Antics CFL Grow 2014

[Antics]

Pablo what strain is that? It looks pretty good so far, especially with only 115w
Is it an autoflower? If so it might take longer to see more amber, that's how it's going on my Med Gom now, Day 82 today lol.

It also looks to be Indica dominant, or you had your lights really close to grow it so short and bushy.

The yellowing of the leaves could be natural as the plant uses up the stored nutrients in the leaves.

I also wanted to add about the smoke experience:

This morning I woke up with a sore throat, kinda scratchy and dry. I tried just drinking coffee, but it didn't help much.

So I decided to try a little Cannabis... I used a little Med Gom, and used my bong to be a little gentler on my throat, I figured the pipe would irritate it more initially...

I forgot how easy it was to get a huge hit from a bong. And I'm also reminded how much of a lightweight I am. It's completely possible to get a bit baked with Med Gom. (and easier with a bong cooling the smoke so you don't realize 'by feel' how big of a hit you took)

I used a bud about the size of a fingernail on your smallest finger, Or biggest finger any girls reading this (Don't laugh, it's been over 10 years since I was a Cannabis user!) And I'm not completely roasted and useless, which is probably obvious since I'm typing this now. My eyelids are a little heavy, no intense heartbeat felt, no paranoia, and no STRONG appetite stimulant, it's there, but very mild compared to other times I've used in the past. And I don't feel really lazy or lethargic either, even while feeling a bit baked. After I finish this I'm going for a coffee refill, give my pet his medication, and then taking a shower to start my day

I still don't understand the hallucinogenic aspect of Cannabis. I've never had a hallucination, and back when I was younger, I was certainly open to the idea lol. But now, I'm happy with what it's doing for me, and when the next plant finishes and is harvested, I'll be able to finish making my salve.

The irritated throat is now gone. My mouth is a bit dry, but I'm having coffee anyways

 

[Pablo Tesla]

Good morning,

It's also a Med Gom 1. Maybe it's so compact because the lights were very cose, you can se some leaves burn.

well, I'm not on my twenties any more, and I'm already tired of effects of "tradicional" weed. Now I'm looking for the something like you describe, and use it with a another intention - like a medicine and also having fun some times!

Enjoy it!

 

[Stumped]

Hey Pablo, what is that power cord doing on your cola?

Nice grow.

And looking good antics. Looks like you'll smash you last harvest!

 

[Antics]

Good morning,

It's also a Med Gom 1. Maybe it's so compact because the lights were very cose, you can se some leaves burn.

well, I'm not on my twenties any more, and I'm already tired of effects of "tradicional" weed. Now I'm looking for the something like you describe, and use it with a another intention - like a medicine and also having fun some times!

Enjoy it!

Ah no wonder you were asking all the specific questions! I think you'll enjoy this strain. I would say the relaxation with just a little use is like having a few drinks. Something nice for the evening after work, or a nice way to enjoy a day off. I would definitely grow it again! Just keep an eye on trichomes, because honestly I don't see too many on this one now. When I saw this same amount on the last plant, I harvested, but I really should have waited longer. The buds are still growing with new calyxes appearing every day. Just make sure you don't harvest too soon and miss out on a few more grams!

Hey Pablo, what is that power cord doing on your cola?

Nice grow.

And looking good antics. Looks like you'll smash you last harvest!

Thanks brother, I agree completely, I only wish I left the previous MG to grow longer. But we all live and learn I'm hoping I get closer to 1/2 ounce on this harvest, but 14 grams is a long ways from 8.55 grams for a new grower so I won't be disappointed if I don't make it, but it sure would be nice!

If I had to guess, I would say I have ABOUT 10 grams dry weight, on the plant now. Not including sugar leaves, etc.. On a complete professional and nice looking trim job.

 

[Pablo Tesla]

Hey Pablo, what is that power cord doing on your cola?

Nice grow.

And looking good antics. Looks like you'll smash you last harvest!

Hi,
It's a termometer and humidity meter.
Soon I'll place it somewhere else...

 

[Antics]

Pablo if the cord is long enough, I would just hang it down. Or even better, you can make a simple stand with an 'L' shape, and use zip ties or string to attach the cord, and run it upwards to the height of the plant(s), and when you do a grow, you can place the stand next to a plant, or between them for a good reading.

As for my last plant, I'm thinking about harvesting today. She has lost 60-70% of her fan leaves by now, and some of the smaller bud leaves are starting to dry up as well, and I don't want this same drying to happen to the buds. I also don't want to end up with dried leaves inside the bud where I can trim it off, I'm thinking this might have a negative effect on the flavor.
Although I'm still only seeing just a few amber trichomes right now, and she's been being flushed for about 3-4 weeks now (I had assumed the harvest date would be earlier than this)

 

[Antics]

Well I decided to harvest. 83 days since sprout.

I need the pots for the next two which need to be transplanted, and although I was only at about 2-3% Amber, it'll still be great Cannabis after a good dry and cure.

And here she is:

Main cola:

And my high tech drying chamber:

It's not the most impressive cola, but being my first grow, I'm happy with the size. The cardboard box worked great for me last time, so I've decided to give it another try, but I trimmed everything first, it was a pain in the ass trimming and getting all the sugar leaves and stems trimming after it dried.

So there it is. A completed grow. Now once this dries and cures, I'll post a little information about the smoke experience

Thanks to everyone who joined in

 

[SweetLeef]

Nice work friend!

