First Grow Journal - Wilma System

[digahdee]

Quick photo update - Day 81 from seed - Day 31 from switching to 12/12

 

[Pericodaking1]

Looking good, harvest is only a few weeks away!

 

[digahdee]

Thanks Pericodaking,

Quick question for anybody - Ive been reading the how to guide but want some advice off some growers who have had good grows.

When is the best time to flush and should I do it with tap water ? If so, at what PH ?

I want to get a mixture of a head and body high, what colour should I be wanting the trichomes to be ?

Last one is - What is the best method to Dry/Cure/Store ?

I have read all the info at
How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know
but now want to know your guys opinions.

Thanks

 

[Mr. Krip]

Thanks Pericodaking,

Quick question for anybody - Ive been reading the how to guide but want some advice off some growers who have had good grows.

When is the best time to flush and should I do it with tap water ? If so, at what PH ?

I want to get a mixture of a head and body high, what colour should I be wanting the trichomes to be ?

Last one is - What is the best method to Dry/Cure/Store ?

I have read all the info at
How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know
but now want to know your guys opinions.

Thanks

Dig, there are generally two times to flush: mid-grow for correcting/preventing issues due to nute build-up in the medium; and a pre-harvest flush to clear out all the nutes so you get a cleaner tasting/burning product.

I'm assuming you're asking about pre-harvest flushing, since you're getting towards that time.

The idea is that, just before harvesting, you want to give the plants an opportunity to use up any of the stored chemical nutrients still left in their systems.

So, you generally want to lower the PPM's for the last two weeks before the final flush, then flush with straight, PH'd water for about a week or until they're ready for harvest. You'll see the leaves on the plant yellowing during this time as it uses up the stored nutes.

The time for a proper flush can be reduced if using a flushing agent, like Clearex.

There's a good thread on flushing here:

Flushing: A Tutorial by Papa Green

Look for 50/50 cloudy/amber for a good mix of head/body stone.

For drying, the objective is to dry the buds as slowly as possible without creating conditions conducive to mold. The length of time it will take will depend on your environmental conditions (temps & RH), but you should try to dry for about a week, or until the stems of the buds snap, but don't break, when bent.

You can checkout my DIY drying box. The first batch of buds ended up drying too quickly because I had the fan running 24x7, so you do want air circulation, but be careful having air blowing directly on the buds or they'll dry too quick. The slow drying process removes the taste of chlorophyl.

Once the moisture content on the buds is below 70% or so, they're safe to move into mason jars for curing. The potency and taste will improve considerably during the curing process. Burp the jars as needed for several weeks, or until the moisture content gets to below 60% at which point they should be ready for long-term storage.

Here's some good info on curing:

Cut the product, trim it per your preference, but don't dry it until the stems snap. Take it down while the stems still have some flex, but the product feels dry on the outside. This is a perfect opportunity to drop the dry-feeling flowers onto a screen and collect prime-quality kief that would otherwise get lost in the jar.

Jar the product, along with a Caliber III hygrometer. One can be had on Ebay for ~$20. Having tested a number of hygrometers - digital and analog - this model in particular produced consistent, accurate results. Then, watch the readings:

+70% RH - too wet, needs to sit outside the jar to dry for 12-24 hours, depending.

65-70% RH - the product is almost in the cure zone, if you will. It can be slowly brought to optimum RH by opening the lid for 2-4 hours.

60-65% RH - the stems snap, the product feels a bit sticky, and it is curing.

55-60% RH - at this point it can be stored for an extended period (3 months or more) without worrying about mold. The product will continue to cure.

Below 55% RH - the RH is too low for the curing process to take place. The product starts to feel brittle. Once you've hit this point, nothing will make it better. Adding moisture won't restart the curing process; it will just make the product wet. If you measure a RH below 55% don't panic. Read below:

Obviously, the product need time to sweat in the jar. As such, accurate readings won't be seen for ~24 hours, assuming the flowers are in the optimal cure zone. If you're curing the product for long-term storage, give the flowers 4-5 days for an accurate reading. If the product is sill very wet, a +70% RH reading will show within hours. If you see the RH rising ~1% per hour, keep a close eye on the product, as it's likely too moist.

