Afgoo - First Time Seed Grow

[Truth Seeker]

Nice job Astronr! Jeez I go away for a little while and you sprout buds like crazy! Nice job bro. Hope all is well as your grow!

whats good Mac,
Thanks for stopping in!!! glad you enjoyed catching back up again!!! I didnt do anything man, they did it all!!! well ok I lied, I fed them!!! and talked to them!!! and watched them!!! well you get the idea!!!
and once again, the girls and I would like to send out condolences to your loss of their sisters!!! they will be missed!!!

looking good there,
as im only a rookie how long would you say that you got left till harvest?

whats good srjc!!!
according to my calander that I have been keeping track of the daylight with, I figure that I am somewhere in the 4th week of flower now!!! I will know roughly when I get into the 5th and 6th week cus the flowers will start to plump out more than grow up!!! then it will be time to keep an eye on the trics!!! I have an estimated harvest date of September 20th!!! can't wait to see how close I estimated to the actual date!!!
And don't sweat being a rookie my good man!!! I still consider myself a rookie!!! this is only my second grow!!! EVER!!! well of cannabis anyways!!!

Plants looking great Aston!
Not to much longer now.

So now onto our next phase...
Can you describe the steps you are going to take to dry/cure?
Once you are done with that I will come over and sample the goods

Whats good DBM!!!
damn I finaly got a acronym for you!!! LOL!!! you know I haven't really put much thought into it yet!!! It has to be somewhere dark??? I think im going to go out on a hunt for like a refrigerator box from kmart or sears or something like that, maybe rent a center!!! hang dry inside the box, dont want to put them indoors near my setup, they might have something in them that will want something living!!! have to start thinking about this now!!! thanks for bringing this to my attention now then later!!! for curing I am going to have the Mason jars ready for them!!! thinking maybe a 2 month cure sounds good, but we'll have to go by taste... or needs LOL!!!

Outdoor harvesting in the Southbay California occurs I would say typically between September and October based on the strain you are growing. You can estimate, but only really know for sure when to harvest keeping an eye on the Trichomes. When those babies turn from cloudy to amber and most are amber then you are ready. Some harvest a bit sooner or later depending on the type of high they want to get. What ya think Aston?

Since Aston and I have similar grows, and my timezone switched to 12/12 a bit sooner I would say we both have at least 1 more month. Aston maybe can squeeze 2 in.

Oh you better believe that I am a Insomniac so I am going for the 25 cloudy and 75 amber my good man!!! I love my Indicas and thats the way I want them!!! to say "night night" is going to be a great pleasure for me!!! I love my sleep as much as I love growing my meds!!! Its so fun!!!

 

[Debudman]

Whats good DBM!!!
damn I finaly got a acronym for you!!! LOL!!! you know I haven't really put much thought into it yet!!! It has to be somewhere dark??? I think im going to go out on a hunt for like a refrigerator box from kmart or sears or something like that, maybe rent a center!!! hang dry inside the box, dont want to put them indoors near my setup, they might have something in them that will want something living!!! have to start thinking about this now!!! thanks for bringing this to my attention now then later!!! for curing I am going to have the Mason jars ready for them!!! thinking maybe a 2 month cure sounds good, but we'll have to go by taste... or needs LOL!!!


Oh you better believe that I am a Insomniac so I am going for the 25 cloudy and 75 amber my good man!!! I love my Indicas and thats the way I want them!!! to say "night night" is going to be a great pleasure for me!!! I love my sleep as much as I love growing my meds!!! Its so fun!!!

Hey Aston...
Yeah, DBM kind of has a nice ring to it .. haha. I can except that.

