Testing a new light theory.

[InAwe]

So I have seen people talking about keeping your plant in 48 hours of darkness before harvest. I have also seen people talking about dimming the lighting all in order to force the plant into giving it's all as if it were in its final days. Personally, IMHO, this doesn't make much sense because it does not mimic nature. I decided to start reducing the light cycle by 15 min at each end in the final week before harvest. To me, this would semi simulate the shorter days when switching to a colder season. Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any scientific knowledge as to why this would or would not be effective? Thank you much in advance!

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I've gone from 12/12 to 11/13 late in flower. I've also reduced the temperature. I've considered reducing the light intensity but haven't done it. These types of changes somewhat mimic the change of the season in nature. I can't cite any science, but Dr. Bruce Bugbee addressed that question of using complete darkness in one of his videos and he said it didn't make sense to him. He said it wouldn't do any good because the plant wouldn't be able to do much growing or ripening without photosynthesis.

 

[InAwe]

I've gone from 12/12 to 11/13 late in flower. I've also reduced the temperature. I've considered reducing the light intensity but haven't done it. These types of changes somewhat mimic the change of the season in nature. I can't cite any science, but Dr. Bruce Bugbee addressed that question of using complete darkness in one of his videos and he said it didn't make sense to him. He said it wouldn't do any good because the plant wouldn't be able to do much growing or ripening without photosynth

I've gone from 12/12 to 11/13 late in flower. I've also reduced the temperature. I've considered reducing the light intensity but haven't done it. These types of changes somewhat mimic the change of the season in nature. I can't cite any science, but Dr. Bruce Bugbee addressed that question of using complete darkness in one of his videos and he said it didn't make sense to him. He said it wouldn't do any good because the plant wouldn't be able to do much growing or ripening without photosynthesis.

The only way I can imagine that dimming would play a role, is by simulating cloud cover which is not solely seasonal. I have reduced the temp and humidity which makes sense and many concur on. I will report back after harvest as one strain I have already grown recently so I can compare. Although, it won't be a very comprehensive comparison due to the fact that the first plant was one of my first grows and a learning curve to say the least The second incarnation is already noticeably more productive The promising accounts of innovative light deprivation have noted higher terpene presence due to the taste and smell. This is what I am hoping to achieve. I will report back if there is anything solid that I can deduct from this trial.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I forgot to mention that I lower the humidity, too. I think that's commonly done.

 

[OldOneEye]

So I have seen people talking about keeping your plant in 48 hours of darkness before harvest. I have also seen people talking about dimming the lighting all in order to force the plant into giving it's all as if it were in its final days. Personally, IMHO, this doesn't make much sense because it does not mimic nature. I decided to start reducing the light cycle by 15 min at each end in the final week before harvest. To me, this would semi simulate the shorter days when switching to a colder season. Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any scientific knowledge as to why this would or would not be effective? Thank you much in advance!

Lights in a grow room can not compare to the power of the sun. So to mimic the sun by nature's time seems counter productive to me.

 

[InAwe]

Lights in a grow room can not compare to the power of the sun. So to mimic the sun by nature's time seems counter productive to me.

I'm confused by your statement. All we are doing when growing indoors is replicating nature

 

[Eledin]

Lowering temps and humidity for late flower is good. Dark periods before harvest are only noticeable in my summer grows where a lot of terpenes sadly get evaporated by the light since I cant keep the temperatures down, otherwise its quite useless, its only done because amongst other things, during the dark cycle they regenerate terpenes that got evaporated during the light cycle.
We are trying to mimick nature to some extent, in my experience the only thing Ive gotten out of gradually removing light instead of doing it in 1 or 2 sittings is prolongate the flowering period which for me is counterproductive. Indoors doesnt take as long as outdoors and I like it that way
That said the plants will be less stressed if you do it gradually but arent we stressing them all the time to get more yields anyway? They can handle a light swap from 18/6 to 12/12 with minor stress so why bother

 

[InAwe]

Lowering temps and humidity for late flower is good. Dark periods before harvest are only noticeable in my summer grows where a lot of terpenes sadly get evaporated by the light since I cant keep the temperatures down, otherwise its quite useless, its only done because amongst other things, during the dark cycle they regenerate terpenes that got evaporated during the light cycle.
We are trying to mimick nature to some extent, in my experience the only thing Ive gotten out of gradually removing light instead of doing it in 1 or 2 sittings is prolongate the flowering period which for me is counterproductive. Indoors doesnt take as long as outdoors and I like it that way
That said the plants will be less stressed if you do it gradually but arent we stressing them all the time to get more yields anyway? They can handle a light swap from 18/6 to 12/12 with minor stress so why bother

That's pretty much my MO. I figure if it is subtle, ntm at the end of the grow, why not try and see if you tell any difference. Autos are used to the colder seasons so it seems fitting. I have noticed a much more dense aroma.

