Cloudy or clear

[SQl2kGuy]

I am even thinking about testing the nail or splitting of the trunk right at the end too... seems to have merit.

Oh you saw that post did you?

I am going to try it on my first plant ... I think in about a week or so.

That is some old school science that is surprisingly cool!

Enjoy your day

 

[SQl2kGuy]

it doesnt have to be bottom feed for the flush... just pour it in the top

Hey @Emilya ... you wouldn't happen to know off-hand if the coco gurus here flush once about a week before harvest do you?

If not, I'll just ask them them later today when we're chatting.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hey @Emilya ... you wouldn't happen to know off-hand if the coco gurus here flush once about a week before harvest do you?

If not, I'll just ask them them later today when we're chatting.

a lot of them don't, now that this no flush idea has come about, and also now that flushing has been confused with just giving water... but in some ways the present situation is better than in the old days when the standard advice for any plant problem was to flush.
A lot of people have just simply set their minds one way or the other on this and others have totally confused the practice to one of cleaning out the plants (as if that was possible) instead of the soil. This and the practice of just setting the pH to the middle of the range throughout the grow are my two biggest pet peeves in 2019. I have actually made some progress in my tolerance of progressive gardening techniques... I no longer rail against the practice of starting autos in the final containers, now that I have found a workaround to get them into a wet/dry cycle.

 

[SQl2kGuy]

a lot of them don't, now that this no flush idea has come about, and also now that flushing has been confused with just giving water... but in some ways the present situation is better than in the old days when the standard advice for any plant problem was to flush.
A lot of people have just simply set their minds one way or the other on this and others have totally confused the practice to one of cleaning out the plants (as if that was possible) instead of the soil. This and the practice of just setting the pH to the middle of the range throughout the grow are my two biggest pet peeves in 2019. I have actually made some progress in my tolerance of progressive gardening techniques... I no longer rail against the practice of starting autos in the final containers, now that I have found a workaround to get them into a wet/dry cycle.

Yes ... I am noticing that too ... there is confusion about flushing versus feeding with just water ... I think I'll start a chat about this and invite some of the coco guys this weekend and see if we can't figure out what the hurdle is.

Alright ... I'm off to do some gardening ... ttyl

 

[GreenPastures]

Be sure to let the plant drink all or most of the water before darkening it for 2 days, as I had a spot of bud rot form just from that alone; too damp in the dark.

If the plant is thirsty by the end, it is also quicker to dry... or so I hear from some folk on here.

 

[The Bard]

Be sure to let the plant drink all or most of the water before darkening it for 2 days, as I had a spot of bud rot form just from that alone; too damp in the dark.

If the plant is thirsty by the end, it is also quicker to dry... or so I hear from some folk on here.

Interesting. I kept watering mine with nutes in the dark - figured they needed the food for their final push. But they had lots of air movement and a dehumidifier keeping RH around 40%. Probably smart if humidity levels are higher, though.

 

[GreenPastures]

Welcome to the forum Saul, but I have to strongly disagree on this one. The plant is starting to die at harvest time, and yes, you can force her to go on a little while longer and try to produce seeds in sort of a second wind, but eventually, and not months later, she is going to die.

The only reason I said that, is because I have been scouring these forums for a while, and recall seeing someone say they left the plant and went a second round, as in re-vegged and flowered again, with one plant. ALSO, I seem to be under the impression that all these different strains have a lifespan, an expiry date so to speak... I think the only way to really prove this is to leave one to continue to grow, after possibly being stripped of buds... I don't have the answer to that one.

Fall season will certainly speed up the death of a plant.

 

[GreenPastures]

Interesting. I kept watering mine with nutes in the dark - figured they needed the food for their final push. But they had lots of air movement and a dehumidifier keeping RH around 40%. Probably smart if humidity levels are higher, though.

I don't know, would the plant still use nutrients with no light, because of the lack of photosynthesis? Humidity I have found does drain moisture from the leaves, so I have no idea on this one.

 

[GreenPastures]

We need to be careful here as new readers need to be informed and less confused.

The study clearly states:

This result showed that the intended purpose of flushing to reduce nutrient concentrations within
the bud has no effect.

This means that there are going to be nutrients in the bud ... you can't stop that. It is a myth that flushing will stop nutrients from getting into your buds. Curing will help eliminate some of the unwanted nutrients ... not flushing.

Flushing is more about the soil than the bud. Flushing is designed to eliminate toxic salts and waste from your soil ... that is why we flush about every 4 weeks.

