Trichomes & Harvesting
- Thread starter k0ijn
- Start date
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
Pre-harvest flushing is a myth. I don't want to repeat myself so if you want all the sources and facts you can search the forum or my nick and look through my posts.
But just to bring it to rest; nutrients are not stored in the calyxes. There literally is nothing to 'flush out'.
You need to massively overfeed to attain high enough levels, which is very rare even for newbies.
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
very good thread
chitowns sk, 4 days before harvest (10/7/12)
Never grown that strain before myself looks like a very resinous one, can never go wrong with strains like that ^^
poplars
Well-Known Member
yep I agree, its the best smoke I"ve tried yet (but juries still out on these og kushes) its a private strain for now, but it is a F5 of pre98 bubba kush and east coast sour diesel.
www.photobucket.com/thebudjar password "medical" theres my photo journal, lots of good shit in there!
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
Pre98 Bubba is a great strain, so many great offspring!
I particularly liked the look of the Pre98 Bubba x Tahoe OG in the photo journal
poplars
Well-Known Member
Pre98 Bubba is a great strain, so many great offspring!
I particularly liked the look of the Pre98 Bubba x Tahoe OG in the photo journal
yeah I'm seriously super stoked to try some of that stuff!!! we'll see if it stacks up to sour kush hehe.
toronjadeoro
Well-Known Member
I'll be the 100th person to tell you thanks a million for this great thread, k0ijn, and I have read THE ENTIRE thing, so I don't think my question is going to be redundant. I am a first-time grower, but I've read the Cervantes and Riley books, and have been gratefully sucking up a ton of info here over the past several months, but I'm no pillar of knowledge.
I started a Shaman from seed (classified as a sativa) in a super soil recipe that's been kept on a balcony in a 3 gallon pot with about 6-7 hours direct sunlight, and I am in the Caribbean. I've also got a Super Lemon Haze and a Tangerine Dream I started at the same time, but they are not of any concern and doing great. The Shaman, however, exploded in growth from the beginning (that part not of concern
) but it began flowering on its own about 29 days later. I had already been LSTing it, and yesterday it completed 42 days of flowering with a pretty grand cola and several other impressive bud sites, all looking very healthy and fat. I've been watching the evolution of the trichomes since about the third week of flowering when they started to appear. I know it is silly to have expectations of it to finish any sooner than it is scheduled to (8-9 weeks according to Dutch Passion), especially with a sativa-dominant strain. But here's the thing....
I have a magnifier and have found that on one of the colas, has about 2-5% amber trichomes, and a couple others are about to head down this path also. Believe me, I've been looking at them everyday witnessing the changes. The pistils on all colas are about 20-30% reddish while the others remain white, but they don't appear to be receding (at least judging from the photos I've seen about what "receding" is supposed to look like). The pistils aren't exactly standing at attention, but they aren't completely wilted either.
I guess my question is this: Would it be possible that the hot-ass Caribbean sun can exponentially accelerate flowering time or am I completely delusional? I have found very little information about any tropical outdoor grows. Meanwhile, the Tangerine Dream is burdgeoning with growth in vegetative somewhat closely followed by the SLH.
I don't have a camera to upload a photo, so I'm afraid you'll have to rely on what I've recounted above if you have an answer. If not, hey, this is such a great thread, and I've learned a ton of indispensable stuff.
I started a Shaman from seed (classified as a sativa) in a super soil recipe that's been kept on a balcony in a 3 gallon pot with about 6-7 hours direct sunlight, and I am in the Caribbean. I've also got a Super Lemon Haze and a Tangerine Dream I started at the same time, but they are not of any concern and doing great. The Shaman, however, exploded in growth from the beginning (that part not of concern
) but it began flowering on its own about 29 days later. I had already been LSTing it, and yesterday it completed 42 days of flowering with a pretty grand cola and several other impressive bud sites, all looking very healthy and fat. I've been watching the evolution of the trichomes since about the third week of flowering when they started to appear. I know it is silly to have expectations of it to finish any sooner than it is scheduled to (8-9 weeks according to Dutch Passion), especially with a sativa-dominant strain. But here's the thing....I have a magnifier and have found that on one of the colas, has about 2-5% amber trichomes, and a couple others are about to head down this path also. Believe me, I've been looking at them everyday witnessing the changes. The pistils on all colas are about 20-30% reddish while the others remain white, but they don't appear to be receding (at least judging from the photos I've seen about what "receding" is supposed to look like). The pistils aren't exactly standing at attention, but they aren't completely wilted either.
