Black Widow & Durban Poison 1st Quad Line

[Thirvnrob]

Got the new light yesterday. I hate being cash strapped - had to go a little cheaper than I wanted, but it’s an improvement over what I had. Now I’m pulling 360 watts at each 3’ x 3’ tent. The new light is definitely brighter, but it’s also whiter light. Other than that, it’s adjustable - the assembly seems flimsy - but we’ll see how it holds up.

 

[Thirvnrob]

Black Widows are getting close. I’m expecting to chop them in two weeks. The buds are fattening up nicely!

 

[Thirvnrob]

Durban Poison day 28 of flower.

 

[Thirvnrob]

The Durban Poisons amaze me. Friday they took 1 gallon each. Today they both took another. Buds are swelling nicely...

 

[Thirvnrob]

Not much to report. Black Widows look like they’re ripening up & plumping up nicely. I either did something to stunt their growth or I just didn’t let the veg long enough. I think the quality will be good but they’re only 10” tall. I’m not at all disappointed though. My mouth is beginning to water...

 

[Thirvnrob]

Moved the Widows into darkness this morning. I thought they’d go a little longer, but most of the trichs are milky & a good 2/3 of the pistils are red so I decided to go ahead with it. I think they’re finished anyway. I can’t get good pics with my digital microscope or I’d post, but here’s a few last shots with their sisters before they left.

 

[Thirvnrob]

In looking at the root balls of these plants I see an explanation as to why they never got any taller - the roots never entered the bottom 1/2 of the pots. My guess is that I flipped them a little early, but I’d like some other opinions @Emilya

 

[Emilya Green]

I agree with your assessment 100%. Most people don't realize that without really aggressively working on expanding the roots and forming a rootball, it simply doesn't happen. A coddled weed is a lazy weed, but one that has been trained to chase water toward key points in that container can develop monster roots. Once people see monster roots woven thick into a large rootball, and have once seen the yield and quality that results from this careful management, they tend to get a lot better at watering these plants and holding out for proper root balls to form before making major moves with the plant such as transplanting or switching to bloom. So, tell me, how many times did you water just the outside edge of that container, in-between saturation waterings so to entice the roots to grow laterally? Hardly any roots in the bottom tells me that it was too wet down there or they were underwatered or like you said, flipped too early.
For me the trick is to monitor water usage very carefully so I can "see" how strong my roots are getting. For instance, I recently uppotted my Durban clones into their final 10g bags from 3 gallon bags. I will wait 2-3 weeks for those plants to develop the roots all through that bag, and I am monitoring water usage to tell me when that has occurred. I want no more than 3 day plants going into bloom... plants that can use the bulk of the water I can get 10g of soil to hold, in 3 days. Then and only then, do I know that I have an actual root ball and then and only then am I willing to go into flower.

 

[Thirvnrob]

I agree with your assessment 100%. Most people don't realize that without really aggressively working on expanding the roots and forming a rootball, it simply doesn't happen. A coddled weed is a lazy weed, but one that has been trained to chase water toward key points in that container can develop monster roots. Once people see monster roots woven thick into a large rootball, and have once seen the yield and quality that results from this careful management, they tend to get a lot better at watering these plants and holding out for proper root balls to form before making major moves with the plant such as transplanting or switching to bloom. So, tell me, how many times did you water just the outside edge of that container, in-between saturation waterings so to entice the roots to grow laterally? Hardly any roots in the bottom tells me that it was too wet down there or they were underwatered or like you said, flipped too early.
For me the trick is to monitor water usage very carefully so I can "see" how strong my roots are getting. For instance, I recently uppotted my Durban clones into their final 10g bags from 3 gallon bags. I will wait 2-3 weeks for those plants to develop the roots all through that bag, and I am monitoring water usage to tell me when that has occurred. I want no more than 3 day plants going into bloom... plants that can use the bulk of the water I can get 10g of soil to hold, in 3 days. Then and only then, do I know that I have an actual root ball and then and only then am I willing to go into flower.

Thanks Em. I recognized recently that I need to give them more time to veg & the miniature root ball along with your assessment validate that thought. I definitely have a little more reading to do about proper watering, but I’m getting better at it...

 

[Thirvnrob]

I agree with your assessment 100%. Most people don't realize that without really aggressively working on expanding the roots and forming a rootball, it simply doesn't happen. A coddled weed is a lazy weed, but one that has been trained to chase water toward key points in that container can develop monster roots. Once people see monster roots woven thick into a large rootball, and have once seen the yield and quality that results from this careful management, they tend to get a lot better at watering these plants and holding out for proper root balls to form before making major moves with the plant such as transplanting or switching to bloom. So, tell me, how many times did you water just the outside edge of that container, in-between saturation waterings so to entice the roots to grow laterally? Hardly any roots in the bottom tells me that it was too wet down there or they were underwatered or like you said, flipped too early.
For me the trick is to monitor water usage very carefully so I can "see" how strong my roots are getting. For instance, I recently uppotted my Durban clones into their final 10g bags from 3 gallon bags. I will wait 2-3 weeks for those plants to develop the roots all through that bag, and I am monitoring water usage to tell me when that has occurred. I want no more than 3 day plants going into bloom... plants that can use the bulk of the water I can get 10g of soil to hold, in 3 days. Then and only then, do I know that I have an actual root ball and then and only then am I willing to go into flower.

