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- #241
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Doing fine. Wishing I had bigger Grove bags.
Delps 8 Hydro RDWC Gelato Autoflower 2021
- Thread starter Delps8
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Excellent - I wasn’t sure if you were abducted by aliens lol - your last post ended in mid-sentence
That kind of pH drop isn’t too unusual - I’ve experienced it myself. Seems like some cations in your mix are very appetizing to your plant. I noted that the ppm remained unchanged - what was going on with the reservoir level?
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- #244
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Oh, I see that now. I wrote that piece in a text editor and missed some of the text when I did the Copy.Excellent - I wasn’t sure if you were abducted by aliens lol - your last post ended in mid-sentence
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- #245
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Agreed. The nute mix is 4-3-0 instead of 3-2-1 which got me more in the ballpark of the values that you recommended for me.
Water uptake is in the normal range. 1.1 gallons in about 18 hours. The dehumidifier is keeping it nice and dry in the garage at 46%.
I'm busy in the garage today, mostly to check Mary to see if she's ready to go. More amber popping up every day.
For whatever reason, I was attentive to what I'd cut from Mary last week. It wasn't until zero dark last night that I decided to check the water content using my spiffy new tester. As soon as I touched the plants, I knew that they were too dry. I got 9% on most of the nugs so I took some cuttings from Jeff and dropped them in.
Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down and just a few moist leaves will jump the RH! When I checked a jar this AM, it was 72%. Amazing change mason jar vs Grove bag. I needed to burp the mason jars this AM, after < 12 hours sealed up vs the Grove bags with no need for Boveda and no need to burp.
And that's what I'm doing now, trimming the stems on my "workbench".
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- #246
Delps8
Well-Known Member
I "tested" some of the nugs that I chopped from Mary and had put into a Grove bag. This was "early harvest" Gelato that had been dried to 9%(oops), put in a Grove bag with a Boveda 62%, and then cured for just a few days. Very smooth smoke and excellent buzz.
Didn't change the res. pH dropped a bit but has stabilized at 6.0. Water - didn't check today.
Big issue was checking trichs on Mary. Amber on the leaves visible at 30x, small amounts visible on calyx at 60x. Within the next week, I'm thinking.
Didn't change the res. pH dropped a bit but has stabilized at 6.0. Water - didn't check today.
Big issue was checking trichs on Mary. Amber on the leaves visible at 30x, small amounts visible on calyx at 60x. Within the next week, I'm thinking.
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- #247
Delps8
Well-Known Member
117 days above ground, 66 days in flower
Using a loupe, I'm seeing amber on the leaves but still very few on the calyx.
When I look at the images through a USB microscope, I see a good amount of amber in some places but clear and milky in others.
Ready to chop or wait X days?
Using a loupe, I'm seeing amber on the leaves but still very few on the calyx.
When I look at the images through a USB microscope, I see a good amount of amber in some places but clear and milky in others.
Ready to chop or wait X days?
I like mine with very little amber - so I would be harvesting this
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- #249
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the feedback. My thinking is to chop most of Mary today/tomorrow but leave some to mature further. It would be interesting to try a "late harvest" cannabis.I like mine with very little amber - so I would be harvesting this
The stem that I chopped on 1/2/22 got to 9% moisture ($20 moisture meter). Seemed to dry steadily and then went to 9% very quickly. I put it in a Grove bag with a few cuttings from Jeff to get RH up and RH jumped into the 70's. I pulled the plant material and sealed it again and RH dropped 1% a day right down to 63%.
I sampled some of Mary and was very pleasantly surprised. When I started smoking cannabis (again), about 8 years ago, I tried rolling papers but it was just too harsh. This was weed from a dispensary. I switched to using a vape and have used a vape, pretty much, 100% since then. Over the years, I've only bought from a dispensary. I've tried a joint from time to time and choked on it every time.
Fast forward to the yield from Mary and I've been rolling it up since that first sample. I was thinking it would harsh, like nugs that I've been vaping have been as much as $65 for an eighth, but this batch of homegrown is smooth…and getting smoother.
Amazing how well that little plant has done. That one stem yielded 44 gm so the yield from that plant will last quite some time.
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- #250
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Harvest turned out pretty well. This harvest was 118 days (16 weeks 6 days) since germination and 67 days (almost 10 weeks) in flower.
