I have a couple questions. If I moderately defoliate my photos, how long should I wait to flip the lights to 12/12? Also some suggest giving the plants a dark period of 48-72 hours. Is it pseudoscience bs or is there something to it? I know the hormone auxin is light sensitive and promotes growth. I would think that the plant would stretch considerably because of this. I’ve read that plants supposedly finish sooner when this technique is applied.
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Very unconventional method… I was very surprised that some pretty drastic approaches have good results…
It is probably worth reading this topic:
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I usually defoliate but only in flower. Can’t speak to the extra dark period.
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Some people gradually reduce the times by an hour over 6 days till they get to 12/12. Personally I just jump from 18/6 to 12/12 directly. They will likely enter flower quicker doing it directly like that. I’ve never seen any adverse reaction to it. No darkness period either.
Plants will finish when they are good and ready. 2 plants from the same seed batch could easily be 2 weeks apart in finishing. That’s why a trichome check is the only true way to judge harvest.
Edit - I defoliate in both veg and flower
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I have copied Closegrowth technique and now veg in 20/4 so when switching to 12/12 they react faster. Regarding defoliation, there is this technique, never tried … 
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I do 36 hours of darkness and then start the 10/14 12/12
it depletes the red enzyme that inhibits flowering
and pushes them into flower
all the best
Dequilo
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Thanks for the tip LemonadeJoe! I’ll give that a read.
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Personally, I veg on a 24/0 schedule now. I used an 18/6 schedule for more than 3 decades. The plant can start flowering with anything less than 14 hours of light, so any veg schedule with more than 14 hours of light will work to keep them in veg.
When using an 18/6 or 24/0 veg schedule, once the flip happens, the signal for the plant to begin flowering comes on rather quickly, due to the immense change in the light it is now receiving. It had blue for veg and will need red for flower. The color of the light is what the plant sees and is what directs it’s growth by chemical change within the plant.
If you choose to put your plants in total darkness for a few days, this also sends a message to the plant that they hear, loud and clear, that it’s time to start their flowering cycle.
There are so many different methods in which to cultivate this plant, try one and see if it’s right for you, if so, run with it! We all cultivate our plants a little differently than each other, but it’s what we have found to work for us the best. Find your method and grow your cannabis… if you have questions, ask them and you’ll get answers.
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I’ve taken note of the advice. I’ve always been kinda nervous about high stress training and this grow I decided to go that route. I’ve heard of people gradually going down in 1 hr increments per day until they achieve 12/12 which seems reasonable since that’s the way nature works. Good point Esr. Trichome check is a great indication of ripeness. I was looking for people who have tried the p.o.d flip and whether it has benefited them or not. I did see on another forum that someone did a side-by-side comparison with clones from the same mother. Controlled experiment with no variation in regards to lighting, VPD, or fertigation. I’ll have to go and find that post and read a little more into it. Thanks all for the input. I really appreciate it.
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