Hi...new to this forum....good to meet you all!..
I have been doing some gardening for the last couple of yrs...nothing major, just 6 girls at a time, maybe sometimes 9...
i grow in a 45ltr nft tank, and use 850w hid over the tray.
i am writing as the last grow b4 xmas was a strange one...
i ordered some autos...critical bio mass...plus i go some free fem seeds....cotton candy and some widow/skunk....
anyway the autos were chosen to `get a crop for xmas`...time for regulars would be mid jan....
i did 6 autos and the two free seeds ....
nothing weird so far.....
the autos grew...the free seeds grew....now the tricky part was `light time`...i had to decide what was best...give max light to the kw hungry autos...or keep the two regs in veg....i decided to run 18hrs on/ 6 off....this kept the regs in veg.....the autos started to get ripe...after 3/4 weeks i reduced the light to 16hrs on time....then a week later 14hrs at 14hours on the two regs started to pre-flower, then into full bloom!...one of the autos was covered by the cotton candy(quite big as it had been in veg for 7/8 weeks)....it was not worth leaving it...so it was removed...i moved the light back to 15hrs....all were happy flowering..inc the regs!
the autos finished up around 12th dec and the 5 left got me around 6oz dry...the biomass is not bad for an auto nice bag appeal and if you have it in your pocket outside you`ll attract attention...it stinks!.. I would have prob got 2oz per plant if not in a tight tray like it was....autos in general are not that great, and should be used in budget or stealth setups...if you have the privacy and setup...go regs all day...the extra 3/4/5 weeks is worth it...better quality and better yields...and kinda on the electric ...
removing the autos was a pain...i wanted to clear the tank but the two regs were still growing, i just left the stumps and roots i had two free holes at the pump end so i cleared the roots there and put some more spreader mat in and stuck two plants in so the tank didnt look so sad....i sat back and let them go and enjoyed what i had.....the cotton candy was..um getting big...the widow had finished about jan 8th...so was nice extra smoke....3oz was taken from this...very nice grow and put on loads after the autos were removed....the candy i wanted to cut down also...my mate said it was not done!!...16 weeeks!...i wanted my tray back so i could get the next lot in.....but if i`m honest i calculated it might be worth the wait...19th jan i cut it down....16 colas!...total dry weight 13oz!!!!!!...it took nearly 5 hours to trim....the plant itself was at the drip end of the tank, so it roots had simply gone into the res and soaked in the water!...i have 4 airstones in the tank....u got to get bubbles in the water..the more the better!...
anyway i am not here to claim i am `mr greenfingers`,,,,i am here to try and understand `wtf went on`......i have more cotton candy and it is nothing like the one before,,,in fact i have two...and both are nothing like the one before or eachother!!!!....
i can only think it was genetics gone mental....my only regret is i didnt have a crystal ball to take some cuttings....
it was something i have not talked about with friends as i did not want attention for the sake of stupid replies as to why one plant should produce this much....the only thing i did was bend/twist the branches in the first week of flower when they are soft....i do this to all the plants so its not the reason...
genetics of plants is very mixed....u put 5-10 seeds in(same pack) and probably 3 will look the same....very mixed results, some good, some bad...sativa/indica cross can be very hit and miss.....the candy i have now looks like pure indica!...the thing is totally covered in trics...huge fat mushrooms..on a 40x loop they look mental...biggest trics i have had on any plant by far (royal queen cheese had nice trics but they were scattered)...they are so fat they are joining up into one big resin goo!...cotton candy is a pretty decent plant...although the hit off the 13oz was ok....it was a sativa type high that you felt in your body not head!...
i have 2 cottons about to finish with a strawberry thing from world of seeds...looks ok but no hint of berry!...but hopefully the liberty haze will be the winner...have a few of them with about 3-4 weeks until finish...they are on week8 of flower but will need much longer.....i`ll let you know...the LH is a superb looking plant, a lot of indica with a nice haze over it....looks potent..almost like a good widow or white strain......
regards
SH
I have dealt with Herbies seedbank for the last 2/3yrs....I have to say that out of all the UK sellers, this includes attitude/rhino/singleseeds etc....they are simply the best....if you have issues they will sort them...and remember it is better to order `popular` seeds...look at the top sellers...this normally means quicker turnaround so you get fresher seeds...ordering `old favs` you run the risk of them being poorly stored thus increasing failed germinations....we all like to get something unique, but in the end these breeders only keep the best strains and new strains must be an improvment!.....
i am only mentioning herbies as i know how difficult it can be to get good service from companies online, and we all have had those experiences....and some of these beans are not cheap...no fun watching £30 die in a shell buried in rockwool!!!...a few of them and you`ll think its a bad idea.
