1 1/2 is fine looks farther in the pic with the new tent
My 1st Grow Ever - Incredible Bulk
- Thread starter timrey08
- Start date
Your LED light panel may cover the larger area but at the expense of more effective flowering. The height above the canopy the LED light panel is hung at will dictate the coverage area. @Hosebomber in his guide The Basics Of Plant Lighting states 37 watt actual draw per square foot as the effective LED flowering minimum. I believe that for a LED light panel to equal a High Pressure Sodium light harvest quantity and surpass the quality of the buds LED light panels would require 45-50 watts actual draw per square foot.
Can you rephrase your question and explain how you wish to connect your equipment?
Here are 4" and 6" flanges and flexible ducting that may help you connect your equipment. If you require a new port in your tent you can use 2x duct flanges with nuts and bolts to fabricate an opening.
Ideal-Air Duct Collar Air Tight 4 in
Ideal-Air Silver/Silver Ducting 4 in x 25 ft
Ideal-Air Duct Collar Air Tight 6 in
Ideal-Air Silver/Silver Ducting 6 in x 25 ft
You want 70°-90° Fahrenheit and 50%-70% humidity for vegetative growth and 30%-50% humidity for flower.
You want pH 5.8 for hydroponic and soiless (peat moss and coco coir) and pH 6.5 for soil.
Here is a nutrient availability chart
Using your grow area with a carbon filter would add scent control when you are drying your buds but also monopolize the space. Chose a dark, room temperature area with air circulation to dry your buds in.
When I harvest I use disposable vinyl gloves and when I harvest a plant I start by cutting the branches off 1 by 1. I take the branch and first strip off all the fan leaves. I then use a pair of Fiskars Micro Tip Pruning scissors and trim all the sugar leaves flush with the bud. I then take the trimmed branches and place them in my drying rack to dry for 5-7 days or until the buds just break off the stems. I then trim off the buds from the stems and place the buds into storage containers. I take the buds out of the storage containers and place into a large bowl for 10 minutes per day for 10 days.
My drying rack
For trimming I use Fiskars Softouch Micro-Tip Pruning Snip recommended by the arthritis society, they come with a lifetime replacement warranty. One of the handles broke on my last pair, I used the warranty claim on the website and Fiskars replaced them at no cost.
Fiskars Titanium Micro Tip Easy Action Scissors No.5
drying racks
2' Dry Rack w/ Zipper Openings - perfectgardens
BrixKlinger
New Member
My drying rack
For trimming I use Fiskars Softouch Micro-Tip Pruning Snip recommended by the arthritis society, they come with a lifetime replacement warranty. One of the handles broke on my last pair, I used the warranty claim on the website and Fiskars replaced them at no cost.
Fiskars Titanium Micro Tip Easy Action Scissors No.5
drying racks
2' Dry Rack w/ Zipper Openings - perfectgardens
KJC: so you put your branches into that rack eh? I've only seen bucked buds put into those. Do the buds retain shape better on the branch? IME buds get flat drying on those racks and weird in shape compared to hanging the branch until bucking dry.
Not trying to start anything but I'm surprised to see such a big player in these forums using that kind of rack. They are popular and I've seen them around, but seen better results from hanging branches.
Curious about your own experience, what I'm missing, etc. FWIW we put j-hooked branches on hangers to dry, whether wet trimmed or dry.
Bangabong
Well-Known Member
Brix, I can't answer for KJC, but I think he meant main stems with buds, not necessarily branches. Also, it has been my experience that any flattening of the buds are minimal, and that is usually is removed during the curing process, because they slightly rehydrate (I use Boveda packs), expand and reshape due to the handling and repackaging into a new environment (jars).
I place the cut branches of buds into the drying rack. Any flattened buds rehydrate during the curing process. The buds dry more slowly and evenly when allowed to dry on the branch rather than the buds being cut from stems and allowed to dry. I really do hate trimming dried buds rather than working with green buds.
- Thread starter
- #106
Hello everyone,
Took a while to post updates because I was on an trip. Luckily, someone stayed with the ladies while I was away.
