Removing Fan Leaves?!

iloveit

Well-Known Member
Also if someone wants to increase the production/levels of THC in their buds the answer is to give them a 72-hour period of darkness before harvesting.

Research has shown that some strains will get as much as a 30% increase in levels of THC by giving them a 72-hour period of darkness before harvesting and a 30% increase in levels of THC is MASSIVE.

Unless someone is lollipopping or doing a SOG there is no valid reason to remove any leaves of any size at any time as long as they are healthy.
I am willing to try out the 72hr period of darkness before harvesting. But Im uncertain of when exactly to begin. Lets just assume that today is the day that I begin flushing (in 14 days from today Ill harvest), so should I give the plants 72hrs of darkness from the beginning on the 14th day or before the final hour of the 14th day? I hope this makes sense.
 

by1969

Well-Known Member
I asked this question the other day. Unfortunately, after I removed a lot of fan leaves right at the beginning of flowering stage. It really seemed to slow things down. I won't do it again..........
i believe fan leaves may be removed such as the lower oneS for light to get to it better
 

fartexpress

Active Member
the only plant material you should be trimming from the plant is the stuff that is dying. the plant will divert energy to the unhealthy leaves/stalks robbing energy from your buds so its best to trim those. the energy soaked up by the fan leaves will get used up at the damaged site instead of growing larger buds. but after so long the plant will give up on the damaged leaves and cut off all energy. trimming just speeds the process.

also, more powerful lights give you bigger buds because more energy is being offered to the plant. the fan leaves are able to absorb much more energy from a bigger light allowing the plant to grow bigger buds.

the people who trim healthy fan leaves forget about 1 very important thing...EVOLUTION. the plant has evolved over thousands of years into what we see today and fan leaves are an important part of the puzzle. :blsmoke:


i swear im going to copy/paste this every time i visit this site :-P


even tucking fan leaves under buds is a bad idea as its blocking some of the light from reaching the fan leaves.

here is the best analogy i can think of...

lets say your house was off the grid and relied 100% on solar energy. would you take your solar panels (fan leaves) off the roof and tuck them underneath your batteries (buds) to let more light get to the batteries? heck no, you want those solar panels to be exposed to as much light as possible.
 

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
Put unneccesary stress and possible wounds on the plant and remove their means of gathering light
That's it in a nutshell - the large fan leaves process the nutrients for the plant & should not be removed unless they are damaged badly or dead. Lots of info on this subject on this site - try a search & see.
Peace
 

SlikWiLL13

Well-Known Member
i swear im going to copy/paste this every time i visit this site :-P



here is the best analogy i can think of...

lets say your house was off the grid and relied 100% on solar energy. would you take your solar panels (fan leaves) off the roof and tuck them underneath your batteries (buds) to let more light get to the batteries? heck no, you want those solar panels to be exposed to as much light as possible.
yeah, we go over this almost daily.:wall:

thats is a great analogy. did you read my one about stapling stomachs?
 

ThaBigBinkk

Well-Known Member
Alright i'll eat my own foot on that earlier post. I agree with SlikWill use clones not seeds if you were to try an experiment. And BrickTop where is this research at? i'd like to give that shit a shot. why not.

AnothaDay, AnothaDolla
 

SlikWiLL13

Well-Known Member
Alright i'll eat my own foot on that earlier post. I agree with SlikWill use clones not seeds if you were to try an experiment. And BrickTop where is this research at? i'd like to give that shit a shot. why not.

AnothaDay, AnothaDolla
get that thing out of your mouth...do you have any idea where its been!


welcome to RIU:bigjoint:
 

holmes

Well-Known Member
i prefer to tie them away from bud site with a twisty tie, but if its easier i do cut a couple leaves to open a bud site, but very few.
i have not noticed any benefits or any negatives.
the opened up site will kick into high gear and grow some bigger leaves
crowded plants may also benefit from a circulation increase

but dont cut all of them, use good judgement, cutting all of them slows things down
 

Brick Top

New Member
I am willing to try out the 72hr period of darkness before harvesting. But Im uncertain of when exactly to begin. Lets just assume that today is the day that I begin flushing (in 14 days from today Ill harvest), so should I give the plants 72hrs of darkness from the beginning on the 14th day or before the final hour of the 14th day? I hope this makes sense.
At the end just before harvest. Now the plants will still mature more in the dark so you do not want to wait until your trichomes are dark amber/almost brown and then let them turn brown on you so you do have to factor in the 72-hours but is it not like in most cases there is any risk.

If you watch the progression of your trichomes and you know you are down to the last day or two cut the lights and let them sit in as much dark as you can provide.
 

Brick Top

New Member
Alright i'll eat my own foot on that earlier post. I agree with SlikWill use clones not seeds if you were to try an experiment. And BrickTop where is this research at? i'd like to give that shit a shot. why not.

AnothaDay, AnothaDolla

The Stichting Institute of medical Marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmicies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboritories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency.

SIMM's growers seperated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darknessfor 72 hours before cutting and drying.

Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen increases of THC of up to 30 %, while the CBD and CBN remained the same.
 

iloveit

Well-Known Member
At the end just before harvest. Now the plants will still mature more in the dark so you do not want to wait until your trichomes are dark amber/almost brown and then let them turn brown on you so you do have to factor in the 72-hours but is it not like in most cases there is any risk.

If you watch the progression of your trichomes and you know you are down to the last day or two cut the lights and let them sit in as much dark as you can provide.
Its my first grow & I have 4 Blueberry plants (dutch passion) so predicting the day of harvest is going to be difficult, Ill try anyway & if I dont feel up to it Ill try during the 2nd grow for sure. Thank you for bringing this method to my attention.
 

iloveit

Well-Known Member
The Stichting Institute of medical Marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmicies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboritories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency.

SIMM's growers seperated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darknessfor 72 hours before cutting and drying.

Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen increases of THC of up to 30 %, while the CBD and CBN remained the same.
When I was in bed last night a question poped up in my mind regarding the 72hr dark period:
Should I carry on watering in my hydro setup as usual during the 72hrs?
 

XxNinjaxX

Well-Known Member
Im pretty sure u do, just straight water tho, and not as much - i mean ur plants r still alive and developing so i would think they stil need the moisture..
 

SlikWiLL13

Well-Known Member
When I was in bed last night a question poped up in my mind regarding the 72hr dark period:
Should I carry on watering in my hydro setup as usual during the 72hrs?
i havent tried the dark thing yet(im gonna in a week!) but i always stop watering 48 hours before the chop. bud and the root ball dry faster.
 

dombud

Member
I see what your saying about the big leaves. My plant is 2weeks and a bit and i want to cut off some of the baby sprouting leaves/puny branches, to let the higher parts flourish more. The nodes are really tight and its gonna be a short plant for sure.The stem sees surprisingy fat, and i though maybe the bottom straglers were holding it back? I bent the neck yesterday as it happens, and i tied it to the side. It looks pretty good so far. ty!
 
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