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It's Thursday...how could there not be another
HYENA'S GROW HOUSE update!
I wasn't able to get up to the Grow Hacienda for six days...with Phase One in full bloom and only 50 or so gallons in the reservoir, I had visions of a dry tank and all my plants on the floor, dead...as I got in my car at 5 am and drove the 3 hours I was worried...and since I was smoking weed I was also paranoid...feelings of dread...
But everything was fine!
In fact, as I unzipped the door of the Phase One tent I had to take a picture...it was amazing:
Over the past week these babies really plumped up...everywhere I looked nothing but beautiful, fluffy white buds!
There was still some water in the barrel but I had pushed the limit, anyway it's nice to know I could go that long even in full bloom. Temps stay at 80 in the tent with a great air exchange rate and effective interior air circulation but I'm still concerned about controlling the humidity as it always seems to be 60-70 % RH no matter how much air flows through and I can't afford to have mold in here.
I refilled the tank then started to dig into the canopy and really assess what I have going. The canopy density is amazing, almost too much. I started pulling fan leaves to get a little more light and air through there but even 30 minutes of that made little difference...my SCROG method has produced a surprisingly dense hedge with hundreds of vertical branches from just 12 plants. It's not a complete surprise but when you stand in front of it, it's so thick at 4 weeks flowering I almost can't see how everything could get 2-3 times thicker and still be able to get adequate light.
Left side:
This is mainly White Widow with one of the Big Bud Bling Tings in front, that variety is just a lot smaller. But the White Widow also didn't stretch quite as much as I thought it would, probably only about 40-50%. Very nice branching and loads of nice buds developing so I'm excited about the Widow.
Middle:
Some Widow on the left and the Super Bud on the right.
Right side:
Mostly Super Bud. Big stretch and loads of branches...Super Bud is the star so far!
In front a couple more, far smaller Big Bud Bling Tings. Only one of the four is a good-sized plant, maybe just the luck of the Phenotype draw. But if they were any bigger where would they go? The Super Bud is exploding. I have had to break a dozen or so over just to give more light to the others, it's a freaking food fight for light.
Super Bud close up:
Nice frost and super node spacing...the branches are strong and the buds already feel nuggy when you pinch one which is a vast difference from the mostly-Sativa stuff I've always grown, and a very good sign.
White Widow:
Getting frosty already...and at least four weeks to go...yum.
Even the smaller Big Bud Bling Tings are putting on some weight...
It's all about production so we'll see if they finish more impressively than they started. I hope so because the smell is awesome and the buds are also surprisingly tight when you squeeze one.
I have noticed the closer to the lights, the lighter the green color of the leaves. Only the Super Bud has gotten that high as to show this effect but I'm pretty sure it's the incredible intensity of these lights. I talked to several friends about it and we all feel that light intensity is probably just bombing the leaf biology into eternity. The buds and small bud leaves are fine, even within a foot of the lights in places, and the heat is almost nothing, so I don't think it's really hurting anything but it's worth noting for now. I used to see heat do similar things with my old HIDs and some hotter LEDs but this seems more like an intensity thing. So, a week ago I turned the right-side light down to 50% intensity just to see if anything changed, and did a full nute recharge to eliminate the possibility it's a nutrition thing. There didn't seem to be any change from either of those, so this visit I turned the other two lights back to 50% also. Maybe that will help? Hurt? How would I even know? I just think they are so bright, and reach so far into the canopy, it probably won't hurt much and maybe that will further stimulate flowering as the plants see a drop in intensity. We will see!
So all that said and done, and into Phase Two I ventured...OMG, those babies are growing! They practically doubled in size in 6 days!
So, on we rolled into a sold two hours of SCROGGING. This is the crucial time when maximum horizontal canopy size is made or missed...once a branch gets substantially above the screen there's no getting it back under unless you break it and so this session will get everything running the proper direction. Still, a few plants had parts too tall to bend over already and so had to be topped. I top major branches once they reach their final destination in the SCROG just to let them branch and thicken in place while the rest are spreading horizontally. It worked to perfection in Phase One but if I can get this one even wider I will, so I worked everything outward as far as I could...
In an hour a lot of the area had turned green.
Another Field of Dreams beginning to take shape. Everyone looks happy and healthy. I think if plants could sing this would be a 12-girl chorus.
Now, I have to figure out when to start the seeds for Phase Three! Yikes!
The problem: It is a 30-day countdown once I drop beans...after that they're too big for the lab and must be transported. If the bean packaging was exactly predictive I have 4 weeks until harvest in Phase One. It's hard to imagine this being what I want in only 4 more weeks, but I can't believe how big they already are only 4 weeks into flowering so it's possible I guess! But to be safe, I think I will wait another couple weeks to start Phase Three because if Phase One needs to go a couple extra weeks in flowering I can't have plants waiting in the hallway. Worse case would simply be starting the next run a couple weeks later instead of having to choose between losing a grow or losing a lot of weight.
I'm also considering what strains (or strain?) to run in the third phase...still have to see what these buds look like closer to harvest to make that call. Oh, the number of things to figure out and keep track of! I need to get high!
I don't mind sharing. Have a great weekend!
Peace, Hyena
HYENA'S GROW HOUSE update!
