You're getting close Stunger! Outstanding!
Stunger's Organic Soil Stealth Balcony: Landrace Mulanje & Other Sativas
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I think that's right. Indoors plants often go from 6 hours of darkness to 12 hours quite literally overnight in one step whereas outdoors it is much more gradual, shifting by only a few minutes each day. I wonder where the "magic" number of dark hours actually is? We say 12 hours of darkness but in reality it has to be a bit less than that since 12 hours definitely works, but how about 11 hours and 55 minutes, or 49 minutes? Less?
The trigger has to be something less and outdoors you get there more slowly in increments.
The outdoor flowering period always gets me. I have tried and tried to figure it out. Their hormones without a doubt in my mind transition at a much slower pace. Last year, I attempted to figure out my flowering time when I visibly saw them start the stretch. That helped me gauge it better. They distinctly shot up in height and I used that first week of observation as my start time.
Agreed Azi on this.
Oh, and I agree with what you mentioned about the perlite rising from within the soil structure and causing unwanted compaction. Typically, I have found that to be the case only when I water too much and too quickly. I have not experienced that affect (as much) when I water slowly. I forgot to quote your response but figured I would chime in and share my experience. Either way, you get some that floats. But the fact that it breaks down so much faster than pumice is reason enough for me to not use it as much. Oh...and for long-term no-till garden beds or large containers, I would recommend adding lava rock (smaller the better) to your soil. You don't need much and it is an amazing home for microbiology. I have found bonsai grade lava rock to be the best. Harder to find but worth every penny. Turface (clay product typically used on baseball fields) is another alternative that is more affordable than lava or pumice. It is not as porous as pumice or lava rock though.
Turface, is that the clay they also use as an absorbant in auto repair shops to soak up spills?
That is normally diatomaceous earth granules. I have also used that! I forgot to mention that. Excellent and lightweight addition to soil. It does not act like DE powder for pests by the way. Turface, does absorb liquids but not as effective as the DE granules. Both do break down over time but it is slower than you would expect.
Beautiful buds, Stunger!
By the looks of those trichomes, potency isn't going to be an issue
Sorry to hear about the rot- I hope it remains a minor problem...or better yet, goes away...
Hey @Stunger - I can't believe I didn't ever think to ask you this earlier but it just occurred to me as I was thinking about your grow.....
What's the story with light and this grow? The get daylight sun, yes? What happens at night? How do you maintain 12/12 this way? And do you have curtains or something on the glass doors to block ambient light at night from inside?
I could go on and on, I never considered how you manage light. Any help? Thanks!!!!
What's the story with light and this grow? The get daylight sun, yes? What happens at night? How do you maintain 12/12 this way? And do you have curtains or something on the glass doors to block ambient light at night from inside?
I could go on and on, I never considered how you manage light. Any help? Thanks!!!!
Jungle Joseph
Well-Known Member
Damn budrot. Looking good otherwise.
Phillybonker
Well-Known Member
If my memory serves me right @Stunger mentioned to me once that his balcony only gets sun for half the day or only part of the day. That could explain why flowering is taking longer.
Less sunlight = longer flowering times. At least that's what I've noticed with my own grows.
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- #910
Thanks stinker! Some damage should be expected, it's a bonus when there is only a little.Beautiful buds, Stunger. Love the colors. Sorry to see the rot, there always seems to be some loss to rot outdoors. It doesn't look like there was much damage. I always get anxious around harvest. Great job!
Cheers Emeraldo. Last year's Mango Sherbert was harvested on 16th April. This year she has had additional stress with the droughting and the cooling temps have caused her to darken somewhat.
As for amber trichomes, there are some, but not masses that I can see. My eyesight is pretty bad up close, and the only way I can see the state of them is by blowing up hand held close taken photos. But lately there's been constant wind and it's hard to get some good close steady held shots that are clear when I zoom in, the best of what I can see I post on here.
