LALALand's 1st Grow - CFLs & AutoPots In My Closet

[LALALand]

***UPDATE***
Day 5 of Week 5 of 12/12

Growth is progressing steadily... I have done a couple intensive rounds of leaf-trimming, but now that all the juiciest tops have been exposed I think I'll stick to folding & tucking from here on out.
Don't wanna cause the girls too much stress!

Hardcore supercropping still works great at this point... a couple greedy tops be gettin' too close to the lights, so I just bend... and snap! When I get it right (which is, well, most of the time...) the stem remains bent at ~90 degress, out of burning range... but the buds still aim themselves back towards the light within 24hrs!!

Anyways... step into my office, friends. These photos were all taken today:

And here's a nicely white-balanced version of that last pic, courtesy of some Photoshop whiz I happen to know...

And here's one more (actually taken 4 days before these other photos, but whatever) with a full view of the garden, improved light setup n' all:

 

[Doozy]

Does supercropping mean removal of useless leaves? Is this the same as lollypopping?

Looking really good Lala!

 

[VictorVonDoom]

Does supercropping mean removal of useless leaves? Is this the same as lollypopping?

Looking really good Lala!

Hey doozy,

Super cropping is bending the stems pal, it does sound like leaf removal it confused me at first.

Supercropping - a tutorial

And lollypopping is removal of leaves and auxiliary shoots lower down on the plant.

Peace

 

[LALALand]

Beat me to the punch, VictorVonDoom! Hehe.

That being said Doozy, as you may recall from earlier photos I did also do some minor lollypopping below the screen, back during veg some weeks ago... and I think that was a good idea because those tiny shoots didn't grow back but the ones up above (in the light) flourished.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

The way it's looking you are going to fill your room up with buds. I keep getting amazed at what people on here produce with CFL's.

 

[LALALand]

***UPDATE***

It has been a beautiful week for bud development around these parts... see how my favorite cola has grown recently:
Again... sorry for rotated photos. I hate this uploader, lol.


Flowering Week 5, Day 5

Flowering Week 6, Day 3...

Flowering Week 6, Day 5...

Flowering Week 6, Day 6.

And here's another one of my top contenders for the Supercola title...

Leaves under canopy (out of light range) still shriveling & drying up, between 3-10 a day on average.

No problems whatsoever... save for one recent mini-emergency when the duct tape holding my PandaFilm to the wall decided to come loose, allowing the PandaFilm to fall down and knock over a lamp. Luckily I was at home when this happened (and it was early in the day) so even though the bulb was actually resting ON TOP of a few colas (eek!!), the plant only got toasted for an hour or less... minor burning of a few leaves, and no bud damage. Whew!!!

Anyway, OMG the smell... it's no longer a mild aroma by any means... I love sticking my head into the closet just to experience the girls' sweet, danky funk.
During veg they smelled more tangy, like I'd expect of the OG lineage... but now that the leaves and buds are syrup-sticky to the touch they have started to smell... I dunno... um... creamy? It's glorious.
This is a legit Cookies cut, I have no doubt. Not to be overpowered by the OG fuel notes, there is a really flowery scent that evokes fond memories of some of the best buds I've ever smoked... Cherry Pie, Afghani Grandaddy, Beyond Blue Dream, Super Silver Haze, etc.

Harvest day is just over 4 weeks away!!
One more week of CalMag + CannaAB,
One week of PK13/14 + CannaAB,
and 2 weeks to flush with plain RO water.
(I also bought a cheap USB microscope, to check trichrome coloration in Week 2 of flush)

I want to tell all my friends to start growing... this project has been so much fun, and the best part is yet to come!!!

PS: Any idea if/when these buds will start to show purple hues like in this picture?
Behind the Strain: Animal Cookies | Northwest Leaf: The Patients voice

 

[LALALand]

I see lots of crystals in your future.

Nailed it!

 

[LALALand]

*** (another) UPDATE ***
pictures galore!

Flowering Week 7, Days 1-3

These buds are starting to pack on serious weight! Wonder how they'll look at flush time, after their PK 13/14 diet...

Some burned leaves visible in the background here... evidence of the fallen-lamp catastrophe that occurred earlier.

