NuLife's Soilless Lemon OG Haze Auto: Grow Journal 2016

[Nulife]

Thank you Croatsan for your input. For some clarification. What do you mean fully developed? Cloudy?

By looking at the trichomes pictures of the plant1 I posted and the videos. What would you describe the readiness? I believe I'm seeing just cloudy trichomes, with a little clear, no Amber. What do you see? That particular plant is in Week 8, and 33 day since flowering. According to the seed bank, they state its ready to harvest 10-12 weeks of flowering, though some people report in their reviews closer to 14-15 weeks.

Last question, I guess I'm not understanding why would you want there to be any Amber trichomes for sativa if that gives you couchlock feel? Don't you want Sativa to only feel more energetic heavy head high?

Not sure why I'm not understanding that part, sorry.

If you are growing mostly Indica hybrids, it is better to harvest your plants when the resin glands are completely developed but not fully ripen – before they turn amber – unless you want to be glued to your sofa.

If growing mostly Sativa hybrids , make sure that all resin glands are fully developed and 30% of them are amber before harvesting your plants. If you extend the flowering period, you take the risk of decreasing both the taste and the typicall sativa “high” – stimulant – effect.

When the trichomes are fully developed but still translucent, plants will produce a “high” and stimulanting effect, less sedative. It is the perfect moment to harvest strong Indica strains.

When 70% of trichome heads are milky and 30% amber, it is the perfect time to harvest mostly Sativa hybrids and long flowering strains (like Haze). It is also the best moment to harvest plants for making hashish.

Robert C. Clarke – “Marijuana Botany”.

 

[Stinky Snid]

I agree with Croatsan's report. I'm not a Sativa expert by any means but I would imagine that you would want mostly milky trichomes for a good energetic buzz from a Sativa since that's what I've done with my indica and have enjoyed the high very much. It keeps me going during the day. Then I consume some amber laden buds to get a good nights sleep. My opinion is not researched but more from experience. I think Croatsan's points are spot on. Hope that helps your thinking process...

KiG cheers

 

[Heirloom]

PM Nulife

 

[Croatsan]

Thank you Croatsan for your input. For some clarification. What do you mean fully developed? Cloudy?

By looking at the trichomes pictures of the plant1 I posted and the videos. What would you describe the readiness? I believe I'm seeing just cloudy trichomes, with a little clear, no Amber. What do you see? That particular plant is in Week 8, and 33 day since flowering. According to the seed bank, they state its ready to harvest 10-12 weeks of flowering, though some people report in their reviews closer to 14-15 weeks.

Last question, I guess I'm not understanding why would you want there to be any Amber trichomes for sativa if that gives you couchlock feel? Don't you want Sativa to only feel more energetic heavy head high?

Not sure why I'm not understanding that part, sorry.

This is an excerpt from a book "Marihuana Botany" by Clarke. What he meant is, probably, that fully developed trichomes come in three different types. Clear, milky and amber. He treats them all as fully developed, regardless of their color or transparency.

You're, probably, thinking of fully developed trichomes being amber only, but the translucent and milky ones as not. That's the only difference.

He recommends to wait with Sativas, probably because they have a longer flowering period and it's easy to make a mistake and harvest them earlier. That's why he says to wait until 30% of trichomes turn amber. That doesn't mean that it's gonna give you a couchlock. It's a Sativa, after all.

IMO, you're overthinking this whole issue a bit. Just harvest some buds at different intervals and see the effect it has on you.

 

[Alchemist420]

Good Morning Nulife

Thanks for the PM asking my input on this question.
This is just my 2 cents, and I am by no means an expert. Just someone who has done some growing, a lot of reading, a lot of smoking, and has an opinion.
Hope I dont muddy the waters or make anything more confusing.

I believe Croatsan gave some good advice and quoted a reliable source in his response.

I understand you are looking for more of a definitive answer concerning proper trichome "ripeness" in Sativas vs Indica.
My personal opinion is this. There is no definitive answer.
The different Strains have different Chemotypes or Cannabinoid/Terpene profiles which lend to their different stereotypical highs when they are at the same ripeness.
The ratio of THC to other Cannabinoids and Terpenes give the different highs that you experience.
You as the grower can alter the high experienced with a specific strain by when you choose to harvest your herb. I believe you should harvest for peak ripeness of the herb you are growing, and let the cannabinoid / terpene profile it was bred for govern the high you experience.