You're going to dry in a refridgerator? That will be interesting . lol
Or do you mean a box to sit on top of your refridgerator?
I know what you mean though. Sometimes you get so caught up in the particular growing stage that your ladies are in that when you quickly jump to the next stage you get caught by surprise. So far my few buds just seem to be hanging out nicely with roughly low 70's and humidity that hasn't gone over 55%. I will dry about 5-7 days and then start with my stem test. When it bends a bit before snapping it is ready. Then I will drop in mason jar and air out every day for a few weeks. I wonder how it will taste after not flushing? I tried a little small piece and it didn't taste to bad out of my bong.

I am an Indica man myself. I prefer the nice relaxing body high. So I will follow the same 25/75 trichome recipe.

 

[Debudman]

Hey Aston,

I wanted to ask you..
As far as the trichome ripening process.
When you check for the 25/75, does it matter whether you look at the crystalized leaves right near the bud, or do you have to look right on the bud. I wonder if it really matters where specifically to look for trichome accuracy?

For me I will look in various places to be sure. But I thought you might know.

Oh and I picked up a couple new Jorge Cervales Videos the other day. If you want to check them out let me know.

 

[Crookedfinger]

Ladies are lookin nice!!! I can't wait to see these finish. Been crazy busy lately, so it's been a while since I checked in.

 

[dekon]

hehehe

 

[Truth Seeker]

Ladies are lookin nice!!! I can't wait to see these finish. Been crazy busy lately, so it's been a while since I checked in.

hehehe

Thanks guys!!! Glad your enjoying them as much as I do taking the pictures and taking the time to let you all know whats going on!!! I can't wait to end this project so I can see if LST yields more than just straight up!!! I know its going to be hard to pull the ladies after 4 months of bonding with them!!! in fact it is 4 months today!!! I planted them on 4/26 and today is now 8/26!!! WOW!!! so much fun!!!

 

[dekon]

hehe time just flys I will say that, I still remember my first CFL and know im on my 3rd. With a pineapple express auto and hercules auto that just sprouted lol

 

[Debudman]

Aston...
We started just about the same time my friend. When are you going to harvest?
I read to flush when 50% trichomes turn amber. It is hard for me to see the trichomes through that damn little Radio Shack scope. I cut a little tiny leaf from the bud and observed on a table. They all looked cloudy to me. As for harvest I read where you should harvest as a guideline when 75% white hairs on the bud turn brown or orange.
Mine I would say are like only 5-10 percent changed to brown at this point. I think it might be time for me to start flushing. What do you think? My buds though are not nearly swollen enough in my mind to be nearly ripe. I was thinking I could squeeze another 4 weeks.

 

[Goldengoose7]

By looking at the last photo, when do you think I should begin flushing?
I am guessing I have at least 4 more weeks until harvest. This photo shows about the first 4-6 weeks of flowering.. I'm not sure what the flowering period of the Purple OG Kush is.

Definitely get your own journal and crosslink in your sigs. Less confusing to newcomers.


Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

 

[Debudman]

Golden,
I think you are confusing me.
You posted a quote from a response I made like 3 or so pages back.
Aston and I are both running an outdoor grow that was started at the same time.
The quote you posted was regarding my question pertaining to "When to begin Flushing."
I then supplied a photo of the plant in question. I surely don't see anything confusing about that? We are now both about ready to move to the flushing phase of the grow and I think my question was very much appropriate for Aston's journal. As for your suggestion regarding me creating my own journal. It is a bit late for that as my outdoor grow season is approaching the end. Keep an eye out next year though, I may just put one together then.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Golden,
I think you are confusing me.
You posted a quote from a response I made like 3 or so pages back.
Aston and I are both running an outdoor grow that was started at the same time.
The quote you posted was regarding my question pertaining to "When to begin Flushing."
I then supplied a photo of the plant in question. I surely don't see anything confusing about that? We are now both about ready to move to the flushing phase of the grow and I think my question was very much appropriate for Aston's journal. As for your suggestion regarding me creating my own journal. It is a bit late for that as my outdoor grow season is approaching the end. Keep an eye out next year though, I may just put one together then.

My mistake!

