lights higher or lower during flush?

[TicalionStalion]

I feel like i newb asking tgis but I've never really thought about it before. What it benefit the plants to have the lights higher or lower during the last 2 weeks of their life during flush??

Thanks guys!

 

[krunchbubble]

good question...

 

[Ultra Current]

During the end of my flush, i raise my lights. I do this by turning my 1000 watt lumateks down to the 750 watt setting.

 

[Abja Roots]

This actually seems logical, but I'd never thought about it before. Makes a lot of sense that you'd want to reduce the lighting. Flushing some plants now, and will definitely do this.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Turn half of your lights off, raise the rest during the 2 week flush, that way you do not cook the delicate terpenes or heat stress the buds into a 3rd phase of flowering.

In Nature light is lower towards the end of Autumn, you loose nothing in yield as you are just fattening what already exists.

 

[Opus53]

^^^^ what my fellow member said ^^^^

 

[whatsupdoc]

Never heard of this. Interesting. I'm skeptical that my CFL's could cook the terpenes off of anything though

 

[gloryoskie]

I switch to 13/11 and decrease wattage, fwiw. Does no harm and I believe the girls like it.

Not for perpetual grows, duh.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

I always back my lights off the last 7-10 days... never tried 2 weeks.

Essentially there are a lot of fragile turpenes that get destroyed by heat.... I noticed that plants moved further away the last week or so helped preserve them and that the smell/taste would be stronger and more complex.

Very good question... most people never think about this at all.

Stay Safe!

 

[Megas]

Dr. Atomic in an article from some time ago said he goes 3 days of dark before harvest in order for the plants to pump out the glands as possible. I've never done a side by side experiment but worth trying. It essentially makes the plants think they have to hall ass and try to grab some pollen since winter is coming. (dumbed down explanation) anyone know if that guy has a website or know where he posts?

 

[supermanlives]

i have never moved them. think i might try it in one grow and see if there is any difference

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Dr. Atomic in an article from some time ago said he goes 3 days of dark before harvest in order for the plants to pump out the glands as possible. I've never done a side by side experiment but worth trying. It essentially makes the plants think they have to hall ass and try to grab some pollen since winter is coming. (dumbed down explanation) anyone know if that guy has a website or know where he posts?

Total crap. Sorry.

Anyone who's spent time with a scope and done this to their plants (under various conditions) will come to the same conclusion.

The only time you're going to see any kind of 'improvement' in your plants from 3 days of dark is if your environmnent is out of whack. They're just glad for the stress-break and show their appreciation.

Glands don't suddenly increase a few days before harvest, no matter what you do with your lights.

And whoever came up with the 'increased glands as last ditch effort to collect pollen' is a dork. The logic behind that statement always makes me laugh. What part of sticky resin glands is going to help a plant get pollinated? LOL

Anyway... that's what I have to share from experience.

Stay Safe!

 

[Megas]

What part of sticky resin glands is going to help a plant get pollinated? LOL

In nature man isn't throwing pollen onto plants. The sticky holds onto pollen when in blows onto the plant or when an insect walks along it and has pollen stuck to it.

Same sort of thing I would imagine.
Wiki:
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers, in which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide anti-herbivore protection.

Common nectar-consuming pollinators include bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds and bats.

Nectar is an ecologically important item, the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar.[examples needed]
Nectar secretion increases as the flower is visited by pollinators. After pollination, the nectar is frequently reabsorbed into the plant.[1]

 

[Hydro-Soil]

In nature man isn't throwing pollen onto plants. The sticky holds onto pollen when in blows onto the plant or when an insect walks along it and has pollen stuck to it.

Same sort of thing I would imagine.
Wiki:
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers, in which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide anti-herbivore protection.

Common nectar-consuming pollinators include bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds and bats.

Nectar is an ecologically important item, the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar.[examples needed]
Nectar secretion increases as the flower is visited by pollinators. After pollination, the nectar is frequently reabsorbed into the plant.[1]

The increased attractors being produced in the dark ('cause your environment or lights aren't burning them off anymore) makes sense... sprouting additional trichomes in 3 days isn't going to happen though.

I don't remember reading about anyone ever making the connection between pollinators and increased turpene or nectar production in cannabis plants... just the increased trichomes to catch pollen bs.

Stay Safe!

 

[VerdantGreen]

definitely raise them for preserving terpenes.

plus most pics i see at IC show plants that are too close to the light anyway. if your top buds have leaves that are curling upwards or canoeing that is a sign of too much heat/light.

VG

 

[TicalionStalion]

good advice guys. I never keep lights as low as most ppl think I should, I wanna say they are almost 2 ft from canopy. everything develops great. so what if Im not having any heat issues, totally perfect temps. should the lights still be raised? Iv kinda been raising them little by little. everything is fire as can be, Im just always lookin for new ways to improve, altho Im getting hard pressed these days.

 

[mg75]

2 weeks put in flower = MH (we feel that more flowering sites appear/tighter nodes)
5 weeks mid flower = HPS (we experienced a significant boost in yields)
2 weeks end of flower = MH (the top buds don't dry-out as fast/feel oilier and appear better looking)

an even canopy makes the difference in keeping consistent quality. all top buds get the same intensity... it much easier to judge your light/plant distance ratio when you have a uniform canopy.
in the past, we often had smaller, side-shoot buds look frostier and better than top buds. made us wonder...

upgrading to a better AC will help too!

 

[Riippe]

Thank you guys!

I never heard anything about raising your light at the end.My common sense was telling me to do opposite, perhaps you just made me harvest more potent bud in few weeks.