Advice needed

tree beard said:

Those look good! I usually count day one of flower when I JUST start seeing them change over, usually about 2 weeks after flip. When you do that, then the breeders 9 or 10 week flower time starts to make more sense

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OldMedUser said:

I count from the flip so when/if I grow that strain again or clone from a mom I know more closely when to expect them to be done.

I also start feeding bloom nutes/boosters a week before the flip to 'prime the pump' and get faster bud setting with many more sites. Waiting until you see the onset of flowering before feeding bloom stuff is a missed opportunity. They feed up to 4X heavier during the stretch so they want and can use more of everything including light and CO2 if you have it. Also higher max temp up to 90F for max performance. After the stretch I go back to what I was doing just before flipping but feed more of a Lucas Formula menu.

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OldMedUser said:

I count from the flip so when/if I grow that strain again or clone from a mom I know more closely when to expect them to be done.

I also start feeding bloom nutes/boosters a week before the flip to 'prime the pump' and get faster bud setting with many more sites. Waiting until you see the onset of flowering before feeding bloom stuff is a missed opportunity. They feed up to 4X heavier during the stretch so they want and can use more of everything including light and CO2 if you have it. Also higher max temp up to 90F for max performance. After the stretch I go back to what I was doing just before flipping but feed more of a Lucas Formula menu.

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Tolerance Break said:

Unless it's a cut you've ran before, or a true ibl. there's no reason to count down. She will finish when she feels like it.

I would recommend feeding half of recommended strength to start for most nutrient regimines, but without intimate knowledge of your set up, that might not be appropriate.

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Mumbeltypeg said:

Interesting that the chart recommends foliar feeding right up to harvest.. I usually stop with FF once flowers gain some size, I sure wouldn’t be drenching in the harvest window.. increasing chance of mould and residue on buds. Also when I do FF I like to dim the lights down low for 20 mins or so.. don’t get burn marks on the leaves.

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Mumbeltypeg said:

Priming huh? that is interesting, I might give that a side by side try next run.. I have fed flower from flip and have also fed veg through the stretch phase.. can’t say I have noted a difference.

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Dezzoc87 said:

I’ve only used the foliar spray in veg never in flower I’ve read not to use in flower off lots of growers

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Mumbeltypeg said:

Interesting that the chart recommends foliar feeding right up to harvest.. I usually stop with FF once flowers gain some size, I sure wouldn’t be drenching in the harvest window.. increasing chance of mould and residue on buds. Also when I do FF I like to dim the lights down low for 20 mins or so.. don’t get burn marks on the leaves.

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OldMedUser said:

When I boost up the nute levels with extra Bloom I also add a half dose of AN Big Bud powder then the other half at the flip. I've done side by side grows doing all sorts of things over the decades since first growing buds in farm dirt and sheep shit under T-12 fluoros back in '78. Pathetic looking things by today's standards but all my friends loved it. Wish I still had a couple of those strains. Thai Stick, Maui Wowie, Jamaican Red Hair and some rando Mexican Sativa. I was a cab driver in Calgary at the time and had lots of connections. Made decent money and lots of free bud knowing some of those guys. Coke was real and plentiful then too.

Big Bud makes a big difference in yields and I hate to grow without it. Always use it in DWC and pots of ProMixHP. I get the powder one as it has about a 4 year shelf life where the liquid lasts maybe a year.

I went and bought a simple CO2 controller years back but never got a tank of CO2 for it. I did use it to see how much CO2 just being in the room with the plants went up and then tried a candle and it would go over 1000ppm. Built a couple of alcohol lamps and one with a 3/16" copper tube and a shoelace for a wick gets it over 1500 in a half hour so when I flip I have that burning during their day and adjust my exhaust fan controller to let the heat get up to 90F before it kicks in to keep the CO2 in the grow room. With just one 400 - 600W light going the exhaust fan won't kick in at all during the winter months as my room is under the house in the corner of the basement and it never gets over 65F even in the summer down there. They really grow fast with all that during the stretch then I stop using the CO2 and set the max temp at 80 once stretch is over.

Adding CO2 is useless if you have exhaust going all the time but a lot of people keep trying it then wonder why they don't see a difference. If the air is being exchanged all the time there really is no need to add extra CO2. When I have a bunch of plants going they can use up all the CO2 pretty quick then stop growing when the fan rarely kicks in so I need to add some sometimes.

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Mumbeltypeg said:

I have two rooms, one sealed and with a co2 generator and a split system to control temps and a dehumidifier and a humidifier to keep that where I want it, With the co2 I can run my temps around 32.C with my lights hitting the canopy with about 1500par and my humidity at about 75ppm and I’m yielding approx 3lb+12oz per light.
the other room is a little smaller and no co2 and not quite dialled in perfectly and I just scraped in at 2lb per light.. but it’s not a good comparison really, different grow area and had a lot of issues as you do when breaking in a new room.
I haven’t tried big bud.. I am shy of anything with growth hormones (not sure if big bud has any mind you) I do like to give a foliar spray with silica once a week through veg, back it off once it hits the stretch as it slows it down somewhat.

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OldMedUser said:

Big Bud doesn't use any of those nasty growth hormones. It's 0-15-35 with 10%S, 20 amino acids and both ascorbic and citric acids. They also have an 'organically derived' version of it too. I've used it since Dr. Hornby came up with the mix in the early 2000s. The aminos are all the same ones you can get at a health food store so with a few rough calculations I'm pretty sure I could just mix up my own version that should work pretty much as good.

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I'm not growing big anymore. I have a stockpile in the freezer to make into oil this winter so will be sprouting a few seeds each of two strains soon. One a 30:1 CBD strain and a good narcotic type called Paonia Purple Paralyzer. Both are regular seeds so I'll be making some more reg seeds and some fems of each. No plans to cross them tho. The last few months are the first time in 20 years I haven't had any plants growing in the house. Been kinda nice.

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