Cultivating Cannabis: 48 Hours Of Darkness Before Harvest

There are dozens of cannabis growers utilizing different techniques to enhance their growth cycle. One technique is keeping cannabis plants in 48 hours of darkness before harvest.

The method of keeping your plants in darkness for 48 hours before harvest may increase resin, cannabinoid, and terpene production. It also gives the plant the ability to break down chlorophyll and flush out more of the chlorophyll that’s ideal for receiving high-quality cannabis buds. 

Many enjoy using the technique to produce better-quality cannabis flowers for indoor growing. They can have robust cannabis all year round with minimal issues. 

This article explores the nuances of providing cannabis plants 48 hours of darkness before harvest and the benefits surrounding it. 

What Does 48 Hours Of Darkness Before Harvest Do?

When you’re conducting the method, you can receive higher resin, terpene, and cannabinoid production. 

Several growers believe this is ideal for getting more flavorful and elevating effects after consuming cannabis flowers. 

The weed is at peak potency since the plants are in a stress response. It allows the cannabis flowers to suddenly produce more content in their fruits. 

There are a lot of cultivation methods to consider in growing cannabis plants indoors, but this method seems to be sticking for a good reason. 

Advantages 

There are some advantages, a few we mentioned, that the 48 hours of darkness can provide your cannabis plants. 

These include the following:

• More Terpenes: Your plants want to rush to create more terpene content after they’re left in darkness for a while. This makes them produce a higher terpene flavorful profile that results in an aromatic cannabis flower 
• Bigger Plant Colas: Your colas will appear larger providing more content within them. 
• Breaks Down Chlorophyll: Your cannabis plants in darkness break down chlorophyll and flush it out. 
• Higher Resin Content: More resin content means an increase in trichomes resulting in a higher potency content. 
• More Cannabinoids: You can have more cannabinoid content from CBD, THC, to CBN and CBG. 

The benefits can provide you with an overall higher quality cannabis flowers that you can ingest all year round. 

Disadvantages

In keeping cannabis flowers in darkness, there are also disadvantages to keeping your cannabis flowers in darkness. 

These include the following:

• Susceptible To Mold: Since cannabis plants are in the dark for a long duration in a cool and moist environment, mold may grow on them more easily. 
• Increase The Risk Of Pests: Cannabis plants may have an increase in pests due to the darkness that attracts certain pests. 

There aren’t many disadvantages, but they can influence how users grow their cannabis plants under a 48-hour dark period. 

How To Conduct The 48 Hours of Darkness Before Harvest On Cannabis Plants 

The only thing you would need to do is shut off your lighting in your indoor grow room before harvesting cannabis plants. 

Make sure to adjust temperature and humidity  to minimize the risk of mold or pests.

When keeping them in the dark, the temperature should be 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 40% to 50% humidity.

It’s best to safely place cannabis plants under darkness with the right protocols to avoid any issues like mold and pests. 

When you cultivate cannabis plants with the darkness method, you’re going to receive bountiful buds for your harvest. 

If you’re a cannabis grower wanting to learn about the ins and outs of growing, you can register for our free Ultimate Marijuana Home Growing webinar.  

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