I chopped most of the rest of Mary - check the before and after photos. Mary was topped and LST'd with fishing weights. I didn't measure her. Shit. The oil heater is 15" tall so she was 18 to 24" tall but a great low and wide shape. I'm pleased with the shape of the plant but I'd like to have had more vertical growth. I waited, too long I believe, to get the second light. I don't know how much of an issue that was but I'm glad that I did get the light. It came down to get the light or cull the plant and the $125 was money well spent. There's a tiny amount left to harvest (≈ an ounce) but the dry weight was 181 grams and, unlike the Gorilla Glue this summer, the nugs are "firm" (not "dense") and range in size from about the size of an acorn to the size of my thumb. Not NUG of the Anything but I'm pleased with the results.
Had a problem with drying too quickly again. Weather changed - Santa Ana's came in - and RH dropped into the teens. I was able to rehydrate using some cuttings from Jeff and things got settled down pretty quickly. I've got a couple of Grove bags full of nugs.
Next up, Jeff — that's a huge plant. In as much as the plant shape is strange, the flowers are the same strange Thai-stick shape but they're bulking up and the stems are really heavy. Enough trichs are turning amber so I might have to chop Jeff this week. Humidity is going to hit single digits a few times later in the week so I've got brown paper bags on the way so I can slow down the drying process. This last harvest dried in just 4 days and I think that was a little quick.
Still the same res since the end is nigh. Lots of water consumed (> a gallon a day) and have been using the last of the nutes + RO to keep EC a little over 1.2 and pH in the 6.0 range.
And, now that this grow is coming to a close, I've got to make some decisions about a next grow. I've got Gorilla Glue autos and feminized photo seeds for Chemdog, Gorilla Glue, and White Rhino. I need to get another grow rolling soon to try to avoid the summer heat.
I chopped most of the rest of Mary - check the before and after photos. Mary was topped and LST'd with fishing weights. I didn't measure her. Shit. The oil heater is 15" tall so she was 18 to 24" tall but a great low and wide shape. I'm pleased with the shape of the plant but I'd like to have had more vertical growth. I waited, too long I believe, to get the second light. I don't know how much of an issue that was but I'm glad that I did get the light. It came down to get the light or cull the plant and the $125 was money well spent. There's a tiny amount left to harvest (≈ an ounce) but the dry weight was 181 grams and, unlike the Gorilla Glue this summer, the nugs are "firm" (not "dense") and range in size from about the size of an acorn to the size of my thumb. Not NUG of the Anything but I'm pleased with the results.
Had a problem with drying too quickly again. Weather changed - Santa Ana's came in - and RH dropped into the teens. I was able to rehydrate using some cuttings from Jeff and things got settled down pretty quickly. I've got a couple of Grove bags full of nugs.
Next up, Jeff — that's a huge plant. In as much as the plant shape is strange, the flowers are the same strange Thai-stick shape but they're bulking up and the stems are really heavy. Enough trichs are turning amber so I might have to chop Jeff this week. Humidity is going to hit single digits a few times later in the week so I've got brown paper bags on the way so I can slow down the drying process. This last harvest dried in just 4 days and I think that was a little quick.
Still the same res since the end is nigh. Lots of water consumed (> a gallon a day) and have been using the last of the nutes + RO to keep EC a little over 1.2 and pH in the 6.0 range.
And, now that this grow is coming to a close, I've got to make some decisions about a next grow. I've got Gorilla Glue autos and feminized photo seeds for Chemdog, Gorilla Glue, and White Rhino. I need to get another grow rolling soon to try to avoid the summer heat.
Outstanding!
Awesome Job Delps!!
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- #253
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Oops - the first "harvest" from Mary was 44 grams so Mary's yield is 225 grams with a bit more to go from the "late harvest".
I ran into the same "too dry" issue with this harvest over the weekend so I cut things up so they would fit into Grove bags and then took steps to control the RH. I used some clippings from Jeff and Boveda bags. That pushed RH in the bags up into the high 70's but all I had to do was leave the Grove bags open and, after an hour, it was down to the high 60's and water % was 9 - 10%. Good to go.
Final trim was last night - got out the "Trim Buddy" and spent about an hour of quality time getting things cleaned up and bagged.
I ran into the same "too dry" issue with this harvest over the weekend so I cut things up so they would fit into Grove bags and then took steps to control the RH. I used some clippings from Jeff and Boveda bags. That pushed RH in the bags up into the high 70's but all I had to do was leave the Grove bags open and, after an hour, it was down to the high 60's and water % was 9 - 10%. Good to go.