I was using my iPod touch and Forum Runner doesn't always show me the latest page for some reason. Thought I was replying to the most recent posts!

Based on what you have posted here, I hope that you do indeed run a journal next season!

Cheers and sorry again for the confusion.

 

[Debudman]

My mistake!

I was using my iPod touch and Forum Runner doesn't always show me the latest page for some reason. Thought I was replying to the most recent posts!

Based on what you have posted here, I hope that you do indeed run a journal next season!

Cheers and sorry again for the confusion.

It's all good Mr. Goose
Hope you have a Great Holiday Weekend my friend

 

[Truth Seeker]

It's all good Mr. Goose
Hope you have a Great Holiday Weekend my friend

ok buddy!!! im gonna call you on this one!!! It is not the holiday weekend yet!!! that is not til next weekend there buddy!!! smoking on 1 to many there!!! LOL!!!

My mistake!

I was using my iPod touch and Forum Runner doesn't always show me the latest page for some reason. Thought I was replying to the most recent posts!

Based on what you have posted here, I hope that you do indeed run a journal next season!

Cheers and sorry again for the confusion.

Actually GG, that happens for me on my computer as well, it seems to me that it takes me to the last post that I viewed and i can proceed on til the end!!! so i dont think its just your iPod touch doing it!!! nice try there buddy!!! JK!!! but its an honest mistake!!! I have done that myself as well!!!

 

[Debudman]

ok buddy!!! im gonna call you on this one!!! It is not the holiday weekend yet!!! that is not til next weekend there buddy!!! smoking on 1 to many there!!! LOL!!!

No, I was just wishing him a Great Holiday Weekend for next week..
Haha, no just kidding you got me there Aston. God dammit! I thought the Holiday was this weekend. I will have to blame that on the Purple Kush....
(Bad Purple Kush)...Bad Bad Bad.. haha

Yeah GG, see I can't even keep track of my Holidays..
So we will let you off the hook about getting your pages out of whack..

 

[Goldengoose7]

No, I was just wishing him a Great Holiday Weekend for next week..
Haha, no just kidding you got me there Aston. God dammit! I thought the Holiday was this weekend. I will have to blame that on the Purple Kush....
(Bad Purple Kush)...Bad Bad Bad.. haha

Yeah GG, see I can't even keep track of my Holidays..
So we will let you off the hook about getting your pages out of whack..

LOL!

Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

 

[Debudman]

Hey Aston,
I believe at this stage you and I will both be facing (3) last phases of the grow.
1. Flushing
2. Drying
3. Curing

I have heard different opinions about flushing.
1. No need to flush if drying/curing process is completed correctly.
Now this statement was also directed toward synthetic chemical grows.
2. Flush when 50% of trichomes turn from clear to amber
3. Flush when 75% of pistols turn from white to brown or red.
Now I have also heard this as a gauge to harvest.
4. Flush the last 2 weeks before harvest
5. Flush once just before harvest

Does anyone have any opinions on this?
It would great to hear from people who have tried the different methods.
Which method are you going to use Aston?

Me, I'm kind of shooting for the 2 week before harvest method.
Sometimes it is hard to gauge specifically when that 2 weeks will be though, but I guess you can get pretty close. I have one plant where it seems all trichomes have turned amber. I started flushing that one. The 2nd plant is about 50/50 and I waited on that one cause the buds still don't look as swelled as I want them to be so I fed full nutrient dose. The 3rd is the least matured and still feeding full nutrient dose.

I believe the goal is to get as fat of buds as you can while leaving yourself enough time to flush and not starving your plant of nutrients. I suppose the organic nutes would be less of a concern about flushing, but I have also heard that they too can amount to a bad smoke if you don't flush them. Not sure if this is true or not.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Does anyone have any opinions on this?
It would great to hear from people who have tried the different methods.
Which method are you going to use Aston?

Me, I'm kind of shooting for the 2 week before harvest method.

