Hiya Beez!
Those bud pics - and the trich pics - are absolutely AMAZING!
I'm drooling here.
Those bud pics - and the trich pics - are absolutely AMAZING!
I'm drooling here.
Heavenly Hybrid
Well-Known Member
Fantastic autos, Beez! 
Looking fantastic, Beez!
Sweet trichome shots too, your new microscope is a good one- crystal clear pics- I think you're right -about a week or so longer...
And Liquid's sidewalk crack plant is a boy- sorry to hear that, he was a beauty!
Sweet trichome shots too, your new microscope is a good one- crystal clear pics- I think you're right -about a week or so longer...
And Liquid's sidewalk crack plant is a boy- sorry to hear that, he was a beauty!
For an outside grower your indoor grow has got it going on! Stunners. 
Heavenly Hybrid
Well-Known Member
True dat! The man is blessed with a Sauga-green* thumb.For an outside grower your indoor grow has got it going on! Stunners.
- Thread starter
- #486
Hey there everyone! I've got a lot to update, but for starters I want to share my results on some samples I had tested at a local lab. I tested the two outdoor plants I grew last summer, and some dry-ice kief I gathered from several containers of trim I had saved over the course of a maybe 3 seasons. Also tested was an outdoor plant that a friend of mine grew 2 summers ago. He wanted it tested and paid me for his potency test.
Here's the summary and actual test reports to follow:
Purple Haze
This plant tested out a bit lower than I was expecting, but all of my plants that I've tested over the past few seasons have come in considerably lower than the breeder's claims. This plant had no CBN detected, which again suggests that I harvested it too early. I'm not too surprised because I figured it wasn't quite ready for harvest, but by November 6th (when I began harvesting) the weather was getting pretty cold and the daylight hours pretty short. It just didn't seem like another week or two was going to make a difference. Kinda like those last tomatoes of the season that are still green on the vine - they just never get ripe once the weather turns cold.
Purple Haze vegged for 96 days (13.7 weeks) and flowered for another 110 days (15.7 weeks). It grew to 5 ft tall. I'm just wondering if the plant's roots couldn't support that much plant. The pot size was 20 gallons. I ended up harvesting about 20 oz of dried/cured buds from that plant. One more thought about this test result: Maybe I shouldn't be growing long flowering sativa varieties outdoors in my environment. From start to finish, this plant took nearly 7 months! The previous season, my Killer Haze plant also failed to finish after 14.5 weeks of flowering and only tested out at about 5% THC.
Dresden Green Diamond
My friend grew this plant in 2020 with my guidance. It was the first (and only) plant he's grown, and he was curious about its potency so he paid for it to be tested. It came in at a very respectable 16.9% Total THC. This one did contain about .23% CBN, but since it was tested after sitting in a jar for approx 1.5 years it was likely from THC degrading to CBN. Additionally the lab test indicated 13.4% THCa and 5.2% THC (delta 9) - which was also likely to be due to sitting in a jar for a long period of time.
Granddaddy Purple
GDP is currently one of my favorite smokes. It tested at a somewhat respectable 15.45% total THC. I tried to harvest this plant as late as possible, but due to accelerating bud rot and poor weather conditions I harvested about 1 week sooner than I had hoped. Still, it had about 30% amber showing on the trichomes. The lab report does show a very small amount of CBN (.08%) so I was likely pretty close to an optimal harvest window. A little surprising to me was the presence of delta 9 THC (2.54%). I'm not sure what the explanation of this might be. It's been stored in a mason jar with 62% boveda packet in a cool, dark place since October.
Salad Bowl Kief
This was probably the most important lab test I had requested. I recently converted many, many containers of trim into kief by shaking dry ice and the trim through a mesh filter bag. Since this was a new method for me, and the source material came from trim left over from 3 seasons worth of harvests, I really had no idea what potency I was dealing with. I've been using this as a primary ingredient of my oils for both edibles and topicals. I originally was guessing that maybe it was about 50% potency -- well that was way too optimistic. 
