Colorado High - Soilless - LED/CFL - Skunk Red Hair - 2014

[David Bowman]

Just wondering CH did you find the plants came to finish flowering quicker under LED's?

I did not notice any significant change in the flowering time, but I did not use any sidelighting during flowering this time due to temperature issues so a direct comparison isn't really possible. Also, at the start of flowering, I moved the LEDs to as high as possible within the grow box and their distance to the canopy was probably too great which more than likely affected the light intensity available to the ladies. I'm keeping the LEDs where they are for my next grow and moving the drip tray up/down to keep the canopy with 15" to 20" from the LEDs.

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks B A R!

 

[David Bowman]

Drying is going spectacularly well. Temperatures are holding steady at 70° and RH is at 50% or slightly higher, it just can't get any better than that! Boy are these ladies smelling better and better every day. My last attempt with a Skunk variety was pretty lackluster in the aroma department, not so with this strain and grow. This is the least "fresh cut grass" smelling harvest I've ever had and the skunk aromas are already starting to come through quite strong and forcefully. The buds are progressing quite nicely and are starting to firm up a bit to the touch. I'm most definitely looking forward to a taste test of this cured harvest.

 

[bigblunts209]

Checkout my current grow! Right here --->

 

[skunnymonster]

It's a shame we aint got smelly vision, it sounds awesome

 

[Pittbull72]

People don't realize how dry Co. is but because of the elevation it is perfect for drying. I miss that so much compared to the 70-80% humidity im forced to deal with now...

 

[David Bowman]

People don't realize how dry Co. is but because of the elevation it is perfect for drying. I miss that so much compared to the 70-80% humidity im forced to deal with now...

When I moved from New York to Colorado over 30 years ago, the comparative lack of water and greenery was disheartening at first. When I realized that that also meant that there was significantly less humidity, there was no looking back. Another advantage is nature's air-conditioning whereby within an hour's drive from Denver you can enjoy a temperature drop from as little as 10° in the foothills to 40°-50° on the top of Mt. Evans, North America's highest paved road at 14,265'. At that elevation, it can snow anytime of the year and I've personally witnessed snowfall at altitude in June, July and August in Colorado.

 

[Seraphim]

I Colorado!

 

[David Bowman]

I Colorado!

You're not alone in that sentiment!

 

[David Bowman]

I have placed all of the individual buds into quart mason jars with Boveda 62% Humidipaks and the dry weights are as follows - 24.6 grams for the left lady and 18.0 grams for the right lady for a total of 42.6 grams or 1.5 ounces for the total harvest. This falls between the 0.5 ounce per plant for my first grow and the 1+ ounce per plant for my second grow. I think the reasons for this fall-off are the following - the deficiency/fungus gnat issue on the right lady which result in all of her fan leaves dying off early which dropped her production by ~25% and the fact that the LEDs were too far away from the plants. I've already incorporated an adjustable drip tray system that should keep the ladies at the proper distance of 15"-20" from the LEDs throughout the entire grow. The fungus gnat issue should not be a concern until next spring/summer and I will make sure to empty out the humidifier if it isn't needed for a long period of time like during this last grow's flowering stage. In approximately two and four weeks from now I will post taste test results of the cured harvest.

 

[David Bowman]

Another factor that I just remembered that cannot be forgotten is that I did not use any CFL sidelighting for the flowering stage of this grow due to heat related issues. That actually might be the biggest factor in the reduced harvest since I typically employ more wattage on sidelighting than I have employed for canopy lighting.

 

[David Bowman]

Day 18 of curing and I have to say that I'm quite disappointed in the results thus far. The overall impact is mild at best and it takes much longer for the effects to take hold and they don't last that long either. It seems to hit the head and the body equally and since this is such an indica heavy strain, I think that it might need significantly more curing before it is ready. I might have harvested a little too early, but not enough to make this amount of difference in potency. What I think happened is that there was too little light during flowering and what I did use was installed too far away from the ladies. Due to heat issues, the loss of sidelighting amounted to a drop of nearly 300 watts of 2700K and UVB lighting, which is well over half of the total wattage typically employed during flowering. Unless I can figure out a way to employ sidelighting at all times, I may not be able to flower during the hot months of summer, June/July/August. I can probably still vegetate then, just not flower, especially late-stage flowering, until I can get the temperatures down to more reasonable levels. I believe I have solved the issue regarding maintaining the proper distance between the canopy and the LEDs and we will see if that solution works or not throughout this grow. I'm going to post another taste report in another 2 weeks and hopefully it ages well, my fingers are crossed.

