POTENCY

[Builder0101]

I grew a Cream from Growers Choice. Tiny runt. I think I may have gotten 15g. I gave it all to friends and family. Everyone loved it. Wanted more. Smelled like kerosene. She was pathetic but cane thru with a very pleasant high i guess. Unfortunately I can't enjoy the fruits of my labor of love directly.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

I'm stoned.

 

[Waira]

One of those things was trying to discuss the importance of darkness for plants, even C3 plants (where the very common argument comes into play that C3 plants can photosynthesize 24 hours a day in the right conditions.) But I like to pose "just because you CAN, does that mean you SHOULD?"

I think we ground that out well in the 24/0 vs 20/4 thread - ... a whole lot of other limiting factors needs to be dealt with to get the most out of that 24/0, gig, and then there's the MDI too....

 

[Death The Cultivator]

The idea should be more "the right kind of stress at the RIGHT TIME".

I heard hammering a nail into the stalk increases resin production.
I heard flooding the root zone with ice can cause a flood of new trichome growth.
I heard 48 hour of darkness minimum really pushes the plants to finish.
I heard menstrual blood from a woman can really boost trichome production.
I heard crushing up infant vitamins into your feed is good for the plant.
I heard pissing directly into the pot gives a great nitrogen boost in veg.

I heard a rumor.... that none of these things offers anything other than anecdotal "proof."

If the maturity of the trichomes is what we're shooting for peak/optimal THC levels, then flooding the plant with new growth before harvest seems like a daft idea (if it even remotely worked that way.) Even if it DID create a heavier concentration of trichomes, those trichomes would not be at an optimal level of maturity. Ever harvest a plant way to early? It's not typically a pleasant high.

Growers need to get over these "hacks" IMO and instead work on creating optimum conditions for each stage of growth.

Anyone can grow cannabis. ANYONE.
Few people can grow GOOD cannabis.
Fewer people yet can grow GREAT cannabis.

If every stage of growth is a percentage that the sum of the whole equals 100%, then skimping on any of those stages of growth results in a less than 100% optimal plant.

Potency is the "entourage effect" of the presence or lack of certain cannabinoids, terpenes/terpenoids, and flavonoids. It's the concentration of those present, the combinations of what is there (or not,) etc that provide the effects that we feel.

Further, it's your own body's endocannabinoid system that determines how THOSE things even work for your individual person.

That's why for some people, edibles do NOTHING. For some people, they can smoke and smoke and never get "blazed." For some people, one hit makes them think a childhood friend is secretly the FBI in a sting operation.

Here in Colorado, the recreational market (and let's be VERY clear here, there is no such thing as "medicinal and recreational cannabis," ALL CANNABIS provides medical benefits!) buys wholesale flower based on:

1. THC content strictly (no one gives a shit about CBG, THCV, CBD, etc.)
2. Bag appeal (hand trim vs machine trim, visible stems/crows feet on the buds)
3. Seeds. Finding one seed in the crop during purchase immediately DROPS the price of wholesale pounds by HUNDREDS of dollars.

And that's it.

For years (decades?), breeders have pretty much SOLELY focused on THC content. Pyramid Seeds produces autoflowers, nearly 10 years ago they came out with their Auto Tutankhamon. They LITERALLY were marketing it as the first autoflower to test over 30% THC. It didn't take long for that marketing to go away, because.... it's pretty easy to test for lol.

Heck, when I first started it I even did the same thing. "What's the highest THC percentage I can find on the label on the website?" That's soooooooo not how it works.

Genetics, whether it's photoperiod from seed, photoperiod from clone, or autoflowers, have a POTENTIAL for potency. You CANNOT buy or grow cannabis that "tested out over 30%" and "just expect" your cannabis to be over 30% . Sorry to burst bubbles, but that's just not how it works. I've seen HUNDREDS of Ethos Genetics (most people here are famililar with Ethos, I'm less impressed with their genetics and more impressed with their marketing at this point.) But so many Ethos's have allegedly tested out high in terms of THC on testing. But when growers (whether at home or even commercially grow them,) rarely do they see this "amazing claim." That's because without an experienced driver, awesome genetics are the coolest car you've ever seen, but it's a stick shift and you only know how to drive an automatic.... (I'm terrible with metaphors.) But that's why you can get a cut of some of the most amazing genetics on the planet, but if you're not a skilled grower.... welcome to 'ho-hum' cannabis.

Reading through botany books and research papers you hinted at something that I don't think growers consider or realize.

I - my personal opinion - believe that many many many growers actually over veg their plants through excessive training and defoliation. You have your vegetative steering techniques and you have your generative steering techniques. @Builder0101 mentioned drought as a method and it does not create vegetative growth because it stimulates flowering properties to help the plant reproduce by the end of it's life. So there are valid generative techniques but at the same time you shouldn't be creating stress responses in flower that stimulate regenerative growth.