I start giving them 1 TBSP of Blackstrap Molasses per gal at week 6 every second watering and then at week 7 through harvest I replace that with my home made Clearex once per week in between normal watering schedule with PH balanced H2O.

If I have picked a harvest date and the trichomes are looking good under the microscope and with my 10x loupe, I STOP watering them for at least 4 days before chopping. It really speeds up the drying process and I think it makes the weed taste better too.

Here is the recipe for your own Clearex:

________________________________________________________

For 2 Liters of Double Strength Clearex

120 grams of Dextrose (available at wine making stores. simply is corn sugar)
60 grams of Sucrose (regular white table sugar)
1.5 grams sodium benzoate (Optional as a preservative)

Top off container to the 2L mark and shake to dissolve.

Use 15 ml per gallon of water

You really do not need the sodium benzoate if you keep the mixture in the freezer till needed. Remember sugar water grows bacteria super fast so you either freeze the product till needed or use the preservative.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Personally, I use the Sodium Benzoate so I can just keep my JUG in the cabinet with all my other stuff at room temp. Without it, your "Sugar Water" will become a science project in a matter of days!

The other thing I do is heat the mixture on the stove top to about 200 degrees to make sure that everything is in solution before cooling and bottling.

The approximate cost of a quart of this stuff? About $1.50. Cost of a quart of Clearex? About 15 bucks! Talk about a PROFIT MARGIN! And they say the Coke and Pepsi got rich peddling sugar water!

If you don't believe me that the above is identical to the store bought stuff, check the back of your Clearex bottle and read the ingredients.

3% Glucose (another name for Dextrose)
1.5% Sucrose (Table Sugar)
95.5% inert ingredients.

That 95.5% is water and some kind of unpleasant scent I personally don't care for. I stopped using the bottle of Clearex I bought when I discovered the recipe above that provided the correct proportions of Dextrose, Sucrose and Sodium Benzoate. I add a drop of green food coloring to mine so I know what it is. No scent! I worry that whatever scent they put in the commercial Clearex will impart a taste into the bud!

 

[Debudman]

Thanks GG,

That is awsome information.
I've heard of people using Molasses, but can't recall why? I didn't see in your information where you listed the reason for using it. But that is ok, I will have to read more about that. Thanks a lot for taking the time to provide your recipe. I will certainly take note of this.

Now I am aware of using the trichomes to determine the harvesting time, but what I am having problems with is estimating the time it take for the trichomes to change. For instance,
- What is the time it take for them to go from clear to all cloudy?
- What is the time it takes for them to go from all cloudy to 50% amber?
With this information you can better gauge how much time you have to flush and when to use final ingredients like your Molasses or other final stage nutrients.

As for not watering 4 days before harvest, makes total sense. I believe I have read other individuals recommend that as well. This would probably help reduce the chances of getting mold during the drying process too.

Thanks again GG.. This is the kind of stuff that really helps new growers out.
Well even old growers can benefit from new stuff that they might not have tried before.

 

[Goldengoose7]

No problem!

Molasses/Water provides some flushing properties similar to using the Clearex solution, BUT it also contains Iron, Calcium and Potassium which your plant can really use during flowering! This is why I start out with that around week 5 or 6 and eventually replace it with the pure sugar water flush for the last two weeks before harvest. Check the flowering time of your particular strain to determine when the probable last two weeks will begin.

As far as learning to "read" trichomes...

Trichomes can change within a day sometimes. All depends on the environment. UV radiation can effect them if the plant is outside for example, causing them to go amber faster than they would indoors.

I've recently started to speculate on the effects of our very high UV levels here in the High Sierra on the trichome development of one of the flowering BBK plants that had been put outdoors in this direct sun for several weeks longer than the one kept inside longer. The one inside longer (BBK1) developed far thicker trichomes than the sister plant that got put outdoors a few weeks sooner. Could also be a combination of UV and light cycle too, so the jury is still out.

In any event...

