Jon's Outdoor Winter Photoperiod Grow

[Jon]

30

A month into flower. All I can say is whoa.

 

[Hafta]

Thanks for the explanation/update @Hafta - very nice. I have a question. The colas that are currently all the way at the floor. I see how your plants end up. Those colas somehow seem to find their way to the canopy. Or do you remove some of the lowermost ones?

Nah, I don't remove any colas.
With the majority of the leaves below them, they get a lot of premium light and they seem to think they are all main colas. During the flowering stretch they find a pathway to the light since training is continued for the first three weeks. The SCROG netting keeps them separated (after three weeks of flower, more or less), not tied down, so they can continue to receive as much premium light as possible. I removed twice as many leaves (more than 100) just prior to installing the net. This allows me to selectively position the colas to achieve uniform separation and light distribution.
Some of the colas grew horizontally to reach the light.

 

[Jon]

Nah, I don't remove any colas.
With the majority of the leaves below them, they get a lot of premium light and they seem to think they are all main colas. During the flowering stretch they find a pathway to the light since training is continued for the first three weeks. The SCROG netting keeps them separated (after three weeks of flower, more or less), not tied down, so they can continue to receive as much premium light as possible. I removed twice as many leaves (more than 100) just prior to installing the net. This allows me to selectively position the colas to achieve uniform separation and light distribution.
Some of the colas grew horizontally to reach the light.

Wow. Very impressive.

 

[Jon]

Mandarin Zkittlez
LeiLei
Flower Day 20

 

[Hafta]

Wow. Very impressive.

There is one very important measurement that most growers overlook when they are measuring PAR (energy per square meter per second, simplified).
How much of that square meter is covered with leaves? or What is the leaf surface area exposed to the lights?
It would be good to know how much light is actually being utilized by the plant rather than, or in addition to, what is being provided. I could remove a dozen new leaves and not equal the energy loss of removing one very large fan leaf.

 

[Rexer]

30

A month into flower. All I can say is whoa.

Look at how happy and beautiful that plant is...I'm not sure how you keep bangin out all these wonderful plants Jon, but somehow you don't miss a beat!

 

[Jon]

Look at how happy and beautiful that plant is...I'm not sure how you keep bangin out all these wonderful plants Jon, but somehow you don't miss a beat!

You kidding? Look who I have backing me up! An army of growers much better at this than I am.

 

[Hafta]

You kidding? Look who I have backing me up! An army of growers much better at this than I am.

The photographic evidence of the variety of techniques you utilize contradict your evaluation of yourself.

 

[7Dust2]

The photographic evidence of the variety of techniques you utilize contradict your evaluation of yourself.

Jon is a good grower ..doesn't take long being around journals to see if they are good growers. Setup is only part. Getting your system down pat is key. I can name few has there stuff down to a science now and grow the crap out of stuff. Jon is in top ten that I know here.

 

[Jon]

Jon is a good grower ..doesn't take long being around journals to see if they are good growers. Setup is only part. Getting your system down pat is key. I can name few has there stuff down to a science now and grow the crap out of stuff. Jon is in top ten that I know here.

Thanks Dust but you gotta get out more. There are literally 100s and perhaps 1000s of folks on this forum who have forgotten more about growing than I know, and that’s just the truth.

I could be doing worse though,

 

[7Dust2]

Thanks Dust but you gotta get out more. There are literally 100s and perhaps 1000s of folks on this forum who have forgotten more about growing than I know, and that’s just the truth.

I could be doing worse though,

People keep telling me that. To get out more. LoL

 

[Jon]

Hey @Hafta - I just did my voting for this months contests. I had not even been to Nug of the Month and I saw you entered Super Silver Haze. Looks good too. This is perhaps my all time favorite strain and my very next seed purchase. But everyone sells it. I’m in search of the very best SSH genetic I can find. What is the genetic on yours? (Who made it?). And were you happy with it? How’s the thc level you got? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost bought SSH seeds only to hold off thinking I can do better. Any help/thoughts on this?

