I read that a lot of people are saying that you need to shock the plants into getting ready when switching over from 18/6 to 12/12 by putting them in total darkness for 24 to 48 hours? Any suggestions?
i always just go straight to 12/12 and its worked fine for me. i usually do the extended darkness (24-48) right before i cut em down when they're ready for harvest
i've tried that before, but now i have a rotating garden with several different varieties at different stages of growth, with some going in and coming out of the flowering room every few weeks or so, so i just take 'em from the veg room to the flower room and i've had no problems, always see flowers forming within 2 weeks (unless there's some other stress). the dark period before transition may hasten flowering, but i didn't see a big difference when i did it before my rotating schedule. but, hey, if people say it, there must be something to it! i'm a fairly patient person and i seem to be able to wait for those longer flowering varieties better than some people i know, so i've never been in a big hurry to rush 'em. although, the darkness (a day or two) before harvest does seem to improve the quality a bit, i have noticed.
there is no need for a dark period like that.just switching to a 12/12 cycle is enough.although giving your plant 48 hours of dark before chopping her is said to swell the crystals up,but i havnt tried this yet