It came in at 15.34% total THC. Thinking about it now, I'm not surprised by this. It came from trim - not buds - and a lot of it came from my Killer Haze harvest that was only about 5% THC from the buds. I decided to decarb the kief sample prior to submitting it because I wasn't sure if my Nova decarb machine would work the same way on kief pucks as it does for flower. There was zero THCa in the test results so "yes" the Nova machine works fine on kief as well. There was quite a bit of CBN present (2.07%) which is no surprise considering the age of the source material.
I went back and recalculated some coconut oil capsules I made for my son a couple months ago. I used the decarbed kief to make them. I originally estimated them to contain about 19.6mg THC per capsule. My son claimed they were kinda weak and I told him that couldn't be true! Now that I know the actual potency of the kief, those capsule really were only 9mg THC. Now I have much better info for making oils in the future.
Sorry for such a long and wordy post, but I thought this info might be interesting to some of you folks. I'll update on the other happenings around here in the next day or two.
Here's the summary and actual test reports to follow:
Purple Haze
Purple Haze vegged for 96 days (13.7 weeks) and flowered for another 110 days (15.7 weeks). It grew to 5 ft tall. I'm just wondering if the plant's roots couldn't support that much plant. The pot size was 20 gallons. I ended up harvesting about 20 oz of dried/cured buds from that plant. One more thought about this test result: Maybe I shouldn't be growing long flowering sativa varieties outdoors in my environment. From start to finish, this plant took nearly 7 months! The previous season, my Killer Haze plant also failed to finish after 14.5 weeks of flowering and only tested out at about 5% THC.
Dresden Green Diamond
Granddaddy Purple
Salad Bowl Kief
It came in at 15.34% total THC. Thinking about it now, I'm not surprised by this. It came from trim - not buds - and a lot of it came from my Killer Haze harvest that was only about 5% THC from the buds. I decided to decarb the kief sample prior to submitting it because I wasn't sure if my Nova decarb machine would work the same way on kief pucks as it does for flower. There was zero THCa in the test results so "yes" the Nova machine works fine on kief as well. There was quite a bit of CBN present (2.07%) which is no surprise considering the age of the source material.I went back and recalculated some coconut oil capsules I made for my son a couple months ago. I used the decarbed kief to make them. I originally estimated them to contain about 19.6mg THC per capsule. My son claimed they were kinda weak and I told him that couldn't be true! Now that I know the actual potency of the kief, those capsule really were only 9mg THC. Now I have much better info for making oils in the future.
Sorry for such a long and wordy post, but I thought this info might be interesting to some of you folks. I'll update on the other happenings around here in the next day or two.
for getting those test results and giving us your insights into what they mean!Interesting that of your two, the one with even that low CBN results had the highest THC. I think that you should grow your sativas inside and your indicas outside so you can let them get as ripe as you can.
And very interesting on the dry ice kief THC percentage. I wonder if bubble hash would have had a higher THC number, as it's possible that one of the reasons the THC was low was the amount of plant matter mixed in from the dry ice. I don't think the fact that it was trim would be the difference, as I believe that the THC is the same in trim trichs as flower, but their lack of density on the leaves it was make them less potent per ounce. I may be totally wrong on that though.
- Thread starter
- #488
That thought has indeed occurred to me...
I need to research how to make bubble hash - it's something that's been on my wish list for a while now.
Very likely to be true! I think our ratio of dry ice to trim material was way off (not enough dry ice), and we shook for too long. The trim was pretty ground up by the time we were done.
Awesome update Beez! Thank you so much for sharing your results. It is very interesting looking at actual tested samples compared to breeder estimates. It reminds me of, I think a Canadian study a few years ago that tested 300 or so different samples and found an average THC of about 14%. So I guess we're all pretty much enjoying bud that is more likely to be in the mid teens than the mid 20's. It seems growing outdoors that we have to push the flowering for as long as possible to get the potency up, at least with sativas. Thanks again!
Highya Beez,
I'm growing Super Silver Haze this year, for one. It's supposed to finish 9 weeks after flower is initiated. Like third week in October. And it's mold resistant. I'm guessing you know about SSH. Have you grown any? I'm around the 44th parallel.
