Arjan's Haze #1

[Emeraldo]

Glad to hear you can get those great strains down under. The third time was the charm! Customs can't control everything. Thanks to Robert at 420, the mail did in fact go through. Will you grow some of those this year or save them for a year or so?

In the meantime, I finished harvesting Arjan's Haze #1 today, November 21. Since I first harvested on Nov 19, the past two days have not been sunny, and since most of the trichomes on the larger buds were cloudy/milky, chopped the rest. There were a lot of fresh popcorn buds too that I will use for cannabutter, trichomes mostly clear there.

I've got them drying in dark room with a fan on low. Room temperature is 68 F / 20 C. I'll probably lower the temperature a tad after a week to slow the drying process.

Here's the crop, then some individual buds with a second closeup each.

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• Emeraldo
• Nov 21, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Nov 21, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Nov 21, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Nov 21, 2019

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• Emeraldo
• Nov 21, 2019

 

[Stunger]

I am impressed with how nice and healthy your Arjan's Haze #1 looks at harvest, still very nice and green. I'll be keen to hear how the result is when you try it.

I will probably try to grow one of the Gorilla Glue Autos, as it will be quicker than one of the photos given that I have missed the beginning of the growing season. Also too, if I can establish exactly what the gender of my existing 4 plants are then, any confirmed males I can rip out and replace one of the news seeds in the container. I intend to have a crack at creating some female pollen from a White Widow, and then can use to attempt to make some female seeds with the new genetics.

Yes top marks for Robert & crew at 420.

Anyway, well done for succeeding in your grow, when the weather was against you.

 

[Emeraldo]

I've never grown an auto. You'll probably harvest that one before the WW/G is ready. Will be interesting to follow your posts on that if you do.

As for the healthy green look at harvest, I'd forgotten how my first plants years ago looked at harvest, pretty scraggy and mostly yellow and brown, sometimes with nanners appearing. This year I did remove the yellowing leaves in flowering on the Jack Herer and Strawberry Haze, but less so with Arjan's Haze #1 because AH1 stayed mostly green. No nanners, no mold, no disease, and no life-threatening pest damage thanks to several foliar applications of neem oil.

I think with the right mix of organic nutrients in your soil, a correct soil/water pH range, correct watering, and luck with outdoor temperatures & RH according to stage of life, your plants will stay green right up to harvest, too. Up to a point, it was beneficial to have the cooler fall temperatures in October before the freeze. Am glad the experience of heating the greenhouse for the last weeks worked.

Good luck on your grow and I hope you'll keep posting about it. I'll post on the AH1's effect asap.

 

[Stunger]

What sort of strength do you aim to get with the neem oil, is it just a few drops in a sprayer with water or with other additions too? The caterpillar infestation I got last season was annoying, spraying some BT did the trick but it took me a bit of time to realize the obvious, that it wasn't a solitary explorer but that some butterfly/s had laid a bunch of eggs on some of my colas and they were hatching small in droves and gorging themselves. I quite possibly will do a pre-emptive hit or two with the BT when they flower this time to avoid that occurring again.

I look forward to your appraisal of AH1's effect.

Do you find that most of the selections you make from seed banks generally result in bud that gives pretty good effects and the differences are small, or do you feel a lot is quite 'bland' while a few are amazing? I ask because writeups all sound good. It'll be interesting getting to grow out these new ones, they sound great too in the writeups, it'll be interesting and great if there is a noticable difference.

 

[Emeraldo]

What sort of strength do you aim to get with the neem oil, is it just a few drops in a sprayer with water or with other additions too? The caterpillar infestation I got last season was annoying, spraying some BT did the trick but it took me a bit of time to realize the obvious, that it wasn't a solitary explorer but that some butterfly/s had laid a bunch of eggs on some of my colas and they were hatching small in droves and gorging themselves. I quite possibly will do a pre-emptive hit or two with the BT when they flower this time to avoid that occurring again.

I've had the same experience as you with the white butterfly caterpillars for years. The first time was the worst because I did nothing to stop them. Actually, I didn't even expect them, so I was truly ignorant. They devour the tender green parts of the bud, turning it into dead matter (and leaving their excrement), with the result that parts of your bud look brownish-grey and feel hard, dry, and sometimes crumbly. I cut that part out in harvesting. But I had the critters sailing out of my bud during drying, parachuting as it were to the ground, where they would make their way humping across the floor.

The next year I was ready with neem. I just followed the directions. I got a gardening neem oil product online, the same stuff is available in garden shops. I think you would like using this stuff if you are so inclined. For me, it is the perfect way to get rid of the white butterfly and its eggs, worms, etc. In case you don't know, here is how I use it.