Final trim was last night - got out the "Trim Buddy" and spent about an hour of quality time getting things cleaned up and bagged.
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- #254
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Interesting comment from Dr. Bugbee being interviewed by MrGrowIt on YouTube - with the wide spread use of LED's in recent years, he's seen a surge in plants that have a lot of white pistils in their flowers when exposed to high amounts of light. His opinion is that it's not detrimental and that the issue starts before the pistils emerge. What is does cause, however, is the perception that the plant is not ready to harvest for growers who use pistils to determine maturity rather than looking at trichs.
Another thought - the video he mentioned above, Dr. Bugbee said that the upper limit PPFD limit for grows not using CO2 is about 1000 µmols. That number is confirmed by other researchers. The limit that he's referring to is not loudly stated but it's the limit above which the law of diminishing returns is dominant in terms of photosynthesis. @Rexer provided me with an interesting link where research papers discuss the cost effectiveness of high PPFD levels (hint - it is cost effective to push above 1k µmols) and another paper that indicates that, while the rate of photosynthesis may fall of over 1k µmols, the amount of vegetation that's produced scales in a linear manner. Countering that is Bugbee's assertion that the amount of THC in a plant tends to remain the same, regardless of plant size (I'm not sure of his exact words - I will check the transcript at some time).
So - is a PPFD of 1000 µmols a good working limit or should growers pump out the photons and get all of that extra vegetation?
Jeff is a post child for "more moles". Before I got the ViparSpectra for Mary ($125 for 8 ox of nugs), some parts of Jeff were > 1200 µmols and, even after the X3 was just lighting Jeff, I kept the light levels high to try to get light to the lower branches on the plant. It's incorrect to say that all of that light caused my auto to grow to a height of > 6' (I think that's where it will end up) but I'd be hard pressed to say that it didn't contribute to it.
Another thought - the video he mentioned above, Dr. Bugbee said that the upper limit PPFD limit for grows not using CO2 is about 1000 µmols. That number is confirmed by other researchers. The limit that he's referring to is not loudly stated but it's the limit above which the law of diminishing returns is dominant in terms of photosynthesis. @Rexer provided me with an interesting link where research papers discuss the cost effectiveness of high PPFD levels (hint - it is cost effective to push above 1k µmols) and another paper that indicates that, while the rate of photosynthesis may fall of over 1k µmols, the amount of vegetation that's produced scales in a linear manner. Countering that is Bugbee's assertion that the amount of THC in a plant tends to remain the same, regardless of plant size (I'm not sure of his exact words - I will check the transcript at some time).
So - is a PPFD of 1000 µmols a good working limit or should growers pump out the photons and get all of that extra vegetation?
Jeff is a post child for "more moles". Before I got the ViparSpectra for Mary ($125 for 8 ox of nugs), some parts of Jeff were > 1200 µmols and, even after the X3 was just lighting Jeff, I kept the light levels high to try to get light to the lower branches on the plant. It's incorrect to say that all of that light caused my auto to grow to a height of > 6' (I think that's where it will end up) but I'd be hard pressed to say that it didn't contribute to it.
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- #255
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Boxed up the ViparSpectra and set up a run of paracord that I can use to hang Jeff. Checked his trichs and there's amber on the sugar leaves but the calyxes have some clear, mostly cloudy, and no amber so I'm still in a holding pattern.
Over the past week, RH has had a daily range of 70% to single digits - it hit 1% on Thursday - and that makes drying a bit of a challenge. I've got paper bags on hand in case RH stays low or I can hang them in the garage if RH stabilizes. Jeff has so much inflorescence that there's no way I can hang them in the powder room that I've been using as a drying room. I clipped off two stems today, mainly out of curiosity. They were just two stems from the front of the plant. One is 43", the other is 55".
The buds have a very strange shape. They were flowers…well, I guess they still are flowers but they're not maturing into nugs. They're going to end up as chubby, Thai-stick looking buds - is there a word for that?
Mary's "late harvest" was looking a little…off. I'm concerned about mold but didn't see any signs of it. The issue is that some of the buds were soft and dark looking. The drying room (bathroom) doesn't have a very bright light so I walked outside with it and it looks fine! Strange that this is taking a long time to dry vs the other chop but I assume that's because I'm hanging what's left of the plant - trunk, branches, and flowers. Water % is still in the 20's.