Here goes:
KingJohnC -- I transferred the LED from the cabinet to the tent. According to the specs of the light, footprint is approx 6-8 sq.ft. The tent I purchased is approx the same area so hopefully its enough for the plants. Thinking also of getting a bigger light after this grow. Also I transferred the side lights from the cabinet to the tent. Hopefully this would help flowering the lower bud sites. Re: the exhaust, I transferred one carbon filter to the tent. I purchased the aluminum ducting similar to what you showed and I taped it to the end of the fan and place the other end of the hose on the hole inside the tent to expel the air outward. Also transferring the other fan to the tent soon. Hope what I'm doing is correct. Thanks so much KJC for all the very useful info!
I am on the 5th week of flowering and the buds are starting to swell!! There is white hair all around the buds and crystals are already seen on the leaves!! I am maintaining PPM's approx 1300 and the pH around 6.0 as previously advised. Changed res water after 7 days and still cutting a little leaves under the canopy as well as taking out the dried leaves that are blocking air flow.
Planning to harvest between week 8-9. Do I flush on week 7? Or do I flush after week 9? I know there is a 2 week flush, I am not sure if the 9 week flowering includes the 2 week flush. Would appreciate advise.
Pics below! Thanks again to everyone for the tips!
Will update again soon!
Peace!
Took a while to post updates because I was on an trip. Luckily, someone stayed with the ladies while I was away.
Here goes:
KingJohnC -- I transferred the LED from the cabinet to the tent. According to the specs of the light, footprint is approx 6-8 sq.ft. The tent I purchased is approx the same area so hopefully its enough for the plants. Thinking also of getting a bigger light after this grow. Also I transferred the side lights from the cabinet to the tent. Hopefully this would help flowering the lower bud sites. Re: the exhaust, I transferred one carbon filter to the tent. I purchased the aluminum ducting similar to what you showed and I taped it to the end of the fan and place the other end of the hose on the hole inside the tent to expel the air outward. Also transferring the other fan to the tent soon. Hope what I'm doing is correct. Thanks so much KJC for all the very useful info!
I am on the 5th week of flowering and the buds are starting to swell!! There is white hair all around the buds and crystals are already seen on the leaves!! I am maintaining PPM's approx 1300 and the pH around 6.0 as previously advised. Changed res water after 7 days and still cutting a little leaves under the canopy as well as taking out the dried leaves that are blocking air flow.
Planning to harvest between week 8-9. Do I flush on week 7? Or do I flush after week 9? I know there is a 2 week flush, I am not sure if the 9 week flowering includes the 2 week flush. Would appreciate advise.
Pics below! Thanks again to everyone for the tips!
Will update again soon!
Peace!
usually the breeders timeline is just a guideline a lot of things can affect the final amount of time till its done
its usually pretty close tho
but ill say again a lot of things can affect the total time including but not limited to if theres more than one phenotype
stress and other things
best thing to do is check the trichomes and gauge when to flush you will get better at the timing the longer you grow a strain especially if your in soil and have to do a longer flush
in hydro I only have to flush from 4-7 days so its easier to gauge and flush closer to when I know its gonna be done
if it looks like your gonna be done in 9 weeks you don't want to start flushing at 9 weeks cause youll then be over by 2 weeks and be at 11 weeks
hope that helped
its usually pretty close tho
but ill say again a lot of things can affect the total time including but not limited to if theres more than one phenotype
stress and other things
best thing to do is check the trichomes and gauge when to flush you will get better at the timing the longer you grow a strain especially if your in soil and have to do a longer flush
in hydro I only have to flush from 4-7 days so its easier to gauge and flush closer to when I know its gonna be done
if it looks like your gonna be done in 9 weeks you don't want to start flushing at 9 weeks cause youll then be over by 2 weeks and be at 11 weeks
hope that helped
Skybound
Well-Known Member
As Chronic says, you gotta get you a microscope or good jeweler's loupe (30x or stronger) and analyze your trichomes for ripeness. Knowing your flush will only be 4-7 days in hydro, you can predict your finish time based upon when you start your flush, but please don't make the mistake of "thinking" when's the best time to chop. I did this last year and harvested inferior quality bud because I chopped 2 weeks too soon. So in short you do need to analyze the trics and let them tell you that your harvest time is 4-7 days out when you have a good mix of some amber trichomes and many more cloudy/milky looking trics. The amber trics are said to be the source of couch lock THC and the cloudy/milky ones said to be the day time head buzz THC that I personally prefer. I have 2 plants that are in their 10th week and still show very few amber trics so I will continue to let them finish and mature. When I spot "roughly" 10%-15% amber trichomes, I will be confident that the rest are mostly milky, but I have to accept that some will also still be clear, but it's the milky ones and amber ones that I desire the most. I will ad RO for flush and when PPM climbs to 200-300, I will change it out with some fresh RO and repeat.
