Doc Bud's High Brix Q&A With Pictures

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Man Doc, every time you smoke up we get treated with amazing photos F'ing amazing resin production on all of these plants Doc. That freaky deaky Jack is a PoTM winner imo.

Thanks bro!

I normally smoke in the evening, when I have no more responsibilities for that day. Yesterday, by lucky circumstance, I had no responsibilities after waking up. Today is a holiday for most folks.....but I'm working.

Anyways, I was extremely high....not stoned, and I was just grooving on the garden, examining leaves, pruning, just making general, cannabis-induced observations. I took over 100 pictures.....more than a bit obsessive. I'm glad I'm not in the beer business, or the candy business.....no telling what I might do in that case.

So here are some changes and crack pot ideas coming down the pike:

1.)I'm going to include the cationic soil drench into the schedule (and in the kits). I'll know more about when to use it after tray "B" is mature, as that tray is going to get the drench in mid-bloom, as opposed to early bloom.

As you may have noticed, the resin production (which is what I'm mainly concerned about) went way up after this drench, but the buds didn't swell nearly as much as "normal." They're catching up now, and they're very dense, so I'm not sure at this point if I'm going to lose yield or not, but the color change and bag appeal of these buds should be top notch.

I'm nearly certain it's only a question of when to use this particular product.....so I'll ruin my garden with it before I let my customers ruin their crops......if it turns out I didn't ruin my crop, but actually helped it....we're both going to be happy!

2.)I'm noticing better results by using the energy drench more often. Every other watering is working better than every 3 weeks. I'm positive that this is due to the ProMix HP draining so well. We're getting leaching action.

So, the fix for this is quite simple:

Don't over water in bloom except for a couple planned deep root soakings, use a rich nutrient mix for these.

Use the "re-charge" right after stretch. If you have some worm castings, don't be afraid to to pdress those either.

3.) I'm going to try something really stupid at harvest!!!

I'm going to get a very clean bucket of RO water, add a bit of lemon juice and baking soda, a la DIT leaf wash, and when I harvest I'm going to dip each cola up and down in the bucket and wash the leaves off this way. I'll shake as much water out as possible, and trim and hang as usual.

I've been advocating a thorough wash once or twice during the grow cycle, but I'm thinking this other way will be less dangerous, as the environment in the grow room won't be effected as much.

Part of why I sampled so much product yesterday was to see if I could taste any foliar sprays. I compared a recent harvest to a past harvest.....2 or 3 hits of each, to try to figure it out.


Bottom line: The new stuff is stronger and the high is "higher" "brighter" "warmer" and better. The old stuff has a more mild taste, with nothing negative. The new stuff expands and isn't quite as smooth.....but other people think it's bomb.

Well, I think I can make it better by giving it a good washing.

So, if something is going to go wrong it will!!!

 

[Curso]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Would water curing be beneficial to that process Doc? Changing the "feed" along with the "psychology" of the plant would make a happier plant I would think. With my small plants, they haven't quite ate everything up yet (going into week 5) I am going to top feed them a Tbls of amendment with next dose of energy just to watch them finish strong. I hope it will make next run really nice with happy guys running around in the soil already.

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Would water curing be beneficial to that process Doc? Changing the "feed" along with the "psychology" of the plant would make a happier plant I would think. With my small plants, they haven't quite ate everything up yet (going into week 5) I am going to top feed them a Tbls of amendment with next dose of energy just to watch them finish strong. I hope it will make next run really nice with happy guys running around in the soil already.

I don't think water curing would be of benefit unless a person really likes it. This weed tastes and smell exquisite.

Only a trained, sensitive pallet could discern the foliar sprays. Since I was wine tasting yesterday, I'll describe it in those terms:

One wine I tried yesterday, that I really liked, was a Bordeax blend. It had 1% Petit Verdot in it. That's all.....1 freakin percent. The rest was Cab, Cab Franc, and Merlot.

Many people, including me, couldn't pick out the 1%. But the wine maker could, and so he added it in. On my end, I just like the wine better than others....but I can't tell you why. But the winemaker knows what he's doing and he has the pallet for it.

I'm the guy with the pallet for weed.....if there's some liquid fish on my buds, I would like to wash it off!

 

[shottafire]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

I don't think water curing would be of benefit unless a person really likes it. This weed tastes and smell exquisite.