Clear = Fully Developed Trichome, but not ripe. Still producing precursor cannabinoids
Cloudy = Fully Developed Trichome, ripe and has reached it's cannabinoid and terpene potential
Amber = Fully Developed Trichome, over ripe and the cannabinoids are starting to break down into other compounds

My opnion is Harvest when your herb is at peak ripeness. You will have to wait for some of the trichomes to be amber to strike the balance of mostly ripe trichs and fully developed buds.
If you harvest for peak ripeness then the Chemotype of the strain you are growing with provide you with the effects that strain bred to provide.

Harvest according to what you want to get out of the herb you are growing.
If you want more of the Up high harvest mostly cloudy. If you want more sedative wait for more amber, but be aware that this is due to the break down of the Cannabinoids and Terpenes that you want into other compounds.



Now on the the more important issue this morning...............I NEED MY COFFEE!

 

[Doc Bud]

9/1/16 Week 8 Flowering Day 33 - I got a new toy that is going to make deciding when to harvest a billion times easier and better than the 420 Brand 60-100x LED Handheld Microscope I bought ($17) and used my first grow. It's a great little microscope, but honestly trying to decide the right time to harvest with only a few trichomes at a time here and there, is a little bit harder than seeing a ton of trichomes in one shot on your laptop and with the ability to zoom in even further. I got the Zorb Digital 65-85x Microscope found on Amazon if anyone is interested for $45. This thing takes pictures and video of what you're trying to magnify. Awesome!!!!

Now I need help with deciding when is the best time to harvest for a sativa plant. I know sativa's are suppose to be more head affect, more upbeat, productive type of high. So am I to assume that I'm suppose to wait til the trichomes are all just cloudy, without any couchlock Amber trichomes? Because I assume if you're growing a predominantly indica plant you would go very cloudy and amber trichomes to get the actual couch lock affect that Indica's are known. This is the process I'm not really familiar with on how the color levels of trichomes affect Sativa and Indica differently.

Can someone, or a few someones explain with the clear, cloudy and amber trichomes do for each type of plant... Sativas and Indicas to me? Thank you.

Here are some pictures of Plant1 and the second one is a video (which I focus on the close trichomes first, then I focus on the distant trichomes and then I go back and focus on the close trichomes again. This is my first time using the toy, so bear with me, Im sure I'll get better at it as I get more practice.

Video1
Video2

I like to harvest with mostly cloudy triches. It's a personal preference, however.

There is a window when you can harvest. Pay more attention to the plant, pistils and calyxes, rather than the triches. When the plant stops drinking, no new pistils are forming and the calyxes swell up and make it look like the pistils are being "sucked in" the window is starting to open.

The window starts to close when you see new green leaves try to pop through the buds. It can be a week, or even longer period of time, depending on the strain.

 

[Nulife]

That helps a lot, thank you for taking the time to explain. I was enjoying some vape last night, and yes vaping or not I do love knowing the "why" of things. So I'm sure I'm over thinking it. lol

This is an excerpt from a book "Marihuana Botany" by Clarke. What he meant is, probably, that fully developed trichomes come in three different types. Clear, milky and amber. He treats them all as fully developed, regardless of their color or transparency.

You're, probably, thinking of fully developed trichomes being amber only, but the translucent and milky ones as not. That's the only difference.

He recommends to wait with Sativas, probably because they have a longer flowering period and it's easy to make a mistake and harvest them earlier. That's why he says to wait until 30% of trichomes turn amber. That doesn't mean that it's gonna give you a couchlock. It's a Sativa, after all.

IMO, you're overthinking this whole issue a bit. Just harvest some buds at different intervals and see the effect it has on you.

 

[Nulife]

Wow, that really helped too. Thanks for the explaining the different levels. But also that the each plant has it's own chemotypes that do the initial or the main affect of what each plant will be, now I have to cultivate that or fuck it up based on when I decide to harvest. Makes sense.