Grats on your first harvest! Those buds look great! Have some +Reps

 

[KingJohnC]

Subscribed. Congratulations on your harvest! Baking Soda has too high of sodium to be used with plants. Vinegar or acetic acid can also be used as pH down. What size is your pipe? I would place the Compact Florescent Lights 5"-6" from your plants. A higher amount of light comes out the side of Compact Florescent Lights. Lumens are a scale of brightness and do not add as you believe they do.

 

[CareStaker]

Congrats on your MOTM nomination, Antics !

 

[Antics]

Nice work friend!

Grats on your first harvest! Those buds look great! Have some +Reps

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the final weigh in to see if this MG did any better than the first one. I really felt like I was calling it close though, there really weren't many fan leaves left as you can see in the picture. It was like a Charlie Brown Cannabis plant.

Subscribed. Congratulations on your harvest! Baking Soda has too high of sodium to be used with plants. Vinegar or acetic acid can also be used as pH down. What size is your pipe? I would place the Compact Florescent Lights 5"-6" from your plants. A higher amount of light comes out the side of Compact Florescent Lights. Lumens are a scale of brightness and do not add as you believe they do.

Thanks
Yeah I learned the hard way about baking soda, yet I saw it mentioned a few times, so I decided to give it a try.
My pipe is a 1.5cm; 5/8" bowl (inner diameter) And it's just over 15.5cm ; 6.25" long.
I like having my pipe visible in the pictures since I made the topic of my step by step carving of it, so it's nice 'proof' that it's what I grew, and didn't just snag pictures from the internet, just in case one day I'm able to produce a massive cola

As for CFLs I've read people saying the ends give off more light, and other people say that the sides give off more light. Some folks say keep the bulbs within inches of the plant, and others say 5-6" like you've suggested. So it's been difficult knowing what to believe, since everyone has a different opinion when it comes to Cannabis. Currently I have 4 bulbs with the sides down, and 4 bulbs angled down over the new girls. So I pretty much have a mix of both right now, but I'll be building a new "hood" for my lights shortly, and moving the grow into an unused closet to free up some floor space.

Congrats on your MOTM nomination, Antics !

Thanks! That was completely unexpected, but the nomination totally brightened my day a bit more

 

[Plato420]

Congrats on your success!

 

[Antics]

Well growing a big cola doesn't count when it dries and you can see the stem lol. Maybe next time!

I think I dried the buds a little too much. They felt a little crispy on the outside, but still a little spongy inside, so I trimmed them and put them in a jar, and it's only showing 48% RH. I added a few of the stems, and it brought the RH up to 55% now.

So the curing begins, and I have to figure out what I'm doing wrong when drying. I put the cardboard box up against a cabinet to minimize airflow, and the top is only open maybe 1"/2.5cm. Or maybe it just takes a lot less time because my buds are smaller?

Weight of this harvest was 9.07 grams. I have a picture on my phone to upload tomorrow. So a little more than the previous MG1, but not quite as much as I was hoping for.

I will re-weigh it when RH is holding at 65%, which is the common number I see people referencing when curing.

 

[Antics]

Picture as promised!

Now a question.. if I decided to make a new journal for the next 2 I have growing, should I just continue in here, or start a new journal?

And I'll have a potency report on the new harvest in a couple days, and a flavor/smell report in a week or two.

 

[KingJohnC]

I am in favour of creating a separate journal for your new plants.

 

[Pablo Tesla]

I am in favour of creating a separate journal for your new plants.

Me too!

 

[Pablo Tesla]

Hi Antics,
My MG1 is 60 days old today.
There is a few ambers tricomes, I could see 2 of them...
What do you think I should do? Crop it or wait a little longer?

Thanks.

 

[Antics]

Hi Antics,
My MG1 is 60 days old today.
There is a few ambers tricomes, I could see 2 of them...
What do you think I should do? Crop it or wait a little longer?

Thanks.

What are you using to see trichomes? What lights are you growing under?

I went 83 days under CFL, and probably could have gone a little longer, but I needed the pot to transplant my new girls.

And to update the cure, The buds feel fairly dry on the outside, but still a little moisture, not really sticky, but will stick to each other. They actually feel TOO DRY, and I have bought Cannabis in the past that smelled better, and was more moist than these buds. I have a hygrometer in the jar, and the RH always creeps up to 68-70%, Jar is burped 1-2x daily, smell is mostly skunky/citris, and a little grass/hay smell still.

My drying and curing definitely needs more work

 

[Pablo Tesla]

I'm using a microscope for the trichomes and the plant is under a 250w hps.

Did you notice difference when smoked the 2 med gom?
What do you suggest?

Thanks for any help..

 

[Antics]

Ahh well you're growing with HPS, that makes a big difference.

I haven't technically smoked any of the newest MG harvest. I did dry some of the tiny undergrowth buds, and smoked those, and they were much stronger than the first harvest. I used a few small buds that when combined were about the size of 2 or 3 "O" letters on your keyboard. And just that little bit was enough to feel it. If you want, I'll try a bud from the newest harvest tonight for you and let you know. We're in different time zones, so it will be in about 3-4 hours from the time of this post.
It's still curing, but it's dry enough to smoke.

For your harvest, it all depends on the effect you want. If you want an energetic, Sativa-like high, harvest with mostly cloudy, and very few amber. If you want a couchlock Indica-like high (which would be great for insomnia), harvest with a higher % of amber.

I personally like when most trichomes are cloudy, and just a few ambers starting to appear.