48 hours of darkness--thoughts?

[roseypeach]

Well thanks to everyone who answered. I did end up leaving her in the dark for 48 hours. Just got her out this evening and trimmed her up. My old man says it looks like a couple of good ounces..whatever it is, it will do for the winter. I only had the one plant, my clones died its all good, I have some kush seeds that I will be starting in January.

Here's the finished product.....

 

[sworth]

Actually quite a lot! Most of the THC is produced in the last couple weeks, so a few days is a high percentage.

Yeh..but how much?

 

[Learn2Grow]

Yeh..but how much?

Depends on the strain... but all strains only have around 3% THC up until the final couple weeks. Also we know that the plant stores UV energy to make THC but that doesn't mean that it cannot make THC during hours of darkness. Think of it as a constant tug of war and so you help give a bit more tug on the THC end. I hear you guys.. I just know what I am talking about. and the effect of CBN is a tranquilizer effect. It does work with THC by sedating the affect what they call "couch lock". As far as a drug strain goes you want the soaring high affect that THC produces and should do everything in your power to optimize its production, especially when the method allows your room to open up a week sooner. I get 8 harvests per year whith 8 week strains instead of 6 and a half..

 

[chickengutz]

When you trim the buds and place them in a dark room to dry they are still growing for a day or two.

Like one poster said, a lot of cultivation information is based on interesting theories but no scientific evidence to back them up. I don't bother with it,or anything, until I see some good hard evidence. The plant has been growing for 1000s of years under conditions it likes. Why mess with that.

We need more people like you on RIU.

 

[Learn2Grow]

When you trim the buds and place them in a dark room to dry they are still growing for a day or two.

Like one poster said, a lot of cultivation information is based on interesting theories but no scientific evidence to back them up. I don't bother with it,or anything, until I see some good hard evidence. The plant has been growing for 1000s of years under conditions it likes. Why mess with that.

Yea the plant has been growing for thousands of years in a 12 on 12 off High Pressure Sodium lighting 7 week bloom period... better not mess with that at all

 

[Alexander Supertramp]

If you look into the findings of the Stitching Institute of Medical Marijuana on this subject you will find scientific data, with numbers, that strongly support the darkness theory......

 

[gaztron3030]

Yea the plant has been growing for thousands of years in a 12 on 12 off High Pressure Sodium lighting 7 week bloom period... better not mess with that at all

The things you sarcasticly dismiss are the best way to simulate the flowering period in nature which has been growing this way for 1000's of years.
If you think we know better than nature then you sir are just plain ignorant.
Now I say Good Day Sir

I say Good Day!

 

[Opm]

If you look into the findings of the Stitching Institute of Medical Marijuana on this subject you will find scientific data, with numbers, that strongly support the darkness theory......

I'd love to read some of it. How do I find this info?

 

[Edgar9]

Well thanks to everyone who answered. I did end up leaving her in the dark for 48 hours. Just got her out this evening and trimmed her up. My old man says it looks like a couple of good ounces..whatever it is, it will do for the winter. I only had the one plant, my clones died its all good, I have some kush seeds that I will be starting in January.

Here's the finished product.....


View attachment 2353700View attachment 2353701

Looks like less than one ounce dried. You lose a lot when things dry out.

 

[Alexander Supertramp]

I'd love to read some of it. How do I find this info?

Its be awhile since I have read the report. Bricktop has posted the info somewhere here at RIU. I will try too find it and post a link....

 

[Alexander Supertramp]

https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/508797-7-days-dark-final-flush-2.html post 18. Bashing aside its a pretty informative thread It may take me awhile to go through the news letters from the institute to find the actual report. But I will post it as soon as i find it.

 

[imchucky666]

• 
  

  • I am stuck on these darkness threads now because I am shocked that no one knows the reason why this works. I must be the only one who reads scholarly journals on growing....
    
    http://www.weedfarmer.com/cannabis/botany_guide.php
    "Light energy has been collected and utilized by the plant in a long series of reactions resulting in the formation of THC acids. Farther along the pathway begins the formation of degradation products not metabolically produced by the living plant. These cannabinoid acids are formed through the progressive degradation of THC acids to CBN acid (cannabinolic acid) and other cannabinoid acids. The degradation is accomplished primarily by heat and light and is not enzymatically controlled by the plant. CBN is also suspected of synergistic modification of the psychoactivity of the primary cannabinoids, THCs. The cannabinoid balance between CBC, CBD, THC, and CBN is determined by genetics and maturation. THC production is an ongoing process as long as the glandular trichome remains active. Variations in the level of THC in the same trichome as it matures are the result of THC acid being broken down to CBN acid while CBD acid is being converted to THC acid. If the rate of THC biosynthesis exceeds the rate of THC breakdown, the THC level in the trichome rises; if the breakdown rate is faster than the rate of biosynthesis, the THC level drops." (page 4
    
    
    
    Read a book before you tell people they are wrong when they are only trying to help. It is not helpful to seem sure of things you are not. Removing the plant from the light and heat allows for the THC breakdown rate to decrease by slowly the conversion of THC to CBN. If we could grow a plant in the dark it would have astronomically high thc levels.. but the closest we can come is a few days of dark coldness at the end when there is little to no plant growth left. The plant does not need light to continue metabolic processes.
    