 

[InAwe]

So I have seen people talking about keeping your plant in 48 hours of darkness before harvest. I have also seen people talking about dimming the lighting all in order to force the plant into giving it's all as if it were in its final days. Personally, IMHO, this doesn't make much sense because it does not mimic nature. I decided to start reducing the light cycle by 15 min at each end in the final week before harvest. To me, this would semi simulate the shorter days when switching to a colder season. Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any scientific knowledge as to why this would or would not be effective? Thank you much in advance!

PS, I probably should have mentioned these are autos. Fyi

 

[Eledin]

Oh! Ive never done that with autos, I tried growing them under 12/12 though and it was a mess, maybe with a more decent panel than mine could be doable. Anyway, theyre autos because they have the ruderalis genetic and ruderalis grows in places where you dont have conventional light cycles like southern siberia. They are used to having a lot of light but with lower intensity, they also cant rely on photoperiods because the sun might be out all day for months (like in sweden) thats why they flower without any light change needed. That said, I have not experimented with autos besides trying to grow them inside a photoperiodic tent or the usual 20/4 schedule from start to finish.

 

[InAwe]

Oh! Ive never done that with autos, I tried growing them under 12/12 though and it was a mess, maybe with a more decent panel than mine could be doable. Anyway, theyre autos because they have the ruderalis genetic and ruderalis grows in places where you dont have conventional light cycles like southern siberia. They are used to having a lot of light but with lower intensity, they also cant rely on photoperiods because the sun might be out all day for months (like in sweden) thats why they flower without any light change needed. That said, I have not experimented with autos besides trying to grow them inside a photoperiodic tent or the usual 20/4 schedule from start to finish.

I'm trying to finish out Trainwreck and an F1 Titan under these conditions.

 

[Eledin]

Looking good! Ill be around to check on the results. Im not a fan of autos but sometimes I do plant them and actually Im dumb because I have 2 autos inside a photoperiodic tent right now and my plan is to delay 12/12 as much as possible or maybe stick with 14/10 since I know photos flower at 14/10 even if slower but autos in my tents dont do well under 12/12. I heard a lot of good things about trainwreck never tried it myself, on my to do list, with maaany other strains hahaha. Titan F1 is from RQS right? I have not tried their fast versions or any fast version for that matter, so their light schedule is like an auto?

 

[InAwe]

Looking good! Ill be around to check on the results. Im not a fan of autos but sometimes I do plant them and actually Im dumb because I have 2 autos inside a photoperiodic tent right now and my plan is to delay 12/12 as much as possible or maybe stick with 14/10 since I know photos flower at 14/10 even if slower but autos in my tents dont do well under 12/12. I heard a lot of good things about trainwreck never tried it myself, on my to do list, with maaany other strains hahaha. Titan F1 is from RQS right? I have not tried their fast versions or any fast version for that matter, so their light schedule is like an auto?

Yes, decent yield, 70 days germ to harvest. I have grown one already and it's almost done curing. However, she was pretty much my first successful harvest so, needless to say, mistakes were made lol This incarnation has faired much better. This is the dried cola from the first F1.

 

[InAwe]

I procured a solid oz which is admirable considering the effort imho

 

[Eledin]

It looks good and frosty! Very appealing

 

[OldOneEye]

I'm confused by your statement. All we are doing when growing indoors is replicating nature

How many storms do you have in your grow room? How many droughts do your flowers experience? You got rabbit and deer in your garden?

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

How many storms do you have in your grow room? How many droughts do your flowers experience? You got rabbit and deer in your garden?

So... Are you saying that the inside of our tent must have EVERYTHING that occurs in the natural world to claim we're replicating nature? "Replicating" may not be the best word to describe what artificial light does for plants, for example, but it does enough to satisfy the needs of the plants. That's what matters.

 

[OldOneEye]

So... Are you saying that the inside of our tent must have EVERYTHING that occurs in the natural world to claim we're replicating nature? "Replicating" may not be the best word to describe what artificial light does for plants, for example, but it does enough to satisfy the needs of the plants. That's what matters.

No, I take from nature what I want and use the tools available to make it do what I want it to do.
From man made synthetic nutrients, to man made artificial light to man made breeding practices. I take the things that are healthy for the plant, try to isolate those things and create them artificially, in most cases poorly when compared to what nature does. The things that are harmful I try to avoid at all costs.
Nature does the opposite. In order to survive and procreate theplant must survive everything she has to offer.
In short we manipulate nature, we twist it. We take peices parts and make it work for our purposes.

 

[InAwe]

So... Are you saying that the inside of our tent must have EVERYTHING that occurs in the natural world to claim we're replicating nature? "Replicating" may not be the best word to describe what artificial light does for plants, for example, but it does enough to satisfy the needs of the plants. That's what matters.

I went with replicate because it implies that it is not the original. However, you are correct, I suppose a better term would have been simulate.

 

[OldOneEye]

I went with replicate because it implies that it is not the original. However, you are correct, I suppose a better term would have been simulate.

Never mind me bro, sometimes I like to over think things.