Harvest shock

Geez how did a grower get by before the internet! Nice memories Ultraviolet. My first indoor was 90 watt Sylvania growlux fluorescents, tin roof reflectors, salvaged sockets and ballasts. Next outdoors, then 1000 watt MH/HPS switchable was/is a workhorse. Not enough canopy in a tent. Next China LEDs growing indica looking like sativa. And finally today I've lighting that's better than sunshine. The weed movement has come a long way. Loops hijack sorry!

Some growers do use stress techniques late in flower – like extended darkness, cold nights, or reduced watering – hoping to boost resin production or speed up ripening. However, the actual impact of these “harvest shock” methods is still debated. While a short dark period (24–48h) before harvest might slightly increase trichome production, the gains are usually minimal. If your plants are already near full maturity, it’s often best to just let them finish naturally with good light and stable conditions. Rushing or stressing them too hard might hurt the final quality more than help. In my opinion, there it is also important to think of your substrate 😅 I would not do it .Just effort and in my opinion it's not a chilli which needs stress (over a longer time!) to get some fire 😋

well trust the guy that thinks "1x1 = 2" at your own peril :P

As far as I see it, there are a couple ways of growing Cannabis depending on how you approach it: "I've been growing for 40 years and have tried nothing outside the box, therefore, I'm right because I can reproduce the same results over and over." "I'm strongly driven by sponsorship. I'm not allowed to have any thoughts of my own in case I get canceled. Everything by the book." "Someone studies concepts of plant growth and tries to push the limits and boundaries of what we are told is possible through repeated failure, then push them further and see what happens." I've been growing for 4 years, prior to which I didn't know the difference between indica/sativa, Ive been growing for 4 years with a 300$ piece of crap off amazon. Is that something I should be ashamed of? Some of us are not here for sponsorship, some of us are not here to grow like everyone else, some of us are here to find new things, each to their own, Foundations for a good honest GD community is built on respect with genuine open conversation, all you ever seem to find here is same old same old outright disgusting level of glass half empty, rage-baiting loosely understood buzz words and question bankers scamming GOTM. The sheer amount of energy ya all put into stamping out BRUH science and heresy is comical when you still hold the concept that UV light does nothing, lol. Almost like it's your Job.

@ATLien415 Your last paragraph said it all. You got right to the point. The rest was distracting.

The manner in which these responses are worded is wild. Get to the bottom of it, don't just bark loudly in your corner of the internet. There are so many programs across the world for cannabis even universities have a plethora of phd programs. You should be able to comfortably discuss the underlying fundamentals of your claims. At the same time that the fundamentals are being laid bare with SCIENCE yall, there are also a ton of areas we don't have the full answer for. MJ Coco/Photon aka cocoforcannabis.com is pretty good info, albeit mostly an Amazon Referral Revenue farm at this point... I never discount what another grower says about their photoperiod experience because every month new research shows we have a shaky understanding of the plant's limits. These plants behave differently. I know growers I respect that don't flush (I would NEVER touch their flower in a million years, nasty) while I flush and categorically demonstrate with EC values that you can recapture free salts within the root zone...and still the jury is out because a few podcasters a couple years back started talking about how you don't flush tomatoes - well I don't smoke tomatoes bruv. Both of these "tricks" started years ago, when 'any stress is good stress' was a common mantra for cannabis as a crop. This is the time period where you'd see breaking the main stem as a training method originate. Neither of these will increase potency. Harvesting for maximum potency is a two sided game being (1) your trichome maturity on average and (2) the time of day you harvest. One of these is much more important than the other. The cold water will induce color changes consistent with autumn effects, and likely bring out the natural color of the cultivar. You should think, though, that this isn't really how you'd mimic a cold snap for your plants to obtain the improved cannabinoid depositing found in nature with a cold snap. This would best be achieved by lowering average temperatures in the tent, while still keeping a proper day versus night delta. During the night most free salts are in the roots, this changes during the day. This is vastly oversimplified but I imagine you'll appreciate even this much of a serious/non-condescending response. This nutrient transport cycle occurs much like a circadian rhythm in humans, even if you change the schedule on your lights the plant lags behind. So, if you needed to change your light schedule to harvest at a time convenient for you (say, not 4AM) then a few days of darkness would indeed help you transition the plants such that you have free salts in roots when harvesting. I guess what I am saying is that both are part-truths with layperson-level misunderstandings, neither will reliably increase potency. 👉👉👉"There is nothing you can do that will magically make your plants become super plants in a day or two, after weeks/months of careful growing." 👈👈👈

Flush the shit out of them with plain water about 9 days out for 7 days and let them dry the last 2. That should get the salts out. Might make for a smoother smoke. When it's ripe, its ripe. Prepare for drying and cure instead.

Hi Bro! Many growers experiment with cold shock and dark periods before harvest to enhance potency, aroma, and colour. 1. Cold Shock (Refrigerated Watering): Water with cold, refrigerated water (around 5°C / 41°F) during the last 2-3 waterings before harvest. This mimics natural autumn temperature drops, enhancing trichome production, intensifying colours in purple, red, or blue strains, and potentially boosting terpene profiles for a stronger aroma and flavour. However, excessive cold stress can damage roots or slow drying. Moderate use is advised. 2. Dark Period Before Harvest: Keep the plant in complete darkness for 24–72 hours before harvest. This is believed to increase trichome production, enhance resin and terpene production, and encourage a final boost of energy into the buds, making them denser and more potent. While some growers swear by this, others find minimal difference. Still, it’s a low-risk technique worth trying. Personal Recommendation: Combine both methods for best results: Cold Shock: Use refrigerated water for the last 2-3 waterings. Dark Period: Give the plant 48 hours of darkness right before chopping.

Yeah, because abiotic stress doesn't exist, and ABA is a hormone that doesn't close stomata under stress conditions, Oh yeah, and cannabis doesn't release VOC volatile organic compounds in the form of terpenes based on PR/PFR signaling. OH, and there is also no way to signal the plant to artificially accumulate flavinoids/terpenes at the same time as preventing the release of VOC through stomatal closure using abiotic stress in the last few days of a plant's life. Guess we all better crawl under the box we came from, right? Sheesh Wealth of retarded thought out there, just make sure you flush lots, sure that will help.

two of the top people answering nailed this. follow the advice they give.

Both "ideas" are ghetto science/nonsense. There is nothing you can do that will magically make your plants become super plants in a day or two, after weeks/months of careful growing. Both these ideas are internet fairy tales that have no valid scientific or biological basis............pretty well "stoner BS".

Nonsense. Not even going to give it credibility with a response, lol. There is a wealth of retarded thought out there. Avoid forums and self-reported anecdote. These types of things profoundly failed civilization for 50,000 years for a reason. shit doesn't happen overnight. There's no magic to increase the quality or yield the last couple weeks. You are better off keeping the plant healthy and not engaging in bro-science. at the very least, form a proper baseline before trying new things. even that is wonky because of genetic variange. People often see what they want to see. Personal bias is a big problem for most people. if new, read the guides and articles on cocoforcannabis.com.. avoid the forum posts, otherwise.. it too, like all other marijuana sites if full of user-submitted bro-science and false anecdotes misattributing cuase and effect based on ego and reaking of deseperation. The articles are written well and stick to evidence-based conclusions. so, don't ice the water, don't deprive the plant of photosynthesis, don't starve it, don't burn it, dont... all this nonsense is inductive dreck with no attempt to prove any of it. just pure ego of "i did something and really want it to be true, so i saw what i wanted to see"