Trouble reading today's article? Click here:
Issue #527 - Sunday, May 22, 2022
Dear Fellow Grower,
In today's issue...
- If you've been growing for a few years, you've probably already heard the claim: Putting a flowering cannabis plant in the dark for a few days at the end of harvest increases THC. If it's true, it would be an easy way to increase potency, but does it actually work? We're going to put our heads together and get this mystery figured out once and for all!
- See how Nebula's current defoliation experiment is going (about a month until harvest!) and check out pictures of all the buds so far.
- Nebula noticed that the buds growing under the HLG LED grow light seem to be developing a bit differently from a clone of the same plant growing under a Spider Farmer LED grow light. She took some pictures of buds from each LED so you could see. I'm curious what you think of the differences so far!
- It's a little crazy in the "Trophy Pics of the Week" section, but you know what? I like it that way! We've got an LST'd solo cup grow that I would describe as "darling", a downright-scary-but-effective defoliation, and a plant that doesn't play by your rules. If you're intrigued at all, go take a look! If you're not intrigued, it's now mandatory to go take a look.
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com)
"Life's like a play: it's not the length,
but the excellence of the acting that matters."
~Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Does a 3-Day Dark Period Before Harvest Increase THC?
⛔🌞⛔
|
|
|
Your cannabis plants are close to harvest and you want to make sure you do everything possible to maximize your results. Is there anything you can do right before harvest to increase THC or bud quality in marijuana plants? Growers have been asking these questions since they first started growing…
Enter the 3-day dark period.
I’ve heard about this tactic multiple times over the years.
Essentially, the idea is to “shock” your plant in the days leading up to harvest in hopes of increasing the potency of your buds. The most common tactic is to place your plants in total darkness for 3 days before harvest. Another tactic is to water your plants with ice water. I’ve even heard a grower say that you should put nails through the main stem to “scare” your plant.
But do these tactics work to increase bud quality or potency or THC (or anything measurable)?
Can you increase THC with a 3-day dark period before harvest?
Does it actually work?
I don’t know. Unfortunately, so far I haven’t seen any grower do any experiments (though that’s about to change, learn about my upcoming experiment at the bottom of this article!)
However, from a theoretical standpoint...
Side-by-Side Flowering Defoliation Grow Journal Update
|
|
|
Buds are fattening – May 20, 2022
The plants have stopped growing upward as much and are drinking less, while buds are visibly fattening. The hairs are still mostly white still. It’s been a month since I initiated 12/12 and I expect about one more month before they’re ready to harvest. I included pictures of all the buds. They are getting sparkly, and so far they look essentially identical in each tent.
Non-defoliation tent
Looking bushy!
Defoliation tent
Much less shadow through the defoliated plants, but other than that they look pretty similar.
HLG 300 R-Spec vs Spider Farmer SF-1000 LEDs: Bud Development
|
|
|
Bud Development: Comparing the HLG 300 to Spider Farmer LED
I love working with LED grow lights and seeing the different growth they produce in cannabis plants.
Last week I talked a bit about how the HLG 300 LED grow light from the defoliation grow experiment seems to be growing plants with a stretchier overall structure compared to the ES300 LED grow light, which tends to grow gorgeous plant structure.
Today, I wanted to talk a bit about how the buds are developing between the HLG vs a Spider Farmer LED grow light.
I happen to be growing a clone of the Runtz plant from the grow experiment under a Spider Farmer SF-1000 LED grow light. The buds have developed a bit differently under the two lights and I thought you might be interested to see the differences.
HLG 300 R-Spec LED bud: Runtz bud at 30 days after 12/12 from today's grow journal update. Lots of purple already. Short white hairs. Super dense bud structure. Tons of trichomes
everywhere including all the leaves.
|
Spider Farmer SF-1000 LED: Runtz bud (clone of the same plant) at the same age from 12/12. Under the SF-1000 LEDs, the buds stayed mostly green with only hints of purple, hairs were longer, looser bud
structure. Still a lot of trichomes, but not as many. Check out the grow journal for this plant.
I’m going to get all the buds tested at the lab so I’ll be able to see if these buds test differently or just appear a little different.
But this is exactly why I decided to try the HLG 300 grow lights again. They seem to grow truly unique buds with a dense bud structure and covered in trichomes. I remember the buds I grew with the older version of the HLG 300 LEDs were the favorite I’ve ever grown.
What do you think of the visual differences so far? Do you think the buds will end up testing differently at the lab?
|
|
"As always, great stuff you two! As an ES300 user I would love to see a side by side with the HLG300. As satisfied as I am with my 300's, I'm still open to something else."
~Cosmo
Funnily enough, Nebula was actually talking about doing this exact test. Luckily, I know Nebula well enough to tell you that (at least for now) she would pick the ES300 without hesitation. ~Sirius
|
"Hello Nebula and Sirius,
I recently completed my first grow (GSE Extreme Auto, ILGM), and just wanted to thank you both for all of the very helpful information. Your website is over the top awesome!
