Admin, not sure what section to put this in. If you have to move it I apologize. A lot of people go back and forth about this and I would like to take the opportunity to speak my peace on this subject. It is said that the 24-48 hours of darkness improves yield. I have found that to be super false. Improves scent and taste. Maybe scent (could be a placebo though) but taste is the same. It does however improve bag appeal. I'm not sure if it grows more trichomes (I doubt it, I assume it should take more than 2 days to grow any, plus there's no friggin light) but it does look super kiefier. If that's even a word. Definitely not a placebo, for some reason is sparkles like that vampire from twilight. Maybe the trichomes swell up a bit? Who knows. I've even done side by sides. Many many times. I can't explain it but she gets super premium. I for one continue to do my 48 hours of darkness. It makes my customers happy. Plus during the 48 hours I keep temps at a solid 70 degrees so she can blue and purple a bit. What's everyone else's experience with it?
Ok so my plants has now been in darkness for a bit over a day. The pic I posted was about 2 hours before the lights turned off. Here's the same flower now. As you can see. Slightly swollen trichomes and maybe even some new ones. I can see some tiny transparent ones that weren't there recently. There's also a few new pistils that just sprouted, those will yellow off and Amber during the hang dry. I'll update tomorrow with a 48 hour pic
So it's been about 46 hours since lights off. To continue the experiment. I will continue to add pictures of the bud while its drying. So we can get a good idea how much trichomes degrade and how Amber pistils get during the dry. As of now. All the smaller new trichomes have heads on them now. The seed pods look slightly more swollen too.
And here it is. 48 hours of darkness later and proof that the flowers have more resin. Gonna harvest these babies in a few hours. As you can see in all the pics I've posted. The flower has gained more and more resin over these 48 hours. I'll make sure to chase this with some bud shots over the course of the drying period.
What a day! Sorry for the late update but the scissor hash got to me! Here's a pic of her now sporting a crusty coat of trichomes and some nice color. As you can see, she's going to make for a very fine smoke! Comparing resin from my very first post till now, you can see that the 48 hours of darkness is the real deal. And on this pic I have a lovely one hang drying. On the upper left you can see a small fingered leaf that's just caked with resin. This 48 hour thing is just way too easy, I laugh when I read about folks who have tried it and have seen no difference. Either these folks are lying or they did it wrong. I don't know how it's possible to do it wrong though. But whatever.
I use F & D hydro. About 10 days before going dark, I begin to dilute the nutes by ~ 50% I also use Amare Tech LEDs, which have a separate red light switch. At ~ 5 days I dilute nutes another 50% and turn off the white leds, so plants are bathing in all red (this may not be necessary). Depending on how quickly the plants respond, I begin the dark period of 2-4 days
So I've heard from growers that I know in my area that it isn't just the darkness, it's also the lower temperature that changes the buds (or so they believe) I even know a guy who for the last day or two puts a case or two of frozen water bottles or something similar in the room with the plants to drop that temp a little more. He swears by it. I'm skeptical
Believe it or not. The flush is a myth. This past can cup I walked around with a ziplock full of flushed pre rolls and another full of unflushed pre rolls. Everyone said they tasted the same. The harsh taste usually comes from chlorophyll. And the only way to get rid of that taste is either curing or trimming a little lighter. Flushing does nothing. I know folks who drop temps too. And I've seen it with my own eyes. I also try it every now and then. It definitely works.
Keehs - maybe I will give it a try, I mean it can't hurt as far as I can see.(unless you go way too low) I'm just the skeptical type Whether the flush be a myth or not, I've noticed people love those or any other placebo effects haha. I've read some articles and posts that say flushing is a myth too but let's be honest, growers have flushed for years and have had great results. They aren't likely to stop because it's tried an true as far as they're concerned. I'll probably keep flushing personally too. But do you
Your experience only proves that most people are stoners, and not sophisticated enough to taste the difference Most f my bud light light drinkers ca'n't stand quality beer
Dispensary owners, professional growers and professional breeders couldn't tell either. A myth is a myth. Luckily, flushing has no adverse effects. I no longer flush. No one has noticed.
BS. Dispensary owners are happy with any half way decent bud that they can peddle for a dollar. AND many growers use way too much so-called "BLOOM nutes, which add horrendous amounts of Potassium (I meant Phosphorus, a key component in gun powder) to the bud, which burns nasty
Regardless. In my experience flushing does nothing. But don't take my word for it. Harvest one with out flushing her and another that was flushed. Try to keep it the same strain. Then after she's dry but before the cure. Give it a try. I challenge everyone. This myth has to be dispelled already. Farmers don't flush their lettuce or tomatoes right? Just try it. No one. And I mean no one will be able to tell. If your a placebo ridden fool (like myself) roll a few up. Invite some friends. Ask them which tastes smoother. As crooked as dispensary owners are, they do care about their weedmaps stats. They won't put just anything on their shelves. At least not the owners I've met. I have heard stories of other dispensary owners that sell outdoor grown at indoor grown prices and other shady practices.
As far as the bloom additives, yeah a lot of people really do. A good pk boost is all you really need. I use fox farms finishing powders (half strength) and that's it. But I know some growers that use a million different things. It's crazy.
When growing in hydro, it is easy to flush, dropping 50% every ~ 5 days, leading to a final flush < 200ppm. This pulls any excess nutes out Also, in hydro ppms can be cut > 50% as it allows for multiple feedings per day
I just put my plants in a dark room, and a reduced light room (100w cfl as opposed to 1000w hps). both plants put out a fresh set of of sparkly trichomes. So I am thinking it might have to do with light intensity, and temperature, not the actual darkness.