I hope this help!

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for that Mr Krip.

I remember looking at your DIY drying box and liked the idea of it. I want to make one for my next grow hopefully.

That bit of info has helped and hopefully when the time comes to harvest I will do it correctly.

Thanks for taking your time and for answering

 

[digahdee]

Day 33 form switching to 12/12.

There is a nice sweet / fruity smell around the plants. Things seem to be looking good aswell.

I've noticed some are not developing the buds as quick as others but I beleive thats because they are 4 different strains.

Not to long to go untill harvest

What do you guys think of them so far.

 

[Pericodaking1]

they're looking great, but definitely let them fatten up some more, let those girlies drain every last drop of nutes in the medium til the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. push her to the limits bro!!

 

[Xlr8]

Looking nice and healthy! I'd say about 35-45 days left based on the looks of 'em... Should have some really fat buds by then!

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for passing through guys,

I think I have a problem with 2 of the plants - I think they are hermies but am not sure.

Here are some photos - any advice is much needed. Thanks

 

[Pericodaking1]

not at all bro, those are just really swollen calyxes, you can also tell by the white pistil sticking out of it, basically what nature is doing is anticipating pollination, but since you have no boys in your grow area, your mj girl thinks she's not doing enough to attract pollen and starts putting out pistil like crazy in the hopes of catching some pollen and creating a seed, when this doesn't happen you get "false pregnancies" where the seed pod (calyx) is not growing a seed but in fact just the calyx itself.

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for that bro,
The way you explained that helped me alot.
I was starting to worry and didnt know if I should put them in a different room, just incase anything bad was going to happen.
Thanks again

 

[DL-Toker]

Dig,

Just ran across your grow and got caught up. Looking really awesome, especially for a first effort! Subbed and pulling up a chair...better late than never

 

[KannabisKid]

The ladies are looking good bro . You'll have a fat bat in the next couple of weeks from the lady with the bottle.
Just to give you a visual of the male pre-flowers. They actually emerge on a stem once they start growing. This is from one of my plants:

I'm don't like to post pics in other journals, but I figured this might help you a bit.

 

[digahdee]

Thanks for joining DL-Toker,

Thanks for that KannabisKid, how old were your plants when the male pre-flowers started to show. And your always welcome to post up pics in here.

More photos will be uploaded in a few days.

 

[Pericodaking1]

Thanks for that bro,
The way you explained that helped me alot.
I was starting to worry and didnt know if I should put them in a different room, just incase anything bad was going to happen.
Thanks again

anytime, looking forward to some update pics

 

[KannabisKid]

That was day 18 from seed on a Purple Jems autoflower, so not a real indicator of time frame on a regular size plant.

 

[digahdee]

Photo update - Day 88 from seed - day 38 from switching to 12/12.
EC at 2.0 - 2.2.
PH at 5.6 - 5.9.

 

[Ozman]

looking good dig some nice sativas by the looks of them yummy budds probably wont get really big fat like indica but still be nice

 

[Xlr8]

They look great Dig - glad you got your answers - those are definitely lady parts, and Pericodaking gave you a great description of those false pods. In general, if there are "fuzzy antennas" coming out of it, you're all good -- lady parts! if it looks like bananas or balls hanging from a stick, like the great picture from Kannabiskid: male parts. You sir, are golden! They are fattening up nicely and look great, btw.

 

[digahdee]

Thanks Ozman,
They are coming along well i thinks !
They have a really nice smell to them - very fruity and fresh. Can see that they are getting bigger day by day. On my next grow I may go for an indica but dont know any good strains, you got any that you would suggest to grow?

Thanks Xlr8,
I was abit concerned at one point with the whole m / f thing so thought I'd post it up here to get some good advice and did ! So It helped me out.

Photos today are at Day 91 from seed - Day 41 from switching to 12 / 12.
Lights were on at the time - next lot of photos will be with lights off.