- Thread starter
- #109
Hi everyone,
Time for a quick update:
Transferred the other exhaust filter from the cabinet to the tent (sorry no pic). Its our 6th week of flowering and the ladies are swelling!! Buds are also covered with white hair all around.There are buds on top of each other and leaves are covered with white crystals! I think they are doing great. Changed the res water a few days ago and maintaining the PPM's below 1500 and the pH level 5.9 to 6.3. Also nuting the water 50% of the recommended dosage.
As per reading the articles here at 420, I also cut a few centimeters from the tops of the buds as a backbuilding technique (LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!). Hope this works.
Planning to start flush in 2 weeks (week 8) for one week. Hopefully, I get the milky/cloud trichs soon so we can harvest by week 9.
Thanks for dropping by Skybound & Chronic! Appreciate the advise!
Pics below.
Will be updating again soon. Advise most welcome!
Peace!
Top View
Bud Site
Cutting some tops for better looking ladies
Readings
Time for a quick update:
Transferred the other exhaust filter from the cabinet to the tent (sorry no pic). Its our 6th week of flowering and the ladies are swelling!! Buds are also covered with white hair all around.There are buds on top of each other and leaves are covered with white crystals! I think they are doing great. Changed the res water a few days ago and maintaining the PPM's below 1500 and the pH level 5.9 to 6.3. Also nuting the water 50% of the recommended dosage.
As per reading the articles here at 420, I also cut a few centimeters from the tops of the buds as a backbuilding technique (LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!). Hope this works.
Planning to start flush in 2 weeks (week 8) for one week. Hopefully, I get the milky/cloud trichs soon so we can harvest by week 9.
Thanks for dropping by Skybound & Chronic! Appreciate the advise!
Pics below.
Will be updating again soon. Advise most welcome!
Peace!
Top View
Bud Site
Cutting some tops for better looking ladies
Readings
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Looking very nice! Just keep your eyes peeled for any leaf deformations. You may need a (6500k) light to better see, but as long as the leaves don't start to burn, I'd say you're well on your way. If they do start to burn, just add water to the res to walk the PPM down to a lesser concentration.
- Thread starter
- #111
Hello everyone,
Time for a quick update!
I'm on my 8th week of flowering and the girls are doing great! I just hope the ladies get fatter as I want to yield as much as I can. There are a lot of small buds under the large buds and I also hope the y are big enough when harvest time comes.
Been keeping the the PPM's below 1400 and pH with 5.9-6.3 range. Planning to flush next week and hopefully harvest on the 10th week.
Would appreciate advise whether I should harvest sooner or later. Pics below!
Thanks in advance!
Peace!
Time for a quick update!
I'm on my 8th week of flowering and the girls are doing great! I just hope the ladies get fatter as I want to yield as much as I can. There are a lot of small buds under the large buds and I also hope the y are big enough when harvest time comes.
Been keeping the the PPM's below 1400 and pH with 5.9-6.3 range. Planning to flush next week and hopefully harvest on the 10th week.
Would appreciate advise whether I should harvest sooner or later. Pics below!
Thanks in advance!
Peace!
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Your first indication that your plant is nearly finished would be that most or all pistils turn amber (red/orange/brown). When almost the whole plant has amber pistils, then it is safe to begin inspecting the actual trichomes with a jewelers loupe. I have a 60x scope that I find to be just a bit too powerful, so maybe a 50x or even 40x would work best, but you must wait till nearly all of your trichomes are at least milky/cloudy. If you chop her down sooner, the stone will be weak and short. Trichomes also turn amber and the amount of amber trics to the amount of milky/cloudy trics is going to be your truest indicator of when to harvest. The milky/cloudy trics are said produce the daytime head high, while amber trics give you that strong body stone. A popular ratio is almost all milky/cloudy with roughly 10% amber trichomes. Seeing as how your plant has long thin leaf blades suggests that she is sativa dominant at least which means she will take a little longer to finish than her Indica cousins. I believe expected breeder finish times are from first pistil sighting which starts your flowering countdown, not when you introduced her to 12/12. I expect you will need another 3 weeks to be on the safe side, but maybe even longer depending on what the trichomes tell you.