Even though I have droughted this time, I think last year's Mango Sherbert displayed trichomes in similar stages as this year's.
Thanks Jon! That's how I feel. It would get last place in a beauty contest, but hopefully better in a 'happy smile' contest!
Thanks Otter! Yes not far away.
Cheers Azi, it seems that way.
Thanks BA, it's more like pick a point and count from there when outdoors, the start of stretch sounds as good as any.
And DE provides some Silica too, I saw a study where it was given to some herbs (it wasn't cannabis), but they clearly showed Silica uptake over the control group.
Thanks Carcass! The rots a pain but I am usually left with most of it for which I am thankful for, and hopefully some potency too!Beautiful buds, Stunger!
By the looks of those trichomes, potency isn't going to be an issue
Sorry to hear about the rot- I hope it remains a minor problem...or better yet, goes away...
That is an interesting question as when indoor growing big problems can occur from light leaks etc. But as far as I know when outdoors that isn't a problem. A full moon can flood them with light, just as outdoor lights can come on and off. I think they 'tune' into the daily passage of the sun and ignore the rest.
Cheers Joe, it's looking pretty hopeful so far.
Cheers Phil, I had thought that it didn't seem to make that much difference, but it very well could be. When I grow tomatoes in the full sun and others in reduced sun, they both seem to flower the same time wise, but the full sun makes more fruit. All good points worth considering.
Phillybonker
Well-Known Member
Yeah my plants all flowered at roughly the same time but some of my plants were further along than others when I had to pull. I've got multiple grow spots with some plants getting 6 hours sun, some 8 hours sun and one is getting 9 hours sun.
Same as last season, the plants getting the most sun were closer to the finish line than the plants not getting as much sun.
Skottelgoed Spons
Well-Known Member
Sheesh stungs. These girls are packed! Cant wait to hear about the smoke report on them! Those buds look so good!Update - Getting towards the end game - mostly pictures
Greetings 420 enthusiasts! We are getting down to the pointy end of the flowering stage. All the plants showed their first pistils in the first week of January. If I go on that date, then these girls have been flowering for about 16 weeks but I am not sure how comparable that is to the indoor 'flipping' of plants, I suspect that when indoor plants are flipped that probably the whole plant gets the message and starts throwing out pistils. I feel that outdoors the plants maybe aren't that quick to 'flip', that they may take a bit longer to get properly underway, so it seems hard to make a call on the number of days/weeks in flowering.
3 days ago I noticed the 2 sativas were looking a bit wilted as I hadn't watered them for several days, so I let them continue until yesterday when after further drooping I gave them all a drink. I have done a 'hard' experiment already by droughting the Mango Sherbert, and given that I am not sure how much longer I need to let the 2 sativas go, I am reluctant to over-push droughting on them, but anyway even that little bit of droughting probably contributed something. At this point I just want to get them home safely, and hopefully potently!
Here is the state of play today.
Mango Sherbert
I am looking to harvest her in 1 week. She is tough, gnarly, but still has little amber, mostly cloudy and some clear. She is purpling up a little from the colder overnight temps.
Honduras/Panama x Purple Honduras
She has some big heavy colas. But these have attracted some bud rot, the most of the 3 balcony girls, which probably isn't surprising given that she has the bigger bats to get rain soaked. She is also a tricky plant to get close to with all her leaves bristling out of her colas. However, so far she is mostly clear. I added a stake to her pot today to use to prop up some of the heavy sagging colas. It was disappointing to have to prune off bud rot damage. But hey that's nature and it's looks like I haven't lost much. However there's a silver lining, I can glean off the good bud that was growing on the damaged parts I removed and have a test of it very soon, I'm looking forward to that!
Malawi/Ethiopian x Mulanje
She has the most delicate colas of the 3 plants, but she is really frosted in her buds. I can imagine once jarred and cured that there could be a fair bit of dry sift at the bottom of the jars.