 

[Jon]

Crescendo
Veg
Early Sombrero Quad Training

Ok, since I now know it’s repeatable and sustainable, we have given this particular training style the name Sombrero Quad Training. This is exactly how I trained the Watermelon WeddingCake monster from the last grow. It’s painfully easy and very effective in terms of creating yield, and it’s especially effective for outdoor flowering as the sun hits everything.

So all I do is absolutely nothing until
I top above the 5th node. That will give you your four towers up the middle, two from the topping and two from the 4th node below. You let those four grow straight up the whole time. Then you take the branches from the lower nodes and evenly spread them out - in this case I have an 8-cola ring spread out below. With side branching yet to come, this will be plenty to make an nice ring/lower “canopy,” and as the four tops grow out the side branching from them will fill in the sides between the towers and the lower canopy. Does that make sense? You end up with a gorgeous 4-tower Christmas tree with tons of buds. We saw just how effective this training is on the WWC of the last grow, yielding over 13 ounces (an auto!).

It’s hard to see in the picture. You gotta make ‘em ugly before you can make ‘em pretty!

 

[Jon]

Tropicanna Banana
Veg

Almost looking like a canopy!

 

[Jon]

Mac and Jack
Flower Day 31

Color starting to creep in now…

 

[Azimuth]

Crescendo
Veg
Early Sombrero Quad Training

Ok, since I now know it’s repeatable and sustainable, we have given this particular training style the name Sombrero Quad Training. This is exactly how I trained the Watermelon WeddingCake monster from the last grow. It’s painfully easy and very effective in terms of creating yield, and it’s especially effective for outdoor flowering as the sun hits everything.

So all I do is absolutely nothing until
I top above the 5th node. That will give you your four towers up the middle, two from the topping and two from the 4th node below. You let those four grow straight up the whole time. Then you take the branches from the lower nodes and evenly spread them out - in this case I have an 8-cola ring spread out below. With side branching yet to come, this will be plenty to make an nice ring/lower “canopy,” and as the four tops grow out the side branching from them will fill in the sides between the towers and the lower canopy. Does that make sense? You end up with a gorgeous 4-tower Christmas tree with tons of buds. We saw just how effective this training is on the WWC of the last grow, yielding over 13 ounces (an auto!).

It’s hard to see in the picture. You gotta make ‘em ugly before you can make ‘em pretty!

Ok, this is awesome! Well done @Jon.

I think this could end up being for outdoor and tall tent growers what quadlining is to indoor smaller tent growers, namely the standard to apply when training. Alas, I grow in a cabinet with less than 18" of headroom so towers are out for me.

Your technique does grow some incredible plants. Maybe some day for me...

 

[Hafta]

Hey @Hafta - I just did my voting for this months contests. I had not even been to Nug of the Month and I saw you entered Super Silver Haze. Looks good too. This is perhaps my all time favorite strain and my very next seed purchase. But everyone sells it. I’m in search of the very best SSH genetic I can find. What is the genetic on yours? (Who made it?). And were you happy with it? How’s the thc level you got? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost bought SSH seeds only to hold off thinking I can do better. Any help/thoughts on this?

I bought my seeds from Crop King Seeds in January 2021. They were part of my first grow, two autos of different strains in the same 2 x 3 cabinet. SSH is the reason I only grow one at a time. The plant grew quickly and I didn't have the room to train properly, it overtook the cabinet. It also took 14 weeks while the other plant took 10.
It is a wonderful smoke and makes the perfect blend when mixed with Jack Herer and Panama.
My guess at THC level from my grow would probably be 18 - 20%. I would expect to get closer to 24 - 25 % the next time I grow it.
Even though it was my first Hydro grow, it still yielded about 7 ounces. I would expect more like 12 - 16 the next time.
It cures VERY well.
I got two for one when I purchased so I still have a few beans. I would definitely buy from Crop King again.

