Shortening the lights after 12/12?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by differentsmokesforfolks, Oct 15, 2021.

  1. Not sure if this has been gone over a million times or not but anyway.....

    Would shortening the light cycle for the last few weeks of flower help 'trick' the plant in to thinking 'sh1t dude, winters here, get this stuff done yesterday!!!'

    I hear people say about 48 hours of darkness (also hear people say this is bull so ya know) before harvest to increase the THC, if this is true, could that be partly the reason? And would this be logical or am I overthinking this from an idiots perspective?

    I am currently dropping 30 mins on light per week for the last 4 weeks of flower, these are bag seeds and I don't have any other data to go against, but I thought I'd ask if I'm just wasting my time pretty much.

    Sent from my CPH2005 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  2. #2 GroBuddy, Oct 15, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2021
    48 hours of darkness is once flowering is finished before chopping down. Do whatever you like with the light hours. It may work my thought is plants absorb so much light in one day, lessening the amount you provide may take away from yield, probably minimum but the final 2 weeks is when they fatten up

    If harvest is a month away and you're dropping time every week still ending in a month really no point. If you can't drop time a couple months from harvest then pull several weeks sooner really no point. Then really you're just getting a few weeks if it messes with yield that could be an ounce or more total lost for a couple to few weeks after growing for 4 or 5 months
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 2
  3. Thanks for your input.

    I get that I'm kinda robbing a few hours of light from them a week. My thinking is just like how the 12/12 cycle triggers them to change, maybe they can also 'tell the time' so to speak by the sun and this would help them with the final push?? So maybe the loss of a few hours of light could possibly be out weight by the plants need to finish with what light/life it thinks it has left?

    Sent from my CPH2005 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  4. Ive started to run less light the last few weeks of flower. People who say they fatten up the most in the last couple weeks are likely harvesting 2-4 weeks to early. The last couple weeks of maturing you should see very little change in the flowers. If your options are: 1. cut now, or 2. drop from 12 hours of 1000w light down to 10 hours of 600w light for a couple more weeks, I would definitely go with option 2. The last couple weeks of flower should really just be ripening. In the natural outdoor cycle of things plants dont get much light at the end of the growing cycle compared to at the start of flower. Lot of plants start to get stressed out and foxtail under intense light at the end of flower.

    But to answer your question of whether or not it will speed things up, It definitely will not. If anything the flowers will mature slower but I say thats a good thing. everyone is always in such a big hurry.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
  5. #5 GroBuddy, Oct 15, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2021
    Never is my weed pulled 2 to 4 weeks too early.


    Side note, I need to go get them few dead ass leaves I missed. Haven't even seen them until I took that picture lol. In my defense that was a lot of trimming.
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Sorry if it came across as speed things up.
    What I ment exactly was more like "would lower the lights for the last few weeks of flowering be just as effective as keeping 12/12, if anything would following the natural fewer hours of light natural cycle mean there's less stress and the plant finishes just as good if not maybe even better ?? Maybe not a bigger yield per watt, but a nicer smoker for the same amount of time in total??
    A little bit less light doesn't mean lesser quality in smoke, just a lesser yeild. To put in into a single sentence.

    Thanks.

    Sent from my CPH2005 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  7. Imo the quality of smoke relies more so on drying and curing. The plant when still rooted the quality is based on potency when the plant is harvested, the strain, & genetics will determine that amount.
     
  8. Right which is pretty much what I answered. I dont think it affects yield or potency if your just shaving off a couple hours.
     
  9. Got any pictures of it before it was dried?
     
  10. #10 GroBuddy, Oct 16, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
    That I do not, I'll basically just take pics as needed then restart with each grow. Closest I have is I'd say like a month away maybe a little more. It looked the same on a stick in my tent as it does in the jars or trim bin.

    Also tbh this past grow was my first run with all organic dry amendments and cooked reused soil. They looked pretty shitty come harvest, probably why I didn't think to take pics before chopping down.
     