All 3 girls
Thanks for dropping by, keep well everyone, and keep those gardens tended!
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- #913
Thanks Skott!
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- #914
Update - Mango Sherbert droughted and close to harvest - confirmation of amber - pictures
Greetings 420 enthusiasts! This may end up being the last post for the Mango Sherbert as she is just days away from being harvested. So this post is focused solely on her. The overnight temperatures are dropping and she is darkening and purpling up as a consequence. The breeder notes suggest 50 days flowering, which is barely 7 weeks. I could never get her done in 7 weeks. In these pics she is about 16 weeks if I start counting from first seen pistils on 4th January.
Her colas and buds are crusted from trichomes and the sugar leaves stiff and hard from the droughting process she went thru over 25 days.
Today, I looked closely for an 'amber signal' of sufficient amber trichomes. My method of achieving that is to enlarge closeup pics to see the trichome bulbs. They are not always pretty up close as I am hand holding the camera the wind is hard to deal with too. But, I think from these pics that there is sufficient 'ambering' of the trichomes occurring, such that by harvest in the coming days I will feel confident without further confirmation that the plant and her buds are where I want her. Lean in with me for a closer look.
This pic @InTheShed appears to be showing some seeded bracts on one the stems that I selectively pollinated with the Mulanje pollen (you asked a while back).
Dried buds from the droughted Mango Sherbert
From the droughting process her sugar leaves turn quite stiff. I would describe it, as if they have been varnished. Check out the following 2 pictures. This bud was pruned off the plant 10 days ago when I noticed that stem had died overnight, so I removed it for an opportunity for early testing. So in these pictures it is fully dried, and has retained it 'structure', unlike non-droughted buds where (in my experience) the sugar leaves will all collapse and dry 'around the buds', but here you can see that the sugar leaves of the bud have not only dried in shape from when there were alive, but they easily support the weight of the whole bud. I can attest that this 'early' bud, haha, has a very nice potency already.
Anyway, thanks for dropping in, be well and I hope you're enjoying some lovely home grown!
Greetings 420 enthusiasts! This may end up being the last post for the Mango Sherbert as she is just days away from being harvested. So this post is focused solely on her. The overnight temperatures are dropping and she is darkening and purpling up as a consequence. The breeder notes suggest 50 days flowering, which is barely 7 weeks. I could never get her done in 7 weeks. In these pics she is about 16 weeks if I start counting from first seen pistils on 4th January.
Her colas and buds are crusted from trichomes and the sugar leaves stiff and hard from the droughting process she went thru over 25 days.
Today, I looked closely for an 'amber signal' of sufficient amber trichomes. My method of achieving that is to enlarge closeup pics to see the trichome bulbs. They are not always pretty up close as I am hand holding the camera the wind is hard to deal with too. But, I think from these pics that there is sufficient 'ambering' of the trichomes occurring, such that by harvest in the coming days I will feel confident without further confirmation that the plant and her buds are where I want her. Lean in with me for a closer look.
This pic @InTheShed appears to be showing some seeded bracts on one the stems that I selectively pollinated with the Mulanje pollen (you asked a while back).
Dried buds from the droughted Mango Sherbert
From the droughting process her sugar leaves turn quite stiff. I would describe it, as if they have been varnished. Check out the following 2 pictures. This bud was pruned off the plant 10 days ago when I noticed that stem had died overnight, so I removed it for an opportunity for early testing. So in these pictures it is fully dried, and has retained it 'structure', unlike non-droughted buds where (in my experience) the sugar leaves will all collapse and dry 'around the buds', but here you can see that the sugar leaves of the bud have not only dried in shape from when there were alive, but they easily support the weight of the whole bud. I can attest that this 'early' bud, haha, has a very nice potency already.
Damn! So frosty. That tester looks nuts! I'd like to enjoy YOUR home grown right about now.thanks for dropping in, be well and I hope you're enjoying some lovely home grown!