Good Morning Nulife

Thanks for the PM asking my input on this question.
This is just my 2 cents, and I am by no means an expert. Just someone who has done some growing, a lot of reading, a lot of smoking, and has an opinion.
Hope I dont muddy the waters or make anything more confusing.

I believe Croatsan gave some good advice and quoted a reliable source in his response.

I understand you are looking for more of a definitive answer concerning proper trichome "ripeness" in Sativas vs Indica.
My personal opinion is this. There is no definitive answer.
The different Strains have different Chemotypes or Cannabinoid/Terpene profiles which lend to their different stereotypical highs when they are at the same ripeness.
The ratio of THC to other Cannabinoids and Terpenes give the different highs that you experience.
You as the grower can alter the high experienced with a specific strain by when you choose to harvest your herb. I believe you should harvest for peak ripeness of the herb you are growing, and let the cannabinoid / terpene profile it was bred for govern the high you experience.

Clear = Fully Developed Trichome, but not ripe. Still producing precursor cannabinoids
Cloudy = Fully Developed Trichome, ripe and has reached it's cannabinoid and terpene potential
Amber = Fully Developed Trichome, over ripe and the cannabinoids are starting to break down into other compounds

My opnion is Harvest when your herb is at peak ripeness. You will have to wait for some of the trichomes to be amber to strike the balance of mostly ripe trichs and fully developed buds.
If you harvest for peak ripeness then the Chemotype of the strain you are growing with provide you with the effects that strain bred to provide.

Harvest according to what you want to get out of the herb you are growing.
If you want more of the Up high harvest mostly cloudy. If you want more sedative wait for more amber, but be aware that this is due to the break down of the Cannabinoids and Terpenes that you want into other compounds.



Now on the the more important issue this morning...............I NEED MY COFFEE!

 

[Nulife]

Seriously I want to thank everyone for taking the time and sharing your knowledge, experience and opinions to this newbie. I truly appreciate it. It's nice having a pool of people you can learn different aspects of what you need to know to be a better grower.

Last questions, can everyone give me their opinion of what they think the trichomes readiness is from my trichomes pictures and video. I believe they're about 90% cloudy, 10% clear, No Amber? Is that a correct assessment? I just want to make sure I'm assessing what I'm seeing correctly part of my on going education.

Again the plant is 8.5 weeks old, 34 days flowering (from first budlets showing since she's an auto), and the seed bank states it should be 10-12 weeks flowering, though many reviews stated she would need 14-15 weeks flowering. I can't imagine she needs another 4-6 weeks before harvest? But I only have one grow under my belt and know nothing for sure. LOL

Great Team work guys!!!!

 

[Croatsan]

You've got lots of clear ones, some cloudy ones, and no amber at all. I'd say the seed bank is right on the money with 10-12 weeks. And if you leave them a week longer, you won't be sorry you did.

A perfect opportunity to do your experiment. Harvest in three stages and test the effects.

 

[DeanB]

A lot of great information, I agree. From my personal experience from growing and smoking sativa hybrids is that 12 weeks is the max for the ones I grow. My last couple of grows I harvested at 11 weeks from first sign, and revegged the same plant and harvested at 12 weeks. At 11 weeks I had about 20% amber. At 12 weeks I had about 30% amber and that window was closing that Doc talked about. She quit drinking water, the pistols looked like sticky brown, calyxs were swollen, even found tiny green leaves starting. The buds have been curing in jars going on 3 weeks. Also remember, the longer you cure it the heavier of a high it's going to be. If you smoke it up in the first couple weeks, then the high is going to be speedy.

 

[Nulife]

Hi Dean,

Thank you tremendously for your input. Would you say from my trichome pics and video that she's about 90% cloudy, 10% clear, no amber? Is that a correct assessment of where she's at now. Tomorrow will be 9 weeks from germination.

A lot of great information, I agree. From my personal experience from growing and smoking sativa hybrids is that 12 weeks is the max for the ones I grow. My last couple of grows I harvested at 11 weeks from first sign, and revegged the same plant and harvested at 12 weeks. At 11 weeks I had about 20% amber. At 12 weeks I had about 30% amber and that window was closing that Doc talked about. She quit drinking water, the pistols looked like sticky brown, calyxs were swollen, even found tiny green leaves starting. The buds have been curing in jars going on 3 weeks. Also remember, the longer you cure it the heavier of a high it's going to be. If you smoke it up in the first couple weeks, then the high is going to be speedy.

