shocking plant 30 min before harvest?

I have seen a buddy of mine "shock" his plants right before he cuts them down. He swears this increases potency. What he does is simple , He just pours boiling water over the roots. I have only seen this done while using buckets though so I dont know how well it works in the ground or in a hydro setup. What happens is obviously you severely damage and shock the roots. The plant will usually begin to "twitch" or "shake". The effect is more noticeable on larger plants with longer limbs. My friend said that this forces the plant to send any extra THC or other Cannabanoids up into the buds. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you think there is any truth to this technique? Any thoughts will be appreciated thanks!

OOOOPS ...i GUESS I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED THE VERY SIMILIAR THREAD ON THIS SUBJECT........PLEASE!!! DONT HIT ME!!

No poor hot grease on the roots b4 harvest... This causes the plant to start "moving" or "walking"...

ILLISTOFSUPERCHRON said:

I have seen a buddy of mine "shock" his plants right before he cuts them down. He swears this increases potency. What he does is simple , He just pours boiling water over the roots. I have only seen this done while using buckets though so I dont know how well it works in the ground or in a hydro setup. What happens is obviously you severely damage and shock the roots. The plant will usually begin to "twitch" or "shake". The effect is more noticeable on larger plants with longer limbs. My friend said that this forces the plant to send any extra THC or other Cannabanoids up into the buds. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you think there is any truth to this technique? Any thoughts will be appreciated thanks!

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It is a myth ... cannabinoids are created in the trichome heads, not in the roots or in the stems or in the leaves or in the branches.

dude that is seriously evil. like seriously !

Boiling Water ?

Go to the book store, pick up this book, then stop listening to your friends and start expanding your mind

after your done, read the book

Jorge Cervantes "marijuana Horticulture: Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible"
(ISBN:13:978-1-878823-23-6 & ISBN10: 1-878823-23-x)

Chapter 5 pg 84 Harvest Step-by-step
step 3 [you may want to give plants 24 hours of total darkness before harvest, many growers do this and say the buds are a little more resinous afterwards]

there is your kernel of truth... before it gets passed around and distorted just like rumors...

the theory behind it is that the black out shocks the plant into thinking its dying (cause it's not getting light) and the whole reason it flowers in the first place is to collect pollen. So it makes one last ditch effort and puts everything it has into more hairs & resign in hopes of improving the odds of capturing some kind of pollen to produce seeds...

Then they DIE


More resign means frostier quality nugs with easier access to the THC not an increase in the percentage. I've done this with mixed results

thats inhumane...imagine a chicken getting killed and you throw boiling water to get the feathers off...and its the other way around...not boiling water instead, used an iced water for 3-5 days with total darkness, i am not making this up or a friend has told me or read it in a few post. i actually got this information one of the breeders. wouldnt hurt to try and it does make more sense than throwing boiling water

if you're throwing in boiling hot water i cant imagine it making it any worse since you're cutting it almost immediately after. i would say take the top two colas and cut one before you shock it with hot water. then shock it and take the other cola and compare the differnce. the only reason i could imagine this helping is that its thikning the plant is going to die from the roots and its gonna give a last shot at producing pollen to reproduce before it dies. on a side note, im craaaazyyy high so take what i said witha grain a salt. just my 2 cents

DVSxGenetix said:

Chapter 5 pg 84 Harvest Step-by-step
step 3 [you may want to give plants 24 hours of total darkness before harvest, many growers do this and say the buds are a little more resinous afterwards]

there is your kernel of truth... before it gets passed around and distorted just like rumors...

the theory behind it is that the black out shocks the plant into thinking its dying (cause it's not getting light) and the whole reason it flowers in the first place is to collect pollen. So it makes one last ditch effort and puts everything it has into more hairs & resign in hopes of improving the odds of capturing some kind of pollen to produce seeds...

Then they DIE


More resign means frostier quality nugs with easier access to the THC not an increase in the percentage. I've done this with mixed results

Click to expand...

"The Stichting Institute of Medical marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmacies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboratories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency. SIMM’s growers separated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darkness for 72 hours before cutting and drying. Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen an increase of THC of up to 30%, while CBD and CBN remained the same

silasx said:

the only reason i could imagine this helping is that its thikning the plant is going to die from the roots and its gonna give a last shot at producing pollen to reproduce before it dies. on a side note, im craaaazyyy high so take what i said witha grain a salt. just my 2 cents

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I'd suggest taking the suggestion as to why shocking plants with boiling water with not just a grain of salt, but instead an entire salt lick. 2 cents sure doesn't buy much these days ... does it? In my day it would buy two pieces of candy though.


