Ask Us Anything: Sharing Knowledge 420 Style

Here’s why I ask....if by flushing you’re throwing more water at the plant during this period of time then you normally would, then it would make complete sense why you see such a dramatic boost(osmosis)....but that would imply the boost in weight you’re seeing is vastly water, which is only going to be dried out through the curing process anyways

If it’s simply maintaining the same watering schedule just without nutes, that’d be an interesting read, because I don’t grasp how you’d net a 25% dry yield boost with only some stored mobile nutrients
 
Ive grown many many thousands of plants and have tried just about everything you can think of in hydro. ive fed right up until harvest, long 'flushes' and short. Ive found that using water for 7-10 days is optimal for a yield boost and for clean weed. Its true that there is some water weight, especially when people over do it and have gallons and gallons of water through their pots which isn't necessary under 99.9% circumstances in any hydroponic set up (thats includes growing in coco coir, my preferred medium).

It comes down to timing and how you have fed your plants during the grow. But flushing at the end of the grow absolutely positively boosts dry yield when done correctly. Its not simply a case of just blasting water through the media, timing and duration is mega important . When you start to flush at the end of the grow and the female flower has not been pollenated, food is low and therefore the plant starts to use up stored nutrients in the fan leaves . Plants should never be deep green when harvested, that means the plants weren't forced to finish. if you force them to finish they recognise the life cycle is coming to an end and use the last resources to increase flower density and create more THC, even more effective if temps are dropped also. They do this in a last ditch attempt to get pollenated.

Do a side by side comparison. Feeds are the least important thing when it comes to growing when compared to light and airflow however feeds are needed and can be manipulated to increase both yields and quality. More feed doesn't mean more bud and a correctly timed 'flush' done correctly does boost yield and thats a fact from experience.
 
I find that the shell comes off most seedlings without help but the odd one may occasionally need some very very careful assistance.



I saw a few strains marketed as "maxi" autos a few years back that supposedly vegged for longer than 3 weeks and grew bigger than regular autos but I have never grown this type or seen it in person (can't seem to find them now...maybe I dreamt it haha). All the autos I grow go into flower somewhere during week 3-4. I have never had to stimulate flowering by switching to 12/12. If you have to do this, then it's not an auto.

Thank you SLHLover, I must be doing something wrong with germinating or else I get too panicked when it seems like the shell is stuck!! It usually looks like a thin layer of skin around the cotyledons is preventing them from opening up to knock off the shell, once they reach this stage I usually leave them a day before peeling the skin back from cotyledons to release them and in a few hours they are green but usually a little deformed.

I started some autos a couple of months ago and they got a terrible first couple of wks...temps were too low, ph pen was inaccurate, rockwool was thick with green algae looking crap before going in coco!! But I stuck with them to see if they would finish after sorting the issues, they stayed in veg for about 6-7 weeks and recently finished a lot better than I thought they would, I came close to throwing them out,,glad I didnt now!!
 
As long as the seedling opens and it’s green they will grow out of any deformity they may have. Don’t give up on them so soon.

Thanks Pennywise, I'l try to give the lil ladies more time to do their thing when they pop. I have 2 autos going right now, 1 is looking great but the other is doing this staying in veg thing again...does this happen often? if so, do you think it is a stress thing or does it have more to do with that specific seed?
 
dont worry about autos starting late that means she will be bigger when she flowers out my blue automazar started flowering on day 50 and was ready on 92 from seed she yielded 3.3 oz ... just saying ...
Thanks for the reply, good to hear that...I thought I was doing something that was slowing them down
 
Hello guys!

Currently growing Super Lemon Haze & Green Crack.

Question is:

How long after 12/12 flip did you harvest?

What do people class as the first day of flowering as there is alot of mixed opinions?

I can't comment on the Green crack as I do not grow it, but I know SLH very well. IMHO SLH requires at least 10 weeks from switch to 12/12. This way the majority of trichomes are cloudy - with a few clear ones and a small number of amber. That is the optimum time for me. If you harvest earlier the effect will be "speedier" plus you will not see all that extra weight the buds put on in that extra week or two (from week 9). I find that after a 4-6 week veg perioid, SLH takes between 14-20 days to form visible flowers after switch to 12/12.

Some people count first day of flowering frim when they see the flowers form, but most reputable breeders know the average flower times of their strains and go with start of 12/12 as the first day. A really mature plant that is in veg for a long time will always start forming flowers faster than a plant vegged for say 4 weeks. I had an SLH in veg for two and a half months and it started forming flowers within 6-7 days of 12/12 (normally it takes 2-3 weeks as stated).

Grow a particular strain a few times, and you will see how and when the pistils are retracting and the calyx is swelling up during the last days of the cycle. I would invest in a good (minimum 60x) lupe and check the trichomes are how you want them. Harvest buds at different times and try them out - this is the way you will truly know when the ideal time to harvest is. I say 10 weeks - according to my methods, prefer and conditions - but that is just a rough guideline. The best way to discover the harvest sweet zone is to try the above. Good luck!
 
Thanks SLHLover, if you were using hps would you pull back a bit on the calmag?

Since you are growing in coco you will definitely need to add CalMag - even with HPS. I only really know LED/coco growing so am not best placed to advise you on HPS but 150 PPMs is a good amount and won't hurt the plant (you would have to really OD on the stuff to cause any damage).
 
I can't comment on the Green crack as I do not grow it, but I know SLH very well. IMHO SLH requires at least 10 weeks from switch to 12/12. This way the majority of trichomes are cloudy - with a few clear ones and a small number of amber. That is the optimum time for me. If you harvest earlier the effect will be "speedier" plus you will not see all that extra weight the buds put on in that extra week or two (from week 9). I find that after a 4-6 week veg perioid, SLH takes between 14-20 days to form visible flowers after switch to 12/12.

Some people count first day of flowering frim when they see the flowers form, but most reputable breeders know the average flower times of their strains and go with start of 12/12 as the first day. A really mature plant that is in veg for a long time will always start forming flowers faster than a plant vegged for say 4 weeks. I had an SLH in veg for two and a half months and it started forming flowers within 6-7 days of 12/12 (normally it takes 2-3 weeks as stated).

Grow a particular strain a few times, and you will see how and when the pistils are retracting and the calyx is swelling up during the last days of the cycle. I would invest in a good (minimum 60x) lupe and check the trichomes are how you want them. Harvest buds at different times and try them out - this is the way you will truly know when the ideal time to harvest is. I say 10 weeks - according to my methods, prefer and conditions - but that is just a rough guideline. The best way to discover the harvest sweet zone is to try the above. Good luck!

Im 20 days into flower now buddy, yeah im going to let them finish of in another tent when i switch my Super Skunk to 12/12.

Super Lemon Haze on the left Green Crack on the right.


 
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