In your last flush ... it's just a flush plain and simple ... again you are eliminating waste so you can feed in more nutrients.

With the soil clear ... you can now add in lots of bloom nutrients ... even more than usual ... and the plant is more efficient at absorbing them so your buds will grow bigger and faster.

There is hardly any new growth in the plant in the final weeks ... no new leaves etc.

The entire focus is on growing those buds ... so it can maximize its probability of reproducing.

The leaves start to yellow because it is using those stored nutrients.

Fushing does not initiate bud growth ... that is going to happen regardless ... it is in the plants DNA to behave like that.

You don't want to starve a plant of light or nutrients that is begging for nutrients to make its buds bigger.

Do you have a link to this research please ... I don't ever remember reading something like this:

My point was that flushing initiates a growth in bud size, by starving the plant to make it react by giving off new growth, which has been proven when the plant thinks it's dying.

Anyway, I think we'll leave it at that for now ...

ttyl

I agree with most of what you say, so no worries.

The only thing I can't get my head around is ' With the soil clear ... you can now add in lots of bloom nutrients ... even more than usual ... and the plant is more efficient at absorbing them so your buds will grow bigger and faster.' Because I was under the impression that most nutrients interact with each other for better absorption, as in we use base nutrients, and bloom nutrients, that go hand-in-hand. Cutting out base nutrients and going full bloom just seems a little pointless to me... I mean you could continue to give base nutrients, and MORE bloom, that seems reasonable.

And in regards to buds getting bigger, I say this because the moment I starved the plant in flower, is the exact moment it started shooting out a ton of new white pistils and bud mass; it was less than 20%, but it was happening. I have read a lot on these forums about people trying stuff, and I had to try it myself, it's the only way to know, but that is what happened when I did this, and I have seen some folk say this, whether true or not... honestly, I am a chilled person, not even debating on the subject, because what do I know, I just plant the seed and water it lol. I think we desperately need more scientific evidence on the whole subject regardless.

 

[Emilya Green]

, as in re-vegged and flowered again, with one plant.

It is possible to reveg a plant that has already been harvested one time, but it is not easy to do. The general recommendation is to cut the rootball in half and force the plant to start over, essentially cloning what is left of the mostly dead plant. I used to know a guy in Vegas that was pretty good at this... but every time I have tried, the plant just insisted on dying.

 

[Fatlad]

Welcome to the forum Saul, but I have to strongly disagree on this one. The plant is starting to die at harvest time, and yes, you can force her to go on a little while longer and try to produce seeds in sort of a second wind, but eventually, and not months later, she is going to die.

it doesnt have to be bottom feed for the flush... just pour it in

Welcome to the forum Saul, but I have to strongly disagree on this one. The plant is starting to die at harvest time, and yes, you can force her to go on a little while longer and try to produce seeds in sort of a second wind, but eventually, and not months later, she is going to die.

So emilya do you continue to feed them when you turn your lights of for 36hrs or do you stop .. thanks

 

[Emilya Green]

Let's say you are on a 12/12 cycle starting and ending at midnight. So at the end of one 12 hour nighttime, you just keep the lights off for 24 more hours and get a total in the dark time of 36 hours. I like to water at the end of the day right before that dark period. At the end I would be pushing nutes, so I would feed them at that last watering.
Then,
everything stops... the sun refuses to shine, there is no more water... and some even slit the trunk or put a nail in it at this point. As far as the plant is concerned, this is the end of its world, and it needs to make one last push to keep the species going and develop those buds to completion. The theory is that the plant puts its all into this effort, if you can convince her that the end is nigh. So... why in the world would you come in, in the middle of this disaster, and talk nice and water the plant or even feed her? Can you see the confusing message this would send?

 

[SQl2kGuy]

The only reason I said that, is because I have been scouring these forums for a while, and recall seeing someone say they left the plant and went a second round, as in re-vegged and flowered again, with one plant. ALSO, I seem to be under the impression that all these different strains have a lifespan, an expiry date so to speak... I think the only way to really prove this is to leave one to continue to grow, after possibly being stripped of buds... I don't have the answer to that one.

Fall season will certainly speed up the death of a plant.

It's more about the bud and THC than the plant.

Here are some general rules about harvesting marijuana based on trichomes and the color of the hairs / pistils. If you follow these rules, you’ll know how to harvest weed perfectly every time!

