Longer dark cycle for a faster finish?

RadicalRoss

Well-Known Member
I've heard of people using 10/14 cycles or even 8/16 to help longer flowering buds mature faster and finish up.

Have any of you had experience with this? The situation I'm in is I have two plants in my flower tent presently, one is about a week or two from ready to cut, the other has... some time left, the calyxes are just now starting to fatten up.

I've also got 5 plants quickly overgrowing their veg tent, chomping at the bit to get transplanted into 7 gallon pots and put into flower, after I clone them.

So, there's a lot just waiting on this slow grower to finish up. Would giving it more dark time speed this up enough that I would notice? I'm not too concerned with decreasing my yield, as this next run of my 4x4 ought to put an end to my trips to the dispensary for good, but I would hate to ruin my smoke quality.

Bonus bud pics:

1-2 weeks away plant:

1601397842194.png

Plant that needs more time:

1601397866531.png
 

RadicalRoss

Well-Known Member
I've used a 10/14 light cycle to get pure sativa's to start flowering sooner but I don't know if changing to that schedule is going to make those plants finish any faster at the stage they're in.
You don't think it'll make a difference at this point? It seems to me like it should have largely the same effect it would if you started flowering with this schedule: make the plants "think" winter is closer and that they need to hurry up.
 

RadicalRoss

Well-Known Member
Well damn, guess I'm in for a few more weeks then.

I'm starting to think the clone I got from the dispensary labeled "Hulk" is either Bruce Banner or Incredible Hulk rather than Hulkamania as I thought initially. It's definitely a couple / few weeks behind "BCG," which I've intuited to be Black Cherry Gelato.

Oh well, I guess this is what I get for buying two unknown clones from the dispensary without researching flowering times. Not a big deal, just gonna delay my next cycle by a week or two.
 

vostok

Well-Known Member
I've heard of people using 10/14 cycles or even 8/16 to help longer flowering buds mature faster and finish up.

Have any of you had experience with this? The situation I'm in is I have two plants in my flower tent presently, one is about a week or two from ready to cut, the other has... some time left, the calyxes are just now starting to fatten up.

I've also got 5 plants quickly overgrowing their veg tent, chomping at the bit to get transplanted into 7 gallon pots and put into flower, after I clone them.

So, there's a lot just waiting on this slow grower to finish up. Would giving it more dark time speed this up enough that I would notice? I'm not too concerned with decreasing my yield, as this next run of my 4x4 ought to put an end to my trips to the dispensary for good, but I would hate to ruin my smoke quality.

Bonus bud pics:

1-2 weeks away plant:

View attachment 4698770

Plant that needs more time:

View attachment 4698771
I grow 10 on/ 14 off, I have done for years, the deal really isn't 12x12 its actually 14.5 on? and the rest off to trigger flowering(confirmation required)

the bottom line is I have to go another week of 10/14 to makeup for those missing hours of light

you do the math and compare to 12x12 @ 60 days flower you will see

the deal is to breed your own and select the fastest maturior the most aclimatized

good luck
 

conor c

Well-Known Member
I think its more the equatorial strains that finish faster especially this way ive only ever knew people to do it for finishing long flowering sativas saves on the bill a lil too but i cant see much advantage for indica type strains unless your trying to run lower temps in a pinch or something maybe
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
IMHO works best for long flowering sativas.

At the Equator the time never varies more than 15 minutes from 12/12 year round.

One can easily start hardcore Sativas on 12/12, and cut them back 11/13 the last couple weeks. They also need all the light you can give them.
 

buyyouabeer

Well-Known Member
I just read an article in Grow Magazine with Todd McCormick from Authentic Genetics. He mentioned the secret to NLD varieties like Original Haze is to start them 12/12 from seed. Because they are tropical and basically veg and flower at the same time. Thought that was interesting and apparently knocks weeks off the finish. YMMV. :bigjoint:
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
Yep., and also helps control height thats going to be hard to control growth anyway.

They can also take large doses if UVA/B. And need all the light they can get.

I grew 1 Willie Nelson back in 2006, and while I didnt grow it on 12/12. I vegged it on 24 hours for a 3-4 weeks. I grew it about a foot and a half tall, in a 5 gallon container, and trained it by bending it over, and that sucker ended up being 7 feet long, under 2 1000w Hortilux, and grew for almost 90 days after I flipped it to flowering. It took 100 days to finish. Ive never seen a plant stretch so much. It was also really potent, and many of my friends favorite. I also got a best ever 1lb out of a 5 gallon container. I usually get 5 oz from a good Super Silver Haze clone we have in a 5 gallon container vegged for 30 -45 days under 1000w Hortilux.

Willie Nelson is Highland Nepali x Vietnamese Black.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I just read an article in Grow Magazine with Todd McCormick from Authentic Genetics. He mentioned the secret to NLD varieties like Original Haze is to start them 12/12 from seed. Because they are tropical and basically veg and flower at the same time. Thought that was interesting and apparently knocks weeks off the finish. YMMV. :bigjoint:
It's also to keep them from getting too big if growing indoors as they can turn into monsters. The breeder at ACE seeds recommends a very short veg time for many of the long flowering strains they have.

I've rarely seen anyone mention the different genome groups such as NLD. But since you have I read and bookmarked this article some time ago that discusses the distribution of the different genome groups of cannabis and their geographical locations. I thought it was quite interesting.


Cannabis Taxonomy: The ‘Sativa’ Vs. ‘Indica’ Debate
by Robert C. Clarke, Mark D. Merlin, PhD
HerbalGram. 2016; American Botanical Council



 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Yep., and also helps control height thats going to be hard to control growth anyway.