I am still on the wrong side of the big green wall when it comes to legalization, so I don't really want to post on the public forum, but wanted to send a message of thanks."
~Cody
Glad we could help, Cody. Stay safe! ~Sirius
"I've been enjoying your articles doing comparative A/B grows. Is there any test data to support the practice of a 48-72 hour dark period prior to harvest, or is it just more lore and conjecture? Perhaps a topic for one of your test grows. Best regards"
~David
We're glad you enjoy the comparisons and your email was inspiration for today's article. 👍 ~Sirius
|
|
"My very first solo cup grow was an auto c47 germination took place in soil for one week then I did a small journal for what I call the autocup.
I currently have freakshow photo period growing in a autocup now."
~Jay
I always have time to spare to check out solo cup grows. Well done! 🥤🌳 ~Sirius
|
"Pictures of my leaf growing buds. Bonus."
~DanDeChamp
Bonus weed is the best weed. Also, I love this color; HPS gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. ~Sirius
"Flower day 1 they look great after defoliation:)"
~Bugzy
I won't lie, I was a little nervous after the first picture, but they bounced back with a vengeance and look amazing with perfect plant structure. Let us know how this turns out! ~Sirius
Scammers seeing your money: "Mine!"
|
|
|
It's like stealing money from an unguarded basket* of money! *You're the basket
|
Scammers strike when you least expect
I saw a news story posted on Youtube about an extremely patient form of scamming. The perpetrators gained access to someone's bank account and then slowly drained it by making small withdrawals over the course of months! In fact, they were so slow about it that the account owner didn't realize anything was going on for over two months.
Unfortunately, we live in an age where scams are tolerated for the most part. Until we can all come together to kick the collective butts of these sub-humans, we all have to stay alert and help others to not get scammed. You get good-human points for not scamming people, but you get 10x the points for helping others to avoid scams, too! ❌🔟
Remember when it comes to buying seeds: Real seed businesses don't contact you. They let you contact them. If anyone messages you to sell you seeds on social media, look out! It's possible they will take your payment and send nothing. Always take a second to think before sending money to anyone, especially if they contact you (whether by DM, text message, phone
call, email, etc.).
Recommended Cannabis Seed Sources
These sources have gotten great reviews from our readers:
- Seed Supreme – California, United States
- ILGM (I Love Growing Marijuana) – California, United States
- Herbies Seeds – Europe (seemingly out of the UK and Spain)
We encourage you to forward this email to a friend in need!
GrowWeedEasy.com has hundreds and hundreds of pages!
Check out some articles you may not have seen...
- How to Increase THC When Growing Weed - Everyone wants to harvest weed with a high amount of THC. This is why we end up with people trying stuff like the 3-day dark period before harvesting or driving nails through stems. Luckily, there are ways
to increase THC that actually work and don't require you to torture your plants.
-
The Perpetual Harvest: How to Grow Unlimited Weed! - Nebula and I smoke a ton of weed. But despite how much we smoke, we never run out of weed due to the methods we use when we grow. With that mind, consider that the "perpetual harvest" grows so much more weed that we won't do it
anymore because we don't know what to do with all the bud.
-
When Are Marijuana Buds Ready to Harvest? - This is arguably one of the most important questions a grower can ask when growing weed. Once you get used to it, you'll wonder how you ever couldn't tell. But until that time comes, check out this page for a little assistance
in spotting who's ready for harvest.
- How to Make Hash Oil (aka Cannabis Extract Oil or RSO) - Here's the thing: whenever I make some fresh oil for Nebula and myself, I like to mention it here in the hopes that it'll get someone else to make some, too. The problem is
that I make it so often that I end up mentioning it here way too much. I'm not saying I'm going to change protocol or anything, I'm just noting that Nebula and I make tons of hash oil (and so should you).
Check Out Our Grow Community!
|
Check out our friendly growing community to ask questions, discuss your grow, share pictures, or otherwise talk about growing cannabis with other real growers!
Ask Questions & Talk with Other Growers!
Please note: We let each person in manually, so please be patient after you request to join. We'll let you in as soon as possible!!
|
Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
When I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to make it easy for new growers to get started while helping advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We update/add articles every week. Anyone and everyone can grow if they want to!
|
|
Learn which seed sources are recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis can be a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
Copyright (c) 2022 GrowWeedEasy.com
NOTE: If links aren't working or if pictures are not showing up properly, please view the full newsletter here: http://archive.aweber.com/gwe-updates
Disclaimer: Grow Weed Easy only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we may receive a commission. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial, Legal, or Medical Advice. The contributors to this magazine grow
legally under their local laws but are not lawyers or medical professionals. Any decision to grow marijuana should only be made after consulting with an experienced lawyer or other legal adviser. Any medical decisions should only be made after speaking with a doctor. Be safe!
How Did I Sign Up For This Newsletter?
Our records indicate that requested to be added to the GrowWeedEasy.com weekly newsletter at .
Date:
To unsubscribe:
|
|
