What Is A Terpene
Terp’s are amazing! They are what gives cannabis it’s amazing fruity and citrusy flavours. Different terpenes also have certain medicinal qualities, bonus! Let’s run through my favourite 3 terpenes and some of their qualities.
Limonene
Limonene is the same terpene found in lemons, after which it is named, and highly responsible for the fruity/citrusy flavours found in many of the top stains of today. Some of the medicinal qualities of limonene include several mood elevating qualities as well anti bacterial/microbial properties. Limonene is used in many cosmetic products and cleaners as well.Alpha & Beta-Pinene
Ah… Pinene! I have to admit, I have yet to find a super piney strain to add to my selection. I’ve come across some that I bought in the past, but did not know the strains at the time. Alpha-Pinene acts as a bronchial dilator and an anti-inflammatory, what a combo! This makes it perfect for helping the THC absorb into the lungs and maybe soothes them after? Probably wishful thinking.Nerolidol
This terpene is responsible for floral and earthy aromas. Nerolidol is also showing promising applications in fighting neurogenesis disorders. We don’t need pharmaceuticals, nature has given us almost all we need in cannabis and fruits and vegetables.
I’ll be clear. My top 3 choices of terpenes are based on preferred flavour of my cannabis. Although these terpenes have shown medicinal qualities it is my opinion that medicinal effects experienced when orally consuming, smoking and vaporizing cannabis are largely due to the fluctuation of the cannabinoid profiles rather than the terpene profiles, although I am sure they contribute. I have not experienced a drastically wide fluctuation of effects based on terpenes in cannabis with high THC content. That being said, I think the main medicinal value of cannabis is in the cannabinoids. Especially THC and CBD.
Resin/Trichomes
Trichomes, often called “crystals”, are what makes your flowers look super sugary and beautiful. An abundance of trichomes = high THC/CBD content! The trichomes are also a large contributor to the stickiness of cannabis. When worked and crushed up by different methods trich’s are what hash is made out of. The trichomes make up the majority percentage of any quality produced solvent based extract as well, such as honey oil, shatter, budder, rosin etc.
What Were We Talking About Again?
Oh yeah… so if you haven’t figured it out yet, more terp’s and more resin equates to stronger medicine with an enhanced flavour profile! If for some reason you don’t want your cannabis to be stronger and taste better, I am sorry you have read this far and hope you enjoyed the pictures.
Method 1
High flower room temperatures.
I keep my flower room at 27-29 degrees C (80-84 F). Exceeding 29 degrees is not recommended unless you really know what you’re doing on a technical level. High temperatures have been reported by many growers to increase resin and terp production mainly by increasing foliar transpiration (the amount of water released by the leaves), and in turn, water (nutrient) uptake.
Method 2
Cold Water
For the last water you give your plant before harvest, cool the water to refrigerator temperature. This will trick the plant into thinking it is fall and is said to increase resin and terpene production as well as help slow plants finish up timely.
Method 3
72 hours of darkness.
For the last 3 days before harvest leave your plant sitting in the dark with as little light as possible. This will “shock” your plant, which triggers the main defence mechanism of cannabis - increased resin production!
I personally use a combination of these 3 methods on pretty much every harvest and am happy with how it has helped my end product turn out. Feel free to hit me up with any tricks you guys use. I’m always “growing” and expanding my knowledge base.
I hope you all enjoyed the post! Thanks for reading, I hope these tips help your yields exceed your expectations! Be sure to check out my post on Cloning Cannabis, Juicing Raw Cannabis as well as my post on Anarchy!
All photos and buds by Jay Anarchon. Use freely on steemit with credit due.
Interesting
I advocate nearly the opposite of what you and others are doing. Max canopy temp 72F (I prefer 70-71), humidity at 15-20% (which also maximizes transpiration).
I keep the nutrient strength low and use a full pH swing. The results are super frosty, terpene rich flowers. I even went and wrote a book on the subject, Secrets to Trichome Dense Cannabis. :D
As for the 72hrs of dark... I personally believe it only has an effect when your flowering environment is less than ideal. The plants react positively to the reduction of the daily stresses they've been enduring. When your environment is ideal, there is no change from a 72hr dark period. ;)
Limonene
is my favorite terp so far. :) Love the lemons...
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Interesting... I keep my humidity at 38-48% to compensate for the heat.
I do fluctuate my PH within range but have never tried a controlled swing. I'll definitely check out your book.
As far as an ideal environment goes, cannabis grows all over the world and has many ideal environments which vary greatly. Plants can also adapt to environmental conditions, from one generation to the next especially. If your plants show no deficiencies I'd say you are providing a suitable environment! Can you always improve? Hell yeah, that's what convos like this are for! One of my favorite aspects of the cannabis community is the willingness to share information worth it's weight in gold.
That's the thing with cannabis, do what works for you! There are so many variables in any given grow that you can not say one grow method is law. Also, these are plants! They just want to grow and be healthy so if you can give them most of what they need they will do just that.
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The controlled pH swing (through the usage of nutes, no pH up/down) will increase quality dramatically. It works best with a nutrient profile balanced for this swing. The plant responds favorably to a high transpiration, low nutrient level. Transpiration is controlled through heat and humidity. ;)
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Intriguing...
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Well easiest way to increase the terpenes is to just directly add them.
And cruel treatment without understanding what the reactions of the plant and the strain isn't nice.
But if 80-84 is high... I've seen plants rock through 100+ temps. And depending what the environment is of the strain. That determines light deprivation schedules.
Experience helps as well....
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Treating your plants with love is mandatory for sure! I do not add things to my cannabis and prefer to grow as organically as possible.
These 3 methods are not cruel to the plant, they simulate (accelerated) naturally occurring phases in the plants growth cycle.
These 3 methods work for every strain I've tried it with.
And yes, experience does help, which is why I'm sharing years of it with all of you!
Thanks for checking out my post!
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I don't really know what adding cold water can do or keeping in the dark for 73 hrs... I tried the latter though and I'm not convinced. At best results are anecdotal, but then for each its own... IMO the best way to squeeze out the terps it to provide optimal environment, optimal soil, and grow cultivars, that are genetically high terpene producers.
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I agree that optimal environment is crucial. Most growing practices are debatable as there are so many that produce amazing results! I have listed a few that work for me with the system I am currently using.
Yes, you are right genetics are key as well. You will not get big fat dense buds from a strain that produces wispy small yields so be sure to choose genetics with the traits you are looking for.
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