It's counterproductive to have a strong healthy veg, outside of air flow - get an anemometer, then proceed to strip leaves or break every stem for TERPS/YIELD/THC. A lot of those myths probably do work just not for flowering. Genetic potential, a harmony created by a dialed in environment, can't be achieved when constant stress that isn't appropiate is thrown at it or worse nothing was done 100% well through flower. Yield might still be great but the plants are burnt to shit, probably lacking terpenes, and all that genetic potential lost.

Plant counts suck and canopy space would be a much fairer method of allowing home growing. Some strains just aren't heavy yielders no matter how much you stress them and yield isn't equivalent to anything if your weed was grown like shit. Not everyone can do A SOG or baby a DWC system but some strains just don't like training.

However we should all be taking control of our environments as much as possible to maximize potential rather than some specific potency like THC. What, when, and how the plants are fed, the best lighting for each phase, the best temperature, humidity, air flow, foliars, etc should all not be overlooked if we want good weed. Getting rid of myths like flushing, defoliation, and abuse in flower and getting to the things that produce quality from seed to smoke.

I think a new conversation needs to be had on what connoisseurs like ourselves consider valuable rather than what commercial operations claim to be the FOTM.

 

[Builder0101]

I thought I would not defolite. It is kind of addictive. I have a large plant with massive amounts of sugar leaves. It has huge colas but It is larfy and will probably all go into edibles. Though it is the same genetics (supposedly) as that runt i described. Perhaps larfy bud with a great high is worth giving to FnF. I wonder if I had not defoliated it like I did if it would not have pushed out so many sugar leaves. Today is 114 since germination and she is probably 30 days from finishing. Perhaps she will tighten up but I doubt it.

 

[Blackbeard32]

Drought stress is a common technique with tomatoes to enhance certain qualities. By restricting water you can steer your plant towards more generative, flowering, growth much like how LST causes more vegetative growth. Commercial operations use sensors at the root zone to monitor the EC/pH/temperature for accurate crop steering. Too much water restriction can cause problems from the bottom to the top.

Towards the end of my flowering cycles I restrict water a bit by increasing the time between flood periods but also be maintaining lower temperatures, 75-78f, and sub 40% humidity. Near the end the plant likes to assimilate sugars and withhold them from the root zone but adding a carbohydrate source will help keep the microbes active and that contributes to quality.

Though if we are talking potency then what actually matters? I think high THC percentages are archaic when there are many other cannabinoids that work with THC. Brix testing would be a closer way to observe how much quality is contained within the plant - grape growers measure to know when to harvest. I want a quality high that doesn't require a lot to consume to get there for relief or just to be high.

Potency, to me, is in the back of my mind because I expect quality to be potent to some degree not accounting for the strain and it's specific qualities. If environmentals, nutrition, genetics, and the cure are on point then the bud should be pretty good and down to personal taste. Flushing isn't the key though but low EC throughout the whole grow, never over feeding and letting the plant take it's time.

You also have a lot of other things that contributes to quality like lights. High ppfd, 800+, UV, far red for EOD, tunable spectrums can help. Maintaining VPD throughout the majority of the grow lessens chances of nutrient issues and improves growth. Proper airflow will help exchange the stagnant air around the stomata. Low stress and consistency also contribute.

The only other thing I can think of is consistency. Everyone wants yield and an expeditious strain but does don't equate to quality and contribute to breeders only going for yield and THC percentages. Imo that is like only doing bicep curls on one arm and thinking marathon running will get you buff. I digress, but I do believe being incredibly consistent - logging every feeding, observing nutrient issues, maintaining equipment, keeping ideal environmentals etc lead to potency and yield to some degree.

I'll STFU soon. I also believe that growing strains that match your end goals is as important as getting quality down. If you press rosin, you want certain strains, if you do hash certain strains do it better, etc.

1) Darkness increases resin production.

During a plant’s dark cycle, respiration is in full swing. The light during the day provides the sugars/energy during respiration in the dark for growth of many things including trichomes and the oils inside. This is a normal process during flowering. When a plant is maturing and pretty much done, you shouldn’t see many, if any, clear trichomes forming. This is easy to check and don’t hold your breath waiting for more trichomes to form when the plant is finishing in those 3 dark days.

2) Darkness increases terpene production.

Terpenes and other secondary metabolites form mainly during the dark cycle.

3) Terpene levels are at their highest at the end of the dark cycle right before lights on.

Heat from the day evap’s volitle terp’s off we can smell so it make’s sense the highest levels would be when they are forming during the cycle with the coolest temps.

4) Sugars/starches recede from the plant to the root zone while in dark cycle resulting in a better tasting/burning bud.

This is also a normal cycle when the plant is growing leaf and photosynthesizing. At the end of the plants life there shouldn’t be much of anything going on if the plant is truly finishing. It’s a good practice for sure to cut during the dark cycle to gaurantee she hasn’t sucked anything up during a day time chop.

5) Chlorophyll isn’t produced/active in the dark and existing chlorophyll begins to break down.

Super helpful thanks