I’ve read on here from different people that they will turn the lights off before harvesting,my question is how long should you leave them in the dark before harvesting them and what do the plants gain from doing this
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Word on the Street 48 hours, Suppose to help Tricomb production 
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Thank you much
I also found some info on here about it I should have looked before asking
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No problem glad to assist Sharing the knowledge is a positive learning tool for both parties 
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Scientifically speaking… It adds nothing. Some would say, lights on for the final 48 hours would actually produce more trichomes… And the science would support it.
Anecdotally… Many would say the lights out helps the plant finish out with more trichs and terps.
I would say just stop watering a few days before and harvest first thing in the morning after a normal light sequence when the plant is finished.
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@laf6502
Thanks you know I think your right at least there is no visual difference and I have a friend that’s been growing for years and what you said I’d basically the same thing he told me
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This is where u gonna get alll these people saying 48 hrs and drop the rh . Well yes but I actually seem to find if u stop the flush at like 2 days B4 lights out and let it sit for 72 hrs dark I get awesome tricombs and color and reason for not flushing it the last 2 days is let the bucket dry uppp or do like me I flush then 72 dark and 2 day B4 dark stop flush to dry the buckets it helps also in resin and etc
Thanks for the tips guys I appreciate it very much I ended up lights out for 3 days and I withheld water at the end as well
Doesn’t hurt to try and experiment. I’ve done just about everything and I really can’t tell much of a difference… maybe helps the plant finish out. But when a plant is finished, it’s finished. I just haven’t personally seen putting it in the dark for a couple days make any difference. Now if you’re doing it before the plant is finished I could see it making an impact. Personally the risk of rot and mold forming in some of the denser bigger buds is not worth the risk to me.
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I can’t remember the last time I flushed a plant 
Honestly it all just sounds like gimmicks and maybe we are starting to overthink growing weeds.
That’s why I love living organic soil in big pots. I try to let the plant grow as naturally as possible and when they’re done they will stop uptaking nutrients and fade away.
I think I gain more in finishing phase by raising the lights and cooling the temps the last week rather than going dark for 2-3 days.
Different strokes….
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Yes dark will help with ya color hues and will ripen. The tricombs also ,the best part is when ya lights are out 24 to 72 hrs ya plant will just start to glisin butttt there is a scientist dr who’s saying more light for tricombs if that’s what ya looking for so instead of lighting outs I tryed smashing it and we’ll the tricombs were stacked anyway ya 
Also when u stop flush feed in those hours it another switch for cannabis to protect and good to let ya pots dry I think myop
Let me preface in saying I have NOT done any of my own research on either of the topics at hand and have merely adopted practices and procedures that these research papers have indicated as most beneficial.
My summaries are very abbreviated and in our
Bro science lingo but the methodology is the same nevertheless.
As for a dark period previous to harvest,
It has been researched and does almost nothing to trichome /cannabinoid production .
Research would suggest the opposite is true.
It has been shown that uvb spectrum in small daily amounts during late flower actually encourages the plants to produce more trichomes to act as a sunscreen so to speak to protect the plant tissues from harmful UVB rays.
That’s just the facts as they were presented by the research .
I have read much bro science on trichome production being enhanced by dark periods as it was believed that the plant is making a last ditch effort to capture what tiny quantity of pollen may be present.
This is not to say that the product resulting from 48 hrs of darkness is in anyway inferior to those harvested with normal light cycles in place as the facts are that if you seem to perceive a difference which you favor than go for it .
As for flushing and then drying of the pots just previous to harvest.
These have also been somewhat disproven as being beneficial .
Flushing has been shown to do absolutely zilch as far as promoting a smoother more flavorful product in that unwelcome compounds are somehow removed from the tissue.
In soilless media and even simple soils flushing will remove nutrients (salts) from that media.
In living soils
Which I now use ,
In flushing you will not stop the biological processes but you can kill them and cause unfavorable anaerobic microbiology and flush out all your nutrients
Back to the research
Plant tissue was examined/ analyzed 2 weeks previous to harvest
1/2 of the control group was fed as usual to the very last day
The other 1/2 was flushed for the same duration.
Subsequent plant tissue analysis showed all the various components in the same concentrations
In all the plants.
Now
Personally speaking I will run a bit dryer the last few days previous to harvest if my drying environment isn’t perfect and I find it necessary to try to mitigate adverse effects of too much moisture and possibly molding taking place.
All of this is absolutely up to the discretion of the grower and if your happy with the results
What difference does it make
But if your looking for FACT so as to better develop your own practices and procedures based on FACT
Then FACTS indicate we’re whistling out our asses in saying “it absolutely does benefit metabolically and improve tissue composition resulting in a superior result.” of
our finished product.
Again,
Do what works for you and what you have confidence in but the facts suggest these two practices are not something that needs to be done in an effort to improve the plants biological conditions in preparation for a superior dry/cure and of course end product.
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Oh wow
7 months
Lol!
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I agree with everything that @jorkvilleyoe so aptly stated. Here is what I do. I usually harvest in stages, The main buds just a tad early to perfect peak and then let the secondary harvest two to three weeks later, allowing the triches to get a greater percentage of amber to develope. This usually gives me a daytime and an evening smoke. Prior to taking the main buds, I will give the plant only PH adjusted water for 4 or 5 days. No sense in wasting nutes. I will take them either at lights on or just before lights off.
When Swami harvests outside, he always does so just before dawn (not sunup) because light triggers enzyme changes that affect growth. He believes that you don’t want the buds to dry while in the growth cycle. So what I do when taking my second harvest, is unplug the lights after lights out. Then when I get to them it has only been an extended lights out rather than any number of cycles. When I harvest the second harvest, I usually take the whole plant in one chop.
I am known in Da Region for having some of the best boutique buds not for sale. 
This is the way. Perfect answer
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