If you really want good quality buds the first place to start is get this 7-9 week flowering time out of your head. Plants don't flower based on a calendar, and breeders flat out lie about finishing times to sell seeds.
MOST GOOD/Great plants need 9-10 weeks of actual flowering time(from when they start forming flowers, not the 12/12 flip) and some need more to be properly finished and provide the diverse terpene profiles you want, along with the weight and potency you desire.
Agreed/figuring that out. Tried out ~18 strains, reduced it to 8. Still cutting.... So far, Grape Ape is the fastest flowering plant I have (8 weeks). The others all finish in more like 10-11 weeks. Grape Ape isn't my most potent, but it yields pretty good and has dense buds. Its fast flowering time gives me more flexibility:
1) I can veg it for a relatively long time (~4 mos), like the others, and LST/super-crop/lollipop, the whole 9 yards ... on 3 shelves at same height (there's a gap between each shelf); and/or
2) I can veg Grape Ape for a short time, lollipop a main stalk/few branches, and bloom it in the gaps between shelves in the perpetual bloom setup. Idk, still figure out what works best for me ... variety of strains, variety of training techniques, variety of flowering times....
For me, new additions should improve potency and bag appeal, add unique funk, but have a shorter flowering time ... until my stable's all closer to 8 weeks (8-10). Currently, I'm gravitating toward a few things Dark Horse has out that are advertised as 8-10 weeks, one's 8 weeks (Hulkamania, Conjugal Visit, and Roid Rage) (currently out of stock...). Additionally, my stable includes elev8's Gorilla Cookies and I'm considering some of their more recent Gelato crosses to improve/complement my Gelato/Larry Bird genetics, though Gelato takes a while longer....
Idk, I'm enjoying the process!!!