Not sure what's up with the small-yet-bulging bud here, but it's covered in sugary goodness so I'm not too worried about it.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

yup so many crystals! Your buds are starting to look nice and nuggy. It's amazing how dense the growth is in there.

 

[LALALand]

yup so many crystals! Your buds are starting to look nice and nuggy. It's amazing how dense the growth is in there.

Truly, exactly as I was hoping for... so stoked on the ScrOG method.

Flowering Day 6 of Week 7
Changed nutrient solution today... so, no more CalMag, reduced to 2/3 strength CannaAB dosage, added PK 13/14.
Seven days of this diet, then it's flush time.

And now, it's finally time for some MICROSCOPE pics!
These pics are just for fun / testing purposes... not going to worry about trichrome coloration / exact time of harvest until at least halfway thru Week 10. Here are three pics of an average nug in my garden...

 

[think difrent]

nice

 

[LALALand]

***UPDATE***
Flowering Week 8 - recap


After a productive week on the PK 13/14 diet, I've decided to gradually flush for a couple days (recommended by some Canna inside experts, supposedly) by diluting the tank to 1/3 strength with plain RO water (ph = 6.0). Tomorrow, on Day 1 of Week 9, I will clean it out thoroughly... beginning the real two-week flush.

Things are looking good... steady bud development all-around. My only regret at this point is that I seem to have let some colas grow too close to the bulbs. Any closer than an inch, and bud growth becomes thin, airy and visibly not as sticky. The exception to this rule would be the buds that are just a few inches from my oscillating fan... they are the dankest of the bunch. Thus, I can see how improvements to air circulation / temp control may provide me with better overall yields in the future.


Enough chatter. How's about some PICTURES?

Flower Week 8, Day 1

Flower Week 8, Day 2

Flower Week 8, Day 3

Flower Week 8, Day 4

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Yum!

 

[LALALand]

***UPDATE***
Microscope Pics

Here on Day 4 of Week 9... reservoir has had pure RO water in it for the past four days, but due to Autopot tray design (never quite totally empty) I think it's safe to assume that the flush has been, and will continue to be, a process of gradual dilution rather than all of a sudden "NO NUTES FOR YOU."

Plants are starting to look a little sketchy, honestly... evidence of heat-stress all over, so I raised the lights more still. I will need to engineer some better ventilation next time around... that way I could keep these bulbs nice and close without inhibiting bud growth.

But hey, there's still a massive forest of dank in my closet so I'm pretty happy with the overall progress.. Water consumption is still fairly voracious and buds are all swelling, slowly but surely. Trichrome concentration thickening. Trichrome color, however, seems unchanged from when we last looked during Week 7—mostly clear, some potentially cloudy, but no amber yet. Here's the bud I decided to photograph with the microscope today...

Will check trichs again towards the end of Week 10. As soon as I see a decent amount of amber, it's chop time...

That little fuzzy fiber probably came from one of my lovely pipe-cleaner LST ties. Note to self... next time, use plain plastic garden wire.

 

[LALALand]

***UPDATE***
Midway through Flowering Week 10...Three days until harvest.

Buds have continued to swell impressively throughout the flush. Several colas are leaning over 45 degrees or more due to the weight... kinda funny lookin'. And crikey, would ya take a look at these trichromes!!

 

[LALALand]

***Final Days + HARVEST***



Flowering Week 9 (flush week 1)

Flowering Week 10 (flush week 2)

Flowering Week 10 Day 7
(last day before harvest... no water or lights for 24 hours)

HARVEST DAY!!!

Before...

Finally, a full view of the garden:

Mid-harvest...
(note the lil' leaning nugget, left slouching due to the recent departure of neighboring branches)

stumptacular:

One down, one to go...

and AFTER...
Popcorn nug tray:

Popcorn nugs, now hanging:

Behold... the harvest. 9 clothes hangers slightly over-filled with phat branches, plus the lower rack of popcorn buds. It was impossible to capture everything in one shot, but I did my best.

Rootz inspection... whoa. Nice and thick at the bottom, but no problems. There was a tiny (<1") capillary that managed to push down past the copper mesh root-disc in one pot... but that's okay!