ill have to say can be finished when mostly cloudy with around 10-20% amber the trichomes under scope
as far as pistils id say about 80% or more you could probably start flushing about 50-60% red on the pistils
in hydro id be 4-7 days of flushing youll be around 80% or more with the 4-7 days on the hairs or pistils
if you want more amber supposedly for more couchlock then go for more but don't forget to start flushing before
you get the amount of cloudy /amber you want because if you start flushing when its how you want then itll be at least another week and youll be past what you want
it can change fast towards the end
as far as pistils id say about 80% or more you could probably start flushing about 50-60% red on the pistils
in hydro id be 4-7 days of flushing youll be around 80% or more with the 4-7 days on the hairs or pistils
if you want more amber supposedly for more couchlock then go for more but don't forget to start flushing before
you get the amount of cloudy /amber you want because if you start flushing when its how you want then itll be at least another week and youll be past what you want
it can change fast towards the end
- Thread starter
- #114
Hello everyone,
Thanks for the info Skybound & Chronic! You guys have been very helpful all thru out this grow. Much appreciated!
Time for an update:
I'm on my 9th week of flowering and started lowering the PPM's the past couple of days (900's) in preparation for flushing. Been keeping the pH to 6.0-6.3 range as advised previously. The leaves and buds are covered with crystals and the white hair has started turning brown. Approx 30-40% of the hair on the buds have turned brown and as advised, when its approx 50%, flushing with pure RO water will begin. I am targeting to start flushing on Sunday for 4-7 days. I was also able to buy a jeweler's loop so I can now see the trichomes closely. Not sure if its close enough but I can see the some trichomes becoming milky... Can anyone confirm this? Might be just my imagination....
Here are some pics! Thanks again for the tips! Looking forward to some more.
Peace!
Top View
Close ups
Reading
Thanks for the info Skybound & Chronic! You guys have been very helpful all thru out this grow. Much appreciated!
Time for an update:
I'm on my 9th week of flowering and started lowering the PPM's the past couple of days (900's) in preparation for flushing. Been keeping the pH to 6.0-6.3 range as advised previously. The leaves and buds are covered with crystals and the white hair has started turning brown. Approx 30-40% of the hair on the buds have turned brown and as advised, when its approx 50%, flushing with pure RO water will begin. I am targeting to start flushing on Sunday for 4-7 days. I was also able to buy a jeweler's loop so I can now see the trichomes closely. Not sure if its close enough but I can see the some trichomes becoming milky... Can anyone confirm this? Might be just my imagination....
Here are some pics! Thanks again for the tips! Looking forward to some more.
Peace!
Top View
Close ups
Reading
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Timrey,, I really think you should allow "all" of the pistils to turn amber before starting your flush. Consider that flowering does not start until she started showing you pistils which can be roughly 10 days after being in 12/12, so your 9th week is actually your 7th week. I made that mistake before. I would also start taking "some" of her larger fan leaves from the middle areas to allow some light in. When you actually do start your flush, remove the rest of the large fans, but try to arrange it so that when you take the rest, that there's not that many left that it becomes a stressful event. This will go a long way toward better development, color and bud density. You've come all this way, and I know how eager you are to get some of those beautiful dank nugs into your pipe, so don't mentally commit to chopping her down too soon. When determining your harvest time, it's better to err on the side of allotting more time opposed to less.
- Thread starter
- #116
Hi everyone!
Thanks Skybound for the tip! I delayed flushing for a couple of days as per your advise. Instead of flushing Saturday last week, I flushed Thursday. I think it helped because a lot more pistils have turned amber in 4 days.
I am on my 10th week of flowering and also on my 4th day of flushing using RO water. Planning to flush for 3-5 more days , depending on the trich's colors. PPM's are down to 200+. Cant seem to get it lower. Tried sucking all the water out of the res before putting RO but that what came out. I just add RO water everyday to keep PPM's within the 200 range or lower. I think the buds are looking good!
I also notice that the buds that were trimmed are much fatter than the buds that weren't. That was a really nice tip!
I also plan to bud wash as soon as I harvest. Got this tip too from 420 Mag (Bud Washing) What do you guys think?
Attached are some pics.
By the way, I germinated 3 seeds of the same strain and another strain all of which are now in the cloner under the T5's.
Would appreciate some more advise.
Thanks again!