 

[Jon]

Ok, this is awesome! Well done @Jon.

I think this could end up being for outdoor and tall tent growers what quadlining is to indoor smaller tent growers, namely the standard to apply when training. Alas, I grow in a cabinet with less than 18" of headroom so towers are out for me.

Your technique does grow some incredible plants. Maybe some day for me...

Thanks @Azimuth, yeah it seems to work pretty well. There’s something to long stems under the colas that you don’t get from a flat top canopy where typically the stems are shortish. Long stems = more nodes, more nodes = more buds. And yes, it does require either outdoors or a tall space, and if indoors it works much better with a bar style light. So in that regard you could argue it’s a bit limited. But I prefer the term “specialized.” Lol!! As far as becoming any kind of “standard,” lol again, you guys have more grandiose ideas than me. I’m just experimenting and having fun and trying to find what works best. Wait til I finally move and have a 15’ tall ceiling to work with! That’s when we get the real power and I spend the coin to go Fohse. I’ve never seen one in the forum, probably cuz nobody can fricking afford the damn things. But there’s definitely an Aries in my future. I’ve been drooling for two years now.

 

[Jon]

Thanks @Azimuth, yeah it seems to work pretty well. There’s something to long stems under the colas that you don’t get from a flat top canopy where typically the stems are shortish. Long stems = more nodes, more nodes = more buds. And yes, it does require either outdoors or a tall space, and if indoors it works much better with a bar style light. So in that regard you could argue it’s a bit limited. But I prefer the term “specialized.” Lol!! As far as becoming any kind of “standard,” lol again, you guys have more grandiose ideas than me. I’m just experimenting and having fun and trying to find what works best. Wait til I finally move and have a 15’ tall ceiling to work with! That’s when we get the real power and I spend the coin to go Fohse. I’ve never seen one in the forum, probably cuz nobody can fricking afford the damn things. But there’s definitely an Aries in my future. I’ve been drooling for two years now.

Btw - you quad, I get it, and it works great. But here’s a thought: quading is one thing, but the middle fills up much more quickly if you hex or octagon instead. Same exact idea and execution just doubling the amount of main branches in the canopy, which has obvious benefits. Did you see how quickly I’ve been able to create a fairly full and even canopy on the Tropicanna Banana? It took like a week! That was an octagon, utilizing the two shoots from the topping as two. By the time they reach the outer edge of the ring you’re almost ready. Just an idea for you. You likely already know and have done these things.

 

[Azimuth]

Thanks @Azimuth, yeah it seems to work pretty well. There’s something to long stems under the colas that you don’t get from a flat top canopy where typically the stems are shortish. Long stems = more nodes, more nodes = more buds. And yes, it does require either outdoors or a tall space, and if indoors it works much better with a bar style light. So in that regard you could argue it’s a bit limited. But I prefer the term “specialized.” Lol!! As far as becoming any kind of “standard,” lol again, you guys have more grandiose ideas than me. I’m just experimenting and having fun and trying to find what works best. Wait til I finally move and have a 15’ tall ceiling to work with! That’s when we get the real power and I spend the coin to go Fohse. I’ve never seen one in the forum, probably cuz nobody can fricking afford the damn things. But there’s definitely an Aries in my future. I’ve been drooling for two years now.

In the mean time, come check out #SIP Club and see if we can't get you to try one of those pots. Very similar to your last grow with your big tub reservoirs, but easier to move around to follow the sun like you like to do with some of your plants if you grow it in a smaller container. The standard is a 5 gallon bucket but that will be too big to carry around (@Buds Buddy harvests 1.2 pounds in his and they're pretty big plants). I do 2 gallon buckets which you could do as kind of a specimen plant.

You might have to not journal it though since you've now got a rep to protect with those monsters that seem common place for you...