I mix the neem oil solution (made as per directions) with a tablespoon of surgical soap and spray-drench the plants from top to bottom, especially the underside of the leaves.

Surgical soap is the key to this. It makes the neem even more absorbable into the bodies of the pests as they chew on your tender green bud. Surgical soap dissolves into the neem oil solution and blends with it, and the blend is a doubly effective organic pesticide. Double because the surgical soap itself is an organic pesticide, plus the additional effect of the neem oil, which as I understand it blocks their ability to function. They die.

I used it this past summer in two-week intervals during the height of vegetative phase and for about 4 weeks into flowering. Since the neem breaks down in two weeks or so after spraying, the last neem application would have broken down before harvest. And it was so effective I had no real pests for several weeks after each application. The bud benefitted because the plants weren't suffering and because the bud isn't destroyed by the caterpillar. At some point I stopped spraying after flowering started, about 5 weeks in and just let it go. And with the Arjan's Hz #1, as you saw, flowering went on until Nov 21, and most grasshoppers and such have moved on because of the cold.

Sure enough, there have been pests back since, even into November, as I could see from the chomped up leaves that kept appearing, right up to harvest, it seemed. But I never saw the bug, probably a grasshopper or mantis, something with chops, I don't know. But the neem oil is a good way to go for most pests for most of the season.

Do you find that most of the selections you make from seed banks generally result in bud that gives pretty good effects and the differences are small, or do you feel a lot is quite 'bland' while a few are amazing? I ask because writeups all sound good. It'll be interesting getting to grow out these new ones, they sound great too in the writeups, it'll be interesting and great if there is a noticable difference.

Well, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Stunger]

That's really interesting how you've dealt with pest attacks with regular neem spraying. The nice healthy green appearance of your plants right up until harvest is impressive and enviable. When I looked up surgical soap the search results said it usually contains something called chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG). Is this likely to be in the one you use? I'm imagining that if the soap's purpose is to cause the neem to mix and spread evenly thru the spray solution maybe just a light liquid hand soap will also work?

 

[Emeraldo]

That's really interesting how you've dealt with pest attacks with regular neem spraying. The nice healthy green appearance of your plants right up until harvest is impressive and enviable. When I looked up surgical soap the search results said it usually contains something called chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG). Is this likely to be in the one you use? I'm imagining that if the soap's purpose is to cause the neem to mix and spread evenly thru the spray solution maybe just a light liquid hand soap will also work?

Stunger,

Regular dishwashing liquid or hand soaps may help the neem oil be absorbed into the cells of the pests. But these soaps make no claim to having the insecticidal properties that surgical soap (also called potassium soap) has long been recognized for.

Have a look around for "potassium soap" or "insectidal soap". I am not sure whether it contains CHG, or whether CHG is toxic to humans as I haven't looked for info on that. But I understand that the surgical soap I bought contains potassium fatty acids. I bought it at a pharmacy (they called it potassium soap). Apparently this remedy has been around for many years and regarded as totally non-toxic. You can even make it yourself, potassium combined somehow with linseed oil.

I did see lots of info on how this soap works well with neem oil on the web.

The important point is the soap itself is also an insecticide. You won't get that from dish- or handsoap. If used alone, the potassium soap must actually wet the insects themselves; it will not directly affect insects that land on your plant after the soap has dried. Neem oil is more easily absorbed because of the soap, and will kill pests that eat the plant for several weeks. So combined with the effects of neem oil, the blended solution is very effective against most cannabis pests. I say that from my own experience.

Here is a link that may help: Insecticidal soap - Wikipedia

 

[Stunger]

Thanks for that Emeraldo, I hadn't been aware of potassium soap before, and I hadn't really understood how the spraying of soap would work, having followed that link and looking at several others, they explain a lot, plus I found some sold locally described as low toxic organic insecticide soap containing 250g/litre fatty acids (potassium salts) in the form of a ready to use solution - sounds good! I have some Neem oil already, altho so far it's been unused. Good to hear of your positive experience with combining the two. I'll consider doing the same in the coming weeks. I want to try some foliar feeding as now I have a refractometer I can test the leaves to see if doing so with a good foliar spray mix can raise the brix which apparently increases it's resilience to pests. I haven't started this so far as the plants seem to be growing well and haven't wanted to risk interupting their growth by cutting too many leaves off when they are still fairly young.

