The 40:60 rule is very useful. It states that when flowering natural (NON-autoflowering) strains under constant 12/12 light/darkness, that the plant will "stretch" for the first 40% of its complete flowering period. Note that this also assumes that the plant in question is a mature one (staggered nodes instead of them being straight across from each other).
How is this useful?
If you have a strain that you know the total flowering time of, you can find the length of the stretch period and then by observing how much the plant stretches each day, you can tell if you will have enough room for it.
If you have a strain that you do NOT know the total flowering time of, you can count the number of days that the plant is in the stretch period, and figure out the exact finishing date. This is MUCH more accurate than the average flowering times posted in most seedbank descriptions.
Ever wonder if the seedbank recommendations were at least semi-accurate or if they were weighted one way or the other to support the description of a given strain's affects (shorter for UP, longer for couch-lock)? Just plug your MEASURED numbers into the formula.
Days of Stretch = 40% of Flowering
Days After Stretch = 60% of Flowering
1.5 x (Days of Stretch) = # of Days from the end of stretch to harvest day
2.5 x (Days of Stretch) = TOTAL # of Days in Flowering
40% x (Total Days of Flowering) = # of Days of Stretch
60% x (Total Days of Flowering) = # of Days After Stretch ("Fattening")
How is this useful?
If you have a strain that you know the total flowering time of, you can find the length of the stretch period and then by observing how much the plant stretches each day, you can tell if you will have enough room for it.
If you have a strain that you do NOT know the total flowering time of, you can count the number of days that the plant is in the stretch period, and figure out the exact finishing date. This is MUCH more accurate than the average flowering times posted in most seedbank descriptions.
Ever wonder if the seedbank recommendations were at least semi-accurate or if they were weighted one way or the other to support the description of a given strain's affects (shorter for UP, longer for couch-lock)? Just plug your MEASURED numbers into the formula.
Days of Stretch = 40% of Flowering
Days After Stretch = 60% of Flowering
1.5 x (Days of Stretch) = # of Days from the end of stretch to harvest day
2.5 x (Days of Stretch) = TOTAL # of Days in Flowering
40% x (Total Days of Flowering) = # of Days of Stretch
60% x (Total Days of Flowering) = # of Days After Stretch ("Fattening")