I guess my question is this: Would it be possible that the hot-ass Caribbean sun can exponentially accelerate flowering time or am I completely delusional? I have found very little information about any tropical outdoor grows. Meanwhile, the Tangerine Dream is burdgeoning with growth in vegetative somewhat closely followed by the SLH.
I don't have a camera to upload a photo, so I'm afraid you'll have to rely on what I've recounted above if you have an answer. If not, hey, this is such a great thread, and I've learned a ton of indispensable stuff.
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
I'll be the 100th person to tell you thanks a million for this great thread, k0ijn, and I have read THE ENTIRE thing, so I don't think my question is going to be redundant. I am a first-time grower, but I've read the Cervantes and Riley books, and have been gratefully sucking up a ton of info here over the past several months, but I'm no pillar of knowledge.
I started a Shaman from seed (classified as a sativa) in a super soil recipe that's been kept on a balcony in a 3 gallon pot with about 6-7 hours direct sunlight, and I am in the Caribbean. I've also got a Super Lemon Haze and a Tangerine Dream I started at the same time, but they are not of any concern and doing great. The Shaman, however, exploded in growth from the beginning (that part not of concern
I have a magnifier and have found that on one of the colas, has about 2-5% amber trichomes, and a couple others are about to head down this path also. Believe me, I've been looking at them everyday witnessing the changes. The pistils on all colas are about 20-30% reddish while the others remain white, but they don't appear to be receding (at least judging from the photos I've seen about what "receding" is supposed to look like). The pistils aren't exactly standing at attention, but they aren't completely wilted either.
I guess my question is this: Would it be possible that the hot-ass Caribbean sun can exponentially accelerate flowering time or am I completely delusional? I have found very little information about any tropical outdoor grows. Meanwhile, the Tangerine Dream is burdgeoning with growth in vegetative somewhat closely followed by the SLH.
I don't have a camera to upload a photo, so I'm afraid you'll have to rely on what I've recounted above if you have an answer. If not, hey, this is such a great thread, and I've learned a ton of indispensable stuff.
First off, you're welcome
Sounds like your grow is going really well.
The amount of light (measured in lumen) and the length of exposure to this light affects how the plants grow.
Especially if it's sunlight, since it's the strongest form of light you can utilize (and it's free ^^).
So if you were to have a long exposure without any pauses (clouds or bad weather) then your plants would increase production and thus grow faster, taller and produce more cannabinoids (and precursors).
As long as we assume that the light / dark cycles are still kept within proper ranges so you don't stress the plant(s).
The problem with identifying what is the key is that there are so many variables to account by with regards to growing.
Everything from temperature to relative humidity to CO2 levels affect how your plants grow.
Perhaps you live in an area with perfect ranges in all of these matters, in which case you are extremely lucky (or very wise).
When all these factors coalesce and are within the optimum ranges you will see a better grow environment than you would in say, Scandinavia (we're talking outdoors still).
So to answer your question; No, you are not delusional.
But without more data it's difficult to pinpoint whether it's the variables of the weather or if its the genetics of the particular seed(s) which are causing this.
It's fair to say that even with the perfect genetics, a seed not exposed to proper conditions (temp, RH, CO2, light, darkness, nutrients) will never produce results which are on par with a regular seed in proper conditions.
The most important thing to remember is that this is a living entity we're talking about.
You cannot take the breeders schedule for granted.
Everyone has different results because the variables are different.
I've seen plants scheduled to have an 8 week flowering period go well beyond 12 weeks.
Always go by what your plants 'tell' you.
They will let you know when they've had enough.
toronjadeoro
Well-Known Member
That's exactly what I wanted to hear: I have to listen to what the plant tells me. It's science, but the conditions of the variables are what define one's results. Thank you again, K0ijn, and I will let you know the results after I make up my mind.
