ScienceGrow's Sativa Dominant Outdoor Bag Seed Grow - 2015

[ScienceGrow]

Heh, yeah, probably should have mentioned that a couple weeks ago. Eeediot.

 

[lazyfish]

Steempy.....

Well, I hope you are on the road to recovery...

9 days is too long, eh?

I going to go fertilize now...

 

[Weaselcracker]

I think so- just based on the times my pots were too big for the plant, and/or I didn't water carefully enough. It seems to me that ideally they do the wet-dry cycle in around 5 days. Maybe 3 or 4 would be just as good or better, but it's not as convenient for me because I don't want to water that often. My feeling is that 9 days of being wet would be too long it would eventually show. In my case I would usually get very dark, purplish foliage and brittle stems which I took to mean phosphorus def., along with other issues.

 

[ScienceGrow]

Every 4 days would be nice.

I think my use of a clay pot in this instance has actually helped a little, for allowing oxygen in and wicking excess water out. Hopefully, since I'll be feeding this thing more often now.

Definitely was deficiency, no new plant death this morning.

Last night I cut a small bud off the plant and took a close look. No damage to the bud itself, just leaves. I quick dried it and smoked it and while tasteless and odorless, it was a good stone and was actually rather smooth. I attribute the smoothness to a complete lack of living leaf tissue, and a likely absence of fertilizers, since I've been starving her and flushing her.

Anyway, assuming I can get to true harvest, I should have some good smoke on my hands. And trimming the leaves off will be a breeze, haha.

Funny story, my clones were showing signs of deficiency last night. Runoff PPMS were at <200. Hungry plant.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I might be on a similar tangent with some of my plants, in that I spend quite a lot of time unsure whether I'm feeding too low or too high.
My latest working theory is that I haven't been achieving enough runoff, and that even with low 800-900 Ppms, I've been getting salts buildup over time. I'm feeding one plant at almost the reccomended level,about 1200 ppm. Making sure I get plenty of runoff every watering. As of a couple weeks it's showing just the slightest tip burn but otherwise healthy.

 

[ScienceGrow]

Yeah, I think that probably comes down to experience, getting to know the plants and nutes and everything. I'll be sticking to the prescribed schedule as much as I can. The clones drain fast enough. This one will be more difficult.

Here's what Alpha looks like now. It's not pretty.

But, like I said, I cut a bud off and took a close look and the bud is fully intact. It's just the leaves. Here are some more macro shots.

I've also updated the clones journal with a couple pictures. Later all.

 

[lazyfish]

Never thought about the impacts of using a real clay pot...

Those macro shots are the bees knees! Really cool. I struggle to see whether the trichomes are red or not, but it would be really easy to get a few macro shots to stop and really look!

 

[ScienceGrow]

Yeah, I think I'll be going with smart pots or similar. Something that auto prunes the roots, breaths and drains well. Though soilless is looking very attractive too.

Thanks! I decided against logic to use my telephoto lens with the macro tubes. Figured it wouldn't work because of the focal distance, but it worked! And better too, it allowed me to kick my ISO back down to 200, which raised image quality dramatically. That parts expected, but I was actually able to get it to focus up close, which surprised me.

Definitely makes checking them out easier. BTW, I'll get the photo up, but one bud is almost all amber color trichomes. Most of the others have none. That bud, received special treatment of UVB in early flowering. And it's not bug poop.

 

[lazyfish]

I noticed a couple pink ones in the 5th pic.

 

[ScienceGrow]

Yeah, you can definitely see a few amber ones there, along the bottom edge.

I'm so close I can smell it.

 

[lazyfish]

It cant be soon enough...can it?

Didn't you have some trouble telling what day flowering began ?

 

[lazyfish]

What is your light cycle?

 

[ScienceGrow]

Oh I really have no idea when, no real time on the day, but the trichomes look close to half being transparent, the rest being white or amber. How long it will take for most of the transparent ones to change I don't know, but I'd like to minimize the amber where possible.

Oh yeah, here's the bud that's got a larger number of amber trichomes.

How long does it take for the stigmas to get going? Mine really haven't browned aside from the ones that were neemed.

12/12. Still running about 78F, 45rH day - 68F, 55rH night.

 

[lazyfish]

I didn't think to look at the stigmas until recently, so I can't say. But I would cut the whole plant right now if it had that much red on it...but on only one bud? I don't know what to think.

About the stigma thing though...I couldn't find the thread but...

I remember conradino23 saying something about when half of them are brown and the rest look to be on the decline is a signal that the bud is ripe, but he mostly looks at the trichromes.

Neocaliwood said :

"I cut one of the main cola's tonite to study and decide on the harvest dates. She's 90% cloudy with a 5% margin clear/amber either way. About what I like to see in a finish bud. You don't want to see the trichomes all start flipping amber at once. I, 'my two cents' feel you should treat your trichomes as if they was fruit, amber is the begining of the rotting stage. Ofcourse some like the heaver narco effects of the thc degraging into CBD's and the likes. Another thing I noticed is if you harvest with even 1/3 tric's amber, after a month or two, they keep degrading. two months later you look and you cystals are 3/4 amber and browning up fast. This is why I like 5% amber at harvests. "

Things to think about...

 

[Weaselcracker]

You will get a similar opinion from OldMedUser- who really knows his plants as well. He says anything that goes past being cloudy is a waste, and since trichomes degrade after harvest- he harvests, I think, while they are still showing a fair amount of clear. I didn't dig up one of his posts on this subject exactly- but here is an interesting article which explains this thinking. Trichome colors and the effects - Blogs - 420 Magazine ®

 

[ScienceGrow]

Yeah, only the one UVB treated bud is that far along. I'm going to play with that variable a bit more.

Hmm... so, where would you guys think I'm at percentage wise? I think it's looking about 30-40% cloudy right now on most buds. Just, stigmas are still really white. Thought they should be at least half reddened?

With no dedicated drying area yet, I'll be drying in the grow cabinet. Perfect environment in there anyway, so I can manage drying and curing better.

I'll take another look at the trichomes tonight and decide whether or not now is the time. I think another week or so for most of the buds.

It seems to me that THC degrades mostly from light exposure. So I was thinking maybe it would be smart to coat my mason jars in an opaque paint, or maybe even tool dip, to block light out when I have the jar out. It'll be stored in a dark place most of the time, but not when in use, which it often is. I'm mindful to keep it closed to maintain quality, but it seems like light is also an important factor to consider.

Yeah, I'm thinking tool dip. Fully opaque, and adds grip and durability/impact resistance to the jar.

 

[lazyfish]

You could always take just the top bud and wait for the rest...

 

[ScienceGrow]

I don't know. I think I just need to take a close look at each bud and see where things are. Feel like it's a little early.

Question guys. I have a couple really fat buds. Do I cut these up before curing in the jars? I honestly don't want to, but whatever is best is what I want to do.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I have high humidity issues. Sometimes I break the larger buds up if I'm verging on mold. I pry open the sections of the bud to look at the interior near the stem and check for discolored spots or slimy dampness.
If mold/rot isn't an issue then by all means keep them intact.

 

[ScienceGrow]

Sweet. Shouldn't be a problem, humidity is a constant in my space and fully adjustable. Thanks!