Only a trained, sensitive pallet could discern the foliar sprays. Since I was wine tasting yesterday, I'll describe it in those terms:

One wine I tried yesterday, that I really liked, was a Bordeax blend. It had 1% Petit Verdot in it. That's all.....1 freakin percent. The rest was Cab, Cab Franc, and Merlot.

Many people, including me, couldn't pick out the 1%. But the wine maker could, and so he added it in. On my end, I just like the wine better than others....but I can't tell you why. But the winemaker knows what he's doing and he has the pallet for it.

I'm the guy with the pallet for weed.....if there's some liquid fish on my buds, I would like to wash it off!

Thanks doc. +reps for all the stuff you teach here. I seriously can not wait to get the kit. Might have to ship me one.

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Thanks doc. +reps for all the stuff you teach here. I seriously can not wait to get the kit. Might have to ship me one.

I would LOVE to see what you could do with my kit!

PM me when you're ready.

 

[cgrowman]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Hi DocBud, I am new to growing and have been researching quite a bit, visiting many a forum. I have stumbled upon your threads on High Brix growing and absolutely love it! In fact you are the reason I joined this forum.
I do have a few questions, but first let me explain my setup.
I have a 2x1K HPS in a 7.5'x4'x6.5' sealed room with am aircon, dehumidifier and co2 enrichment.
I plan on having 2x4 rows of plants in a scrog setup, on a two week perpetual harvest.
Since my room is quite narrow and my access is limited to a small door on the side, I was thinking of sewing some landscape cloth into 1.5'x3.5'x1.5' "troughs" and using high brix soil. (Using landscape cloth I hope to approximate the smart pots that do air-trimming of roots.) Transplanting 2 vegged clones into them and have them share the same trough.
Would this work with your drenches and other techniques?

Right now I am currently refining and tweaking my room. Still need to sex the little ones and get some good mothers going before doing this. I would love to know more about the specifics of the kit you are selling. I have just joined and this is my first post, so I dont think that I can PM you.

Thanks for sharing everything that you have! I have learned lots and love being able to watch as this grows/evolves.

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Hi DocBud, I am new to growing and have been researching quite a bit, visiting many a forum. I have stumbled upon your threads on High Brix growing and absolutely love it! In fact you are the reason I joined this forum.
I do have a few questions, but first let me explain my setup.
I have a 2x1K HPS in a 7.5'x4'x6.5' sealed room with am aircon, dehumidifier and co2 enrichment.
I plan on having 2x4 rows of plants in a scrog setup, on a two week perpetual harvest.
Since my room is quite narrow and my access is limited to a small door on the side, I was thinking of sewing some landscape cloth into 1.5'x3.5'x1.5' "troughs" and using high brix soil. (Using landscape cloth I hope to approximate the smart pots that do air-trimming of roots.) Transplanting 2 vegged clones into them and have them share the same trough.
Would this work with your drenches and other techniques?

Right now I am currently refining and tweaking my room. Still need to sex the little ones and get some good mothers going before doing this. I would love to know more about the specifics of the kit you are selling. I have just joined and this is my first post, so I dont think that I can PM you.

Thanks for sharing everything that you have! I have learned lots and love being able to watch as this grows/evolves.

The kit will work! As long as each plant has somewhere around 6 gallons of soil, you'll be fine. 5 gallons with airpruning, 7 without.

You ceiling is a bit low for both of those lights and Co2....gonna have a jungle in there!

The kit comes with everything you need to grow one bale of ProMix HP from start to finish. That's 6 large plants, in 7 gallon containers. I like to add 20 pounds of worm castings to the soil, but it is optional.

It's very easy to use, and the results can be seen on my journal, as I'm using exactly what's in the kit, minus a few crackpot ideas I act on from time to time.

75.00 gets it to your door, including tax and shipping.

The trough is a good idea! I'm worried you might have a hard time getting soil in and out, what with roots getting tied up in the cloth and all. But innovation is awesome and I applaud your creativity! I'd love to see how it turns out for you.

 

[cgrowman]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

I'm in Canada, are you able to ship up here?

The ceiling will be a bit tight, the lights are air cooled, so we can get them a bit closer to the canopy. Getting the soil in and out shouldnt be too much of a problem as the trays will be on rollers, i was thinking of vegging in 1 gallon containers and then transplanting them into the troughs when time to veg. It will depend on what genetics I am getting too.