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
No problem, hopefully the harvest goes well ^^
Read up on drying & curing so you're ready when the time comes.
got another question to , i dont have any irrgation stuff , well i do have a irrigation tank with heat mat , but no cfl or t5 lights , can i start seed in rockwool in irrigation tank , and put under 400 wattmetal halide ...then transfer to pebbles and bucket , iff i can how long do i run the light for and how many weeks till i transfer , 3 ..
after that is it just veg from there 18, 6 ...
thanks , ive done alot of reading , but im completely new to this ..thanks mate .
after that is it just veg from there 18, 6 ...
thanks , ive done alot of reading , but im completely new to this ..thanks mate .
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
I only flush to correct errors in my grow.
If there's a salt buildup or an incorrect pH balance or nutrient balance.
You don't have to pre-harvest flush your plants.
Nutrients are not stored in the calyxes, there is nothing to flush out.
Pre-harvest flushing doesn't improve taste, odour, high or anything else either.
There's no logical reason to do it.
It sounds like you need to research the basics of growing a bit.
It would take me quite a long time to explain everything, I think the best way for you to understand it is to read an substantial and educational new growers guide.
Like this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_cultivation#Stages_of_development
That's just a wiki entry but it's very informational regarding basics.
There are also a lot of good guides on this forum you could read.
But just to answer your questions very shortly:
1. Yes that would be possible but you need to germinate the seeds properly first and you need to have a good setup to allow for transfers later on.
2. People have different ways of germinating seeds. Some use cups of water or a wet paper towel. When the seeds open and the root appears you can transfer them to a grow medium and put them under 18 hour on / 6 hour off light. The light schedule for seedlings should be 18 hours on / 6 hours off (but it's possible with other variations of cycles).
3. That depends on a lot of variables; size of seedlings, environment (and space), bucket sizes, grow medium sizes and a lot of other variables.
People usually have a setup where they can either switch really easily from germination to seedling to veg or simply a collective system.
So that the germinating seeds and the young plants and the mother plants share a space (and light cycle).
Sorry im not making myself fully clear , i hve a 10 bucket DWC , set up it is recirc , and im gona get rockwool sqaures and a electric Heated Plant and Seed Propagator ,
So i germinate in paper towlels wait for them to split and shoot slightly , then i was going to soak the rockwool in a slight nute and water formula , then put into the propagator and put into the tent ,
The question was really can i put them in a tent with a 400 mh i have aircooled hood lights and how high above the little plants does it need to be to veg from there on and 18 6 form there , or am i missing something ...
One more thing when it comes to harvest , can i just chop off clones from the finished plants and start over veging again ...thanks for your help mate , ive not even started yet and im new to this but just want to clear some things up , i have watched a few growing videos but i was like the guy at school who needed to go into detail or be shown by hand and im good from there ... thanks
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
I would not mix nutrients into the solution when germinating. Wait until you have seedlings and only go with a 1/4 strength solution until they "grow up".
Yes you can use a 400 watt MH without problems but it's not ideal, it's a bit overkill for germinating and seedlings.
There's a good trick with holding you hand between the plant and the light (palm towards the plant), when the top of your hand feels uncomfortable from the heat the plants will as well.
Since it's a 400 watt bulb it'll need to be pretty far away (I'm guessing at least 30cm - 40cm).
It's a lot of trouble to reveg chopped off parts of a flowered plant (since you have to bring it back to vegetation from flowering).
Especially for a newbie, I'd not recommend fiddling with clones or trying to reveg anything before you have a lot more experience.