Top View
Reading
New babies
Thanks Skybound for the tip! I delayed flushing for a couple of days as per your advise. Instead of flushing Saturday last week, I flushed Thursday. I think it helped because a lot more pistils have turned amber in 4 days.
I am on my 10th week of flowering and also on my 4th day of flushing using RO water. Planning to flush for 3-5 more days , depending on the trich's colors. PPM's are down to 200+. Cant seem to get it lower. Tried sucking all the water out of the res before putting RO but that what came out. I just add RO water everyday to keep PPM's within the 200 range or lower. I think the buds are looking good!
I also notice that the buds that were trimmed are much fatter than the buds that weren't. That was a really nice tip!
I also plan to bud wash as soon as I harvest. Got this tip too from 420 Mag (Bud Washing) What do you guys think?
Attached are some pics.
By the way, I germinated 3 seeds of the same strain and another strain all of which are now in the cloner under the T5's.
Would appreciate some more advise.
Thanks again!
Top View
Reading
New babies
omgshelly1
New Member
Have anyway to move the light closer to the seedlings? They seem to be stretching hardcore.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
I concur. If possible, bring the lamp closer.
Your nugs do look much more developed and if nearly all of the tric heads are cloudy, than you should have at least some amber tric heads which is the sweet spot. If you're able, lower the PPM even more. Bud washing is something that is new and a lot of people are nervous of. I spoke with a non 420 organic grower from Colorado and he emphatically said "hell no", but agreed to watch the video I made on the process and I did get him to commit a branch as a tester for his next harvest. With that said, I am a proponent and I know once you taste the added notes and nuances in the smoke flavoring, you too will become a proponent.
- Thread starter
- #119
Hello everyone,
Time for an update!
Thanks for the tips Skybound and omgshelley1! Appreciate it!
I'm on 2 1/2 weeks on flushing mode and the trichs are finally starting to turn amber (approx 5-10%)! I want to try the heady high since our local weed is more of a couchlock (I think?), so, I turned the LED's and sidelights OFF and plan to turn it on today after 48hours of darkness! Then its chopping time! Will do bud washing and plan to dry in the tent for 4-7 days before putting them in air-tight jars with Bovedas.
In the meantime, the new babies are doing great! I brought the lights closer as advised. The 3 same strained seeds (Incredible Bulk again!) are steadily growing and are about 2-3 inches. The Northern Lights has exploded and is significantly bigger than her sisters by an inch or 2. Also, there are more leaves on the NL's but I spotted a few yellow spots. I've also been putting in a few drops of Root66 in the res cloner. Might be the cause for yellow spots? I then took out the LED's from the tent, put it back in the cabinet and transferred the cloner res to the lower chamber, set the LED's to approx 10inches from the babies and away we go. Hope they grow healthy
Pics below!
Advise most welcome! Thanks again!
Peace!
Time for an update!
Thanks for the tips Skybound and omgshelley1! Appreciate it!
I'm on 2 1/2 weeks on flushing mode and the trichs are finally starting to turn amber (approx 5-10%)! I want to try the heady high since our local weed is more of a couchlock (I think?), so, I turned the LED's and sidelights OFF and plan to turn it on today after 48hours of darkness! Then its chopping time! Will do bud washing and plan to dry in the tent for 4-7 days before putting them in air-tight jars with Bovedas.
In the meantime, the new babies are doing great! I brought the lights closer as advised. The 3 same strained seeds (Incredible Bulk again!) are steadily growing and are about 2-3 inches. The Northern Lights has exploded and is significantly bigger than her sisters by an inch or 2. Also, there are more leaves on the NL's but I spotted a few yellow spots. I've also been putting in a few drops of Root66 in the res cloner. Might be the cause for yellow spots? I then took out the LED's from the tent, put it back in the cabinet and transferred the cloner res to the lower chamber, set the LED's to approx 10inches from the babies and away we go. Hope they grow healthy
Pics below!
Advise most welcome! Thanks again!
Peace!
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Hey Timrey. When flush starts, remove every single fan leaf that doesn't have "sugar" on it. The flush is meant to force the plant to consume any stored nutrients and if the fan leaves remain on the plant, she will consume those first and not consume the buildup that remains in the flowering sites. I am also flushing now and have been since Tuesday. All fan leaves are removed except for the really sugary ones. I already have many sugar leaf tips beginning to yellow and I am going to leave her to drink that 022 PPM water for a few more days till I see lots of yellowed sugar leaves. Then chop and wash.
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