I checked on the plants last night, they were started from a batch of seed that I have kept in the freezer for the past 10 years. Started 14 seeds, 12 of them popped. This pick was from a bunch of bagseed mixed in with some Mr.Nice, Blueberry and possibly Champagne. They are 7 days into 12/12 and 10 out of the 12 are female! The other two havent shown their sex yet... I was expecting about 50% males, planning on it actually. I got ahead of myself and started some more seed just a few weeks ago, Silver Pearl (Sensi), White Skunk (White Label) and some more random seed. The Silver Pearls are monsters already!

If anyone has ever grown these strains before, I would love to know a bit more about them eg; Stretch , Flower time, known phenotypes etc.

So my little room is going to be very full for the next little while. I have some time to sort out some proper high-brix soil and get the ball rolling on that.

On a side note, I would love to apply this growing to the veggies that I grow. I will be growing some nice heirloom and some beautiful south american peppers, would this soil work for them as well? What other plants would this soil and particular blend of amendments be good for?

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

I'm in Canada, are you able to ship up here?

The ceiling will be a bit tight, the lights are air cooled, so we can get them a bit closer to the canopy. Getting the soil in and out shouldnt be too much of a problem as the trays will be on rollers, i was thinking of vegging in 1 gallon containers and then transplanting them into the troughs when time to veg. It will depend on what genetics I am getting too.

I checked on the plants last night, they were started from a batch of seed that I have kept in the freezer for the past 10 years. Started 14 seeds, 12 of them popped. This pick was from a bunch of bagseed mixed in with some Mr.Nice, Blueberry and possibly Champagne. They are 7 days into 12/12 and 10 out of the 12 are female! The other two havent shown their sex yet... I was expecting about 50% males, planning on it actually. I got ahead of myself and started some more seed just a few weeks ago, Silver Pearl (Sensi), White Skunk (White Label) and some more random seed. The Silver Pearls are monsters already!

If anyone has ever grown these strains before, I would love to know a bit more about them eg; Stretch , Flower time, known phenotypes etc.

So my little room is going to be very full for the next little while. I have some time to sort out some proper high-brix soil and get the ball rolling on that.

On a side note, I would love to apply this growing to the veggies that I grow. I will be growing some nice heirloom and some beautiful south american peppers, would this soil work for them as well? What other plants would this soil and particular blend of amendments be good for?

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll try to answer all your questions:

1.)Yes, I can ship to Canada. I just have to check the price. Your kit might reflect higher shipping costs.....it all depends.
2.)Everything I'm using is designed for agriculture. It's all calculated for 1000 sq feet, and can be used in fertigation, tractor-towed sprayers, etc. It is designed for vegetables....so it will work perfectly for heirloom tomatos, peppers, etc. The kit is designed for reproductive/fruiting crops.

However, the foliar sprays will not work on lettuce, spinach and other leafy crops. It will not work on root crops, with the exception of carrots, which will taste like candy with this system.

If you are going to grow squash, melons, or leafy greens, contact me and I can steer in the right direction for foliar sprays and a different root drench that will work on melons and squash.

The kit will actually work better for veggies than for cannabis. I'm still dialing it in for our favorite crop, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. A few of the plants look OK......

 

[cgrowman]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

A few of the plants look OK......

Hahaha, no need to be modest Doc, your plants look amazing! Although looks are not as important as all the rest, flavour, aroma, smoothness etc. The sum far outweighs the parts.

Carrots that taste like candy? Im sold. I am a chef by trade, so to be able to grow proper tasty vegetables as opposed to tasteless supermarket crap, is just amazing. Unfortunately up here our growing season is a bit shorter than in lower latitudes, so I am looking at planting the following: Carrots, beets, peas, beans, snap peas, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, herbs-as many as I can (herbs will be indoors-year round) some squash (probably winter), raspberries, strawberries, black currants. As well as a HUGE flower area. (We have bees)

I would love to do a trial run of your amendment mix. I know that you have had the soil tested and everything in your amendment program is tailored towards the Pro-Mix HP. I am having a bit of trouble finding that stocked, I can get Sunshine mix #4 (which if I remember correctly you had sent off to get tested as well, don't remember if you posted the results on it) as well as Pro-Mix Organic with Mycorrhizae. Would either of these work? I have also seen the Pro-Mix HP with Mycorrhizae, basically I am asking if any of these would be suitable replacements (with or without additional amendments) if I cannot get the Pro-Mix HP.

Thanks again for sharing all your bountiful knowledge, as well as all your "kooky" experiments! All in all, very inspirational!