It'll be much quicker and easier for you just to get more seeds and grow them.
its just gona double my time to grow , guess il have to get a t5 and some other stuff just dont have the doe yet .. one more question mate , my tent is 2.5 x 2.0 x 1.5 = 7.5 x 20 =
150m3/h
i have found an intake fan at 183 m3/h a four inch inline ... is this right , ..
so iff the above is right what would i need to extract .. my lights are airtight sealed units with a 6" hole on each side but i can get 4 6 to 5 inch reducers
5" HYDROPONIC VENTS TT INLINE TEMPERATURE & SPEED CONTROL EXTRACTOR FAN
Air flow 280 m3/h 37 Watts, sound level at 3m 36 (dBA)
with a 5'' 125mm RHINO PRO CARBON FILTER 125x300 500m3/HR
will the above be suitable for my tent ... the inline fan is top , and the filter and extractor is above , remember the extractor has adjustable temp and fan speed , would this set up be fine ...
many think's
another thing its getting really cold now over here , how would i stop my intake fan running at night when its freezing would this freeze the plants or damage them < edit , found a tube heater for night time with thermostat ...
but still the fans would they be fine for the job , and also what nutrient do you use for hydro , iwas gona go for advanced sensi , flower and bloom , 1 ltr each bottle and advanced bloom ...
you got any advice on nutes , im hearing mixed things about advanced , like i need loads of different things , i just want a good all on one grow , a good bloom and one for bud size ...thanks for your help by the way
k0ijn
Scientia Cannabis
That sounds like a proper setup but the most important thing you have to remember is to keep a nice airflow inside your grow tent/space.
You need to be able to move the air around and extract it constantly.
Turning off fans is never a good idea.
You can use any hydro nutrients you like.
I use GHE but most nutrients do what they should, there's not one brand which is vastly superior to the others.
Just make sure you have an EC meter or another way of keeping control of the PPM levels.
Keeping a proper solution is a challenge and it's very important.
Don spend tons of money on nutrients of all sorts if it's your first grow, just go with some basic veg - bloom nutrients until you learn more about growing.
Practice makes perfect.
toronjadeoro
Well-Known Member
Hi K0ijn,
As one of the last to beg your valued advice on this wonderfully thorough thread, I am left with one question. You will recall my concern for a Shaman sativa in the Caribbean already showing some amber trichomes at only 6 weeks of flowering. I did find another thread regarding my question, but the way it was asked and answered left me uncertain at best. As you're always succinct and lucid with your explanations, I'm thankful in advance for your input. The question is where is it exactly I should be taking the reading of ideal trichome color distribution.
If I am going to harvest individual buds as they become ready, I assume I will be taking a trichome reading of the entire individual bud site. In doing so, I have found that the trichomes on the smallest of leaves (the"sugar leaves" as I've heard them called which are anywhere from about 3-15mm in length, sometimes curled a bit) are 85% cloudy/15% clear and have the highest concentration of trichomes; whereas the leaves farther down (anywhere from about 3-4 cm in length) have far less trichomes towards the tips than at the base--but these trichomes--especially those towards the tips--are already at about 10% amber, 85% cloudy and 5% clear. Hence, my dilemma. Should I be reading the ideal distribution of trichomes from the tiny sugar leaves or from the larger leaves below? Or perhaps I need to factor both large and small leaves?
Thanks again in advance, and I'm already voraciously reading the drying and curing info in anticipation!
As one of the last to beg your valued advice on this wonderfully thorough thread, I am left with one question. You will recall my concern for a Shaman sativa in the Caribbean already showing some amber trichomes at only 6 weeks of flowering. I did find another thread regarding my question, but the way it was asked and answered left me uncertain at best. As you're always succinct and lucid with your explanations, I'm thankful in advance for your input. The question is where is it exactly I should be taking the reading of ideal trichome color distribution.
If I am going to harvest individual buds as they become ready, I assume I will be taking a trichome reading of the entire individual bud site. In doing so, I have found that the trichomes on the smallest of leaves (the"sugar leaves" as I've heard them called which are anywhere from about 3-15mm in length, sometimes curled a bit) are 85% cloudy/15% clear and have the highest concentration of trichomes; whereas the leaves farther down (anywhere from about 3-4 cm in length) have far less trichomes towards the tips than at the base--but these trichomes--especially those towards the tips--are already at about 10% amber, 85% cloudy and 5% clear. Hence, my dilemma. Should I be reading the ideal distribution of trichomes from the tiny sugar leaves or from the larger leaves below? Or perhaps I need to factor both large and small leaves?
Thanks again in advance, and I'm already voraciously reading the drying and curing info in anticipation!