    
  • 
    
    • 
      

      • http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2159.html
        
        
        
        
        

      
      
      "Harvesting in the morning ensures that your plant will be at peak THC content, as cannabis has shown THC fluctuations peaking in morning and dropping during the day. Some growers leave their lights off for several days before harvest to increase potency. This seems to have some scientific validity as light has been shown to degrade THC, hence the morning peaks. As light is the degrading factor and the plant still has the ability to manufacture THC during darkness, leaving the lights off for a day or two before harvest likely utilizes the plants stored potential for THC conversion without any opportunity for it to be degraded into cannabinol (CBN) and other breakdown products.8"
      
      
      

      • This plant sat for 6 days in the COLD dark before it was finally cut. See the point of this is that I have already moved my plants into the bloom room. You can move the plants out of the room at 50% amber and they will finish in the dark. Overall you gain between 1 to 2 weeks or several thousand dollars per year using this method. Not only do the plants not suffer from this but they will actually improve. There is no downside to using this method, just make sure the plants are DRY before moving them out of the room. They will not wilt in the cold dark atmosphere but will mold if they are watered prior to moving into the ripening room. Using ten gallon smart pots of ready gro/worm casting mix, with 6 foot trees, I give two days after flush to dry out completely and then move the plants out and move my new line in. Let them sit for two days minimum then start trimming one at a time.
        ​
        
        

      
      ​
      
      
      
      
    
    

  ​
  
  
  
  

All that sounds intelligent, but I am curious as to why this is stating

• 
  

  • 
    
    • 
      
      • 
        
        • You can move the plants out of the room at 50% amber and they will finish in the dark.
          
          If this is true, why don't more people advocate waiting until 50% amber?
          
        
        
    
    

  ​
  
  
  
  

 

[QuitChIeFiN]

Before the last 72hrs you will want to flush the grow medium thoroughly. During the last 24-48hrs you should shut off the lights (thc is light sensitive and the plants will be utilizing sugars already produced by photosynthesis during this period). Overall this will increase taste and potency by flushing the plant of fertilizers and sugars which simply don't taste good when burned.

 

[Learn2Grow]

All that sounds intelligent, but I am curious as to why this is stating [/B]

• 
  

  • 
    
    • 
      
      • 
        
        • You can move the plants out of the room at 50% amber and they will finish in the dark.
          
          If this is true, why don't more people advocate waiting until 50% amber?
          
        
        
    
    

  ​
  
  

You are correct. Sorry for being confusing. I was talking about the hairs withering back and dying, turning amber. I stopped checking the trichomes many, many harvests ago. If you go by trichomes I would move them out around the first signs of ambering.

 

[Learn2Grow]

The things you sarcasticly dismiss are the best way to simulate the flowering period in nature which has been growing this way for 1000's of years.
If you think we know better than nature then you sir are just plain ignorant.
Now I say Good Day Sir

I say Good Day!

I' saying nature provides longer darkness periods and freezing cold temperatures toward the end of bloom. If you are trying to be more like nature then the perfect 12 hour sunny day FAKE rooms we have constructed is not the best means. Introducing cold and dark at the end does work. The only way you think it doesn't is if you have personally failed. So why not try again rather than be bitter.

 

[1megadeth]

UV turns THC in CBN, oxigen does it too, so as heat.

Some info on CBN

"CBN is also psychoactive, though much less so than THC
The presence of CBN with THC seems to reduce the feelings of anxiety that some people feel with high levels of THC
The presence of higher levels of CBN with THC can cause people to feel less "messed up" from exposure to THC
Too much CBN can make people feel groggy or sleepy
Therefore, CBN promotes uninterrupted sleep
THC turns into CBN when exposed for long periods to air or UV light
CBN levels in buds can be influenced by harvest, drying, and curing methods
Waiting longer to harvest, until trichomes have turned amber, often results in higher CBN levels
Higher exposure to air during drying/curing, and longer curing processes result in higher levels of CBN"

Robert Clark wrote about trichomes and what they tell us in his book “Marijuana Botany”;
“The elevated resin heads appear clear, since fresh resin is still being secreted, often being produced in the cellular head of the trichome. At this time THC acid production is at a peak and CBD acid levels remain stable as the molecules are rapidly converted to THC acids, THC acid synthesis has not been active long enough for a high level of CBN acid to build up from the degradation of THC acid by light and heat."


I´ve read that fresh buds have a low CBN rate, it will increase when curing/storing.
As the plant need light to produce THC, that 48hrs of dark will stop THC production and thats not what you want.
As flowers grow they produce THC, if light and air could oxide THC that fast, we where going to have a lot of CBN even in fresh buds.

THC production in 48hrs is bigger than the oxidation caused by the light in the same period of time, and as oxigen also turns THC to CBN 48hrs of dark wont stop the oxidation but will stop THC production.
Simple math?
So, if u dont want too much CBN, just harvest before u get a lot of amber flowers, dry it, and store it properly.

Thats MY opinion.

 

[Kush2180]

Even if putting the plant in 48 hours of darkness works and results in more thc. It won't make a difference to potency as the THC will be immature... It will only make the plant look better.

 

[Alexander Supertramp]

The SIMM report contains nothing about additional resin glands or frostier buds. Nor does it have much to do with clear/amber ratios. Its about preserving the THC levels created during the dark and not allowing them to be destroyed by the next lights on cycle. Its 72 hrs max. in the dark. Pretty much after that the plant has used its reserves and begins too die.

 

[Learn2Grow]

What a boring argument... Always trust when 90% of people are in agreement against you, it is because you are in the 90th percentile. These people spend to much time online and not enough time in their gardens.

 

[roseypeach]

Looks like less than one ounce dried. You lose a lot when things dry out.

I think you are right about that. Next year I'm growing at least three plants.