On a side note: Having had quite a bit of experience growing and using herbs, I have noticed that the best and strongest flavor always came from plants that were slightly stressed (particularly Mediterranean herbs: Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano etc) Could this be utilised in the last week/few days of flowering? Say, with restricting water and increasing the heat during daylight hours and having cooler nights? I say the last week/few days as to reduce the impact on the final stages of flowering.

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Hahaha, no need to be modest Doc, your plants look amazing! Although looks are not as important as all the rest, flavour, aroma, smoothness etc. The sum far outweighs the parts.

Carrots that taste like candy? Im sold. I am a chef by trade, so to be able to grow proper tasty vegetables as opposed to tasteless supermarket crap, is just amazing. Unfortunately up here our growing season is a bit shorter than in lower latitudes, so I am looking at planting the following: Carrots, beets, peas, beans, snap peas, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, herbs-as many as I can (herbs will be indoors-year round) some squash (probably winter), raspberries, strawberries, black currants. As well as a HUGE flower area. (We have bees)

I would love to do a trial run of your amendment mix. I know that you have had the soil tested and everything in your amendment program is tailored towards the Pro-Mix HP. I am having a bit of trouble finding that stocked, I can get Sunshine mix #4 (which if I remember correctly you had sent off to get tested as well, don't remember if you posted the results on it) as well as Pro-Mix Organic with Mycorrhizae. Would either of these work? I have also seen the Pro-Mix HP with Mycorrhizae, basically I am asking if any of these would be suitable replacements (with or without additional amendments) if I cannot get the Pro-Mix HP.

Thanks again for sharing all your bountiful knowledge, as well as all your "kooky" experiments! All in all, very inspirational!

On a side note: Having had quite a bit of experience growing and using herbs, I have noticed that the best and strongest flavor always came from plants that were slightly stressed (particularly Mediterranean herbs: Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano etc) Could this be utilised in the last week/few days of flowering? Say, with restricting water and increasing the heat during daylight hours and having cooler nights? I say the last week/few days as to reduce the impact on the final stages of flowering.

ProMix HP with mycorrhizae is EXACTLY the soil to get. Get that and you're good to go!

IE stress and good herb.....no question about it. I restrict watering, play with the temps and humidity....all of it.

Dry, cold nights seem to really bring on the resin, later in bloom.

If you have large differences between day and night early on, you get tall, lanky plants with wispy buds and long internodes.

 

[cgrowman]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Right now my day temps are in the 76-82F range and at night the temps range from 70-77F with a RH of 40-68%. (which will go down to 30-45% in a week or so. They are in their first week of flower and loving the room! Itching to get my hands on some good soil to bring it up to the next step.

If you can find out about the price diff and let me know, I would love to order a package off of you. Just let me know what I need to do.

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Right now my day temps are in the 76-82F range and at night the temps range from 70-77F with a RH of 40-68%. (which will go down to 30-45% in a week or so. They are in their first week of flower and loving the room! Itching to get my hands on some good soil to bring it up to the next step.

If you can find out about the price diff and let me know, I would love to order a package off of you. Just let me know what I need to do.

You got it! I'll check into it right away and get back to you. PM incoming.

Meanwhile, here's some pics:

 

[Hash Hound]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Doc, excellent plants.

I was always on the impression you were supposed to harvest before or shortly after lights go on so the plant doesn't start sucking up its sucking up starches and what not.

Then I read this while cruising a hydro site today.

Harvesting

Getting the best flavor out of your crop starts with when you harvest. Once most herbs, fruits, or vegetables have been harvested, their ability to produce sugar declines or stops (although some fruits will continue to ripen off of the vine). Then the plant will cannibalize its starch reserves, converting them to sugar and thereby increasing the brix or sugar content of the plant material. A scientific study determined that one should harvest hay (or any plant) when the sugar and starch content or total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) is at its peak in the plant's diurnal cycle. This simply means one should always harvest at the end of the day. In the case of indoor growers, this means you should harvest right before your lights go off. This is because the TNC content is at its lowest point at sunrise/lights-on because the plant used carbohydrates for respiration during the previous night. By harvesting in the evening or right before the lights go out the plant will be at its maximum sugar content.

Any thoughts on the subject?

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Doc, excellent plants.

I was always on the impression you were supposed to harvest before or shortly after lights go on so the plant doesn't start sucking up its sucking up starches and what not.