Over the past week, RH has had a daily range of 70% to single digits - it hit 1% on Thursday - and that makes drying a bit of a challenge. I've got paper bags on hand in case RH stays low or I can hang them in the garage if RH stabilizes. Jeff has so much inflorescence that there's no way I can hang them in the powder room that I've been using as a drying room. I clipped off two stems today, mainly out of curiosity. They were just two stems from the front of the plant. One is 43", the other is 55".
The buds have a very strange shape. They were flowers…well, I guess they still are flowers but they're not maturing into nugs. They're going to end up as chubby, Thai-stick looking buds - is there a word for that?
Mary's "late harvest" was looking a little…off. I'm concerned about mold but didn't see any signs of it. The issue is that some of the buds were soft and dark looking. The drying room (bathroom) doesn't have a very bright light so I walked outside with it and it looks fine! Strange that this is taking a long time to dry vs the other chop but I assume that's because I'm hanging what's left of the plant - trunk, branches, and flowers. Water % is still in the 20's.
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- #256
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Didn't check the water level in the res today - bad plant daddy. :-(
I did check the how much the 2 stems were dried and, yup, they were ready. I broke out the TrimBin (well worth the $$) and got the…whatever it is (what do I call them- they're flowers but not nugs?) into a Grove bag. Some of the "product" was airy/larfy and I didn't bother to keep it. It was really easy to trim - each flower has its own little branch coming out from the stem so it was pretty much just snip, snip, snip down the branch.
The colas (I guess I'll use that word for now) are a little moist still and I could tell as I rolled a joint. Weeellll lemme tell ya - wow. Very cerebral, not unexpected because this would be called an "early harvest". But, yes, most definitely has a lot of kick.
One thing I wanted to pass along was what I think will turn out to be a really good find. I was using a Krupps coffee grinder but it quickly got resin in it and, when I tried to clean it, it came apart. OK, no biggie but the design was such that a new one would clog up pretty quickly. I found this grinder ("QUELLANCE Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blades Coffee and Spice Grinder with 2.5 Ounce Removable Cup, Powerful 200W") and have been using it for a couple of months. It's dead easy to use - pull off the top, put some herb in the cup, top, goes back on, and then you press down on the top to spin the blade. The great thing about it is that the blade and the cup in which it sits are designed so that you can turn it a quarter turn and it comes out. That makes it pretty much jam-proof and really easy to work with and clean.
Wow, really enjoyable. This grow had its moments, no doubt about that, but just sitting here enjoying a buzz and sharing some thoughts is a big reward.
I did check the how much the 2 stems were dried and, yup, they were ready. I broke out the TrimBin (well worth the $$) and got the…whatever it is (what do I call them- they're flowers but not nugs?) into a Grove bag. Some of the "product" was airy/larfy and I didn't bother to keep it. It was really easy to trim - each flower has its own little branch coming out from the stem so it was pretty much just snip, snip, snip down the branch.
The colas (I guess I'll use that word for now) are a little moist still and I could tell as I rolled a joint. Weeellll lemme tell ya - wow. Very cerebral, not unexpected because this would be called an "early harvest". But, yes, most definitely has a lot of kick.
One thing I wanted to pass along was what I think will turn out to be a really good find. I was using a Krupps coffee grinder but it quickly got resin in it and, when I tried to clean it, it came apart. OK, no biggie but the design was such that a new one would clog up pretty quickly. I found this grinder ("QUELLANCE Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blades Coffee and Spice Grinder with 2.5 Ounce Removable Cup, Powerful 200W") and have been using it for a couple of months. It's dead easy to use - pull off the top, put some herb in the cup, top, goes back on, and then you press down on the top to spin the blade. The great thing about it is that the blade and the cup in which it sits are designed so that you can turn it a quarter turn and it comes out. That makes it pretty much jam-proof and really easy to work with and clean.
Wow, really enjoyable. This grow had its moments, no doubt about that, but just sitting here enjoying a buzz and sharing some thoughts is a big reward.
Thanks for the grinder tip! I’m glad you are enjoying the fruits of your labors.
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- #258
Delps8
Well-Known Member
When I was a 1LT (field artillery) was assigned to a job where some of my co-workers were former military. One guy I worked with a Vietnam vet who had an expression "There are no problems, only challenges and opportunities." One day I asked him why he used that phrase. He explained that, as a grunt in Vietnam, he had to call artillery in on his position. They took casualties but it stopped the enemy advance. That was a moment of clarity for me.
