Antics Power Flower - Cali Jack FIM Grow

[Antics]

Man I'm impressed by the bud size... pretty thick... if I'd ask you "tell me the top 3 things of this cycle", what would you tell us?
Don't forget to post the dry weight

Thanks, I'm really impressed too, especially considering this was just a CFL grow.

What do you mean by "the top 3 things of this cycle"?

And I won't forget the dry weight lol. I'm already counting down the days. Day 1 down. About 4-6 days of drying left to go.

 

[Organic Weed]

Sorry if I wasn't clear with my inquiry... Basically I would like to know what are the top 3 "secret ingredients" of this cycle... what do you think contributed the most to get such a result? What did you do really right compared for example to your previous cycles?

 

[Antics]

The most important things I think were the FIM (Topping) and lots of LST to make a flat canopy.. And an even spread of CFLs definitely helped for it being a CFL grow. I also spaced out my watering a little more on this grow. They do seem to grow better when the soil is allowed to dry out more than what you would normally think.

Other than those things, I didn't change a lot from my first grow.

I used the same pots, same soil (And I mean that I reused my old soil, I didn't buy the same brand again), same nutrients, same fans, right about the same temperature and humidity as well.

 

[Organic Weed]

Thanx... Any defoliation at all? It seems you did some (sorry I haven't read your full cycle)... if yes, when/how did you do it?

During my current cycle I have been doing some extreme LST also (only, no FIM or TOP) and the canopy stayed pretty much flat throughout the whole cycle, but I am actually wondering if this is beneficial at all... I am thinking that maybe it is ok to do extreme bending but only if the plant is allowed to recover for 3 or 4 days after the bending -- I have been bending the plant almost daily and quiet radically... any ideas on this?

 

[Antics]

Defol was done as little as possible. I always try to tuck leaves out of the way first, and I only defoliate as a last resort. I don't include it as the most important since in a perfect world, I could tuck all leaves out of the way, making defol unnecessary.

I started defol the first week or two of flower, and I stopped on day 32 I believe. I would only defol about once every 5 days or so.

Unless you put a kink in a branch, or cause a split, you really shouldn't need any recovery time. I have never had problams with all the LST I've done. I just tie the branch down and leave it.
It sounds like you might be doing something more similar to supercropping.

 

[mykelh1126]

Dude,
that is totally awesome!! I am way jealous, I totally hope I get even a 1/3 or 1/4 as much as you did from your first plant (the 30 g's). I would be happyy! haha.

I cannot wait until I can start my second grow with all this new knowledge I have gained (all from this forum).

 

[KingJohnC]

Congratulations on your harvest!

 

[Antics]

Dude,
that is totally awesome!! I am way jealous, I totally hope I get even a 1/3 or 1/4 as much as you did from your first plant (the 30 g's). I would be happyy! haha.

I cannot wait until I can start my second grow with all this new knowledge I have gained (all from this forum).

You want to know how my growing started? lol 2 dead plants. I just continued my first grow with 2 more that I planted and continued. 8.55 and 9.07 grams for my first 2 good plants. I had a third planted that didn't get enough light and had poor draining soil, which yielded less than 1 gram. So I read as much as I could and it actually does help, as you saw my yield improved a lot.

Most of the information you see from experienced growers will help improve your yield. Some information will only improve conditions, temperature, humidity, etc.. and will not affect yield much, but will still make a happier plant, which can possibly increased potency. It's always worth listening to those with more experience. It helped me a lot, and I'm glad I took the time to learn and watch others grow.

And because of all this, I have enough for my own smoke, and I have enough to make oil for my first patient. So everybody wins.

Keep on growing brother!

Congratulations on your harvest!

Thank you kindly!

Today completes 2 days of drying, so we'll have about 3-5 more days of drying left to go before I can get a final weight. I'm guessing I'll see about 42 grams +/-, but I have my fingers crossed hoping I'll get close to that 50+ gram range.

 

[Organic Weed]

Man... I've gone through most of your cycle now... You used 250 W CFL ( 3-45w 5-23w) for Veg and went up to 380 W for flower, correct? And from PF you got 30 gr. This is what most people would get from a good haverst under a 400 HPS. And from this second one, expect at least 20-30% more. So you'll be at about 40-45 gr. This is my guess.
Is CFL producing more hear than HPS? In other words, is a 400 W CFL heating less or the same compared to a 400 HPS? I'm asking coz I am living in a warm place and I'll be able to grow only once per year -- during winter. If the CFL is less heat, then I'll probably go for that or for a LED -- but many people still say LED doesn't produce tops as thick as HPS.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Congrats Antics.

 

[Antics]

Man... I've gone through most of your cycle now... You used 250 W CFL ( 3-45w 5-23w) for Veg and went up to 380 W for flower, correct? And from PF you got 30 gr. This is what most people would get from a good haverst under a 400 HPS. And from this second one, expect at least 20-30% more. So you'll be at about 40-45 gr. This is my guess.
Is CFL producing more hear than HPS? In other words, is a 400 W CFL heating less or the same compared to a 400 HPS? I'm asking coz I am living in a warm place and I'll be able to grow only once per year -- during winter. If the CFL is less heat, then I'll probably go for that or for a LED -- but many people still say LED doesn't produce tops as thick as HPS.

That's correct, I was at 383 total watts, but at one point one of my 45w bulbs broke, and I had to replace it with a 23w bulb, so the total watts for flowering were 351 watts towards the end. Ok it was 361 watts.. I just checked my math again and I was off by 10 somehow?

I think a successful grow should exceed 30 grams under 400w HPS though.
But I think a respectable yield can be achieved with even less wattage by simply growing a flat plant, and keeping the bulbs close, which lets all branches receive equal lighting, since the CFL range is only as far as about 8"/ 20cm. (But opinions on this distance vary from person to person).