Great work on the lab tests! Always good to know. Happy Smokin'
I'm growing Super Silver Haze this year, for one. It's supposed to finish 9 weeks after flower is initiated. Like third week in October. And it's mold resistant. I'm guessing you know about SSH. Have you grown any? I'm around the 44th parallel.
Great work on the lab tests! Always good to know. Happy Smokin'
Very interesting read, Beez. Thanks for sharing the results and your thoughts on them.
I've always been of the mind that terpenes matter more than cannabinoids. However, that said, the strongest sativa I have grown (at least according to the breeder's estimate) was 24% for my Girl Scout Cookies.
And, I'm currently growing @Herbies Seeds Runtz Punch, which claims to have 27% THC and I have Gelato from Crop King curing and it's supposed to be 27% THC as well. So, I will see if my terpene theory holds out.
I'm planning on testing my plants, too but I want the terpene analysis, too and for both tests, it comes to $120 and since I currently have 16 strains to test, it will be a while before they're all done.
I've always been of the mind that terpenes matter more than cannabinoids. However, that said, the strongest sativa I have grown (at least according to the breeder's estimate) was 24% for my Girl Scout Cookies.
And, I'm currently growing @Herbies Seeds Runtz Punch, which claims to have 27% THC and I have Gelato from Crop King curing and it's supposed to be 27% THC as well. So, I will see if my terpene theory holds out.
I'm planning on testing my plants, too but I want the terpene analysis, too and for both tests, it comes to $120 and since I currently have 16 strains to test, it will be a while before they're all done.
- Thread starter
- #492
I'm beginning to think that as well. To date, I've lab tested 8 different varieties over the past 3 years. For nearly all of them, the breeders claimed potency of 20% or above. My highest lab result came back with 16.9%
Yes, I've watched a couple folks grow Super Silver Haze. It seems like a winner. Growing outdoors in your location is certainly more of a challenge than it is for me. I'd love to hear more about your grow - maybe even a couple pics.
I agree with you about terpenes being a key contributor to the cannabis effect. I'm beginning to not care so much about the THC levels, and just enjoy the smoke. I'm mostly doing the lab testing now to help me improve my growing/harvesting skills as well as making oils with known potencies. Each year, I try to test 3 or 4 samples so that the cost doesn't break the bank. Also, what I learn from those few tests, helps me determine what to test the next round.
Oh, I forgot to mention this earlier, but I notice that this latest lab test did not include THCV potency. This is probably mostly of concern for @InTheShed and @Virgin Ground who recently grew Dougs Varin, a high THCV variety. The lab I used last year did include THCV, so if that's something that you really want to know about, you need to confirm with your lab whether they can detect it.
I'll ask them about that.- Thread starter
- #494
Time to update on some of the recent garden activities. Last night I finally harvested my Glueberry OG auto.
This auto plant went 120 days (breeder estimate was 77 days). It stayed in veg for 46 days, which I'm happy about because it allowed me to top it (twice, I think) and train it before flowering. It flowered similar to a photoperiod plant at 10 weeks. I snipped off a tester bud about 10 days ago and smoked some recently - I was really happy with the result! I saved some for my son to try and he was pretty impressed as well. Looks like I might get close to 3 oz from the harvest.
The space under my light is better now, but still pretty full with the Northern Lights auto and the two White Zelicas that I crossed.
The NL is pretty close to harvest window as well - I think maybe sometime next week it'll be ready.
I'm really happy with the way the White Zelicas are developing. I pollenated a cloned Zamaldelica auto with pollen from a White Widow x Unknown that I grew last summer. The plant was really quite pitiful-looking, but it produced 30 seeds - - two of which are now growing under my lights.
For the summer grow, my son and I decided to start 6 plants - 2 for me and 4 for him. I dropped seeds for Amnesia (mostly sativa), Sugar Breath (mostly indica), and Sensi Cheese (mostly indica). After 24 hrs soak all three cracked open with short tails. 3 days after planting in soil the SB and SC both popped above ground. After a full week still no sign of Amnesia. I dug it up a little found this:
I looks like it wanted to pop, but just stalled. After a few more days, I've given up on it. Here's the other two at 7 days old. They are quite leggy because I had them too far from the lights, but when time comes to transplant, I'll bury them a little further down.