I am definitely a fan of the Autopots and will continue to use them for future grows... like the guy at the hydro shop said: "Dude, it's SO easy."

Dry weight prediction, anyone? I'm thinkin' 4-6 ounces... but even with just 2, I'd break even on my project expenses... heehee...

Going with DJ Short's drying/curing guide, so no leaf removal for a day or two... manicuring will happen in three or four days... then the paper bag method -> mason jar cure.

However, I just vaped up a little fresh nuglet that broke off during harvest (probably .1g if dried, not much at all) and I must say... the preview has gotten me very excited for the real flavor that is to come.

Thanks for your support through this exciting adventure, y'all!

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Congratulations LALALand!!!

 

[LALALand]

Ah... Dry n' Cure... the true tester of patience.

In the meantime, I've just managed to give myself a whopping dose of this strain thanks to a bongload of scissor hash that I mixed with the crumbs left in my trim tray. Coughed my brains out (no cure, duh), but I don't mind thanks to the... well... simply incredible effects in both indica and sativa categories. A powerful pain reliever and mood lifter, this one is.

Anyways, some updates on the process so far. I decided to move things along faster than expected, because the buds seemed like they were drying fast. I blame this on their CFL-induced fluffiness. Whatever. Still frosty as #%&@.

Late in the day after harvesting, I removed the large fan leaves because they were already starting to wilt down… here are some after pics:

I have made sure to save any/all sugary trim for baking... it goes straight into the freezer:

The infamous “hay” smell emerged soon after harvesting; curing ought to fix this (right?), and bring those funky smells back in full force—which are still clearly present on the inside of the buds, as revealed during trimming.

Drying day3
Began final manicuring, but with buds still attached to stems.

day4
Completed manicuring.

Buds are mostly “crispy” on the outside so now it’s time for de-boning and paper bags before the official cure. Big buds are still moist but small ones feel dry and are demonstrating the “snap.”

day5
Weigh-in: 204.3g (7.3 oz) of BUDS:

Probably not quiet dried out yet though...

I also decided to jar up the popcorn nugs because they're all dry for sure.

Everything else still in paper bags, and will stay there until those stems be snappin'.
When that time comes... Big-bud nugporn coming.

Cheers, all!

 

[LALALand]

CURING - Day 6
Didn't stay with the paper bag method for too long–most of the buds seemed dry enough already, so everything's in jars now:

That undesirable "hay" smell is almost completely gone from most jars, while my top-shelf jar (fatty colas with stems left intact, the sideways jar in above pic) now just smells like beautiful dankness.
Da top shelf, on display:

Still burping daily... and not just burping, spreading buds out on a glass tray and leaving there for a couple minutes before returning to jars. I do this because I have noticed that while some buds are properly crispy, others are still more moist than they probably should be. So the burping continues.

SMOKE TESTING has been continuous for the past week or so (mostly fluffy popcorn nugs with the occasional sticky nugget), and, well... great success... it burns clean and proper, and the taste/effects are already comparable to bud that I've spent good money on in the past. After another week or so of curing, I'll allow myself to sample the top-shelf nugs for a truly delicious experience.

All in all, I'm stoked on this harvest, as it is my first... but I know there's room for improvement.
Can't wait to get started on GrowBox 2.0!!!

Cheers, all.

 

[LALALand]

***LAST JOURNAL ENTRY***


After two and a half weeks of curing, the herb is beginning to smell (and taste) quite delicious.
Aromas of fruit, lemon and pine explode from broken-up buds, and there is a hint of those same lovely smells when cracking open a jar. No more of that grassy/hay business! Yay. Will continue curing as long as this stuff lasts (but either way I've already got Grow 2.0 in the works so I'm not too concerned, heehee!!)

Vapor quality is spot-on and smoke is much smoother than before.

The effects are devastatingly strong all-around, as advertised for the strain...
Couchlock indica relaxation with a killer sativa buzz.
My sugar-trim edible creations (frozen, cooked into butter) have also been working quite well for me.

For the final photo of this grow journal, here's a microscope pic of one of my finest (cured) nugs:

Trichromes are a combination of clear, cloudy and amber—just what I wanted!

Thanks again for all your support, my 420 friends.

PEACE OUT for now!

-LaLaLand