If anyone hasn't checked out the thread "
X Marks the Spot - XLR8's Big Bang Auto Hydro Grow 2011", I recommend you do, it's awesome!
For those that are familiar with xlr8's Big Bang, you know I post pics of my autoflower with much humility. I'd have to grow my auto-girl about 5 times to equal what was harvested of his ONE autoflower plant.
Nonetheless, My quirky and accidential auto is what she is...
No plant of the month contestant, nor is she even a contender for bud of the month, but she is prime and ready for harvest... and all mine! (insert evil laugh here)
Blue Mystic Offspring #1, the only one to auto so far. 3 week veg, 8 week bloom.
Looking on the positive... Being that the stability of her genetic traits are questionable at best. It did show the "autoflower" trait successfully as she flowered at 18/6 lighting and the plant also demonstrated some of the "Blue Mystic" classic traits with gnarly amounts of trichomes on leaves, buds and stems.
11 weeks from seed to harvest. But how much harvest, remains to be seen...
It is now obvious that keeping the LEDs closer than 14″ from the tops (it would vary form day to day)was too close. BMO#1 was just over 2′ tall, I was concerned the plant's lower buds would not get enough light, so I kept the LED grow light within a "one foot" average of the top of the plant. The tops ended up spindly and the very tips bleached out, however, I now notice that the mid to low (even the lowest) buds were nice & dense and on average, the largest.
If I'd had kept the height in check better, and went wider -vs- taller, I'd have had a better harvest. I was unprepared for how well it grew under the Pro-Grow 260 as it budded, and there was a point I thought it would never stop growing upward.
When you don't need a magnifier to see the amber trichomes, it's ready to harvest.
I could have easily cut a week and a half off of harvest time and chopped over a week ago, but I wanted to let her trichomes bet beyond milky and get a majority of ambers on the leaves, and a mix on the calyxes themselves.
Some buds are nice & dense, some thin & spindly. All are well coated in aromatic, viscous trichomes
One final close-up... If nothing else, they are sticky and smell amazing.
Hang em' high! Temp, airflow & humidity in the bloom tent is perfect for the first 2 days of air drying.
I have not a clue what the total weight will be after drying & a final manucure. If we get 1oz, I will be very satisfied, though if I did make a guess, I'd say we'll be closer to 3/4 of an ounce. Time will tell.
And like every grow, I learned something new!
, I am wrong and pride will prevent me from seeing the truth. Life is about reading between the lines, without getting lost in the story.
