re: Xlr8's Psychedelic Bloom Party Extravaganza
Absolutely right Xlr8!
I agree 100%. I understand where people are coming from wanting to start counting when they see flowers, but I think that is overlooking an interesting or useful statistic. I'm curious to know how long it takes from flip until the plant shows flowers. By counting from the day of flip, it also gives a common reference point for the different strains. I'm running 9 strains right now, so does that mean I started flowering at 9 different times? lol No! Maybe some growers just feel better saying their flowering times were shorter. IMHO, who cares. Select strains based on fast flowering of course, but it is what it is. I'd rather know how long from flip to harvest than any of the other numbers. For scheduling a perpetual grow, that's the critical piece of data.
Let's say you're trying to choose between 2 strains and it comes down to flowering time. One of them says it flowers in 57 days. The other says it flowers in 54 days! Go with the faster strain, right? Maybe not. What if those numbers were counted from the day the plant started showing flowers. What if the 50 day plant took 5 days longer to start flowering? Maybe that 57 day plant was showing flowers after the first day.
Count from flip. Every other method is worthless to anyone except that grower. Without a standard reference, we can't make meaningful comparisons.
OK I'm done. I see this topic tossed around often, and I've bit my tongue until now. Thanks for letting me vent on your thread X
I have changed how I look at this over time. In the end, and between us and our plant, it's all academic - they're done when they're done. So... it becomes a matter of communication and consistency that matters as far as here in the forums. I used to count flowering as "Day 1" as soon as pistils started showing and after 12/12 was initiated. However, it became clear that many people track "Day 1" as when the flip to 12/12 is made. Not everybody, however, and it remains confusing because of this.
Upon doing a little research, I read a post by Subcool from TGA Subcool genetics that solidified why I do it how I do it now. Someone asked him point-blank, "When you suggest flowering times for your strains, do you start from the initiation of 12/12, or when you first see pistils?" (or something to that effect). His answer was (paraphrasing): "The flowering days are assuming a reduction in daylight from 18/6 to 12/12, and the flowering days start as soon as this reduction to 12/12 is made".
Now, I realize Subcool's thinking isn't necessarily the way everyone wants to think of this, nor every breeder. However, to me, communicating days from flip seems the most universal language when communicating in the forums here. Plus, I had just bought a bunch of "TGA" seeds, so it seemed like the way to go for that reason, too.
Thank you for the props my friend (though I'm hardly a guru!).
One other note: I'm insane, so I keep growing multiple strains at once in my grows. Indicas and Sativas living together and other silly notions. Sometimes, they show pistils at different times. Heck, some strains reach sexual maturity and show pistillate pre-flowers whilst still in veg - while others take up to 12 days in bloom. Another reason that for me, I find "Day 1" to be easier thought of as when the photoperiod was reduced to 12/12...
Absolutely right Xlr8!
I agree 100%. I understand where people are coming from wanting to start counting when they see flowers, but I think that is overlooking an interesting or useful statistic. I'm curious to know how long it takes from flip until the plant shows flowers. By counting from the day of flip, it also gives a common reference point for the different strains. I'm running 9 strains right now, so does that mean I started flowering at 9 different times? lol No! Maybe some growers just feel better saying their flowering times were shorter. IMHO, who cares. Select strains based on fast flowering of course, but it is what it is. I'd rather know how long from flip to harvest than any of the other numbers. For scheduling a perpetual grow, that's the critical piece of data.
Let's say you're trying to choose between 2 strains and it comes down to flowering time. One of them says it flowers in 57 days. The other says it flowers in 54 days! Go with the faster strain, right? Maybe not. What if those numbers were counted from the day the plant started showing flowers. What if the 50 day plant took 5 days longer to start flowering? Maybe that 57 day plant was showing flowers after the first day.
Count from flip. Every other method is worthless to anyone except that grower. Without a standard reference, we can't make meaningful comparisons.
OK I'm done. I see this topic tossed around often, and I've bit my tongue until now. Thanks for letting me vent on your thread X