I wasn't able to get up to the Grow Hacienda for six days...with Phase One in full bloom and only 50 or so gallons in the reservoir, I had visions of a dry tank and all my plants on the floor, dead...as I got in my car at 5 am and drove the 3 hours I was worried...and since I was smoking weed I was also paranoid...feelings of dread...
But everything was fine!
In fact, as I unzipped the door of the Phase One tent I had to take a picture...it was amazing:
Over the past week these babies really plumped up...everywhere I looked nothing but beautiful, fluffy white buds!
There was still some water in the barrel but I had pushed the limit, anyway it's nice to know I could go that long even in full bloom. Temps stay at 80 in the tent with a great air exchange rate and effective interior air circulation but I'm still concerned about controlling the humidity as it always seems to be 60-70 % RH no matter how much air flows through and I can't afford to have mold in here.
I refilled the tank then started to dig into the canopy and really assess what I have going. The canopy density is amazing, almost too much. I started pulling fan leaves to get a little more light and air through there but even 30 minutes of that made little difference...my SCROG method has produced a surprisingly dense hedge with hundreds of vertical branches from just 12 plants. It's not a complete surprise but when you stand in front of it, it's so thick at 4 weeks flowering I almost can't see how everything could get 2-3 times thicker and still be able to get adequate light.
Left side:
This is mainly White Widow with one of the Big Bud Bling Tings in front, that variety is just a lot smaller. But the White Widow also didn't stretch quite as much as I thought it would, probably only about 40-50%. Very nice branching and loads of nice buds developing so I'm excited about the Widow.
Middle:
Some Widow on the left and the Super Bud on the right.
Right side:
Mostly Super Bud. Big stretch and loads of branches...Super Bud is the star so far!
In front a couple more, far smaller Big Bud Bling Tings. Only one of the four is a good-sized plant, maybe just the luck of the Phenotype draw. But if they were any bigger where would they go? The Super Bud is exploding. I have had to break a dozen or so over just to give more light to the others, it's a freaking food fight for light.
Super Bud close up:
Nice frost and super node spacing...the branches are strong and the buds already feel nuggy when you pinch one which is a vast difference from the mostly-Sativa stuff I've always grown, and a very good sign.
White Widow:
Getting frosty already...and at least four weeks to go...yum.
Even the smaller Big Bud Bling Tings are putting on some weight...
It's all about production so we'll see if they finish more impressively than they started. I hope so because the smell is awesome and the buds are also surprisingly tight when you squeeze one.
I have noticed the closer to the lights, the lighter the green color of the leaves. Only the Super Bud has gotten that high as to show this effect but I'm pretty sure it's the incredible intensity of these lights. I talked to several friends about it and we all feel that light intensity is probably just bombing the leaf biology into eternity. The buds and small bud leaves are fine, even within a foot of the lights in places, and the heat is almost nothing, so I don't think it's really hurting anything but it's worth noting for now. I used to see heat do similar things with my old HIDs and some hotter LEDs but this seems more like an intensity thing. So, a week ago I turned the right-side light down to 50% intensity just to see if anything changed, and did a full nute recharge to eliminate the possibility it's a nutrition thing. There didn't seem to be any change from either of those, so this visit I turned the other two lights back to 50% also. Maybe that will help? Hurt? How would I even know? I just think they are so bright, and reach so far into the canopy, it probably won't hurt much and maybe that will further stimulate flowering as the plants see a drop in intensity. We will see!
So all that said and done, and into Phase Two I ventured...OMG, those babies are growing! They practically doubled in size in 6 days!
So, on we rolled into a sold two hours of SCROGGING. This is the crucial time when maximum horizontal canopy size is made or missed...once a branch gets substantially above the screen there's no getting it back under unless you break it and so this session will get everything running the proper direction. Still, a few plants had parts too tall to bend over already and so had to be topped. I top major branches once they reach their final destination in the SCROG just to let them branch and thicken in place while the rest are spreading horizontally. It worked to perfection in Phase One but if I can get this one even wider I will, so I worked everything outward as far as I could...
In an hour a lot of the area had turned green.
Another Field of Dreams beginning to take shape. Everyone looks happy and healthy. I think if plants could sing this would be a 12-girl chorus.
Now, I have to figure out when to start the seeds for Phase Three! Yikes!
The problem: It is a 30-day countdown once I drop beans...after that they're too big for the lab and must be transported. If the bean packaging was exactly predictive I have 4 weeks until harvest in Phase One. It's hard to imagine this being what I want in only 4 more weeks, but I can't believe how big they already are only 4 weeks into flowering so it's possible I guess! But to be safe, I think I will wait another couple weeks to start Phase Three because if Phase One needs to go a couple extra weeks in flowering I can't have plants waiting in the hallway. Worse case would simply be starting the next run a couple weeks later instead of having to choose between losing a grow or losing a lot of weight.
I'm also considering what strains (or strain?) to run in the third phase...still have to see what these buds look like closer to harvest to make that call. Oh, the number of things to figure out and keep track of! I need to get high!
I don't mind sharing. Have a great weekend!
Peace, Hyena
. Likely to have to dump all my hydro gear, and do a major sanitizing to get those nasty spores out of the space so I can grow in the future! How’s the Stank family? Howdy Hyena, looking better than ever of course!!!!!
