Total rookie looking for help

[Stanovich420]

Hi there...might pop in,since i'm from UK
You can pick a handheld microscope for 3-5£ .
Bought one recently from ebay for 5£ and it's 60-100x zoom.
Here is rough guide if not interested in microscope...

When to Harvest Marijuana
SG Philosophy

We believe it is time to harvest when the hairs have reached about a 40% color switch. What I mean here is that when about a little less than half of the white hairs have turned some other color (yellow, pink, red, blue, brown) then it is time to pick the plant. An exception to this is the exotics that are grown outdoors which may color more quickly as part of their characteristic or conditions of environment. In general we find the highest content of THC to be at this 40% range. If you continue to let your bud go then the THC is changing into something else called CBN. CBN is the stuff that makes you sleepy instead of the euphoric feeling you get from THC. If you want a couch-lock high then look for a strain that produces this at the optimum THC level instead of the CBN level. You will have better results and less hangover or after effects


Hope this helps

 

[Nickaberdeen]

Hi there...might pop in,since i'm from UK
You can pick a handheld microscope for 3-5£ .
Bought one recently from ebay for 5£ and it's 60-100x zoom.
Here is rough guide if not interested in microscope...

When to Harvest Marijuana
SG Philosophy

We believe it is time to harvest when the hairs have reached about a 40% color switch. What I mean here is that when about a little less than half of the white hairs have turned some other color (yellow, pink, red, blue, brown) then it is time to pick the plant. An exception to this is the exotics that are grown outdoors which may color more quickly as part of their characteristic or conditions of environment. In general we find the highest content of THC to be at this 40% range. If you continue to let your bud go then the THC is changing into something else called CBN. CBN is the stuff that makes you sleepy instead of the euphoric feeling you get from THC. If you want a couch-lock high then look for a strain that produces this at the optimum THC level instead of the CBN level. You will have better results and less hangover or after effects


Hope this helps

this helps a lot actually as i was under the impression that i was supposed to wait until all the white hairs changed colour. so does that mean i should change to nutrient free water when they first start to change?

also, how long does the flowering process usually last? im growing double berry from gorilla seeds if that helps.

 

[pontiacman]

What does your ballast look like?

 

[Nickaberdeen]

What does your ballast look like?

whats a ballast?

 

[pontiacman]

A ballast is what powers your light.

 

[Nickaberdeen]

A ballast is what powers your light.

its a hps400w one

 

[Nickaberdeen]

okay so i think both of the plants a female. its hard to tell though as i only have a vague idea what im looking for and i cant really get my camera to take an in focus photo, i think due to the light.

i have been looking through the grow journals to try and get an idea of if things are looking the way they should but it is very difficult to find one similar.

The ones I have found have what looks like buds before they are even switching to 12/12 (first grow - closet tent - mars LED - DWC - fast and vast auto) so I can't tell if mine is having issues or not or if they are going how they should.

I am currently on day 6 of flowering and there are a couple of little white hairs on a few of the branches.

I'm not sure how long each stage should take, think I was in the veg stage for about six weeks and just wondered if anyone knows roughly how long the flowering section takes?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[verticalgrow]

also, how long does the flowering process usually last? im growing double berry from gorilla seeds if that helps.

7-9 weeks

 

[Nickaberdeen]

i am currently reading a post about defoliation. my plants are quite bushy, should i be trimming them?

i read not to on my first grow but am worried there is going to be a lot of shade.

can i start in the flowering stage if i havent done it during veg?

 

[verticalgrow]

yep, take off all the big shade/fan leaves, then do it again in 2-3 weeks.

do u have space around plants or do they touch each other?

plants need room to transpire and if leaves are smothered then droplets of
water will accumulate on leaves and raise the humidity to high during flowering
stage which is not good because buds will sweat and grow mould.

 

[Nickaberdeen]

the

I couldn't get my camera to take a decent photo but figured it would be easier than trying to explain.