Fast forward to today and the number of "challenges and opportunities" that arise is getting tiresome.
When I lay me down to sleep last night, the forecast for the next week was high's in the 60's, moist at night, and bone dry by mid-afternoon. My thinking was to put the Inkbird in the garage and have it run one or, perhaps, two humidifiers (they're small humidifiers). In essence, I would treat the 500 square foot garage like a drying room. To deal with a warm car being parked in the garage, I could open the back door to drop the temp back to the 60's. Good to go.
"No battle plan survives first contact." No shit.
The forecast for the next week has "been revised". RH still ranging from 70% to 7% but what I just did not need was a temperature change. The forecast highs are now 78, 78, 79, 83, 83, 81, 81, and 79. Fortunately, the forecast highs are almost always at least a few degrees too high but 70's and 80's while drying? Unbelievable. Yup, February in SoCal - I might have to run the AC to get the temps down + run a humidifier (or two) to get the RH up.
That's not a "problem", that is an "opportunity", right?
Fast forward to today and the number of "challenges and opportunities" that arise is getting tiresome.
When I lay me down to sleep last night, the forecast for the next week was high's in the 60's, moist at night, and bone dry by mid-afternoon. My thinking was to put the Inkbird in the garage and have it run one or, perhaps, two humidifiers (they're small humidifiers). In essence, I would treat the 500 square foot garage like a drying room. To deal with a warm car being parked in the garage, I could open the back door to drop the temp back to the 60's. Good to go.
"No battle plan survives first contact." No shit.
The forecast for the next week has "been revised". RH still ranging from 70% to 7% but what I just did not need was a temperature change. The forecast highs are now 78, 78, 79, 83, 83, 81, 81, and 79. Fortunately, the forecast highs are almost always at least a few degrees too high but 70's and 80's while drying? Unbelievable. Yup, February in SoCal - I might have to run the AC to get the temps down + run a humidifier (or two) to get the RH up.
That's not a "problem", that is an "opportunity", right?
Right!
Better than dealing with the shit show back east!
Better than dealing with the shit show back east!
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- #260
Delps8
Well-Known Member
No doubt! Nice to be here in SoCal!
Good news re. the grow — it's all over but the drying now!
When you get "Twins" like I did, each plant gets its own light. By cranking up the main light to try to get light to Mary, I blew up Jeff. In terms of mass, the yield will be high but the quality has suffered because it's fox tailed. The entire plant is long and wispy, with a few of the branches being >= 60". In contrast, Mary was all of about 2' tall and yield almost ½ pound of nugs.
Well, that's the hand I dealt myself so I now have learned yet another thing not to do. Next step, the drying strategy.
There are two humidifiers hooked up to Wetbird, a small fan aimed at that corner of the garage, and the big Waykar dehumidifier is set to kick in at 65% in case something goes haywire with Wetbird. My thinking was to keep the RH around 60% for a few days so I would have time to do a light trim and get them into paper bags. Paper bags could help me deal with the huge range of RH that I'm looking at, but there is another option - leave them hanging.
The argument for leaving them hanging in the garage? I've got two humidifiers + a good size dehumidifier + a 14k BTU AC unit. I should be able to control RH in a 20' x 25' garage with all of that equipment, right, so why not just use the garage as my drying room?
Good news re. the grow — it's all over but the drying now!
When you get "Twins" like I did, each plant gets its own light. By cranking up the main light to try to get light to Mary, I blew up Jeff. In terms of mass, the yield will be high but the quality has suffered because it's fox tailed. The entire plant is long and wispy, with a few of the branches being >= 60". In contrast, Mary was all of about 2' tall and yield almost ½ pound of nugs.
Well, that's the hand I dealt myself so I now have learned yet another thing not to do. Next step, the drying strategy.
There are two humidifiers hooked up to Wetbird, a small fan aimed at that corner of the garage, and the big Waykar dehumidifier is set to kick in at 65% in case something goes haywire with Wetbird. My thinking was to keep the RH around 60% for a few days so I would have time to do a light trim and get them into paper bags. Paper bags could help me deal with the huge range of RH that I'm looking at, but there is another option - leave them hanging.
The argument for leaving them hanging in the garage? I've got two humidifiers + a good size dehumidifier + a 14k BTU AC unit. I should be able to control RH in a 20' x 25' garage with all of that equipment, right, so why not just use the garage as my drying room?