 

[B A R]

I'm going to post another taste report in another 2 weeks and hopefully it ages well, my fingers are crossed.

& I'm going to cross my toes for you Slim...

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks B A R! At least I'm fortunate enough to be able to legally purchase better quality bud if needed and I can still use this for butter or oil so it isn't that great of a loss, just a slight dissappointment for now.

 

[yuyo]

dang ,darn and fudge...i am sure it will be better in two weeks
i bet that the next grow will be superior
i think the light distance and the added cfl will make a difference
led is the future but its still being tweaked
hang in there buddy technology will catch up to us small timers

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks yuyo! While I did keep too great of a distance between the canopy and LED lights, I believe that I would've suffered an even bigger disappointment had I been using CFL canopy lighting without any sidelighting. I don't fault the LEDs at all, in fact, they probably helped to compensate for the loss of sidelighting given their light intensity over CFLs, but it wasn't enough to completely overcome the significant drop in the wattage of the lighting during flowering. Less light equals less quantity and, in this case especially, poorer quality. I could have gone with an over-sized LED to bring the total wattage to the 400-500 watts I'd been using with CFLs, but then I would have been stuck without the ability to reduce lighting when the inevitable temperature issues arose. All in all, I'm pleased with my setup and now know of my growing limitations throughout the 4 seasons of the year.

 

[yuyo]

i in no way was trying to downplay the led
i use some and am thankful to have them
my limited space and funding could not do hid lighting
i was just trying to point out that like much of technology
it is morphing into stronger better more efficient
sort of like video cards every 6 months to a year they are upgraded
buy one and in a few months the next level comes out
i believe led lighting is in this phase some what
people like you and myself are not only expanding in our grow experience
we at the same time are learning to use our led and space
as you mention one could buy stronger and larger panels
to achieve higher output
what i was thinking is that in small grows like mine and yours
adding a cfl or 2 can make a significant difference
while some are showing good results from larger and stronger units on their own
these people usually have more experience to begin with and in many cases have more room and equipment
i enjoy my time on 420
i love following all big or small
i do not care if you tried to grow using a flashlight

i support your effort cause i like your style
you are doing your best and you tell it like you see it
without pomp without trying to prove how good you are compared to others
and as a result i learn more from you than some of the bigger growers
omg! how did i get started and ramble on so...sorry
just keep up the good works kind sir as i need all the help i can get
take care and good luck

 

[David Bowman]

And I as well in no way considered your reply a criticism against LEDs. I just wanted to make sure other members did not misunderstand our views of lighting and LEDs in particular. I am 100% in agreement with your "rant", which it was not at all, just a very informative post. I really appreciate your comments and support and always welcome your posts and viewpoints.

 

[David Bowman]

Day 35 of curing and normally my second taste report is around 4 weeks into curing. However, given the issues I've had with this harvest, I've waited an additional week to see if there has been any improvement and the potency has improved slightly over the last 2.5 weeks. It is still not quite as potent nor does it have that oomph found in my other two harvests, but it hits a little stronger and lasts a little longer than it did before. It does vape a little harshly so it looks like I will need to sit on this harvest for an extended period of time to maximize its potency and even then it still may be best used for cannabis butter/oil. Either way, I'll need to purchase some more cannabis to hold me over as my Super Skunk is nearly gone. I think I'll try some different Sativa-dominant strains than the ones I purchased over the summer to counter the Indica-dominant strains from my grows. Thanks for tagging along with me on this ride. Not as epic of a journey as I had hoped but enjoyable nonetheless.

 

[B A R]

Thanks for tagging along with me on this ride. Not as epic of a journey as I had hoped but enjoyable nonetheless.

Even if the potency wasn't up to your standards the info surrounding the grow was priceless Slim.
Also thanxx for continuously helping us clear all those abandoned & forgotten threads from our subscriptions. Keep up the good work my cyber friend.