 

[Emeraldo]

No need to start spraying the soap/neem mix until you find evidence of pests, of course. Your plants are thriving at the moment, but pests will probably show up! And yes, this double-acting stuff really does do the job with numerous pests, aphids, white butterfly, mites. I'm not the only one saying that, there is lots of info out there... Enjoy growing your plants and post about that auto if you start one.

 

[Emeraldo]

Harvest Summary & Smoke Report:

Arjan's Haze #1 is indeed a "special plant" as Arjan Roscam states in the GHS video on AH#1. It grows tall and lanky with long internodes and large leaves, and the branches may need support in flowering. I topped my AH#1 twice, but she still reached about 6 feet. Since my soil pH was above the prescribed 5.7 (the dolomite lime I added to the soil probably raised soil pH to around 6.8), I pH-adjusted the water to around 5.2 to compensate. This worked well. AH#1 was pretty pest-resistant, particularly with applications of neem oil. She did not have a strong odor during flowering (good for a stealth grow), and the aroma of the bud after harvest is predominantly herbal and pine, with a touch of melon.

Arjan's Haze #1 was harvested November 21, a whole month beyond the October 21 harvest date suggested by GHS on their website. I had to heat my greenhouse after the first freeze. Obviously, this plant needs time to ripen on its own schedule (which was unknown to me). This and other characteristics of the plant were not familiar to me. For example, this plant's pistils were first visible as greenish tendrils about the end of September or early in October, and this form of pistil was totally new to me. Later, these pistils turned into fat, longish white pistils. Pistil growth continued right through to harvest. As a growing experience, I can confirm that this strain is challenging but there is nothing too difficult for an experienced grower. Probably not for beginners.

The effect of smoking Arjan's Haze #1 is a pleasant, strong and long-lasting, slow hitting head high with little body effect. My own favorite use from this grow so far has been an extract I made with 1 cup of coconut butter. I decarbed 15 grams of weed (10 grams of my Jack Herer and 5 grams of AH#1), then ran this in my wife's sou-vide (underwater cooking) for 24 hours at about 80 C, then strained. I use this during daytime and it lasts all day. I am lovin' it! Jack Herer has more body, the the AH#1 gives a real boost to the head high, so this mix is a good one.

For me, Arjan's Strawberry Haze is equaI, quality-wise, to the experience of growing Arjan's Haze #1, but with different effect. I grew two Strawberry Haze plants, and both were harvested at the end of October. Flowering began August 20. The aroma during flowering was fruity, as are the terpenes in the finished bud. The bud structure was very compact and easy to work with in terms of drying and curing. There was very little odor during flowering that would draw attention from neighbors, if that is a concern.

I read all kinds of disparaging comments about ASH on the web, none of which were true for my grow. Some folks in Europe said it is not a strong enough high, that the harvest was small, and that the plant did not grow well. Not my experience.

Strawberry Haze grew very well, took well to topping twice, and was largely pest free (note my neem oil applications). One pheno pushed more vertically, the other stayed shorter after topping. My harvest was plentiful. The high is a fairly strong cerebral, fast-hitting, exhilarating high, with little body effect. This high is not as "heavy" a head high as Arjan's Haze #1, and does not last quite as long. The taste is very fruity and the high uplifting. This is a wondrful plant and I would recommend ASH for anyone with a minimum of experience, and I would definitely grow Strawberry Haze again myself.

This grow at 47 lattitude N included several other strains as well: RQS Critical fem, Canna Seeds' White Widow x Bubblegum fem, and Sensi's Jack Herer regular.

 

[Stunger]

Awesome write up Emeraldo! You did really well against that unexpected late flowering and with freezing weather to contend with too.

Interesting the not seen before 'pre-pistil' structure of the Arjan's Haze #1. Good stuff with the decarbing too. I bought an Ardent Decarboxilator which works a treat for that as well. I wouldn't mind trying out that fermented 'cob' method that I have seen mentioned elsewhere, your sou-vide would presumably work well for that.

What sort of yields did you get from this season's grow? And do you still rate your previous season's Mexican Sativa as your all time favorite grow/strain? Interesting you rate your Jack Herrer highly, it sounds like it is very well liked by many, I've not had the pleasure yet unfortunately.

Anyway, great stuff and excellent growing!

 

[Emeraldo]

Thanks Stunger! I had a solid 150 grams of Arjan's Haze #1 off the one plant, 200 grams of ASH, and 100 grams Jack Herer's fluffy bud.

The Mexican Sativa from last year is the one I've been comparing them all to, and the best comparison is with Arjan's Strawberry Haze, energizing and cerebral, but not overwhelmingly mind-blowing. Jack Herer's effect is amazingly balanced as between body and head, relaxing yet stimulating.

 

[Emeraldo]

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