Best to equip yourself with a good microscope that you can use with your computer in order to easily "read" your trich coverage on any specific plant. I just posted some photos of my Microscope setup in THIS POST within my grow journal.

I just harvested a Blueberry Kush plant yesterday and detailed the harvest including the reading of the trichomes. All contained in my grow journal linked in my sig.

Check it out if you get a chance. Lots of photos and tons of microscope shots of Trichomes there!

Hope that helps!

P.S. I use PLANTATION brand - BLACKSTRAP "UNSULPHURED" MOLASSES. You at least want a BlackStrap Unsulphured type, regardless of the brand. I like the Plantation brand's flavor best for cooking and baking with and have been using it for years. I use it on some of our other crops too, not just the Cannabis! Our Jalapeno Pepper plants LOVE IT! I think it makes the peppers taste better as well.

 

[Debudman]

No problem!

Molasses/Water provides some flushing properties similar to using the Clearex solution, BUT it also contains Iron, Calcium and Potassium which your plant can really use during flowering! This is why I start out with that around week 5 or 6 and eventually replace it with the pure sugar water flush for the last two weeks before harvest. Check the flowering time of your particular strain to determine when the probable last two weeks will begin.

As far as learning to "read" trichomes...

Trichomes can change within a day sometimes. All depends on the environment. UV radiation can effect them if the plant is outside for example, causing them to go amber faster than they would indoors.

I've recently started to speculate on the effects of our very high UV levels here in the High Sierra on the trichome development of one of the flowering BBK plants that had been put outdoors in this direct sun for several weeks longer than the one kept inside longer. The one inside longer (BBK1) developed far thicker trichomes than the sister plant that got put outdoors a few weeks sooner. Could also be a combination of UV and light cycle too, so the jury is still out.

In any event...

Best to equip yourself with a good microscope that you can use with your computer in order to easily "read" your trich coverage on any specific plant. I just posted some photos of my Microscope setup in THIS POST within my grow journal.

I just harvested a Blueberry Kush plant yesterday and detailed the harvest including the reading of the trichomes. All contained in my grow journal linked in my sig.

Check it out if you get a chance. Lots of photos and tons of microscope shots of Trichomes there!

Hope that helps!

P.S. I use PLANTATION brand - BLACKSTRAP "UNSULPHURED" MOLASSES. You at least want a BlackStrap Unsulphured type, regardless of the brand. I like the Plantation brand's flavor best for cooking and baking with and have been using it for years. I use it on some of our other crops too, not just the Cannabis! Our Jalapeno Pepper plants LOVE IT! I think it makes the peppers taste better as well.

Hey Double -G,

That's some good information, thanks.
I've been reading up on Molasses and read where Jorge Cervantes conducted an experiment using molasses where he added it to his irrigation water during the last 4 weeks of flowering. He found the buds swelled 20%.
I think I am going to be taking my (_|_) over to the hydro store tomorrow to check some of this stuff out. I have also confirmed with some buddy's of mine that they too had similar success using products such as Flora Nector by GH and Bud Candy. They said they very the application. Some start dishing it out during the 1st week of flowering, others wait until the last 3 weeks. Anyway, it sounds like one of those "Must Use" supplements to me. I will certainly add it to my list.

Good info to know about the Trichomes.
It makes sense that they can change so fast.
I noticed huge differences in short periods of time.
I suppose with all the variables it is tough to place a time duration on the changing phases.

That is an interesting study that you described.
Now you say the plant that was indoors longer developed thicker trichomes than the one outdoors. Now the question is whether these higher UV levels are making the plants more potent, or less potent? I think I am to medicated right now to think any more about that..

Damn, that is one sick microscope.
Very impressive. Hopefully someday in the near future I can budget enough greenbacks for one of those. I will try to go through your journal and read more. Awesome stuff

I will checkout your Plantation brand Molasses product too. If it's good for the Jalepenos it must be good for our ladies