  11. #11 GroBuddy, Oct 16, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
    If a flowering plant can absorb 14.5 hours of light because anything under 14.5hrs will induce flowering. So it can use 14.5 hours and you're only giving it 10 you dont think that will effect yield. I know if I vegged with 15 hrs I dont think the plant would grow as vigorously or as full

    That's 28hrs in a week of missed light. That's like saying a plant growing in shade and one in direct sun will produce the same. Let's just say the last month of flower for one was shaded no one would do that if they could help it
     
  12. Definitely shouldnt look the same when its alive as when its dried. If your buds looked like that on the plant I dont think you should be giving anyone advice.

    P3170367.JPG P3020289.JPG P3020206.JPG

    At a certain point they stop adding weight and they just ripen. Its like strawberries and bananas. You can let them ripen on the plant or you can pick them and let them ripen on a cargo ship/truck to wherever they are going. You dont get that luxury with weed. It has to be alive while it ripens.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Funny Funny x 1
  13. Ok sick man will answer your question. Yes been fighting some shit for two weeks . Meds from doctors finally starting to work. No its not from a dirty girl lmao there all tested !
    Ok 10/14 through the entire flowering cycle will be faster . week or two faster . But lose about 20 to 30 percent yield . Now Changing from 12/12 to 10/12 the last two weeks will for sure speed things up a bit. How much ? Depends on that strand so on . i will educated guess it will shave 5 days off from 14.
    Results saves the electricity . Faster harvest.
    Downside ? Its done already you have to get something new in that tent asap ! .
    Depending on what strand your running you should switch to 10/14. If your using only fast something in the true 8 week i would stick with the 12/12 reason there still fattening up. but triclomes are getting rip very fast .
    Now that sativa that calls for 14 i would switch to 10/14 at week 11 . get it done already ( whats taking so long ? )>
     
  14. #14 GroBuddy, Oct 16, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2021
    @420JoeBlow How many people I steer wrong? Hold that talk for someone who gives af. That's the reason I ignored you all them months ago idk why I decided to look at the ignored content and get sucked into your bullshit as usual when we converse with each other.

    Let a mfer grow new ways using new equipment and new type of soil with a different type of nutrients everything doesn't go right mfer shouldnt be giving advise lol if you say you have a perfect grow everytime then either you haven't grown enough or you're growing the exact same way everytime. Try growing with a 193 watt florescent to a ROI-e720 then stop using your bought soil for some home made reused soil. You have no idea of the nkp of that soil how strong it is or how long it'll feed then on top of that use a completely different nutrient from liquid to dry both used differently. But all 3 are the main components for a good harvest. Then on top of that have 24 plants going. I'll be the first to say 24 plants dont get the same love as 2 to 4 in one tent. I pulled over 30 ounces from my 4x4 last grow not including the 2 1/2 zip lock bags of shake and buds I didn't wanna trim or were too small to keep. That's with a fucked up grow. Also what my buds weren't big enough for autos that started flowering before day 30? none of my pics were big bud searching, I'm not on here to show off I'm on here to provide help I do 3 runs a year this past grow I had 9 folders 9 x 3 is 28 I've been growing for 4 years that's why i dont keep pics of every little aspect of my grow. Where i live i dont have any friends or family i dont show pics to anyone but users of GC. It's so much bs to be questioned, I've been on here for 2 years, never have I ruined someone's plants. So what if I change up my style looking for easier or simpler ways to grow, you try something new it hardly ever pans out perfect. But the second run using the same stuff usually gives a better look. More so 3rd and 4th run. I've been growing long enough to know what's happening doesn't mean nothing ever happens, or I'll fix it in a timely manner. When for a personal grow you're pulling 2 to 4 or more pounds every 4 months you dont care about stuff as much. Meaning jumping on every little issue. If you can change all of that and still have a solid grow then I applaud you, most of us aren't that keen and have to use a method a couple to few times before we get the hang of every aspect. Until you grow a new way no matter how much experience you have you'll run into issues you didn't even consider due to you never using that method. If that wasn't the case we wouldn't have sections everyone would grow every way instead of the method they've perfected. Not one time over the past 4 years have I grown the exact same way.
     
  15. Easy everyone....
    You can also just dim ( or raise) the lighting back to 50- 75% for the last 10-14 days. No need to lose daylight hours, just intensity. :thumbsup:
     
  16. I can only have my lights on 10 plus hours a day to compensate I add another 2 weeks to the grow, as for fading the lights as per you, No it don't work, see Bugbee on you tube for details its volume of info

    cheers
     

Share This Page