Shocking a female plant into attempting to make pollen would only be an attempt to make it turn hermi ... and who would ever want that? Why would anyone want the very last energy a plant had to use to produce more cannabinoid filled resin to instead go to attempting to produce male bananas for pollen?

the theory behind it is that the black out shocks the plant into thinking its dying (cause it's not getting light) and the whole reason it flowers in the first place is to collect pollen. So it makes one last ditch effort and puts everything it has into more hairs & resign in hopes of improving the odds of capturing some kind of pollen to produce seeds...

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The reason plants finished in 72-hours of darkness have increased levels of THC is because THC works like 'sunscreen' in the trichome heads. It protects the delicate inner glands and membranes from damaging light rays.

Each day, or period of time under a grow light, some THC is degraded when protecting the delicate inner workings of trichome heads.

During periods of darkness, when most THC is created, the amount of THC that was lost through light degradation is replaced plus an additional amount, so during flower you have a long slow but steady increase in the level of THC. When plants finish in total darkness there is no THC degradation due to light damage so there is only an increase.

Brick Top said:

"The Stichting Institute of Medical marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmacies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboratories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency. SIMM’s growers separated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darkness for 72 hours before cutting and drying. Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen an increase of THC of up to 30%, while CBD and CBN remained the same

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Holy Smokes i thought THC% was solely dependent on genetics. I totally appreciate the heads up and excellent reference

DVSxGenetix said:

Holy Smokes i thought THC% was solely dependent on genetics. I totally appreciate the heads up and excellent reference

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THC percentages are somewhat misunderstood. To find what a THC percentage is all the cannabinoids are separated from the rest of the matter inside of the trichome heads that are tested. The amount/percentage that is THC is in relation to the total amount of cannabinoids.

But not all high percentage THC ratings mean more potent, it only means there is a higher percentage of THC. What makes or breaks a high or a stone is the combination, the percentages of the various cannabinoids, so a higher percentage does not always mean more potent. It might only equate to a longer lasting high or a different type of high.

Something to remember, but few people seem to know, is that heavy trichome production is not necessarily an indication of a potent plant. Some hemp strains have moderate layers of trichomes yet pack only a headache. In drug strains a dense stand of trichomes is a sign that it could be of high potency, but certainly not a guarantee.This is because the resins that flow within may or may not hold the THC and other cannabinoids in the most desired percentages that we are looking for. Many landrace equatorial sativa strains are anything but frosty looking, in part because there are more trichomes in the inner parts of the buds, but also because they are not as heavy producers of trichomes or resin. But they can have incredible soaring highs. That is in part because unlike many strains they not only produce THC but also THCV. THCV increases the speed and the intensity of a high. It is also what is largely responsible for the feelings of paranoia some people feel when they smoke certain strains and they find themselves taking an unexpected rocket-sled ride.

It is not only THC but instead the combination of the various cannabinoids combined. Unfortunately people tend to purchase strains mainly by their THC rating alone, even though THC percentage ratings alone are not always proof of true potency. That is why a strain like Durban Poison, that has THC ratings of around 8.6% from one breeder to 5% to 10% from another, can get someone much higher than some other strain that has a THC rating of maybe 15% or 18%.

If the 'blend' is off true potency will not be found.



Indica varieties often look more heavily crystallized than Sativas, yet typically don't have the same mind-warp capabilities. Even with a known high-THC clone, THC level and cannabinoid ratios may change depending on environmental conditions.
What defines drug strain cannabis is the plant's ability to convert cannabidiol (CBD) or possibly cannabichromene (CBC) into THC.1

Thanks, Brick Top, this is the sort of info I come here for.

Insightful.

Brick Top said:

2 cents sure doesn't buy much these days ... does it? In my day it would buy two pieces of candy though.

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You're old Lol

Originally Posted by Brick Top 2 cents sure doesn't buy much these days ... does it? In my day it would buy two pieces of candy though

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Nocturnal1 said:

You're old Lol

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Yes I am old. I’m so old that when I was a kid dirt was new, dinosaurs roamed the earth and they didn’t teach history in school because there hadn’t been any yet.

I laughed at the dirt was new lmao

Nocturnal1 said:

I laughed at the dirt was new lmao

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The real bitch about living back then was I had to walk five miles to school and five miles back from school everyday, in the snow, without shoes ... and it was uphill in both directions.

was the snow five foot deep? Occasional blizzard on your way in?

Nocturnal1 said:

was the snow five foot deep? Occasional blizzard on your way in?

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I am unsure of the actual snow depth because measuring devices had not been invented yet ... but we knew the snow was getting fairly deep when it was deeper than a lesothosaurus was tall.

Originally Posted by Nocturnal1
was the snow five foot deep? Occasional blizzard on your way in?

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Brick Top said:

I am unsure of the actual snow depth because measuring devices had not been invented yet ... but we knew the snow was getting fairly deep when it was deeper than a lesothosaurus was tall.

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Ths has turned into the worst kind of absolute bullshit.

I take back what I said.