End of grow harvest update
I have been watching closely the development of the trichomes and condition of the plants in general in preparation to decide when to harvest. All 3 plants are showing clear, cloudy and amber trichomes. I feel their level now is about where I want them. We have some colder weather coming and if it was still dry days ahead I would probably wait a little longer as I like the purpling that the White Widow (2-WW) that develops when the temps drop. Currently, we're in the middle of Autumn here in NZ and the long dry sunny weather has been replaced by a patch of cooler damp drizzly weather. With more rain expected I gave them the chop this morning. I would have preferred to have chopped at the end of a nice sunny day when any dampness has been dried off them, but there hasn't been a lot of stealthy gardening time for my grow in lockdown so you take your chances!
I thought I could avoid the kicking and screaming that
@DonkeyDick has to go thru when his girls get the chop. But when the end came it wasn't elegant, I had intended to cut the plants out whole with some of their root balls intact that I could wash off in a bucket of water I had at the ready, in a whole plant dry like
@nickeluring does in his excellent's grows . Altho I used a knife to try and cut them out I couldn't get thru the thick tap roots, and I didn't want to be caught on the balcony having a tug of war trying to uproot them without making a spectacle and covering myself with dirt which the wife would go nuts about if I bought back thru the house. So I just cut them off at the base after first untethering all the Quadlining/LST wires from the plants.
On 3 colas of 2-WW I found caterpillar damage had caused some small parts to die which in the recent damp weather had began to mold. It was no more than 5 - 6 grams thankfully. I had previously cut 2 similar small bits off for the same. I did carry out a number of BT sprays for caterpillars during the grow which worked well but I only did them ad-hoc. Next grow I will do regular spraying for these pests, like probably every 1 - 2 weeks. I even did a late spray perhaps 2-3 weeks ago that included insecticide soap, Dr Bronner's Castille and Neem oil, and I can report back that the quick dried samples of bud that I have since tested, that I couldn't detect any Neem after taste/smell, so that was reassuring. The ad hoc spraying I did worked well, but it wasn't enough, some caterpillars still got some play time in the buds, it would have been even better to have done it to a schedule, as both
@Emeraldo and
@InTheShed had recommended. It just isn't worth have those little buggers wrecking havoc on your hard work and depriving you of the future pleasure of smoking it.
The really undignified part came next for these 3 ladies. To avoid fumigating the house with their ripe dankness and incurring level 4 wrath of the wife, I threw all 3 of them over the balcony to land on the tiles below. It is now feels quite strange to have an empty balcony when I have enjoyed the view of it being full of cannabis these past months.
Here are a few of the last pics taken (not the greatest) but closeups of their Trichomes before chopping. Depending on where you look they all have amounts of clear, cloudy and amber trichomes with possibly the White Widow XTRM/Gorgonzola cross (3-WWG) showing the most clear trichomes remaining. The White Widow XTRM (2-WW) shows some colorful purpling from the drop in overnight temperatures.
1-GGa Gorilla Glue Auto prior to chopping - 111 days since sprouting
2-WW White Widow XTRM prior to chopping
3-WWG White Widow XTRM/Gorgonzola prior to chopping
All 3 girls hanging out together after chopping.
Anyway, just the wait for the plants to dry now before trimming and jarring.
Stay safe and well everyone.