And to answer your question, I watered the outside edge every time I watered. I misunderstood some things the first time I read your posts about how to & ended up over watering. I see this as a valuable learning experience though & I’m gonna show off my balls after every grow from now on...

 

[Thirvnrob]

So, the Black Widow taught me a lot. As embarrassing as this is, I suffered a massive brain fart & burned them with fertilizer right before I chopped them. Long story - suffice it to say I have a paper chart to track feedings & watering more accurately. Instead of just trying to remember it. They yielded 44 grams of fried, crunchy bud. Harsh but potent. We’ll find out whether curing helps.
The bad news is that I burned the Durbans also, but they have a few weeks to go & hopefully can recover. They’ve been flushed with Sledgehammer & then water only yesterday. I think they’re salvageable...

 

[Thirvnrob]

The dry yield I got from the Black Widows was an astounding 44 grams. I’m actually proud to have learned from the mistake of over fertilizing. I’m disappointed, but it prompted me to write everything down & reference those notes before every watering/feeding. I also think they might require more finesse to be coaxed along to their full potential. I have one black widow seed left. I think I’ll sit on it for a while and get a little more experience under my belt and then try again.

 

[Thirvnrob]

Now, for the Durban Poison. I have one that finished in 56 days. I got some nice buds & I’m impressed with my patience with drying them. I decided to do a wet trim on her because the humidity is really high where I am, so I wanted to hasten the process a little bit.

Her sister is on day 60 and is going into 36 hours of darkness starting at 7 PM tonight once I get her chopped, trimmed dried and weighed , I’ll post more pics along with my final thoughts.

 

[Thirvnrob]

Everything has been harvested & is drying - we got a tiered basket to dry in as the humidity in the room I’m in now is hard to control. 58% is the lowest I can get it but I wet trimmed everything & there’s a good air flow around the basket so I feel like it’s drying at a good pace. Today is day 4 of drying - I expect the Durbans to go into jars Thursday & the Black Widows Friday or Saturday. For whatever reason I didn’t get pics of the Windows after I trimmed em up. Here’s the Durban Poison

 

[Thirvnrob]

I meant I didn’t get pics of the Widows.

 

[Emilya Green]

So, the Black Widow taught me a lot. As embarrassing as this is, I suffered a massive brain fart & burned them with fertilizer right before I chopped them. Long story - suffice it to say I have a paper chart to track feedings & watering more accurately. Instead of just trying to remember it. They yielded 44 grams of fried, crunchy bud. Harsh but potent. We’ll find out whether curing helps.
The bad news is that I burned the Durbans also, but they have a few weeks to go & hopefully can recover. They’ve been flushed with Sledgehammer & then water only yesterday. I think they’re salvageable...

We have all made mistakes like that. It happens. But every time it does, we get better at this craft. Always look forward to the next grow! Onward and upward, we keep moving forward. Loved the shots of the big buds you ended up with!

 

[Thirvnrob]

We have all made mistakes like that. It happens. But every time it does, we get better at this craft. Always look forward to the next grow! Onward and upward, we keep moving forward. Loved the shots of the big buds you ended up with!

That’s exactly the way I’m seeing this, as a learning experience. I’ve learned a ton but I’m still a beginner with lots of room for improvement. I have my next grow planned & will start that journal next week. Thanks for your help & encouragement. It goes a long way. And yes, they did give me some fat buds - & it’s good smoke!

 

[OilFieldTrash]

I see you had some trouble with ants. A little over a year ago I bought a bag of FFOF it was the last bag the store had and it had a nest of black ants in the bag that I didn't discover until I opened the bag a couple of weeks later. It is my thought that the bag was left over from the previous year and the ants got into the bag at the store. It is the only store around here that sells Fox Farm products. I now wait until spring when they restock with new pallets of bags before I buy.

 

[Thirvnrob]

I see you had some trouble with ants. A little over a year ago I bought a bag of FFOF it was the last bag the store had and it had a nest of black ants in the bag that I didn't discover until I opened the bag a couple of weeks later. It is my thought that the bag was left over from the previous year and the ants got into the bag at the store. It is the only store around here that sells Fox Farm products. I now wait until spring when they restock with new pallets of bags before I buy.

Fortunately for me it never got out of hand, but there’s always the possibility of an infestation where I live. I’m about to move my grow space to an outbuilding on our property. I’ve already started exterminating & I’m gonna take every conceivable step to keep them at bay...

 

[OilFieldTrash]

I didn't want to kill the ants because the small black ants ("Piss Ants") kill fire ants which we have a lot of in my area. Fire ants bite me and "Piss Ants" don't