years and I haven't found too many that make a real difference.

However, half the fun of growing is trying all this different stuff. It's more of a hobby for me than a source of meds. Drive a nail through a couple stems?... sure, what the heck. LOL

 

[rebel]

And trying to keep everything as close to nature as possible, 5 days darkness( just read another seed ad that said 2wks Well ive yet to see 5 days or 2wks total darkness naturally in my 50+ yrs. So i dont agree either. goes against Nature

 

[Hackerman]

I don't know about that. I'm not saying I believe it but these seeds are anything but Nature. They are so inbred and hybred that it's like comparing a wild wolf to today's hybred dogs like a French Poodle.

One thing to do would be to ask the breeder why they suggest that. It might be sales bull but it's somewhere to start.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I believe all this stuff about stress and all but much of it has valid scientific basis. I believe it's true that a stressed plant could produce more resin but I wouldn't guess what kind of stress or how to administrate it.

And science works on principle so although a lab experiment may show some minor results, real life results are very often different that laboratory results.

The best thing to do is to experiment yourself. It's the only way to really know how an event affects you and you plants.

OK, everybody drive a nail through your best plant and report back. LMAO

 

[Hackerman]

I just asked them. I'll let you know what they say.

 

[Hackerman]

I'd suggest a good book like marijuana botany by Clark.

Her is what Clarke says in Marijuana Botany...

There is really no confirmed method of forcing increased THC production. Many techniques have
developed through misinterpretations of ancient tradition. In Colombia, farmers girdle the stalk of
the main stem, which cuts off the flow of water and nutrients between the roots and the shoots.
This technique may not raise the final THC level, but it does cause rapid maturation and yellow
gold coloration in the floral cluster (Partridge 1973). Impaling with nails, pine splinters, balls of
opium, and stones are clandestine folk methods of promoting flowering, taste and THC
production. However none of these have any valid documentation from the original culture or
scientific basis. Symbiotic relationships between herbs in companion plantings are known to
influence the production of essential oils. Experiments might be carried out with different herbs,
such as stinging nettles, as companion plants for Cannabis, in an effort to stimulate resin
production. In the future, agricultural techniques may be discovered which specifically promote
THC biosynthesis. In general, it is considered most important that the plant be healthy for it to
produce high THC levels. The genotype of the plant, a result of seed selection, is the primary
factor which determines the THC levels. After that, the provision of adequate organic nutrients,
water, sunlight, fresh air, growing space, and time for maturation seems to be the key to
producing high-THC Cannabis in all circumstances. Stress resulting from inadequacies in the
environment limits the true expression of phenotype and cannabinoid potential. Cannabis finds a
normal adaptive defense in the production of THC laden resins, and it seems logical that a
healthy plant is best able to raise this defense. Forcing plants to produce is a perverse ideal and
alien to the principles of organic agriculture. Plants are not machines that can be worked faster
and harder to produce more. The life processes of the plant rely on delicate natural balances
aimed at the ultimate survival of the plant until it reproduces. The most a Cannabis cultivator or
researcher can expect to do is provide all the requisites for healthy growth and guide the plant
until it matures.

 

[Rosebud]

Thank you for posting that. He makes so much sense.

 

[Locked]

I'd suggest a good book like marijuana botany by Clark. Once you understand how trics are actually produced you can roll you eyes when people make claims like this.

2cents

Best book on MJ I have ever purchased. Science over conjecture.

 

[Hackerman]

I used to read these books over and over. This one. The Grow Bible by Ed and every issue of High Times Magazine. LOL

It was all we had back then. No www to share info. Actually, my Grow Bible is a copy. I couldn't even get an original. LOL

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I don't know about that. I'm not saying I believe it but these seeds are anything but Nature. They are so inbred and hybred that it's like comparing a wild wolf to today's hybred dogs like a French Poodle.

One thing to do would be to ask the breeder why they suggest that. It might be sales bull but it's somewhere to start.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I believe all this stuff about stress and all but much of it has valid scientific basis. I believe it's true that a stressed plant could produce more resin but I wouldn't guess what kind of stress or how to administrate it.

And science works on principle so although a lab experiment may show some minor results, real life results are very often different that laboratory results.

The best thing to do is to experiment yourself. It's the only way to really know how an event affects you and you plants.

OK, everybody drive a nail through your best plant and report back. LMAO

Immature trichs do not get anyone high. I would love to see some real something that showed that stressed plants actually produce more resin and whether that resin was worth anything. I believe that this is an old wives tale. I have had occasion to take a plant out of flowering and put into another space in the dark for 5 or so days. This is always due to a screw up on my part of some kind--flowering space too full, sighting mites on another plant, etc, etc. However, I have never seen or tasted or noticed any differenc e in the high between a plant placed in dark for 5 days and others not. However this is just another antidotal story and worth not much. I really too would be interested in what the seedbank's give as their reason, as I have never actually seen any studies anywhere that actually show that stressing a plant is going to make it produce more THC.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Since I have been growing since the early 80s, I also depended on people like Rosenthal. However over the years I have come to understand that the guys that write the books really are not more informed than people here....they just write books. There is a lot of things that authors like Ed and Jorge write that I don't necessarily agree with. When you get down to it, their books express opinions, just like everyone here. Clarke on the other hand is solid scientific studies. Clarke is dry and not very exciting to read, but the info is solid and backed by studies.

 

[Hackerman]

I agree completely. There is a ton of stuff in those books that is archaic and not real accurate by today's standards.

Another thing about scientific theory, is that it is based upon facts, some related more than others. For example, the whole concept that pot would produce more resin from stress may have been based upon studies not even related to pot. Perhaps it was spice growers (like McCormick or some other giant corp) who wished to produce a stronger spice. They spend millions on experiments and research. Then, Clarke or some other writer picks this up and it gets translated to pot. Maybe from that, some people run experiments with pot and post their results. Others take those results and then other then others then others...

Next thing you know, we have a world of misinformation. LOL It's tough to sift through the mess of information and try to determine what is applicable to you and what is not.

I still say that he best thing to do is to try it yourself. Only then, will you really know for sure how the technique affects you and your plants. At best, you'll learn something new. At least, you'll be amused and enjoy the hobby.

On that note (and a different topic) I just received 6 of the 10 hygrometers that I ordered. I'm going to find out once and for all if the cheapo $2 units live up to the performance of the HydroSet SL Digital Hygrometer and the Caliber IV. I got 2 each of 5 different brands. It's a testing we shall go. LOL