How to go from veg to flower? 24 hours dark before 12/12 ?

[Howard Marks]

Hi

Tomorrow, me and my girlfriend plant are going into the flowering period. Its our first grow, we have read that its good to let her n total dark for about 24 hours before going 12/12. Whats your opinion on this? Should we do it?

Thanks for the answers!!

 

[daishere]

Just switch it to 12/12 if your ready to flower

 

[mr cheese]

36hr darkness b4 12,12 will make ur plants flower faster.. been doing it for yrs.. not necessary but well worth it.. i get pistils showing 3 to 4 days sooner ... all the best... say safe..c

 

[Jaymer]

I think mj builds up certain hormones with longer nights until they build up enough to allow the plant to bloom, so it's likely to boost flowering

 

[InlineMax]

^^^ Very interesting. I cannot offer any technical knowledge of why this works but I like to give at least a 24 hour period of dark before flowering. It seems to give em a kick in the right direction

 

[Howard Marks]

Ok thanks, i think ill let her 30 hours alone the dark. It will stretch much in this period?

 

[thcrefugee]

you can expect some stretch at night, especially 30 hours of it.

Also, an important factor in switching plants to flowering is retention of the Circadian Rythms.

the middle of night, and the middle of dark, will always be 12 hours apart, no matter what schedule you run. So, with this said, you should aim to keep the middle of night and the middle of day the same..

the day gets shorter (dark comes sooner) and the night gets longer, (stays dark for longer).

 

[mr cheese]

Ok thanks, i think ill let her 30 hours alone the dark. It will stretch much in this period?

do 36hrs mate, its basicly 3 day as far as the plants knw, i.e 3 lots of 12,12.. if dne for 36hr youl deff get faster flower response, basicly the plant thinks its dieing so tries to put out her flowers in the hope of catching pollen so she will live on... all the best. stay safe..c

 

[VerdantGreen]

i would advise to go straight to 12/12 without any extended dark period which may stress the plants and cause stretch. i would prefer my plants to have the photosynthesis time rather than miss 1-3 days light.

also, whilst a long dark period may speed up the start of flower, it will cost yield in the end imo.

VG

 

[Bgreenheadband]

I recently started a very similar thread....and had mixed answers like you did....https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=194627

I went right into 12/12.....another user on the site did 24 hours of dark a few days earlier with the same strains.

Although our plants are in different setups, and about 4 days apart, his did seem to flower a bit quicker (not a HUGE amount, maybe a day or two faster)....but from some of the responses who knows how it affects the plants. (again there are other factors, so this comparison is not 100% sound)

Unfortunately my knowledge limits me to a more factual answer....but what I'm basically saying is....I've seen both done in the last few weeks, and they seem to be right about at the same amount of growth...so you'll be fine either way.......good luck!

 

[joe fresh]

36hr darkness b4 12,12 will make ur plants flower faster.. been doing it for yrs.. not necessary but well worth it.. i get pistils showing 3 to 4 days sooner ... all the best... say safe..c

gotta agree with everything he said....


the reason for the 36 hour and not 24hr..ect is because 36 hrs gives atleast 1 full day of darkness allowing the plant to build up extra flowering hormones, but the fact that its 36hrs completely changes the plants light cycle by 12 full hours, this triggers a light stress in the plant making it start flowering a few days earlier, and ultimately finishing a few days earlier

 

[Bgreenheadband]

gotta agree with everything he said....


the reason for the 36 hour and not 24hr..ect is because 36 hrs gives atleast 1 full day of darkness allowing the plant to build up extra flowering hormones, but the fact that its 36hrs completely changes the plants light cycle by 12 full hours, this triggers a light stress in the plant making it start flowering a few days earlier, and ultimately finishing a few days earlier

Any info about what someone else said about it producing flowers earlier, but it hurting yield in the long run?

 

[VerdantGreen]

logically, if the plant is getting 3 night periods worth of flowering hormones without the 2 days of photosynthesis that normally come with it - then surely it has to reduce the final size of the plants and therefore the yield. also gibberellins - the growth regulator that is primarily responsible for stretch - are produced in high quantities when plants get long periods of dark or reduced light. the natural response of a plant in the dark or shade is to stretch upwards in a search for light. this is one reason why plants that are crowded together (shading each other) get very tall and leggy.

VG