 

[Nulife]

Yea I was thinking about Clipping a branch or two at different weeks. Maybe 10or11 then 12 or13 then 14 or 15. I'm figured I can tape up the branch that I cut, and let the rest of the plant keep producing. I'm assuming that's a thing. lol

You've got lots of clear ones, some cloudy ones, and no amber at all. I'd say the seed bank is right on the money with 10-12 weeks. And if you leave them a week longer, you won't be sorry you did.

A perfect opportunity to do your experiment. Harvest in three stages and test the effects.

 

[Croatsan]

She won't miss a beat. Don't worry.

Just don't go to town with clipping, like you do with defoliation

 

[brightlight]

Hello NL. Landrace or high % sativas are fair game for harvest at 50% clear & 50% cloudy & anywhere up to predominately cloudy. Only use flower trichome colors, not trichs on leaves. Personally I'd never want any amber in a sativa. Contrary to what most say or write, but try it & you'll see what I mean. In addition to trichomes, use pistil/stigma coloration & fragrance too to determine peak ripeness. Together all three will tell you when to harvest.

 

[Heirloom]

What doc said....

 

[DeanB]

Yea I was thinking about Clipping a branch or two at different weeks. Maybe 10or11 then 12 or13 then 14 or 15. I'm figured I can tape up the branch that I cut, and let the rest of the plant keep producing. I'm assuming that's a thing. lol

I did kinda what you are thinking about. I didn't have enough room in my drying cabinet, so I harvested all the big buds (not branches, leave those.) and left the smaller buds to continue for another week. They are on their 2nd week of jar curing and haven't tried 'em yet.

 

[bobrown14]

What doc said....

^^^ That... I don't "only" look at trichomes. I look and the shape of the calyx. That nice pear shape that is swollen tells me they are ready.. That and all cloudy... some strains wont get amber at all. You won't know until you get familiar with growing that particular cultivar. In other words ... experience. You will get it, this is the process... asking questions and doing the work. do diligence... farming is work.. you're doing a great job.

Also as mentioned, the length of cure has a lot to do with the racy nature even with indica. I try and wait 6 weeks if I can, for a proper cure. Patience is key for sure.

So now think about how you are going to dry and cure your harvest. This part is just as important as the growing portion and sometimes even more important.

For me it's the most critical ... the only time when I need to be there with my plants is after harvest during the drying process.

 

[Nulife]

9/4/16 Week 9: They were only fed today. I did not flush today, I will flush and feed tomorrow. I lowered the COB lights to 18-20" from the plants. I added a 300w 9band LED Light to the Flowering Closet, I'm rotating the plants around every day so at least once or twice a week so they get some of the different spectrum of this light.

Lemon1: Flowering Day 35 - I did Week 6 of the nutes schedule.
9/3 ph: 5.73 in 5.80 out 737ppm
9/4 ph: 5.73 in 5.78 out 737ppm


Lemon2: Flowering Day 16 - Week 4 of the nutes schedule.
9/3 ph: 5.72 in 5.70 out 842ppm
9/4 ph: 5.72 in 5.81 out 842ppm

Lemon3: Flowering Day 22 - Week 5 of the nutes schedule.
9/3 ph: 5.65 in 5.80 out 772ppm
9/4 ph: 5.65 in 5.77 out 772ppm


Lemon1:

Lemon2:

Lemon3:

 

[Nulife]

9/4/16 Week 9 Flowering Day 35

I'm not sure why I didn't notice this before but here are some pictures of some of my higher buds on Plant1. The plants look healthy as hell, and this is the first time I'm seeing a sign of anything. Not sure what this is. If I should worry or not. The discoloration is only on the top few fan leaves, and not throughout the bud or plant. Is it possible light burn/stress from the 800w COB lights or normal change of color for plants in this stage of flowering? Ph levels seems to be good going in and with run off (ph levels posted above). I raised the lights a few inches for now, but does anyone else have any input?