Damn, Stunger...I've seen a lot of trichome pics on this forum, but those are the most "encrusted" buds I've ever seen...Well done on the droughting!
Happy harvesting- not only going to be kick-ass weed, but there's gonna be a lot of it!
Happy harvesting- not only going to be kick-ass weed, but there's gonna be a lot of it!
Skottelgoed Spons
Well-Known Member
Holy cow bro! Its jampacked with tri!! Plane ticket booked and on my way to come taste with you lol!! Man I just love your journals and the experience you put on the table! I get alot of info on your grow techniques and make some notes here and there! Can't wait to see how the MS going to look after harvest.Update - Mango Sherbert droughted and close to harvest - confirmation of amber - pictures
Greetings 420 enthusiasts! This may end up being the last post for the Mango Sherbert as she is just days away from being harvested. So this post is focused solely on her. The overnight temperatures are dropping and she is darkening and purpling up as a consequence. The breeder notes suggest 50 days flowering, which is barely 7 weeks. I could never get her done in 7 weeks. In these pics she is about 16 weeks if I start counting from first seen pistils on 4th January.
Her colas and buds are crusted from trichomes and the sugar leaves stiff and hard from the droughting process she went thru over 25 days.
Today, I looked closely for an 'amber signal' of sufficient amber trichomes. My method of achieving that is to enlarge closeup pics to see the trichome bulbs. They are not always pretty up close as I am hand holding the camera the wind is hard to deal with too. But, I think from these pics that there is sufficient 'ambering' of the trichomes occurring, such that by harvest in the coming days I will feel confident without further confirmation that the plant and her buds are where I want her. Lean in with me for a closer look.
This pic @InTheShed appears to be showing some seeded bracts on one the stems that I selectively pollinated with the Mulanje pollen (you asked a while back).
Dried buds from the droughted Mango Sherbert
From the droughting process her sugar leaves turn quite stiff. I would describe it, as if they have been varnished. Check out the following 2 pictures. This bud was pruned off the plant 10 days ago when I noticed that stem had died overnight, so I removed it for an opportunity for early testing. So in these pictures it is fully dried, and has retained it 'structure', unlike non-droughted buds where (in my experience) the sugar leaves will all collapse and dry 'around the buds', but here you can see that the sugar leaves of the bud have not only dried in shape from when there were alive, but they easily support the weight of the whole bud. I can attest that this 'early' bud, haha, has a very nice potency already.
Anyway, thanks for dropping in, be well and I hope you're enjoying some lovely home grown!
Stay safe bro.
So that's not noticeably more trichomes for you than normal?? Damn. Maybe it's true that the camera makes it look like you've gained 10 pounds and the same is true for trichome shots, but damn....
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- #919
Cheers BA! Wouldn't that be great, to be able to discuss and share our favourite strains around the table with true enthusiasts!Damn! So frosty. That tester looks nuts! I'd like to enjoy YOUR home grown right about now.
Thanks Carcass! It was @Maritimer's work into droughting that sparked this, and it's been a fun experiment that has recreated the 'accidental' droughting grow I did years ago.
Cheers Skott! I did have to push the boat out to get her like that, but it all gives experience to build on which is great.
Thanks Azi! When we talked about this a while back, it didn't seem one way or the other at the time, but now, I have to say that they are more than what I'd normally get. Even the sugar leaves don't collapse on drying.So that's not noticeably more trichomes for you than normal?? Damn. Maybe it's true that the camera makes it look like you've gained 10 pounds and the same is true for trichome shots, but damn....
DV8
Well-Known Member
Those colours!
Those sticky sugar leaves!
My wild heart be still!
Hands down some of the nicest looking outdoors Ive seen in a long while mate. Top shelf.
Be proud mate, reaping the rewards.
Those sticky sugar leaves!
My wild heart be still!
Hands down some of the nicest looking outdoors Ive seen in a long while mate. Top shelf.
Be proud mate, reaping the rewards.