They can also take large doses if UVA/B. And need all the light they can get.

I grew 1 Willie Nelson back in 2006, and while I didnt grow it on 12/12. I vegged it on 24 hours for a 3-4 weeks. I grew it about a foot and a half tall, in a 5 gallon container, and trained it by bending it over, and that sucker ended up being 7 feet long, under 2 1000w Hortilux, and grew for almost 90 days after I flipped it to flowering. It took 100 days to finish. Ive never seen a plant stretch so much. It was also really potent, and many of my friends favorite. I also got a best ever 1lb out of a 5 gallon container. I usually get 5 oz from a good Super Silver Haze clone we have in a 5 gallon container vegged for 30 -45 days under 1000w Hortilux.

Willie Nelson is Highland Nepali x Vietnamese Black.
That sounds like something from ACE seeds.
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
I saw it when I grew the Willie Nelson in 2006. That stuff will quickly get out of control if vegged to much, if at all in many situations, and to do it justice would need to run alot of light on it. I already knew it was going to stretch, but never thought it would grow 90 out of 100 days after flip. Also its not done Outside until late November in USA.

I normally veg a Mr Nice F2 Super silver Haze we have 60-70 days under 1000w Hortilux HPS and at least 5 gallons Promix BX, and transplant into 20 gallons. Sometimes Ill just put the clone in 20 gallons, and skip the transplant. But I can get 20oz a plant/1000w Hortilux-4 x 4 area.

If I did that Willie Nelson like that, youd need at least 3, and probably 4 lights to do it justice. This would also be bending it over, as I do most all my plants, and only grow trees. It would be huge, and the plant I had had some of, if not the best secondary branching Ive seen on a plant considering hoow it was grown, and in such a small container. It really didnt seem to mind being rootbound, and wasnt finicky about food.
It would be 10 feet long vegged 60 days, and in 20-30 gallons of soil after it was flowered out. Maybe bigger. I had 10ft ceilings, and a 20 x 20 room.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I saw it when I grew the Willie Nelson in 2006. That stuff will quickly get out of control if vegged to much, if at all in many situations, and to do it justice would need to run alot of light on it. I already knew it was going to stretch, but never thought it would grow 90 out of 100 days after flip. Also its not done Outside until late November in USA.

I normally veg a Mr Nice F2 Super silver Haze we have 60-70 days under 1000w Hortilux HPS and at least 5 gallons Promix BX, and transplant into 20 gallons. Sometimes Ill just put the clone in 20 gallons, and skip the transplant. But I can get 20oz a plant/1000w Hortilux-4 x 4 area.

If I did that Willie Nelson like that, youd need at least 3, and probably 4 lights to do it justice. This would also be bending it over, as I do most all my plants, and only grow trees. It would be huge, and the plant I had had some of, if not the best secondary branching Ive seen on a plant considering hoow it was grown, and in such a small container. It really didnt seem to mind being rootbound, and wasnt finicky about food.
It would be 10 feet long vegged 60 days, and in 20-30 gallons of soil after it was flowered out. Maybe bigger. I had 10ft ceilings, and a 20 x 20 room.
But the lady won't let me turn half the garage into a grow room so I'm stuck with a 4 x 4 tent in the corner.
 

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
I remember reading one time that in the mid/late 60s there was a hash/weed shortage in Nepal because of all the people ( Think Hippy Trail ) coming from USA/Europe ect, and smoking it all up, and the King of Nepal declared a National Emergency, and imported Broad Leaf Afghanica into the country to grow along with what they had. Original Nepali is Narrow Leaf.

One used to be able to Drive from Europe to India.

Broad Leaf Afghanica was also considered... "Inferior" to Narrow Leaf Indica

One used to be able to drive from Europe to these places. Imagine that??? Now youd be dead meat. The girls in Afghanasthan also used to wear skirts in the 60s, and no mandatory, or get your head cut off head scarfs then either.

1601421545979.png



1601421855161.png

Then, And NOW.

1601421912782.png
 
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xtsho

Well-Known Member
But the lady won't let me turn half the garage into a grow room so I'm stuck with a 4 x 4 tent in the corner.
What the hell? What happened to the rest of my post?

Anyway the jist of it was that I didn't mean to imply Willie Nelson was from ACE just that it sounded like something they would make because they have already worked with both Vietnamese Black and Nepalese and have offerings that contain both and sever Nepalese variants.

And that I've experienced growing a 20 month long plant and it is challenging but the end product is worth the wait to have something that you likely won't ever get unless you grow it yourself.

And that I'm opposite and prefer to grow smaller plants just because I only have a 4 x 4 tent and like to grow different varieties at the same time so one big plant doesn't work for me.

But I would if the lady didn't put me in the corner and refuse to let me turn half the garage into a grow room.

That's about it. I must have done something to delete the original post.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I remember reading one time that in the mid/late 60s there was a hash/weed shortage in Nepal because of all the people ( Think Hippy Trail ) coming from USA/Europe ect, and smoking it all up, and the King of Nepal declared a National Emergency, and imported Broad Leaf Afghanica into the country to grow along with what they had. Original Nepali is Narrow Leaf.

One used to be able to Drive from Europe to India.

Broad Leaf Afghanica was also considered... "Inferior" to Narrow Leaf Indica

One used to be able to drive from Europe to these places. Imagine that??? Now youd be dead meat. The girls in Afghanasthan also used to wear skirts in the 60s, and no mandatory, or get your head cut off head scarfs then either.

View attachment 4699142



View attachment 4699147

Then, And NOW.

View attachment 4699148
No way you'd make it through there alive today. It's sad to see what Afghanistan used to be like and now they are back to the stone age.
 
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