Yes they touch each other and one of them is taller than the other one as you can just about make out in the photo.

I am a little cautious about defoliation but obviously if it is something that will help with bud growth I have to give it a try.

I am not 100% sure on which parts exactly to cut but will prob read the post I found a few times over in the hope that it will become clearer.

If you have any advice about it though I'm all ears. Cheers

 

[verticalgrow]

They look great, and the big plant is powering and will probably smoother the smaller plant, so
move the smaller plant into another nft setup.

its to late to cut the tops of plant so place a net over top of plants so net is same height as the small plant,
then bend the big plant away from the small plant and thru the net so it stays in place.

throw a net over plants is called scrog= screen of green

also have u heard of lollipoping? it means cutting off all the leaves and small stems around the bottom of plant.

 

[Nickaberdeen]

I don't have another NFT system. I only have this one cupboard to grow in as i just wanted a couple of plants for me. So didn't think I would need more than one system. Was just looking for something small.

Might have left it in the veg stage a bit too long but they are supposed to be a pretty short strain so didn't really expect the bigger one to shoot up quite so much.

I will have a look into a net/string system for them but will have to leave them in that system.

Are plants able to be moved when they are this far along? I thought the roots were very delicate and can't be touched or get light on them. Just curious about this. also, why cut the top?

As far as the trimming them down goes, what I have gathered from the thread I was reading was any leaf that has a 1 inch stem should be removed, is that right?

Thanks for the help by the way. I have learnt so much I never knew from helpful members on here like yourself. Cheers

 

[verticalgrow]

okay, so i response to multiple peoples posts should definitely get a cfl light?

my only issue is im not sure where to get one, would gardening centre's sell them? i dont think i have enough time to order one online.

Do you live near a hydroponics shop? best Light = phillips 315w cmh 930 bulb, but if u have to use cfl type bulbs then go induction 80w bulb
and they last for 100,000 hours

 

[Nickaberdeen]

Do you live near a hydroponics shop? best Light = phillips 315w cmh 930 bulb, but if u have to use cfl type bulbs then go induction 80w bulb
and they last for 100,000 hours

got the lights sorted a while back. one of the guys on here guided me to the specific one i needed for the early stages and have used a 600w hps for the rest. seems to be working out well. touch wood

EDIT: dont live anywhere near a hydro shop any more. bought everything before i moved to the country

 

[verticalgrow]

your very welcome bro,

moving plants and disturbing roots does slow the plants growth for a few days.

reason for cutting top of plants is to let the lower branches catch up but never tip/top plants during flower stage.

Also watch some timelaps video's on youtube to see how plants grow from start to finish in only a 2-3 minute video.

 

[Nickaberdeen]

your very welcome bro,

moving plants and disturbing roots does slow the plants growth for a few days.

reason for cutting top of plants is to let the lower branches catch up but never prune during flower stage.

Also watch some timelaps video's on youtube to see how plants grow from start to finish in only a 2-3 minute video.

will go check it out now. does it show defoliation as well?

 

[verticalgrow]

nah not the ones ive seen but there is some on defoliation video's,

just take off the really big leaves and any other leaves that are touching then take them off too.

urbanremo is pruning week 1 of flower:

 

[Nickaberdeen]

will check this out too. will give it a go tomorrow during next light cycle once ive read as much as i can. i also read somewhere that you can use the leaves to make hash once the plant has been grown. Was going to give that a go too rather than just throwing them away. Would the leaves I remove now be usable for that do you know? Cos obviously I don't know if they would have any thc by now or not so not sure whether they could be used or not?

 

[verticalgrow]

good question--- early stage leaves don't have enough thc to get a fly high but the smaller pin leaves close to
the buds have a small layer of crystal that can be seen with the naked eye.

do u hav screens to extract hash?
it take a lot of leaf for a very small amount of hash and its low grade

its best to give the poor old worms a feed