I don't think CFL produces anywhere close to the same heat as HPS. If I close my grow room doors, temperature will reach 90-95F / 32-35C. I think with HPS I would be much higher than that.

If you are deciding what to buy now.. I would compare CFL and LED if heat is a concern. HPS will produce a lot of heat. I believe LED will run cooler than CFL, and after you consider the cost of all CFL bulbs, fixtures, fans, and power bill, LED might be the cheaper option.

I have also had a total of 3 CFL bulbs go bad, and the cost of replacing the bulbs can add up also.
The LED should last between 50,000-100,000 hours.. or 2,777-5,555 days running 18 hour light cycles. This is about 7.5-15 years lifespan. So also consider how many CFL bulbs you would replace during this time.

And thick tops and colas are nice, but in the end, it's a quality, potent yield that counts. And I would gladly harvest 5 ounces of smaller nugs over a single 2 ounce cola any day.

Congrats Antics.

Thank you very much

 

[lexblaze]

Congrats Antics! Right when they look like they would never finish judging only by pistils.. they put on some great weight.

 

[Pablo Tesla]

Did you weight the second crop before start drying?

 

[Antics]

Congrats Antics! Right when they look like they would never finish judging only by pistils.. they put on some great weight.

No kidding man! It was an agonizing wait lol. I never thought I'd see trichomes on the buds start changing.

Did you weight the second crop before start drying?

Of course not. lol I did it once and it was disappointing when the harvest was finally dried, but now you get me curious about things, so at day 3.5 of drying, I have a total weight of buds and stems at a little over 80 grams. There should be a couple days of drying left, and by the time I trim all the stems off, I think I'll be right in the 42-45 gram range.
Tomorrow the smaller stems should all be done. They're ALMOST done today, but have a little chlorophyll smell left, so they can wait another day. The bigger colas should be 1-2 more days.

 

[Antics]

All the smaller branches are dry except for 1 (No stem snap, bud still feels soft, and no crispyness). That should be dry tonight or tomorrow. Then I have all the large cola branches to trim, which should take at least 1 full day on those, maybe a day and a half or 2 considering their size. Included in this are the 2 backbuilding buds that will be compared also.

Total weight of the buds and popcorn form the smaller branches is 11.31 grams.

Judging from what I have left drying, I should end up with 40-45 grams total harvest. I'll update again as more is ready to go into the curing jars (And I think I'll need 2 jars for this harvest! )

 

[Antics]

Ok time for a harvest update. And some information! So don't just skip to the pictures lol. Something might be helpful for someone out there. I will however try to keep it short and to the point so I don't bore anyone!

First topic: Cali Jack and Power Flower were dried 2 different ways.
Power Flower: Plant cut at base of stem, hung upside down complete for 2 days. Fan leaves removed. Allowed to dry more, then sugar leaves removed. Allowed to dry more, then branches separated, and manicured, then hung until dry. Total time was 5 days.

Cali Jack: Fan leaves removed while plant is still complete. Individual branches cut at stem, sugar leaves then removed, manicured, and hung to dry. Total time was also 5 days. As many of you saw in the pictures, Cali Jack was a bigger producer, but we'll get to the yield later so I don't spoil any surprises.

EDIT: I forgot to add this conclusion. It appears that drying a whole plant takes longer than drying individual stems. Especially seeing that Power Flower was a 1 ounce plant, and Cali Jack was a 2 ounce plant. So depending on the size of your buds/plant, you may want to consider a full plant hang dry, but I do suggest removing as many leaves as possible, no longer than 1 day after you hang the plant. Waiting longer makes the leaves significantly more difficult to remove. But if you need a slower drying process, a whole plant hang dry works great!

Next up, Backbuilding. Read all about it from the man, the myth, the legend here: LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!
I selected two opposing branches at the same node. I trimmed one, and left the other untrimmed. The trimmed bud is marked with a red ribbon, and the ribbon is visible in all pictures.
Now we get to some pictures!
These are the complete branches as harvested from the stem:
UNCUT:

CUT:

Next I removed all the small outward growing branches, and left the main colas:
UNCUT (Thumbs up for the weight, and no this wasn't planned!):

CUT:

And finally, I removed all buds from the stems, for a final weight comparison of buds only.

UNCUT:

CUT:

So finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for.. or at least I have.. the final weight. Drumroll anyone?
Anyone?
Ok fine... I'll just post the picture:

58.65 grams! 2.06 ounces!

And yes.. that's from one plant.
On the left is what I harvested from Power Flower. On the right is Cali Jack. 2 jars full, and another filled 3/4 of the way up.

So the total harvest from two plants was: 89.47g, or 3.15 ounces.
Power Flower yielded 30.82g
Cali Jack 58.65g

And this is my goal for my current grow, Big Bang with my new LED, which is in my signature below. I'll be taking pictures of the biggest buds/colas shortly and getting those posted as well.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[SBG]

AMAZING. Well done sir. I can feel the excitement in the air for the LED lighting. oooooh aaaaah.

 

[Antics]

AMAZING. Well done sir. I can feel the excitement in the air for the LED lighting. oooooh aaaaah.

Thank you! But now the pressure is really on for the new grow. I was thinking I'd need a 2-2.5 ounce plant. Now I need a 3 ounce plant, so this is going to be really freaking difficult.

And I took some pictures of the Cali Jack Buds compared to the Power Flower buds. I just wish my camera was better to capture trichomes better.

And I think you can all tell which is which lol

 

[Nwgrower420]

Awesome job brother dude!!

 

[lexblaze]

glad to see the backbuilding worked for you too =)
man we need large kitchen scales I have the same and it takes planning to weigh 2oz at times hehe

congrats!