Then I read this while cruising a hydro site today.

Harvesting

Getting the best flavor out of your crop starts with when you harvest. Once most herbs, fruits, or vegetables have been harvested, their ability to produce sugar declines or stops (although some fruits will continue to ripen off of the vine). Then the plant will cannibalize its starch reserves, converting them to sugar and thereby increasing the brix or sugar content of the plant material. A scientific study determined that one should harvest hay (or any plant) when the sugar and starch content or total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) is at its peak in the plant’s diurnal cycle. This simply means one should always harvest at the end of the day. In the case of indoor growers, this means you should harvest right before your lights go off. This is because the TNC content is at its lowest point at sunrise/lights-on because the plant used carbohydrates for respiration during the previous night. By harvesting in the evening or right before the lights go out the plant will be at its maximum sugar content.

Any thoughts on the subject?

I don't think it really matters much! The resin in the trichomes doesn't get metabolized by the plant into sugar. As far as leaves, we trim most of those off.

So, here we have two opinions that contradict, for different reasons!

1.)Yes, it is true that brix is higher when lights are on.....but not at the end of the day but about hour 5 or so.
2.)Yes, it is true that the plant physiology is different at night.

But both end up the same during the dry and cure.

The important thing is to get the brix up while the plant is growing, so the resin that forms has the highest amount of terpenes and other good stuff.

 

[Stormycirca65]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Doc, I'm a vintner as well as a grower. Both provide personal medicines that allow me to "bow out" of the commercial drug and alchohol trades. Brix or % sugar equates to specific gravity and or potential alchohol or biproducts, including co2. Can you comment on these equations regarding our crop?

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Doc, I'm a vintner as well as a grower. Both provide personal medicines that allow me to "bow out" of the commercial drug and alchohol trades. Brix or % sugar equates to specific gravity and or potential alchohol or biproducts, including co2. Can you comment on these equations regarding our crop?

Brix is a measurement of how much light is refracted by a liquid. In the case of plants, brix represents sugar and minerals.

Since we're not fermenting our crop, potential alcohol doesn't come into play.

However, in addition to measuring brix on grapes, measuring the brix in leaf tissue can tell us how healthy our crops are, while they're growing. Higher brix means the plant is taking up more nutrients, producing more sugars and thus producing more and different trichomes.

For example, I've tested crops of people doing hydro. Usually, hydro brix is about 8 for really healthy crops. I do know a guy who consistently gets brix of 10-12 in hydro. Organic grows are usually about 8 brix.

However, as soon as you mineralize the soil, the brix jumps up about 2 points, which is enough in many cases to eliminate insect pressure.

If you mineralize and get some hyperactive soil biology, you can get brix up to about 12.

If you use a high brix soil, with properly designed sprays, brix can get brix up over 12....14....15.....17 is as high as I've meausred.

So, when you hear about "high brix" with vegetables or our crop, we're talking about growing the healthiest plants possible, and we're measuring that health with a refractometer.

I hope this helps answer some questions.

Where are you growing grapes?

 

[Stormycirca65]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Doc, thanks so much for your reply. After spending some hours reading about high brix gardening, I understand now that my question was uneducated, as high brix in wine making and high brix in growing produce are only loosely associated. Thanks for a "new to me" subject to research. It applies to many of my hobbies/passions and offers the possibility of vast improvement in quality for each. I grow grapes, gardens, and other such endeavors ; | wink in the midwest. For others like me, there are many articles available with a simple search of high brix on the internet. Again, Thanks Doc

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

Doc, thanks so much for your reply. After spending some hours reading about high brix gardening, I understand now that my question was uneducated, as high brix in wine making and high brix in growing produce are only loosely associated. Thanks for a "new to me" subject to research. It applies to many of my hobbies/passions and offers the possibility of vast improvement in quality for each. I grow grapes, gardens, and other such endeavors ; | wink in the midwest. For others like me, there are many articles available with a simple search of high brix on the internet. Again, Thanks Doc

I wouldn't say you were uneducated.....just that what we're doing here is new and different. You understood it quickly.

The more I grow like this, the better I like it! It's getting to the point where it doesn't matter what strain I grow....all of them come out dripping in resin. That's because smart people designed the soil and sprays to work together and raise brix.

 

[Doc Bud]

re: Doc Bud - High Brix Q&A With Pictures

More pics.

These are of young Cherry Pie, herijuana