Slow development of buds and colas in cold environment

[MassMedMan]

I have done a partial outside, then tried to bring it in, but that didn't work out. But I shit you not I was reading a journal today and it was day 103 of flowering and he was chopping... it was one of Icemuds grows, his Holy Grail Kush. I almost shit myself cause I just ordered those seeds.... still, 15 weeks is a while.

Have you sampled anything?

 

[go4snypr]

its hard to say how far ahead the top might be from the bottom. I think you said you have 4 150 watt lights.(didnt go back to look), but a plant that tall and a light of that wattage will not give good penetration to the lower half the plant.. you may want to think about chopping the top half and lowering the lights. or just make adjustments on your next grow.. I went to a SCROG method, or screen of green. all of my buds are at the top of my plant and anytihng under the screen is just a write off. next time veg your plants to half the height the were and then flower, this will keep the plant shorter and give better penetraion. (or get a bigger light, but the wife may frown on that). Even if your yield is lower than expected, just remember this is your first grow, it will get better and easier.

 

[MassMedMan]

Post 415,, and my bad, he chopped on 104

Icemud Holy Grail OG - Kali Kandi - SoCalDam OG - XJ-13 - Organic - Soil - Smartpots

 

[stilgar11]

Nope, haven't sampled anything. Call it an OCD thing, but I'm not going to sample anything until it has been dried and cured. I just feel like I'm somehow cheating by nuking them dry. It's stupid, but yeah, seriously OCD sometimes. I will try making hash from the trimmings though. Never done that before either, but it looks pretty easy on the youtube vids. I'll be using the IPA method, that seems to be most effective at separating the trichomes from the green matter.. I'll be sampling that before the plants are fully cured.

Any experience with partial harvests?

 

[stilgar11]

Yeah, depending on what the trichomes indicate on the lower buds, that was my plan, to harvest the top, lower the lights and give the lower buds some time to grow a bit more. If the trichomes look the same on the lower buds as the upper buds, then I'll just harvest it all as is. You are right about my lights. According to the info I got with the lamps, the effective distance for 150w light fixture is between 12 and 36 inches from the top of the plant. So yeah, bottom of the plants show the effects of inadequate lighting as I'm sure they always do.

Thanks again guys, your feedback made an expectant father of an overdue baby just a little bit less nervous. I really appreciate the time you gave me.

 

[sontnewb]

throw up 2 more walls (1 moveable) in the corner of your garage, put all your lights inside with your plants and heater (smaller area = less space to heat) this will isolate the plants from the other lights and put an fan on then non stop.

 

[WV Whitewater]

I don't like the fact that my grow closet dips into the low 60's at night... and light cycle interruptions are no good! Even if it is a harbor freight tarp for 12 bucks, isolating your grow from the rest of the garage and its lighting inconsistencies will be a rock solid move. Try and keep those temps up, cannabis is not a lover of the cold! I had an interruption of my dark period ( I fell asleep with the door open...) and it set my ladies back by at least three days, if not a bit longer. It looks like you have everything else dialed in, a couple hours of work and your plants will reward you for your efforts, I'm sure of it. I think you are set on harvesting your goal, but if you give them a bit more tlc, I bet you will crush your goal, especially with the plants that are behind... give them a chance to excel!

 

[stilgar11]

Thanks again for the advice and encouragement.

12 full weeks flowering now. I'm checking trichomes every other day. I was getting frustrated because I couldn't tell the difference between cloudy and clear trichomes, especially when viewed from above, they all seem cloudy...but when viewed from the side at the leaf edge, they always seem to be clear. I just started using a black backdrop instead of white paper like I had been. It really helped differentiate. The furthest along I've seen is about 50/50 clear and cloudy. No consistency with the multiple samples i've looked at, so it's frustrating trying to understand what I'm looking at. (total newbie syndrome!) I've yet to see a single amber head on any trichomes, although I've seen some with Amber stalks.

The cola fan leaves on my Allen wrench plant are starting to curl upwards and turn yellow at the tips and along the edges. I'm hoping this is a sign that harvest will be soon and not yet another problem. This plant had N2 tox issues for the latter half of its flowering period. Serious clawed leaves. I think you can see it in the photos I posted. Hopefully it will turn out ok...time will tell.

The more I've read about the potential effects of interrupting the 12 hour dark period, the more I understand the plants slow growth. Hell, if someone wasn't leaving the garage lights on, I was out there at night with a bright flashlight admiring my fuzzy buds. Until I started researching it, I had no idea how sensitive they were to that. Luckily I don't think any went hermie on me. Albeit, if one did at some point I may not have recognized it. There does not appear to be any pollen sacks or banana things though, so hopefully I dodged a bullet. But for a guy who's been smoking regularly for 30 years I feel like a total dumbass.

 

[NCDude]

Heck, your first grow? Looking pretty good to me...