For the other plants, I decided to buy some clones from a local dispensary since I wasn't inspired by anything else in my seed collection and I'm getting such a late start this year. I ended up with Sour Diesel (mostly sativa), Chem Dog (hybrid), and Durban Poison (mostly sativa). Then when Amnesia failed to launch, I went back and bought a Blueberry (mostly indica).
I think I will grow the Sour Diesel and the Chem Dog, and give the others to my son. He also has a few seedlings popping up voluntarily in his yard. He's probably going to dig them up and put them in pots to either grow, or give away.
I think that about does it for cannabis activities, I've also been very busy getting my vegetable garden going. I planted 42 seeds from various tomato varieties in hopes that half would germinate, but 40 of the 42 ended up germinating so I have many, many more tomatoes than I have room to grow. I know, feel sorry for me.
The space under my light is better now, but still pretty full with the Northern Lights auto and the two White Zelicas that I crossed.
I'm really happy with the way the White Zelicas are developing. I pollenated a cloned Zamaldelica auto with pollen from a White Widow x Unknown that I grew last summer. The plant was really quite pitiful-looking, but it produced 30 seeds - - two of which are now growing under my lights.
For the summer grow, my son and I decided to start 6 plants - 2 for me and 4 for him. I dropped seeds for Amnesia (mostly sativa), Sugar Breath (mostly indica), and Sensi Cheese (mostly indica). After 24 hrs soak all three cracked open with short tails. 3 days after planting in soil the SB and SC both popped above ground. After a full week still no sign of Amnesia. I dug it up a little found this:
I think that about does it for cannabis activities, I've also been very busy getting my vegetable garden going. I planted 42 seeds from various tomato varieties in hopes that half would germinate, but 40 of the 42 ended up germinating so I have many, many more tomatoes than I have room to grow. I know, feel sorry for me.
Nice looking flowers!Holy cow...very cooperative!
And they look very much the same. Consistency is a good thing if they turn out well.
FTFY
Pretty plants! How much do they charge? I'm curious how much I've lost just giving mine away.
LOL that's some luck!
Congrats on the first of many great harvests, Beez!
And they get leggy so fast! It's like- "I'll move 'em closer to the light in the morning", and then they stretch 2 inches overnight....
Congrats on the Glueberry harvest, Beez. The rest of the plants look great! @Virgin Ground is growing Sour Diesel, too.
- Thread starter
- #498
ThanksThe plants were $20 each (before state and local taxes)Pretty plants! How much do they charge? I'm curious how much I've lost just giving mine away.
Same thing happened to me. I didn't really have room for them under my Nextlight, so I thought "Tomorrow I'll set up my small grow lamps on another table". By then it was too late.
I remember she grew one a year or so ago, I'll have to follow her new one. I'm terribly behind on many journals, but am trying to catch up a little at a time. Thanks for the heads up.
Heavenly Hybrid
Well-Known Member
Congrats on the Glueberry harvest! Is that your first indoor harvest? I forget. And as other already said, thank you for sharing those lab results. I wonder how far off the breeder estimates are for THC% (etc.), because we all know how off the blooming schedule estimate usually is.
I’m so excited for the start of your outdoor grow Beez!!!
Always a good show.
I’m so excited for the start of your outdoor grow Beez!!!
Always a good show.- Thread starter
- #500
It's my first 100% indoor grow, but last year I grew a couple that were mostly indoor. They got a mixture of indoor and outdoor and did pretty well, but ended up with a pretty bad aphid infestation. Kinda odd, because my 100% outdoor plants never get aphids - just caterpillars.
Well, for me all of my plants that I've tested have come in considerably lower than the breeder estimates. I'm sure a lot of that is on me, but I'm thinking the breeders want to advertise high THC% so if they get one plant to test high, they put that number in their estimate.
My goal this season is to keep the plants as small as possible -- 36" or less. I got my GDP to stay that small and I still got more than a pound out of it, and the lab test was decent at 15.45%. My theory is that if I remove the larf and thin out some of the buds, the plant can focus its energy on the remaining colas. We'll see how well my plan unfolds...