1. If white “hairs” are almost all sticking straight out and trichomes are all still translucent (clear) then your plant is too young and not ready for harvest. Harvesting now will result in low yield and non-potent harvests.
2. The beginning of the harvest window opens when your plant has mostly stopped growing new white “hairs” or pistils and at least 40% of the white hairs have darkened and curled in.
3. Highest level of THC is when many/most of the trichomes have turned milky white / cloudy (when viewed under a magnifier). Trichomes that are milky have the highest levels of THC are “ready to harvest” and contribute to more euphoric and psychoactive effects. At this point 50-70% of the pistils have darkened.
4. Some Sativa & Haze strains have trichomes that never really turn amber. If they’ve turned mostly white and don’t seem to be progressing further, it may be time to harvest!
5. The most “couchlock” or sedating effect happens towards the end of the pot harvest window, when the trichomes have become a darker color (usually amber/gold). The best results from amber trichomes come from indica strains. The amber/yellow trichomes contribute to a ‘body high’. Some of the THC has converted into less psychoactive CBN, which has calming and anti-anxiety effects. With some strains, the trichomes will even turn red or purple! I like to harvest around when 20% have turned amber. At this point 70-90% of the pistils have darkened. Harvesting later will increase the sedating effects, but may also start reducing the psychoactive effects.
6. When trichomes start looking grey or withered, the harvest window has passed, and buds will make you sleepy without many psychoactive effects. Usually it takes several weeks (4 or more) from the beginning of the harvest window for this to happen. It’s much easier to harvest too early than too late!

The plant will Re-Veg but at a lower yield and a longer period of time ... it is a good experiment but not worth the effort.

 

[Remystemple]

Hey ... a flush is a one time thing ... starving is different ... Say no to starving ... lol

I'm glad we were able to chat ... and it's never too late to give bloom nutes while the plant is still alive

Thanks @Emilya ... research done ... I will add this to my growing set of skills:

I did experiments regarding the dark period at the end, and did find that 36 hours of darkness before the chop does indeed increase the size, length and potency of the trichomes. The results were so dramatic that I will never harvest again without going through this step.

I noticed that near the end some of my plants started drinking a hell of a lot less. i just assumed it's normal.

 

[Remystemple]

I am even thinking about testing the nail or splitting of the trunk right at the end too... seems to have merit.

No, you're supposed to bite the shit out of them with your teeth, chomp a few bottom buds off then piss on it. LMAO JK but you never know

 

[Emilya Green]

I noticed that near the end some of my plants started drinking a hell of a lot less. i just assumed it's normal.

it is normal in a salt bound plant... but not a healthy thriving plant. If you flushed 2 weeks prior to the end, that wouldn't happen. In my organic grows, it doesn't happen. hmmm.

 

[Remystemple]

it is normal in a salt bound plant... but not a healthy thriving plant. If you flushed 2 weeks prior to the end, that wouldn't happen. In my organic grows, it doesn't happen. hmmm.

I'm kicking myself for not putting that together. because the couple of times i fed extra seemed to really kick them into gear, but i just figured it was a spurt as i didn't change the ppm of the solution, just fed extra run off. I'll be doing it once a week for sure from now on. It wasn't easy to vac the water out of the tent before, but that's changed.

Amazing info in this thread

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Hey ... nice to meet you @Remystemple ...

Live and learn right? ... I know that in my next grow I'm doing to do so much better because of what I learned this grow

I have made lots of mistakes my first grow ... and I'm still getting a half decent yield ... these plants are hearty

ttyl

 

[Remystemple]

Hey ... nice to meet you @Remystemple ...

Live and learn right? ... I know that in my next grow I'm doing to do so much better because of what I learned this grow

I have made lots of mistakes my first grow ... and I'm still getting a half decent yield ... these plants are hearty

ttyl

I know what you mean. i just took 35 oz from 6 plants, dirty clones with no training at all it was a mess lol. but i'm very happy with that. but recently learned that i was adjusting pH to the wrong levels in flower. I"m still super confused about pH in coco to be honest. especially after my last haul. hoping for bigger buds by eventually fully understanding pH and nute uptake.

 

[Fatlad]

I know what you mean. i just took 35 oz from 6 plants, dirty clones with no training at all it was a mess lol. but i'm very happy with that. but recently learned that i was adjusting pH to the wrong levels in flower. I"m still super confused about pH in coco to be honest. especially after my last haul. hoping for bigger buds by eventually fully understanding pH and nute uptake.

Well looks like theres a few of us that are still at the beginning of our journeys and learning the different ways and methods and this has definitely opened my eyes up with some great info and good debates ... thanks again for everyone that has helped and responded and as they say .... Everyday is a classroom day